In many ways, it's easiest to appreciate Joe Strummer's album Global a Go-Go if you forget that it was made by Joe Strummer. This isn't meant to insult the music in question, which is often engaging and always passionate, or suggest that it doesn't bear any significant signs of Strummer's personality; if you loved the syllable-drenched wordplay of songs like "The Magnificent Seven," "Lightning Strikes," or "Car Jamming," you're in for a treat, because here you get nearly a whole album of it. But if you're expecting the former leader of the Clash to be backed by two guitars, bass, and drums and playing something easily recognizable as rock & roll — not a difficult assumption to make — then you're flat out of luck. Best described as eccentric internationalist folk-rock, Global a Go-Go is dominated by acoustic instruments (Tymon Dogg, the fiddler from the Clash's "Loose This Skin," is all over this album like a pillowcase) and a wild gumbo of flavors from Africa, Latin America, and the West Indies, and while a few tunes have a prominent electric guitar (particularly "Cool 'n' Out"), most do not. And if you're hoping for lots of punk-wise sloganeering from the usually provocative Mr. Strummer, there isn't a great deal of that, either, though it's obvious from the Dylanesque density of his wordplay that Strummer's got a lot on his mind, and the one-world perspective that shines throughout is food for thought in itself, especially on the tasty "Bhindi Bhagee" and the globetrotting title cut. And while the epic instrumental "Minstrel Boy" wouldn't lead you to imagine it's the work of one of the great icons of punk rock, it at least proves Strummer is willing to mess with his audience's expectations, which is a very punk rock thing to do. Global a Go-Go is an intelligent and uniquely absorbing record, but listening to it is like eating sushi or escargot for the first time — knowing what it is might shape your expectations in the wrong direction.
Global a Go-Go, Joe Strummer's second album with the Mescaleros following 1999's Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, mines the same concerns that have always inspired his music. "Johnny Appleseed" and "Cool 'n' Out" center on his brash eruptive guitar but hark back to his pre-punk folk busking roots, with lyrics anchored by a strong sense of indignation and social commitment. Strummer may pride himself as an original punk warlord, but he realizes punk can only thrive by rejoicing in Britain's ever-vibrant multicultural melting pot as he does on "Bhindi Bagee" and the Arabic-inflected refugee requiem "Shaktar Donetsk." His longstanding fascination with dub reggae fuels "At the Border, Guy", while the Marconi-saluting title track celebrates the power of radio to present new worlds and unite communities. On "Mondo Bongo" he dispenses with his trademark bark for a lovely ballad laced with pre-Clash accomplice Tymon Dogg's lonesome violin. This is real anger with a big warm heart; maturity suits Strummer just fine. --Gavin Martin