ARTIST: Joe Strummer
TITLE: Walker
LABEL: Astralwerks
GENRE: Soundtrack
BITRATE: 199kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 57min total
RELEASE DATE: 2005-07-26
RIP DATE: 2005-07-25
Track List
----------
01. Filibustero 3:59
02. Omotepe 3:48
03. Sandstorm 1:57
04. Machete 3:06
05. Viperland 2:42
06. Nica Libre 3:18
07. Latin Romance 3:54
08. The Unknown Immortal 3:47
09. Musket Waltz 2:40
10. The Brooding Side Of Madness 3:04
11. Tennessee Rain 2:55
12. Smash Everything 3:21
13. Tropic Of No Return 3:07
14. Tropic Of Pico 4:29
15. Straight Shooter (Bonus Track) 1:45
16. Brooding Six (Bonus Track) 5:17
17. Filibustero (Freestyle Mix) 4:43
(Bonus Track)
Release Notes:
During the long career nap between the Clash and the Mescaleros, Joe
Strummer recorded an awful lot of substantial, exciting music-- but
because most of it was on soundtrack albums for flop indie films,
even many Strummer fans have never heard it. Astralwerks will take a
step to amend that with the July 26 reissue of Strummer's soundtrack
to Alex Cox's little-seen 1987 film Walker.
The album was Strummer's first post-Clash full-length work,
following on his contribution of a few tracks to Cox's Sid & Nancy.
To properly set the mood for the tale of William Walker (a despotic,
pro-slavery American mercenary who conquered Nicaragua with a
private army in the 1850s), Strummer uses largely rustic Latin
motifs, along with the odd big-band mambo or Appalachian country
tune. Only three cuts on the original album feature vocals, both by
Strummer ("Tropic of No Return", "Tennessee Rain", and "The Unknown
Immortal"). Everything is executed with surprising skill and
imagination for somebody only two years removed from "We Are the
Clash". While a definitive tracklist is not yet available,
Astralwerks says the reissue will add three new tracks to the
original's 14: "Straight Shooter" (B-side to the "Filibustero"
single), and "Filibustero (Freestyle Mix)" and "Brooding Six" (from
a limited-edition 12").
So should Walker be considered Strummer's debut solo album, as
Astralwerks claims? This writer feels that 1989's Earthquake Weather
still holds spiritual claim to that title-- Strummer sings on every
song, and it wasn't recorded as an adjunct to another creative
work-- but Astralwerks can toot whatever horn they like, as long as
they keep the Strummer reissues coming. To the lasting dismay of
the Clash army, Strummer's more guitar rock-oriented soundtrack
work from Permanent Record remains out of print-- and don't even
get us started on mythic lost soundtracks like When Pigs Fly or I
Hired A Contract Killer. We're sure it'll all add up to a killer
box set someday, but Christ-- couldn't he have recorded for
Scorsese or Spielberg, so the rest of us might've had a chance to
hear it?