Remembering Joe Strummer

I’m terrible with birthdays. Joe Strummer would’ve turned 57 yesterday, and I missed it, so I will enlighten you all with my take on him and his music. He was, in my mind, a combination of James Dean, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Rotten. Not that he was necessarily the larger-than-life figure those guys were, but instead he combined the rebellion and the swagger of them, and to me, was the face on punk rock..
The Clash’s debut album had the best of both worlds- an angry punk attitude with great melodies and songcraft. Strummer and Mick Jones weren’t rank amateurs, but instead experienced musicians who were blown away by the punk movement. “Give ‘Em Enough Rope” showed they could match guitars with any metal band with the same ferocity as the debut album. London Calling was a landmark. The band not only perfected their songwriting chops, but also mixed reggae, pop, and soul into their musical mix. It was a statement album that proved punk rock could be diverse musically and appeal to a wide audience, and still not compromise. “Sandinista” while, inconsistent took the experimental touches of London Calling three steps further. Combat Rock broke the band to huge mainstream success, with “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “Rock the Casbah”, but began a divide in the band with Jones wanting to experiment more, and Strummer wanting to stick closer to their punk rock roots. They never made another Clash record together.
The Clash was Strummer’s as well as Jones’s finest moments. Joe’s solo records and Jones-less Clash record had their moments, but he was never able to connect to the musical zeitgeist the way he did with the Clash. As a listener, you kept hoping they’d get the band back together, that they would have this great re-union and re-establish themselves as the best rock band in the world, which in the early 1980’s they arguably were.
He died way too soon. It was right about the time that it looked like society would “get” his solo records, maybe not in a larger-than life way they did with the Clash records, but it looked like there was hope, maybe even for a Clash reunion. Jones, Strummer, and Paul Simonon were on good terms, who knows.
Either way, rock needs a rebel like him and he will never be replaced,