The Clash’s short career has been well serviced by compilations and retrospectives over the past decade. By comparison, frontman Joe Strummer’s solo career – including some excellent work with The Mescaleros – has been somewhat overlooked.
On 26th March 2021, Dark Horse Records will release ‘Assembly’, a broad overview of Strummer’s work outside of The Clash. It promises casual listeners a fairly broad career overview, bringing together tracks from ‘Global A-Go Go’, ‘Rock Art & The X-Ray Style’ and ‘Streetcore’ along with ‘Sleepwalk’ from the long out of print and hard to find ‘Earthquake Weather’. More importantly, three previously unheard live performances lend the collection an important carrot for long-time fans.
More info on ‘Assembly’ and a stream of a previously unheard acoustic version of ‘Junko Partner’ can be found in the press release below.
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‘ASSEMBLY’ IS A CAREER-SPANNING COMPILATION FEATURING CAREFULLY CURATED REMASTERED SINGLES, FAN FAVOURITES, ARCHIVAL RARITIES AND MORE. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE VERSIONS
OF THE CLASH CLASSICS, ‘RUDIE CAN’T FAIL’ AND ‘I FOUGHT THE LAW’
‘ASSEMBLY’ ARRIVES VIA DARK HORSE RECORDS ON FRIDAY 26TH MARCH
Dark Horse Records is celebrating the upcoming release of its newly remastered collection of solo cuts from Joe Strummer with today’s world premiere of ‘Junco Partner (Acoustic)’. The track is available for streaming now and comes with an accompanying animated, mixed-media video created by Spencer Ramsey [WATCH HERE]. Discovered deep in the legendary artist’s vaults on a hand-labelled cassette tape, ‘Junco Partner’ was a constant throughout Joe’s career. He first discovered the song on a scratchy R&B compilation in the 1970s and it became a staple on the setlist of Joe’s first band, the 101ers, before recording it with The Clash for the seminal ‘Sandinista!’ album in 1980 and it being a mainstay of live shows until the very end of Joe’s career with The Mescaleros. This previously unreleased home recording of ‘Junco Partner’ sees Strummer wailing through the song with just a guitar, offering an intimate insight into his unique vocal delivery and distinctive driving rhythmic guitar playing.
‘Junco Partner (Acoustic)’ is available now at all DSPs and streaming services; ‘ASSEMBLY’ arrives 26th March on Limited Edition 2xLP Red vinyl, gatefold 2xLP 180g black vinyl, CD and digitally for streaming and download; pre-orders are available now HERE.
‘ASSEMBLY’ showcases carefully curated remastered singles, fan favourites and archival rarities from the Joe Strummer solo catalogue, including ‘Coma Girl,’ ‘Johnny Appleseed’, ‘Yalla Yalla’ (with The Mescaleros), his rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song’ and soundtrack contributions like ‘Love Kills’ (from the 1986 film ‘Sid and Nancy’). Remastered by three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks (The Beatles / John Lennon / The Rolling Stones / David Bowie), the 16-track compilation features three previously unreleased versions of classic The Clash tracks, including the never-before-heard recording of ‘Junco Partner’ and electrifying live performances of ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ and ‘I Fought The Law’ recorded by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros at London’s Brixton Academy on 24th November 2001. In addition, ‘ASSEMBLY’ includes exclusive liner notes written especially for this collection by musician, Jakob Dylan.
ABOUT JOE STRUMMER
Punk poet, musician, composer, actor, and style icon, Joe Strummer spent his life smashing musical and cultural boundaries both as the singer of The Clash and as a solo artist. His songs sound as urgent and vital today as when they were written. Calling out social injustices and giving a voice to the struggles of the working class, Strummer’s politically-charged lyrics struck a chord with legions of fans and the press alike, with Rolling Stone calling The Clash “the greatest rock & roll band in the world.” “People can change anything they want to,” he famously once said, “and that means everything in the world.” Through his art, Joe Strummer played his part in shaping the musical landscape of the world and with it left an unrivalled and timeless legacy.
George Harrison’s passion for introducing the world to new music expressed itself in May of 1974 when he created his own new label – Dark Horse Records. The label contained a variety of talented artists on its roster, including George himself. ‘
ASSEMBLY’ marks the first new Joe Strummer title released via the newly relaunched Dark Horse, led by Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine. For more, please visit
www.darkhorserecords.com.
JOE STRUMMER
ASSEMBLY
(Dark Horse/BMG)
Release Date: 26th March
TRACKLISTING
Coma Girl
Johnny Appleseed
I Fought The Law (Live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November 2001) *
Tony Adams
Sleepwalk
Love Kills
Get Down Moses
X-Ray Style
Mondo Bongo
Rudie Can’t Fail (Live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November 2001) *
At The Border, Guy
Long Shadow
Forbidden City
Yalla Yalla
Redemption Song
Junco Partner (Acoustic) *
* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
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