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| Rock Art and the X-Ray Style | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros | ||||
| Released | 18 October 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Studio | Battery Studios, Willesden, London | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 49:44 | |||
| Label | HellCat | |||
| Producer | Antony Genn, Richard Norris | |||
| Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Rock Art & The X-Ray Style | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  |
| NME | 5/10 |
| Spin | 5/10 |
Rock Art and the X-Ray Style is the debut album by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, released on 18 October 1999. This album featured the band in its first incarnation: Joe Strummer and Antony Genn on guitar and vocals, Martin Slattery playing keyboards and guitar, Steve "Smiley" Barnard on drums, Pablo Cook on other percussion instruments, and Scott Shields on bass. Richard Flack also did engineering on the album.
The record marked Strummer's re-emergence from a long absence in the music scene, his last record being 1989's Earthquake Weather, a decade earlier. The album begins with "Tony Adams," a track which sounds not unlike Strummer's previous work with The Clash. Saxophone riffs are juxtaposed with reggae inspired guitar, as Strummer recites lyrics detailing a catastrophe hitting New York City. The rest of the record takes a winding journey, with songs that capture Strummer's genre mixing. "Sandpaper Blues" features hand drums and African chanting, "Techno D-Day" dabbles in electronic instruments, while "Road to Rock and Roll," another song written by Strummer for Johnny Cash combines acoustic guitar with turntables and electronic drums. "Yalla Yalla" Strummer himself once described as "an ancient British folk song....written in the year 1999." The song is rich in layers, which includes keyboards, synths, bass, drums, and a guitar with endless sustain (likely provided via an e-bow). The song "Tony Adams" was named after the football player of the same name.
"Yalla Yalla" and "Tony Adams" were both released as singles with music videos shot for each. The video for "Tony Adams" features Strummer walking down the street of New York City carrying a ghetto blaster. Rancid's Lars Fredriksen makes a brief appearance in the video.
To promote the album, Strummer embarked on his first tour in ten years which included his first North American tour since 1989.
A remastered version of the album along with Strummer's other two Hellcat released albums was released as a special 57 song digital download titled Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: The Hellcat Years on 21 August 2012 to celebrate what would have been Strummer's 60th birthday. Hellcat also released each remastered album individually on CD and vinyl on 25 September 2012.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Joe Strummer
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tony Adams" | Joe Strummer, Antony Genn | 6:35 |
| 2. | "Sandpaper Blues" | Joe Strummer, Gary Dyson, Richard Norris | 4:28 |
| 3. | "X-Ray Style" | Joe Strummer | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Techno D-Day" | Joe Strummer, Antony Genn | 4:09 |
| 5. | "The Road to Rock 'n' Roll" | Joe Strummer, Antony Genn | 4:00 |
| 6. | "Nitcomb" | Joe Strummer, Antony Genn | 4:32 |
| 7. | "Diggin' the New" | Joe Strummer, Richard Norris | 3:09 |
| 8. | "Forbidden City" | Joe Strummer | 4:48 |
| 9. | "Yalla Yalla" | Joe Strummer, Pablo Cook, Richard Norris | 6:58 |
| 10. | "Willesden to Cricklewood" | Joe Strummer, Antony Genn | 6:46 |
| Total length: | 49:44 | ||
Personnel
- Joe Strummer - vocals (all tracks), guitar (1-2,4-5,7-8), acoustic guitar (3)
- Antony Genn - guitar (1,3-4,6-8,10), bass (1,3,6), backing vocals (1,4,6-8,10), fresh drum re-wire (1), orphan choir (3), acoustic guitar (5), piano (6,10), extra re-wire beats (8), synthesizer (10), strings (10), programming (10)
- Richard Norris - keyboards (2,7,9), drum programming (2,9), E-bow guitar (9)
- Martin Slattery - saxophone (1), Spanish guitar (3), Wurlitzer (6), Hammond organ (8), melodica (9)
- Scott Shields - bass (4-8), backing vocals (7,9), acoustic guitar (8), guitar (8)
- Pablo Cook - percussion (all tracks but 10), urdhu (3), backing vocals (4), drums (6)
- Steve "Smiley" Barnard - drums (8)
- Dave Stewart - acoustic guitar (2)
- Ged Lynch - drums (4,7)
- Gary Dyson - backing vocals (2), African chant (2)
- B. J. Cole - pedal steel guitar (1,5)
- D.J. Pete B. - scratches (5)
- Technical
- Joe Strummer - mixing
- Antony Genn - mixing, producer
- Richard Norris - producer
- Richard Flack - engineer, mixing
- Ian Tregoning - engineer
- Damien Hirst - cover art
- Streaky Gee - mastering
References
- William Ruhlmann (19 October 1999). "Rock Art and the X-Ray Style - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- Christgau, Robert (15 October 2000). "Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603.
- "Rock Art And The X-Ray Style". NME. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- Dolan, Jon (December 1999). "Reviews". Spin. SPIN Media.
- "20. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Yalla Yalla". Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2014 – via YouTube.
- O'Connor, Christopher (7 June 1999). "Joe Strummer to Play Clash Songs on Club Tour". MTV. Archived from the original on 24 August 2015.
- Cericola, Rachel (21 August 2012). "Hellcat Records Celebrates 60 Years of Joe Strummer With Digital Release". Wired. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012.