Global a Go-Go

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hellcat Records
• ASIN: B00005M98E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,186 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Johnny Appleseed

2. Cool 'N' Out

3. Global A Go-Go

4. Bhindi Bhagee

5. Gamma Ray

6. Mega Bottle Ride

7. Shaktar Donetsk

8. Mondo Bongo

9. Bummed Out City

10. At The Border, Guy

11. Minstrel Boy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Work from One of the Great Ones, May 14, 2004

By 

Juan Mobili (Valley Cottage, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Global a Go-Go (Audio CD)

My father, a poet and an artist on his own right, used to say that there was a "first row "and a "second row" for artists of any discipline. His theory was that, whether it's literature, sculpture or music, people will emerge who will redefine their medium, push their artistic form beyond its present atmosphere, and then there man, many more, extremely capable writers or composers whose work was important but not seminal, not worthy of the first row. I guess my dad was speaking of what B.H. Fairchild called "the difference between talent and genius." Well I think my father's notion certainly has applied, for a long time, to contemporary popular music. I grew up touched -shaped, really- by people like Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Caetano Veloso, Ellington, Joni Mitchell. This is the work of the first row, to be a lifelong catalyst for your times. Joe Strummer belongs in the same first row too. In some way, I feel that this album materializes Joe's lifelong vision bringing forth punk and world, accordions and electric guitars, politics and art, social justice and killer grooves. "Mondo Bongo" is a Strummer ballad, heartfelt, slow, perfect for Joe's mature voice. "At The Border, Guy" should be called "at the edge" with its Rock-n-Reggae. "Gamma Ray" and "Mega Bottle Ride" are precious stones, etched off Latin and Punk, like a working class Jimmy Buffet with something important to say. Global A Go-Go is immense fun but not a Disney ride, his politics just as radical but maturing into a sharper artistic edge.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A logical extension of X-Ray Style, July 25, 2001

By 

punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Global a Go-Go (Audio CD)

If you bought Rock Art & The X-Ray Style in 1999 (or even 1989's Earthquake Weather) you should know what you're getting with this CD. Take the world-music component of Strummer's recent work and diversify it a bit, with much emphasis on Middle-Eastern and Far-Eastern flavors. This time around, the songs are a little more sedate, a little more mature, with some very lush arrangements replacing the sometimes sterile sound of the previous album. More acoustic work is heard on this one, less dance-oriented material, more everything-and-the-kitchen-sink type approaches to the music. And it works like magic.

Just a warning: this is NOT the Clash. I still think that there are people who will pick this up expecting to hear Clampdown II, well you won't find it. But if you are forsaking Strummer for staking out his own territory, and continuing to push his own musical boundaries, well... I feel sorry for you. You are missing out on some of his best work.

This is powerful stuff and further solidifies the theory that Joe is simply not capable of disappointing us. He seems to really be into the songs on this album.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The light has dimmed, but the legacy will shine.........., September 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Global a Go-Go (Audio CD)

Awaiting the release of Streetcore and as a regular listener to Rock Art etc, I thought that I should investigate Global a Go Go....Amazing, exciting, provocative and downright melodic this will prove to be one of my Playlist favourites. There's still plenty of north London wit on display as well as the global eclecticism that was setting Joe up as a valuable contributor to all that is accessible in new World Music.....the balance of street hardened sneer in Joe's voice offset by the pleading yell for a better world makes this package an inspirational sound collage. So cruel that Streetcore will be an epitaph to a voice that has been dimmed by the Creator......the musical legacy will surely attract, entertain and inspire for decades to come. A must for anybody who appreciates intelligent, beautifully crafted music