numbernine's Full Review: Rock Art and the X-Ray Style by Joe Strummer
You undoubtedly know Joe Strummer from the Clash. Maybe you've never heard of him. It doesn't matter. _Rock Art and the X-Ray Style_ is one of the best albums you'll ever hear. From its crusty reggae opening to its haunting, swirling ending (you'll understand when you hear it), this album is great. It's so great that it's stunning. I'm not sure that I've ever heard anything like it, and that is not such an easy thing to say these days.
There are songs about China's student democracy movement ("Forbidden City," though it's subject is hardly obvious), songs about the Mississippi delta, and songs whose subjects are unclear. In "Nitcomb," which by my best guess is a love song, Joe sings: "And I'm standing at a sale/ of the shoes of bankrupt men/ I just had to buy a pair/ To show life can live again," and then later "these are the finest shoes that were ever sold." This set of lyrics (and the pun contained within) is an example of the way the words, though not always intelligible, are consistently intriguing and often just plain great.
This is a great record--melodically, lyrically--but also in the way that it sounds, in the way that it _feels_. Very highly recommended.
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