Personnel: Joe Strummer (vocals); Roger Daltrey (vocals); Martin Slattery (guitar, hammer dulcimer, flute, accordion, melodica, saxophone, Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer, background vocals); Scott Shields (guitar, drums, bongos, bells, loops, background vocals); Tymon Dogg (acoustic guitar, Spanish guitar, mandolin, violin); Antony Genn (strings, loops); Pablo Cook (drums, congas, bongos, bodhran, glass armonica, guiro, shaker, tambourine, percussion, bells); Richard Flack (cymbals, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Roger Daltrey.

Recording information: Battery Studios, London, England.

Photographer: Bob Gruen.

Arranger: Mescaleros.

In many ways, it's easiest to appreciate Joe Strummer's album Global a Go-Go if you forget that it was made by Joe Strummer. This isn't meant to insult the music in question, which is often engaging and always passionate, or suggest that it doesn't bear any significant signs of Strummer's personality; if you loved the syllable-drenched wordplay of songs like "The Magnificent Seven," "Lightning Strikes," or "Car Jamming," you're in for a treat, because here you get nearly a whole album of it. But if you're expecting the former leader of the Clash to be backed by two guitars, bass, and drums and playing something easily recognizable as rock & roll -- not a difficult assumption to make -- then you're flat out of luck. Best described as eccentric internationalist folk-rock, Global a Go-Go is dominated by acoustic instruments (Tymon Dogg, the fiddler from the Clash's "Loose This Skin," is all over this album like a pillowcase) and a wild gumbo of flavors from Africa, Latin America, and the West Indies, and while a few tunes have a prominent electric guitar (particularly "Cool 'n' Out"), most do not. And if you're hoping for lots of punk-wise sloganeering from the usually provocative Mr. Strummer, there isn't a great deal of that, either, though it's obvious from the Dylanesque density of his wordplay that Strummer's got a lot on his mind, and the one-world perspective that shines throughout is food for thought in itself, especially on the tasty "Bhindi Bhagee" and the globetrotting title cut. And while the epic instrumental "Minstrel Boy" wouldn't lead you to imagine it's the work of one of the great icons of punk rock, it at least proves Strummer is willing to mess with his audience's expectations, which is a very punk rock thing to do. Global a Go-Go is an intelligent and uniquely absorbing record, but listening to it is like eating sushi or escargot for the first time -- knowing what it is might shape your expectations in the wrong direction. ~ Mark Deming

Even when he was leading the Clash, Joe Strummer always incorporated his interest in disparate musical styles into his work. 20 years down the road, he's achieved enough distance from the Clash to express himself fully and freely, so GLOBAL A GO-GO is Strummer's most stylistically diverse offering to date. The album opens with the American folk motifs of "Johnny Appleseed" before moving on to the churning, funky "Cool 'N' Out." The title tune combines hypnotic trip-hop keyboards, reggae guitar, and percolating percussion to celebrate the joys of international communication. "Bhindi Bhagee" successfully combines electronica beats with Eastern tonalities.

"Gamma Ray" is a surreal Cuban-style slow-burner that recalls the Latin Playboys. "Mondo Bongo" and "Shaktar Donetsk" sound like excerpts from a film noir soundtrack set somewhere in Morocco. The album closes with the epic 17-minutes-plus "Minstrel Boy," a folkish selection filled with atmospheric fiddle and acoustic guitar, nearly all instrumental. It continues the soundtrack-like feeling achieved by the earlier cuts, and leaves the listener flouting on a cloud of hazy Celtic mist. Throughout the album, Strummer evinces his trademark socio-political awareness in the lyrics, but he sounds much less angry than in punk's glory days. Sometimes maturity can work for you.