GLOBAL A GO-GO

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.