Early Joe Strummer/101ers Material to Be ReleasedJames Gregory reports:
In one of the most interesting archival reissues in recent years, the lone studio LP from Joe Strummer's pre-Clash group, the 101ers, is currently being prepped for an expanded CD release on June 14 through Astralwerks. According to a label press release, Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited will include the band's long out-of-print Elgin Avenue Breakdown, as well as eight previously unreleased live and studio recordings. The upcoming 21-track album offers the 101ers entire studio output on a single disc, and marks the first time this much-bootlegged music has been available (legitimately) on CD.
While only having a brief mid-70s lifespan (roughly 1974-76), the 101ers showcased a gritty r&b influenced incarnation of what would soon evolve into the punk prototype, playing a collection of bar band rock covers alongside fiery Strummer originals like "Keys to Your Heart" (the band's only released single), and "Lonely Mother's Son"-- which later morphed into the Clash classic "Jail Guitar Doors". As Strummer once said of his years with the 101ers: "The thrill of discovering old blues numbers and playing them to people and making them groove-- to us it was new and exciting. Eventually we got skilled enough to be probably the second-best rhythm and blues group in West London."
Strummer had long planned to resurrect the album for CD, which originally saw a limited release of only 2,000 vinyl copies in 1981, but passed away in late 2002 before the project could be assembled. Overseeing this release of Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited are Strummer's widow, and former 101ers drummer Richard Norther (who later joined Public Image Ltd.).
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-04/19.shtml
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