A 4-disc collection of rarities from late Clash guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Strummer is coming out on Friday (September 28). Today, another pre-release single from the collection, entitled Joe Strummer 001, has been released: a Clash demo from their final, Mick-Jones-less 1985 album Cut the Crap. It’s an acerbic early version of “This is England” entitled “Czechoslovak Song / Where is England.” The recording reclaims “This Is England”‘s standalone glory as one of that generally dismissed album’s stronger songs, and offers some appealing context for Clash fans. Joe Strummer 001 is set to include some other early-to-mid-’80s Clash material as well. Previously, we’ve heard two other tracks from the compilation: Strummer’s 1993 Celtic-infused film-soundtrack one-off “Rose of Erin” and the early-2000s Mescaleros outtake “London is Burning.” Listen to “Czechoslovak Song / Where is England,” which features bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Pete Howard backing up Strummer, below.
