Big Audio Dynamite II – The Globe

Many people know the thing with The Beatles  where John was the smart one, Ringo was the dumb one, Paul was the Pretty one, and George was the quiet one. This became a stereotype for all Boy bands. I think a similar effect occurred with The Clash that has become the stereotype for all critical darling bands that start indie and then get huge. In this setup, Joe Strummer was the political one, Paul Simonon was the pretty one (those Pauls I tell ya), Mic Jones was the ugly one, and Topper Hedon was the one that will break up the band. In this setup I have always kind of felt bad for Mic Jones. He is also the one whose considerable talents will always be overlooked because he is neither pretty nor political, but did a lot of the groundwork that made the band function.

An anecdote to illustrate. Before Joe strummer joined the band it had already existed for a few years, consisting of the rump of the late great London SS, and seeking new direction. In this time Mic Jones had written many of the songs that would end up on the self titled first album. One of these songs was about his ex girlfriend. By itself it was a mean spirited it largely unpretentious little punk song. After Joe Strummer joined he listened to the song and said ‘forget all that, we are rewriting “I’m So Bored With You” as “I’m So Bored With The USA.” In one fell swoop Joe Strummer gave the band direction, political purpose, and energy. And so everyone reveres him. But it was Mic Jones song, and it was his melodies, rhythms, and arrangements that made it a good song. Joe Strummer just did the lyrics attitude and energy.

Which is most important? I can‘t tell you. I think most great bands are at their core made up of such great songwriting teams who are able to work together, realizing that ego isn‘t as important and creating something great, and both parties bring something special to the table. The band falls apart when egos get in the way of this dynamic. Ultimately, with The Clash, Mic Jones started becoming a bit of a premadonna, which I think was a bit of ego getting in his way, and a bit of the machinations of The Clash’s admittedly evil manager, Bernie Rhodes, the Al Gore of punk rock.

Less well known is that both Strummer and Jones had important pre and post Clash careers. Pre Clash, both were in influential proto punk or pub rock bands. Jones in the aforementioned London SS, and Strummer in the 101ers. After The Clash, Strummer made a few abortive attempts at forming bands, but mostly focused on soundtracks and raising his family until 1999 when he formed The Mescaleros, which is one of my favorite things about reality. Jones went strait from the Clash to form General Public, which rules, and then Big Audio Dynamite with former Clash collaborator Don Letts, who is kind of a god in his own right. Inevitably, Big Audio Dynamite broke up and was reformed by Jones as Big Audio Dynamite II. This was kind of a lame thing to do I guess, but the first album under the new lineup broke immediately, gave Jones his biggest post Clash hits, and was then more or less forgotten by everyone. Poor Mic Jones.

I can kind of see why when I listen to it. The album came out in 1991, and more or less consisted of Jones taking the band back away from the sample heavy dance music which had been their calling card, back into a more rock focused direction. In so doing he, perhaps inadvertently,  bridged the gap between the increasingly important electro scene of England and the more conventional tastes of the international (American) pop chart.

The result is hardly unique, inspiring, or brilliant. But Mic Jones is a brilliant arranger, and can write catchy tunes that people will enjoy. I don’t think this is a bad thing, and the album is decidedly fun. Its definitely an early experiment in fusing electro with rock, and so contains some bubblegum and cello tape song structures. Perfect example: in the breakout hit Rush, about two thirds of the way through the song, the music stops so a serious toned announcer can deliver a snippet of a lecture on music theory. Its an…odd choice. More fun for music nerds, you can sometimes hear pops where samples were spliced using old overdubbing equipment. Definitely an album best enjoyed through a good sound system.

So that’s basically the album. It’s definitely a good album considering the time period, way more listenable than, say, that Black Grape crap fest from a few weeks back. Mic Jones is a talented songwriter and it shows, though this is maybe not startlingly original. It is fun, engaging, and full of Easter eggs for fans of his, including a remix of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” as the title track. A fun little album. As a side note, the album art contains several images which serve to show Mic Jones slide from being the ugly member