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Joe Strummer had become friendly with filmmaker Alex Cox when Strummer contributed some songs to the soundtrack of Cox's movie InchSid and NancyInch. In 1987, when Cox began filming his ambitious film about the life of American mercenary William Walker, he brought Strummer along to play a small role in the film and compose the score. Strummer's music turned out to be just as ambitious as the film itself; InchWalkerInch bears almost no resemblance to Strummer's work with The Clash, instead aiming for an airy fusion of several Latin musical styles. Strummer only sings on three cuts InchThe Unknown ImmortalInch, InchTennessee RainInch and InchTropic of No ReturnInch, which sound more like Mexican folk tunes than anything else. Strummer obviously took his assignment seriously and rather than forcing a period piece set in 1850 to bend to the force of his music, he pulled back on his rock influences and fashioned a series of simple but evocative pieces that conjure up the mystery and beauty of Nicaragua with commendable sense of dynamics and grace. In short, Strummer could have become a first-rate film composer if he'd stuck with it, and while Walker is something of an anomaly in his discography, it's also a lovely and engaging set of music. Album Tracks 1. Filibustero 2. Omotepe 3. Sandstorm 4. Machete 5. Viperland 6. Nica Libre 7. Latin Romance 8. The Unknown Immortal 9. Musket Waltz 10. The Brooding Side of Madness 11. Tennessee Rain 12. Smash Everything 13. Tropic of No Return 14. Tropic of Pico 15. Straight Shooter 16. Brooding Six 17. Filibustero (Freestyle Mix)
