Joe Strummer was one of my idols, so I was predisposed to like Streetcore. Thankfully, I have no need to resort to false praise based on misty-eyed sentiment: Streetcore is a rocking, vibrant, joyous album. You couldn’t ask for a better epitaph for a fallen rock ’n’ roll hero.

Strummer’s death last Christmas was a sucker punch to fans everywhere, but word that a posthumous album was on the way offered some comfort. The album was more or less complete at the time of Strummer’s death, and a few months later his wife Lucinda gave the Mescaleros the go ahead to put the final pieces in place. And what terrific final pieces they are. This is the work of a man who just got better and better as time went on.

Streetcore is tighter and more raucous than Strummer’s previous offerings, Rock Art & The X-Ray Style and Global A Go Go. As the cover art suggests, this is music that’s been distilled. The flotsam and jetsam have been removed, and what remains is 100 per cent pure. This music shines, glows, and burns. From high volume ravers ("All In A Day") to rustic, acoustic numbers ("Long Shadow"), Streetcore is musically equivalent to a really good weekend...the kind that happens spontaneously, takes in all the sights, and leaves a smile on your face until next Wednesday. The quiet highlight of Streetcore is "Midnight Jam," an instrumental that features vocal samples from Strummer’s BBC radio show London Calling. It’s a nice portrait of Strummer the hipster, talking his jive talk and dropping the needle on U Roy records to a worldwide audience.

The album concludes with "Silver And Gold," a cover of the old Fats Domino tune. It’s a song about having some fun before time runs out–something that takes on new resonance in the context of Strummer’s death. As I heard him sing "I’ve got to hurry up before I grow too old," it struck me kinda hard that Joe Strummer won’t be growing any older. That’s when I started to cry. Then I hit "play" again and again and again.