Rock Art and the X-Ray Style

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{More citations needed|date=May 2014}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Rock Art and the X-Ray Style

| type = Album

| artist = Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros

| cover = Strummerxray.jpg

| alt =

| released = 18 October 1999

| recorded = 1999

| venue =

| studio = Battery Studios, Willesden, London

| genre = Alternative rock

| length = 49:44

| label = HellCat

| producer = Antony Genn, Richard Norris

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Global a Go-Go

| next_year = 2001

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Rock Art & The X-Ray Style

| type = studio

| single1 = Yalla Yalla

| single1date =

| single2 = Tony Adams

| single2date =

}}

}}

{{Album ratings

|rev1 = Allmusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|author=William Ruhlmann |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/rock-art-and-the-x-ray-style-mw0000256179 |title=Rock Art and the X-Ray Style - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |website=AllMusic |date=19 October 1999 |access-date=2014-05-20}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Consumer Guide

|rev2score = {{rating-Christgau|neither}}{{Cite book |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |chapter=Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros |chapter-url=http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=3837&name=Joe+Strummer+and+the+Mescaleros |date=15 October 2000 |publisher=Macmillan Publishing |isbn=9780312245603 |language=en |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/christgausconsum00chri_0 }}

|rev3 = NME

|rev3score = 5/10{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-nme-1478 |title=Rock Art And The X-Ray Style |website=NME |language=en-US |access-date=2018-01-06}}

|rev4 = Spin

|rev4score = 5/10{{Cite magazine |last=Dolan |first=Jon |date=December 1999 |title=Reviews |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJbW_6l-uRUC&pg=PT3 |magazine=Spin |language=en |publisher=SPIN Media}}

}}

Rock Art and the X-Ray Style is the debut album by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, released on 18 October 1999. This album featured the band in its first incarnation: Joe Strummer and Antony Genn on guitar and vocals, Martin Slattery playing keyboards and guitar, Steve "Smiley" Barnard on drums, Pablo Cook on other percussion instruments, and Scott Shields on bass. Richard Flack also did engineering on the album.

The record marked Strummer's re-emergence from a long absence in the music scene, his last record being 1989's Earthquake Weather, a decade earlier. The album begins with "Tony Adams," a track which sounds not unlike Strummer's previous work with The Clash. Saxophone riffs are juxtaposed with reggae inspired guitar, as Strummer recites lyrics detailing a catastrophe hitting New York City. The rest of the record takes a winding journey, with songs that capture Strummer's genre mixing. "Sandpaper Blues" features hand drums and African chanting, "Techno D-Day" dabbles in electronic instruments, while "Road to Rock and Roll," another song written by Strummer for Johnny Cash combines acoustic guitar with turntables and electronic drums. "Yalla Yalla" Strummer himself once described as "an ancient British folk song....written in the year 1999."{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g62JX32gnpY&feature=rec-fresh+div-f-4-hml |title=20. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Yalla Yalla. |via=YouTube |access-date=2014-05-20 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113060355/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g62JX32gnpY&feature=rec-fresh+div-f-4-hml }} The song is rich in layers, which includes keyboards, synths, bass, drums, and a guitar with endless sustain (likely provided via an e-bow). The song "Tony Adams" was named after the football player of the same name.

"Yalla Yalla" and "Tony Adams" were both released as singles with music videos shot for each. The video for "Tony Adams" features Strummer walking down the street of New York City carrying a ghetto blaster. Rancid's Lars Fredriksen makes a brief appearance in the video.

To promote the album, Strummer embarked on his first tour in ten years which included his first North American tour since 1989.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/515068/joe-strummer-to-play-clash-songs-on-club-tour/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824160627/http://www.mtv.com/news/515068/joe-strummer-to-play-clash-songs-on-club-tour/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 August 2015 |title=Joe Strummer to Play Clash Songs on Club Tour |work=MTV |first=Christopher |last=O'Connor |date=7 June 1999}}

A remastered version of the album along with Strummer's other two Hellcat released albums was released as a special 57 song digital download titled Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: The Hellcat Years on 21 August 2012 to celebrate what would have been Strummer's 60th birthday. Hellcat also released each remastered album individually on CD and vinyl on 25 September 2012.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/08/new-joe-strummer-album/ |first=Rachel |last=Cericola |date=21 August 2012 |title=Hellcat Records Celebrates 60 Years of Joe Strummer With Digital Release |magazine=Wired |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825022005/http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/08/new-joe-strummer-album/ |archive-date=25 August 2012 }}