BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE - E=MC² {Cherry Red} Could Mick Jones follow something as iconoclastic as THE CLASH with something as bluntly experimental BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE and retain his artistic integrity? When compared with Strummer’s crock of crap ‘Cut The Crap’ CLASH, then he surely did. That said, I never really grasped BAD; I have the first three albums and enjoy the singles but, for me, Jones was always the guitarist in THE CLASH.
So this live show from the early 90s, filmed at London’s Town And Country Club, was a pleasant surprise. It’s from ‘The Globe’ era, so there is no Don Letts adding Roxy cool to it, but the band is tight and very competent at what it does - with the bassist looking a deadringer for Paul Simonon and totally nailing the groove of Jones’ BAD vision. It’s filmed on a multi-camera set-up and boasts good sound with Jones himself sporting long hair, hat and baggy tartan trousers.
Throughout the show Jones is conversational, mixing his dagger sneer with a great deal of smiling but, for the opener, the band kick in immediately with a sample-laden and surprisingly rocking ‘Medicine Show’. Seven tracks follow with highlights being a particularly impressive ‘Other 99’ that prolongs the tone set by CLASH standards like ‘Call Up’ and ‘Train In Vain’, the hit single ‘E=MC²’ that has a harder edge than its studio counterpart, a pulsating ‘Bottom Line’, and ‘The Globe’ that has an E-poppin’ groove and fantastic choppy guitars. Incredibly, the set finishes with a cover of Prince’s ‘1999’ that is given a sneering Brixton brogue as opposed to a Minneapolis mince. It works incredibly well as it swaggers with all the motion of the Westway and is a fitting nod to where Jones could head.
Negatives include a lack of extras - especially when the credits state that the ‘interviews’ were conducted by Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq. What happened to those? The credits also state the show was recorded in September 1992 while the blurb on the disc’s sleeve states 1990. Consistency doesn’t cost anything...
Dunno how often I’ll return to this but, for those who skeptically dismissed the band, it may provide Jones with enough rope to regain himself a bit of artistic credibility.

Hit HERE for material reviewed prior to 2009 including:
BAD BRAINS, BAD RELIGION, TIM BARRY, BUZZCOCKS