Those who doubt the obsessive, unbridled affection Clash mainstay Joe Strummer held for traditional rock and R&B roots need only punch up virtually any track on this infectious collection of live and studio cuts from the 101ers, the raw yet accomplished band Strummer fronted just prior to his punk superstardom. While most such early-catalog excavations are suspicious and often spotty, Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited is a revelatory rush, from the opening blowout of "Letsagetabitarockin'." Many of the tracks rock with the rootsy charm of fellow pub rockers Ducks Deluxe, yet one can hear the later sound of the Clash nearly fully formed on tracks like the blue-beat-seasoned "Sweet Revenge," "Keys to Your Heart," and "Junco Partner." The collection's second half kicks into even higher gear, presenting a generous slate of previously unreleased live workouts that hammer familiar R&B staples like "Shake Your Hips" and "Maybellene" into submission and closing with a frenzied rave-up of Van Morrison and Them's Brit Invasion staple, "Gloria." --Jerry McCulley