Life Is Wild

Album: Cut The Crap (1985)
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Songfacts®:

  • The lyrics to "Life Is Wild" are particularly confusing and don't appear to make much sense, except for attempting to convey a sense that life is, indeed, wild (and free, judging by the chorus). The repeated line "Has anyone got a cigarette?" seems to be a repeated request from the narrator, and the vibe appears to be one of just hanging out with "kindred spirits" who don't want to go home ("Ho! Your car is a total wreck and I just can't go back home").
  • This song suffers like many of its fellow Cut the Crap tracks with poor production and bad levels - notice how the raucous gang vocals in the chorus are too low in the mix, as are the attempted samples in the bridge of excited football commentaries.

    Singer Joe Strummer made it very clear in the years after Cut the Crap's release that manager Bernie Rhodes had completely taken over the mixing and production duties by this stage (under the pseudonym "Jose Unidos," trying to imply that it was a group effort between the band and Rhodes, although the band members made it very clear in interviews that it was almost all Rhodes' production). It was even speculated by Strummer in an unused interview for the Last Gang in Town biography that Rhodes wanted Mick Jones fired from the group so he could replace him as songwriter and producer and take control of the music more. Nonetheless, Cut the Crap proves that Rhodes was many things, but not a record producer.

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