CD Odyssey Disc 674: The Clash

Greetings, gentle reader! It’s been almost a week since I did a blog entry – did you wonder where I was? Perhaps you thought I was on another holiday in Italy? Nope – I was just reviewing a behemoth of a record, and it took a whole week to listen to the damned thing.

Before I get to that, I want to give a shout out to my friend and fellow music enthusiast, Randall. In the wee hours I’ve often waxed poetic with Randall about my love for Blue Oyster Cult, and emboldened by his interest, I decided to pass along a list of my favourite tracks.

Not only did Randall listen to all the music, he listened to it multiple times, and then gave a thoughtful review of my selections, and Blue Oyster Cult in general. You can read it all at his blog right here. I was really touched that he took the time to get to know a band that has meant so much to me over the years. Thanks, Randall!

Disc 674 is…. Sandinista!

Artist: The Clash

Year of Release: 1980

What’s up with the Cover? The band stands in front of a brick wall, looking very urban and austere…or painfully out of place. I wouldn’t be surprised if after the photo was taken they were all mugged. Sadly, the thieves did not steal the satchels full of songs they ended up putting on “Sandinista!”

How I Came To Know It: There is a guy who works across the hall from me (let’s call him “Tom,” since that’s his name). He also likes music and sometimes we shoot the breeze about it. Turns out he likes the Clash as well, so I asked him what his favourite album was – he surprised me by saying “Sandinista!” I didn’t own it, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

How It Stacks Up:  Let’s just say I wasn’t impressed with Tom’s selection. I have six Clash albums and “Sandinista!” is easily the worst. Here’s the full list, since I’ve once again finished reviewing my Clash collection.

1.  London Calling:  5 stars (reviewed at Disc 258)
2. Self-Titled:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 256)
3. Black Market Clash:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 16)
4. Give ‘Em Enough Rope:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 227)
5. Combat Rock:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 474).
6. Sandinista: 2 stars (reviewed right here).

Rating:  2 stars

More is not always better. When you decide to put every idea you come up with in the studio on a single record without any editing you don’t get a modern classic, you get a bloated mess – and that’s what “Sandinista!” is; a triple album (yes, triple) with 36 songs that should have been an EP with eight.

The album starts out very promising with the opening track “The Magnificent Seven” delivering one of the best funky bass-lines in music. Bassist Paul Simonon is never better, not even on later classics like “Overpowered by Funk.” Strummer’s rhythmic singing here is proto-rap, and totally works.

Whither the rest of the album? Unfortunately, a long descent into self-congratulatory excess.

Stylistically, the record is all over the place – punk, rock, jazz and a whole lot of reggae and dub. This is not automatically a bad thing – an album with range can be a good thing. However, when you have three albums and 36 songs it slowly becomes loose and directionless. It was like they were committed to doing it all on one record, without realizing some of it wasn’t worth doing at all.

The very next track after the magnificent “Magnificent Seven” is the sugary pop song, “Hitsville UK.” It has a bass line that sounds like it was inspired by “Mama’s little baby loves shortnin’ bread” but with less seriousness. I think the Clash intended this song to be a critique of these kinds of songs, but when you stray this close to the line, you become the monster you’re trying to mock.

I could go on, but frankly I don’t have time to explain why I don’t like the songs on this album – there’s too damned many of them. Here’s a few highlights, though, since you did come here to read about music.

“If Music Could Talk” features a directionless jazz saxophone, with the boys kind-of-sort-of talking over top of it about music. This song proves that just because music can talk doesn’t mean it’ll have anything meaningful to say.

Other songs have weird dialogue intros and outros, like on “Let’s Go Crazy” which would be a pretty cool song with Caribbean drum beats (yes, “Sandinista!” has those as well). However, I don’t want to listen to some goofy rant every time I listen to this song.

And the true low is the use of kids singing for no apparent reason. At the end of the already rambling song “Broadway” we have a little kid singing “Guns of Brixton” and doing his best to wreck it for me. Later, they repeat the error with a grade-school remake of “Career Opportunities.” It felt like I was trapped at a small town variety show.

Also it bears repeating: seriously, guys – a triple album? What the hell?

The Clash have great musicianship and loads of talent and there are plenty of good tracks as well on “Sandinista!” “Something About England” is thoughtful and catchy social commentary. “Corner Soul” captures the magic of pop crossing with punk that they did so well on their first album and “London Calling.” The reggae inspired songs show an honest love for that style, and the Clash do it well (although a lot of these tracks suffer from weird dialogue pieces noted above).

I’ll keep this album because the good songs are very good, but they can’t hold the album up on their own. The bottom line is there’s just too much musical masturbation to get through to find them.

According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong), “Sandinista!” is the highest charting album in Canada out of the Clash’s entire collection, making it to number three. That’s higher than “Combat Rock,” and “London Calling” (both of which peaked at #12. What the hell were you thinking, Canada?

Best tracks:   The Magnificent Seven, Something About England, Corner Soul, The Sound of Sinners, Police on My Back, The Call Up, Washington Bullets, Lose this Skin

CD Odyssey Disc 474: The Clash

This has been a long week, principally because our shower isn’t working.  I’m just not much of a bath guy.  It takes too long to run one, you’re never fully submerged and let’s face it, washing your hair in the tub is awkward.

Ah well, at least there’s music.

Disc 474 is…Combat Rock

Artist: The Clash

Year of Release: 1982

What’s up with the Cover?  Just a bunch of ne’er-do-wells hanging out at the railway tracks.  One band member commits the cardinal sin of wearing his own band’s shirt.  It is not cool to wear your own band’s shirt – only other bands.

How I Came To Know It:  As I’ve said before, Sheila put me on to the Clash in general.  When I met her, she had this album and “London Calling.”

How It Stacks Up:  We have five Clash albums (as I was recently reminded we are still missing “Sandanista”).  Of the five I must put “Combat Rock” last, or fifth.  Truth hurts.  Since this is my last Clash review until I get Sandanista, it is customary that I quickly recap and rate what has come before.  So in order of preference:

1.  London Calling:  5 stars (reviewed at Disc 258)
2. Self-Titled:  4 stars (reviewed at Disc 256)
3. Black Market Clash:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 16)
4. Give ‘Em Enough Rope:  3 stars (reviewed at Disc 227)
5. Combat Rock:  3 stars (reviewed right here).

Rating:  3 stars, but just barely

Even a band as influential and amazing as the Clash was bound to lay an egg, and “Combat Rock” is that egg.  The record has enough high points to still be good in places, but overall this was a disappointment.

“Combat Rock” sees the bad continue with their experimentation with other genres.  This I approve of in their career overall, but just because it is a good idea generally doesn’t mean it always works out.

It starts out strong, with the very punk “Know Your Rights” – a song that has me wishing every public service announcement had guitar.  Sadly, few do.

One of the challenges I have with this album is that two of the songs were unavoidable in 1982, and weren’t good enough to stand that kind of exposure.  “Should I Stay or Should I Go” is particularly annoying.  It is catchy enough the first time you hear it, but at its core it is simply a novelty hit like so many others.  From the first time I heard it I knew it was destined to be overplayed and then sung off-key by drunks at karaoke bars for the next thirty years.  This has well and truly wrecked it as a song, and it just isn’t musically interesting enough to recover.

“Rock the Casbah” also got a bad case of overplay in the day (and the video of the Clash prancing about the desert is truly stupid) but it is at least a better song.  It may just be a pop song, but it is a pretty catchy pop song.  While this one used to annoy me in the day, sufficient time has elapsed that this time around I found it was relatively rehabilitated.

Many of the other songs take the band in strange directions, including jazz influences and even what sounds like early attempts at spoken word resembling a kind of English proto-rap.  Unfortunately, Strummer isn’t really suited to that, and his attempts at catch-phrasing his way through a beat make him sound more like a soccer hooligan than a rap artist.

The worst example of this is “Red Angel Dragnet” where he sounds like he was taught to speak by the kids who rescue Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  Also weak is “Ghetto Defendant” which starts out with a promising relaxed reggae beat, but starts doing a weird techno-rap non-sequiturs like:

“Do the worm on necropolis

Slam dance cosmopolis

Enlighten the populace.”

It made me think of the 1927 movie “Metropolis” but not in the good way I usually do.

For all this criticism, there are some standout tracks on “Combat Rock” that lift the quality of the overall album, even although most of them were not well known outside of diehard Clash fans.

“Overpowered by Funk” is a fine display of funk guitar and bass that show the Clash are far more than a pop punk act.  For all their other failed experimentation on this album (the unlistenable jazz/folk fusion of “Sean Flynn” comes to mind), “Overpowered by Funk” really works, and dare I say it, overpowers you with funk.  It is easy to see how Strummer and Mick Jones would go on to form the dance-hall friendly Big Audio Dynamite when you hear this song.  It is fun, cheeky and makes you want to get up and move your hips.

My favourite song on the album by a wide margin is “Straight to Hell,” a reggae inspired dirge about the hopelessness of the underclasses both in the rusted out industrial cities of England and the less-than-utopian third world communist state of Vietnam.  Joe Strummer’s vocals have never sounded so raw or heartfelt on this song, which for all of “Combat Rock’s” other shortcomings, is one of my all-time favourite Clash songs.

I think part of my disappointment with “Combat Rock” is how much more I enjoy the other records by the Clash.  This one suffers by comparison, but that doesn’t make it bad.  It just makes it merely good, when I wanted it to be more than good.

Best tracks:  Know Your Rights, Rock the Casbah, Straight to Hell, Overpowered by Funk

CD Odyssey Disc 258: The Clash

I had serious thoughts about giving up on the Odyssey this week. Blogspot has done some kind of code changes, and it has made posting something as simple as a paragraph an exercise in html programming. This is not what I signed on for.

Fortunately, the next album helped make up for it. So here I sit, a little electronically frustrated, and a little sore (I'm just back from the tattoo parlour), but ready to carry on in the name of music.

Disc 258 is...London Calling

Artist: The Clash

Year of Release:1979

What’s Up With The Cover?: This is a great cover. It is a take off on Elvis Presley's debut album from 1956. On that cover, Elvis is playing the guitar in a black and white shot with the words "Elvis Presley" in the same location as "London Calling" on this record. Of course, the Clash aren't playing their guitars - they are smashing them. It is a shout out to Elvis - but it is also a challenge being issued to mothers across the land - rock and roll has grown a new level of attitude.

How I Came To Know It: I had heard a few songs off of this record over the years, but it was Sheila that put me on to it - it is one of her favourite records, and it is easy to understand why.

How It Stacks Up: We have five Clash albums - I'd say this is the best, so let's just end the suspense and crown their ass, already! (Thank you, Denis Green).

Rating: 5 stars.

I just finished reviewing the Clash' debut album two albums ago and here we are again. As statistical anomalies go, this has been an enjoyable one.

"London Calling" is quite simply, one of the greatest rock records ever made. A modern day classic that thirty years later, has lost none of its edge.

It is actually two of the greatest rock records ever made. While the miracle of CD technology has all nineteen tracks on one dic, the original release was a double album. Releasing nineteen songs is usually a recipe for mediocrity (or at the very least a verbal lashing at the hands of the Creative Maelstrom), but this album sails a perfect course through the seas of excess, and never gets wet.

I think a big part of the record's strength comes from its variety. There are pop songs like "Lost in the Supermarket" and "Train in Vain", rock songs like "London Calling" and "Clampdown" and reggae flavoured songs like "Rudie Can't Fail". Every one of them is a classic.

Putting all these styles in one room could have seemed crowded, but despite the number of songs, and the number of styles everything fits. It is like the musical equivalent of an overcrowded club, where everyone is having a good time, and no one spills anyone else's drink.

I once spilled a guy's drink at an old club called The Drawing Room and even after I replaced it, he still wanted to cause trouble. Naturally, I replied with even more fervent apologies until he eventually realized there was no fight to be had. I did this was for two reasons. First, I am a naturally happy drunk and second - dude was huge. But I digress...

Back to "London Calling" which is also sometimes belligerent, but never to the listener. There is one section of the album - which I assume would be side 2 of the first album and side 1 of the second, (starting at "Lost in The Supermarket" and ending with "Death of Glory") which represents one of the best five song runs I've heard.

"Lost in the Supermarket" gets you started, a song that takes the early childhood memory we all have of being lost in a large grocery or department store, and transfers that alienation and fear to a commentary on suburbia:

"I wasn't born so much as I fell out/Nobody seemed to notice me/We had a hedge back home in the suburbs/Over which I never could see."

This moves to adulthood, with "Clampdown" a song about selling out, working in a job you hate, but doing it anyway. A song that unpleasantly reminds us the person best suited in this life to sell you out is yourself.

From there, we move to a song about the hard choice of not selling out in the face of a totalitarian regime, with "Guns of Brixton" which begins with the ominous lines:

"When they kick down your front door, how you gonna come?/With your hands on your head, or on the trigger of your gun?"

From there, we go to "Wrong 'Em Boyo" that reminds us that even in dire straits, we must not hurt our own - yet features the story of two thieves that do exactly that.

Finally, we come to "Death or Glory" that reminds us these two things ultimately become 'just another story'. It may be a disheartening song, but it has long been one of my favourites on "London Calling" - with its driving guitar, and pounding drum, it was the right key into this old metalhead's heart.

Every one of these songs is a classic in its own right, and they come at you one after the other, with no respite. The themes are stark - often evoking class or generational warfare, but they are wrapped in melodies and arrangements so beautiful, you might not even notice their themese if you aren't listening closely.

There are a host of other great tracks on "London Calling" but time and space preclude me from gushing over all of them. I'll just say that if you're wondering why it took so long for this last review to post it wasn't just that I've been busy, or that the record is a little long - it is because I've enjoyed having it in my car, and in no hurry to take it out. When this whole Odyssey thing is over, it'll be back in there, early and often.

Best tracks: All tracks, except maybe "The Card Cheat" but only because the beginning of the chorus always reminds me of that Harlequin song, Innocence ("Innocence - that's all you ever plead" etc.). Particular favourites are Jimmy Jazz, Rudie Can't Fail, Lost In The Supermarket, Clampdown, The Guns of Brixton, Wrong 'Em Boyo, Death or Glory, and Train In Vain.

CD Odyssey Disc 256: The Clash

I spent today racing all over the place, and as a result this next disc got many consecutive listens - which in this case was a good thing.

Disc 256 is...The Clash (Self-Titled)
Artist: The Clash

Year of Release: 1977

What’s Up With The Cover?: A very young looking band photo, as they each try their best to strike a dangerous pose, because punk is dangerous, man.

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced to The Clash more generally by my lovely wife Sheila, but this particular album was introduced to me by my buddy Nick, who not only played it for me a few times over the years, but bought it for me for my birthday. Thanks, Nick!

How It Stacks Up: We have all five Clash albums, and this one is pretty damned solid. I'm going to put it just behind "London Calling" and so - 2nd.

Rating: 4 stars, but almost 5.

Certain bands are just ahead of their time, and the Clash is one of those bands. Nowhere is this more evident than on their debut album.

This record came out in 1976/77, and introduced an unprepared world to a new aspect of rock and roll - punk. The sound of The Clash's debut is as fresh today as it was thirty-five years ago.

Earlier today I was listening to it in the car with Sheila (not to worry - I had already listened to it alone, so no rules broken). Every second song, I'd ask her, 'was this one a hit?' and each time she'd say no. It is amazing how many great songs on this record are famous only because people know this record - not because some soulless record exec released it on AM radio.

My version is the US 1979 release, which has a few different tracks - notably my version includes "I Fought The Law" and "Clash City Rockers", two awesome songs released as EPs or singles in England, that I'm glad to have. This whole US/UK version thing seems fairly common in the 1970s. I wonder who determines just what each audience is going to like? Probably, the US version is just an effort to add in a few more hits from other sources, to make the record more palatable to an audience that would be less familiar with the band.

Back to the record which is raw punk, that rarely takes its foot off the accelerator. Songs like "White Riot", "London's Burning" and "Career Opportunities" paint an angry picture of urban England, where police clash with punks, and angry citizens raise active insurrection against the establishment.

In other songs, the Clash show their reggae side to good effect, particularly "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" and the awesome "Police and Thieves". "Police and Thieves" puts a new twist on the civil disobedience theme, but this time from the viewpoint of the terrified citizens trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Most songs on this album are typical of punk in their brevity. "Police and Thieves" is a glorious six minutes of reggae beat, and I loved every moment of it.

Because they were so innovative in the punk genre, the Clash often get pigeon-holed as only a punk band, but this record shows that from the very beginning, they were a band with a lot of range. Reggae, hard rock, and even catchy pop melodies all mix in with the new punk sound.

They are also often compared with the shouty and pointless Sex Pistols as the founders of punk rock, but beyond the requisite anger, the Pistols aren't even in the same league. The Clash are first and foremost musicians, the Pistols are just punks - frankly I can't stand most of what they do.

As an example, we need look no further than how their songs are remade. The Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" is more famous for its angry message, than its skillful delivery. Megadeth's version updates the song so well, it is the only one I ever want to hear any more, even though it's the only remake of the track I know.

Comparatively, "I Fought The Law" is one of the most remade songs going - originally done in 1959 by the Crickets. Since then a number of great acts have taken the song on and made it their own, including stellar versions by Johnny Cash and the Dead Kennedys. But who's do we remember the most? The Clash's version from this record, of course - in fact I thought it was a Clash song until I looked it up online - that is how thoroughly they own the song.

The Clash's debut album will always lie in the shadow of "London Calling" and that is a shame. If you were to only own two Clash albums, this should be one of them. Sadly, most people end up going the way of "Combat Rock", which is OK, but quite simply not at the same level.

Best tracks: So many, but let's go Clash City Rockers, I'm So Bored with USA, White Riot, London's Burning, I Fought The Law, Janie Jones, Career Opportunities, Police and Thieves.

CD Odyssey Disc 227: The Clash

I got through this next album in a single drive home - proof that for every seventies album with long, drawn out rock tracks, there was a seventies album like this one, delivering quality - but with greater brevity.

Disc 227 is...Give 'Em Enough Rope
Artist: The Clash

Year of Release: 1978

What’s Up With The Cover?: It looks like a style crossover, with titles done like a Japanese adventure movie, and a classic American western scene of death and murder. These two genres are similar in many ways, so that's not a stretch. Given the flatness of the landscape, I'd say the guy in the foreground didn't die by hanging himself with too much rope, but rather by being shot in the back. The big patch of blood on his shirt is also a giveaway.

How I Came To Know It: I've known The Clash since high school, but only liked recently. This particular album was introduced to me by my wife, Sheila who brought it home one day many years back - I think from the old A&B sound that has since closed.

How It Stacks Up: We have five Clash albums, which I think is all of them. All of them are good, so "Give 'Em Enough Rope" apologists should forgive me when I put this one 4th. It'll make you feel better when you hear which one I put 5th, so trust me for now.

Rating: 3 stars.

"Give 'Em Enough Rope" is the Clash's second album, so it is early in their career. The reggae and funk elements that will show up in later work haven't really invaded the sound yet, and at times I found myself missing that dynamic.

Instead, I picked up some distinct 60s pop sounds, cleverly buried down under angry guitars and punk vocals. I can't decide if I liked that addition - I think I do, but maybe that's just me feeling clever for noticing. But I digress...

One thing this record does a great job is keeping the energy up. It makes you want to pump your fist, and put your hair into a spiked mohawk, and in so doing passes the basic test of a punk record. As ever, The Clash insist on playing their instruments with considerable skill - a fact I enjoy, but that is decidedly not a punk sensibility).

In terms of individual tracks, while I like the way "Safe European Home" launches the album with a bang, I prefer tracks buried deeper on the record ('side two' fare from the original release.

Among these, "Guns on the Roof" has to be one of my all-time favourite Clash songs, from its opening guitar riff, to the addition of the rolling drum through to Joe Strummer's ominous opening promise: "I swear by almighty God to tell the whole truth". It is a political indictment of state-sponsored violence - or an angry response to a police raid in Camden Market - depending on what you believe. I decided to stick with my Modernist sensibilities, and just enjoy the tune.

I also enjoy "Stay Free" which tells the tale of young punks getting in trouble while trying to make it big. Like so many great Clash songs, amidst the talk of getting drunk, 'nicking' things, and getting arrested is a carefully nuanced portrait of rebellious youth with a limited future. Adding to this painting is a top notch bass line, and a fade out featuring a surprisingly straight forward and beautiful guitar solo. I took away marks on my last review for excess use of fade out, but "Stay Free" shows it can be done right.

I don't put "Give 'Em Enough Rope" on rotation very often - I think because I just don't know it that well, and tend to gravitate to other Clash albums I know better, but I like it every time I hear it. It is an album where the Clash are still forming a sound that would go on to help form the future face of rock and roll.

Best tracks: Julie's Been Working For the Drug Squad, Guns on The Roof, Drug Stabbing Time, Stay Free, All The Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)

CD Odyssey Disc 16: The Clash

Here's an album that was randomly selected just when I was feeling the need for something rebellious.

Disc 16 is...Black Market Clash
Artist: The Clash

Year of Release: 1983

How I Came To Know It:After years of wrongly hating the Clash through high school, a bunch of people showed me the error of my ways. Sheila, Casey and Nick for the Clash as a band, but for this album in particular, I think it was a music appreciation night with Nick that flipped the switch.

How It Stacks Up: We've got 5 Clash albums. I like them all, and I'd put "Black Market Clash" at about 3rd - or right in the middle.

Rating: 3 stars.

The Clash are known as the act that launced punk into the mainstream. It is a well-deserved reputation, but what I like most about this particular album - Black Market Clash - is its variety.

"Capital Radio One" kicks things off with that driving angry sound that made the Clash famous, and it is a great track for sure. However, I really love the reggae influences on this album - which I think are more prevalent here than on any other Clash record.

"Pressure Drop" sounds like a straight up reggae track to my untrained ear. My favourite track, "Bank Robber" has a real reggae feel to it. "Bank Robber" was the track that my friend Nick played that really hooked me on this album. I love the opening line:

My Daddy was a bankrobber
He never hurt nobody
He just liked to live that way
He loved to steal your money

It is such a great expression of basic rebellion, delivered in a totally non-threatening way. You almost want this guy's Dad to rob your bank.

This album also has a very cool instrumental "Time Is Tight" which once featured on my "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" mixed CD (where I picked songs that were hard to identify with the artist.

I love this song's use of surfer guitar. It is another example of how "Black Market Clash" is a great departure point for the Clash - it is too bad that the departure turned out to be the end of the band shortly thereafter.

Still - we ended up with Big Audio Dynamite. Not exactly the Clash, but who hasn't partied down at the Globe? Ah, but that is for another CD Odyssey entry, my friends...

Best tracks: Bank Robber, Capital Radio One, Time Is Tight, Pressure Drop