at a glance...

Hometown: London, England
Formed: 1975

Members:
Joe Strummer -vocals, guitar, songwriting
Mick Jones -vocals, guitar, songwriting
Paul Simonon -bass, vocals, songwriting
Nicky "Topper" Headon -drums
Terry Chimes, a.k.a. Tory Crimes -drums

Bands in the family :
Mikey Dread, Big Audio Dynamite, Big Audio Dynamite II, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Allen Ginsberg, Ellen Foley

Quibble #1: The press release for this CD brags about original artwork and rare photos, but all they sent me was an ugly plain black sleeve, so I don't know if there are any notes in the package or not, so I can't tell you. Quibble #2: These live tracks are taken from eight different concerts from 1978 to 1982, but they're sequenced according to the release dates of the original studio versions of the songs rather than when they were recorded, so if you want to get a sense of how the Clash grew as a live band, you'll have to listen to the tracks in the following order: 2, 3, 8, 9, 7, 11, 1, 12, 13, 4, 6, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 5. Quibble #3: There are no songs here from Give 'Em Enough Rope, which might not be the best Clash album, but contains several kick-ass songs which must have been amazing live, which means either they couldn't find recordings of any of them in their "two years sifting through tapes" or they just weren't paying attention.

Now that I'm done quibbling, let me say that this is an incredible document of an incredible band, and it's crucial that you own it or copy it or steal it like RIGHT NOW. Here's the ideal scenario for listening to this CD: call in sick to work or from school, put the disc in the player and turn the volume up way past the little mark on the receiver that shows you where you're not supposed to turn it past, press play, and pray. Oh, and keep some ice handy, because your jaw will drop down to the floor when you hear how truly ferocious the Clash were live. The first nine tracks are all from their first album and singles, and they're the very definition of what good punk rock was supposed to be: tough, smart, political, and important. Somehow, no one really thinks of them as a guitar band, but the live settings are really conducive to some artful feedback-enhanced riffs and solos and Bob-Marley-at-the-barricades rhythm chopping. This is the sound of the fall of fascist capitalism, and if all we got out of it was khakis in the workplace and casual Fridays, it ain't the Clash's fault. It's thrilling stuff, kids. You can now finally dispose of Never Mind the Bollocks and all your Rancid and Green Day albums, because this proves once and for all just what posers every other punk band was, and is, compared to the Clash.

And yet the CD gets more interesting as it moves on past punk: the heavy dub "Armagideon Time" with the inimitable Mikey Dread; the battle cries that are "London Calling" and "Know Your Rights;" the rough pop nuggets "Train in Vain" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go"; there isn't a weak track here. You get to hear Joe and Mick having fun, teaching lessons, kicking out the jams and creating a world of sound for young people to live in without racism, fear and hunger. I bought into it; this is the band that politicized me and my friends and made us want to work for a better world. If we had ever seen the Clash live, or heard this album, we might have overthrown a government or two. Well, kids of today, here is your Clash album. What are you going to do with it?

If you like The Clash, check out:
The Clash The Clash
The Clash Give 'Em Enough Rope
The Clash London Calling
The Clash ¡Sandinista!
The Clash Super Black Market Clash
The Clash Combat Rock
Various Rare Reggae Grooves from Studio One
Mikey Dread Happy Family/African Anthem

-- Matt Cibula