The Clash: London Calling ---Ink Blot Magazine

The Clash : London Calling

Listen To Real Audio
The Clash, "Spanish Bombs"

at a glance...

Hometown: London, England
Formed: 1976

Members:
Mick Jones -guitars, vocals
Joe Strummer -vocals, guitars
Paul Simonon -bass, vocals
Topper Headon -drums, percussion

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

Notes:
Like a lot of rock bands in the late '70s, The Clash discovered punk and tried to change the world. Unlike most of them, The Clash actually succeeded. The fury of their eponymous debut and legendary "White Riot" tour were crucial to the punk explosion in Britain, channeling the energy of the movement into an explicitly political music and action. Crucially, The Clash evolved, discovering reggae, rockabilly and the Sandinistas along the way, and proved to be a musical force that could outlast punk. After London Calling and Sandinista brought worldwide critical recognition, The Clash conquered America with a series of tours and the mediocre Combat Rock album. Jones left prior to 1985's aptly-titled Cut the Crap. He went on to marginal pop/rock/dance success, but The Clash continue to inspire new bands every year.

The Clash
London Calling
Epic, Released 1979

Here The Clash shake off punk's straightjacket and try on every musical zoot suit they take a fancy to; yet despite the manic ambition, it's all wound tight as a golf ball. Nineteen tracks, 66 minutes and it never blinks. Where many double albums sprawl and stumble, London Calling gets more focused with every track, until the ferocious hidden kiss-off "Train In Vain" sends you back to side one.

Jones and Strummer's lyrics (and Simonon's, on the fantastic skank "The Guns of Brixton") certainly do, not least because you can't make out what they're saying most of the time. But muddle through the cockney thug vocals and you'll find sharp characterizations, funny storytelling and righteous enthusiasm. Like most pop lyricists, their politics are really shallow sloganeering, but here they're so interesting. Andalucian revolutionaries, washed-up movie stars, Yardies and Welsh gangsters - London Calling invites them all to the apocalyptic rally.

Of course, the soundtrack is even more extraordinary. The title track is rock pounding on reggae's door, and "The Guns of Brixton" is what happens when it breaks down. "Rudie Can't Fail" and "Hateful" are joyous blasts of Bo Diddley gone ska, while "Clampdown" and "Death or Glory" are pure anthems on the flip side of "Jimmy Jazz" and its low-key year-zero rock.

London Calling does so much, so well, it's really required listening. If you don't like this album, you probably don't like rock 'n' roll.

If you like The Clash, check out:
The Clash Live: From Here To Eternity
The Clash The Clash
The Clash Give 'Em Enough Rope
The Clash Sandinista!
The Clash Combat Rock
The Clash Super Black Market Clash
Various Rare Reggae Grooves from Studio One
Elvis Presley The Sun Sessions
Various Fire and Skill: The Songs of The Jam
The Jam Snap
Elastica Elastica
The Who Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
The Swingin' Utters Five Lessons Learned
Various In The Red Zone (Essential Collection of Classic Dub)
Various Atlantic Soul Classics
Various Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music

-- jf

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