We're Not Who You Think We Are
Single, 1985.
I’ve already written about how not having a high school newspaper means I don’t have any embarrassing 1980 pans of London Calling out there. However, since I ended up publishing the KFSR fanzine in 1983, I do have a couple of dead wrong #hottakes on The Clash post-Mick Jones to quote from!!
At some point in mid-October of 1983, after I found out that Mick had been booted from the band, I wrote:
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #236: The Clash – “This is England”
Album: Combat Rock
Year: 1982.
Here’s some cognitive dissonance for you: I think that Combat Rock is unfairly slagged. I don’t particularly think that Combat Rock is a very good record.
I mean all of the tendencies that made London Calling and Sandinista! so amazing are still there: the desire to experiment with new forms; the fascination with rap & reggae; the top-notch musicianship.
What’s lacking is the songwriting chops and especially the melodies. I know that’s insane to say for an album that sported their two biggest hit singles, but Combat Rock is dominated far more by more grooves and chants than verses and choruses.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #234: The Clash – “Know Your Rights”
Album: Sandinista!
Year: 1980.
. . . by the time we got to side five, the only thing we knew for sure about Sandinista! was that we didn’t know anything at all about Sandinista!
At this point, it was clear that anything could happen, that the the best thing was to sit back, enjoy the ride and hope for the best.
Still, the one thing that we couldn’t have known — even after all of the twists and turns — was that Sandinista! had one more surprise up its sleeve: putting one of its very greatest songs at the very end of side five. Most records didn’t even have a side five . . .
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #233: The Clash – “The Street Parade”
Album: Sandinista!
Year: 1980
I’ll get into the last of the great Clash covers in a second, but I would be remiss if I didn’t take a second to talk about The Equals, one of the greatest 1960s bands you’ve probably never heard. I realize that in 2015, nobody thinks that’s a category, but of course it is.
The Equals blended rock, pop and soul in much the same way that Sly & The Family Stone did, but never made it as big as their American counterparts for a couple of reasons: 1) they weren’t nearly as funky 2) Eddy Grant (yes, that Eddy Grant) wasn’t as good of a songwriter as Sly Stone. Nevertheless, you should go out and find the First Among Equals compilation and find out why their musical blend was an influence on The Clash.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #232: The Clash – “Police on My Back”
Album: Sandinista!
Year: 1980.
Closing out side three of Sandinista! with a great joyous blast of gospel music, “The Sound of The Sinners” just might be the most fun Joe Strummer ever had on record.
Sure, it’s all a bit tongue-in-cheek, but if you think about it, who better than to do a gospel song than Saint Joe Strummer?
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #231: The Clash – “The Sound of The Sinners”
Album: Sandinista!
Year: 1980.
One of my many theories about Sandinista! is that the reason it was initially so confusing was that it was the first Clash album where the default musical style wasn’t rock, but rather reggae. Not only are there reggae songs on every single side of the record, the last disc amps up the dub in the same way that All Things Must Pass amped up the jams.
So its not surprising that Sandinista! produced what I think is their single greatest reggae song: the monumental “One More Time.”
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #229: The Clash – “One More Time” / “One More Dub”
B-side, 1980.
In retrospect it seems insane that the first single — “The Call Up” for those of you keeping score at home — from Sandinista! should also include a non-album B-side that ranks with the top cuts from those sessions.
But, of course, it just goes to how incredibly prolific that The Clash were in 1979-1980 — music was spilling out from them in all directions, and only the limitations of the contemporary formats could hope to contain them. Nowadays, they probably would have been releasing those songs as they wrote them, like Ryan Adams or Kanye West, or just put out a nonstop stream of albums, like Robert Pollard.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #226: The Clash – “Stop The World”
Album: Black Market Clash EP
Year: 1980.
Arriving as a 10-inch “Nu-Disk” (no really) stop-gap release in October 1980, and nearly as long as either The Clash or Give ‘Em Enough Rope, the original release of Black Market Clash might be the single weirdest entry in The Clash’s discography.
Side one was mostly punky b-sides, some of which (“City of the Dead,” “The Prisoner” & “Pressure Drop”) nearly made this project, and side two was all spacey Clash reggae, perfect for putting on as I desperately tried to sleep in the weird days of late 1980. The key track on the record was their cover of Willie Williams “Armagideon Time,” which — even more than “Police & Thieves” — they totally reshaped in their image.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #225: The Clash – “Armagideon Time”
Album: London Calling
Year: 1979.
The first thing you need to know about the infamous “secret hidden track” on London Calling is that it wasn’t all that hidden. Despite not being listed on either the sleeve or the label, it was in all of the publicity, not to mention that you could clearly see there were five songs on side four of London Calling.
To me, the mystery surrounding “Train in Vain” isn’t so much the fact that it was a hidden track, but rather “what kind of music is this even?”
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #224: The Clash – “Train in Vain”
Album: London Calling
Year: 1979.
If “Lost in The Supermarket” bugged 17-year-old Jim with its relative lack of the big guitars, then “The Card Cheat” should have had me white rioting.
After all, there’s not an audible guitar to be found on the whole song. Instead, it’s all “M.Jones—-Piano” and the Irish Horns blaring away. There’s even a gods damned trumpet solo!
And yet, “The Card Cheat” always been one of my favorite songs by The Clash.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #223: The Clash – “The Card Cheat”