Yes it was thirty years ago today that Strummer/Jones taught the world to play…..

Jan 5, 1980 heralded the  US release of London Calling which considering the debut album never got a proper US release and Give Em Enough Rope was far from a huge success in America was probably much smaller news then than the anniversary of the event all these years later. London Calling was received to universal critical acclaim in the States; most notably within the pages of Rolling Stone and sat on the the cliff edge linking the 1980’s to what had been happening in the UK for the previous 3-4 years. London Calling bridged the decades because it was ultimately one of the most diverse Rock and Roll records of the era, perhaps ever. For a Clash fan it merely hastened the journey that the next two albums (and singles that were released during that time) would provide to send us bouncing around with the musical experimentation that the band were embracing, some fans bailed after the debut and many more after London Calling and Sandinista!. Perhaps more clearly it showed a growing love of the US and especially New York City which influenced the band far more than any of their British contemporaries up to that point.

London Calling was the record that paved the way for so many other British bands to succeed in the US and tightened up the links between punk and rock as opposed to Punk Rock. The English version of Punk was (in my opinion) something that was more in tune with the British market,  boredom over the Westway, dole queues and the riots in Notting Hill were always going to lose something in the translation. The US merited (and had) its own unique punk bands/scenes and I think this is why London Calling crossed over so effectively. It had much broader horizons, with lyrics and songs that resonated whether you were in Des Moines or Dundee. According to the critics it was The Clash at their very best, according to sales it was another rung on the ladder of success that peaked with Combat Rock, according to me it was simply the soundtrack to being 13,14,15,16 and it has never left my side since.

If someone knocked on my door tomorrow who had lived in a cave for their entire life but wanted to understand music from the last 50 years this would be one of the 5 albums I would hand them…and also tell them to play it first. Enough from me – have a look at what the New York Post had to say on this anniversary. It would also be neglectful of me not to link ‘that review’ from Rolling Stone.

For all its first-take scrappiness and guerrilla production, this two-LP set–which, at the group’s insistence, sells for not much more than the price of one–is music that means to endure. It’s so rich and far-reaching that it leaves you not just exhilarated but exalted and triumphantly alive.              (Rolling Stone, January 1980)

On which format did you first own London Calling?

• Double Album Vinyl (68%, 38 Votes)
• I never owned it (0%, 0 Votes)
• Cassette (7%, 4 Votes)
• 8 Track (0%, 0 Votes)
• CD (25th Anniversary) (7%, 4 Votes)
• CD (original issue) (18%, 10 Votes)

Total Voters: 56

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Good Morning, The Clash Cup is back! I know it’s a long time coming like someone you just assumed had lost your number who suddenly calls. Ever done that? Assumed you wouldn’t hear from someone you liked and moved on with your life and met someone else fairly quickly only to have the one you’d given up on suddenly contact you? Life can be so cruel when you’re a teenager!!

Right then – The Clash Cup – Round One is nearly over so lets get back to it. The rules are simple but if you’re new to the blog – I list pairings of Clash songs and you dear reader have to weigh them up and cast your informed vote. The most votes sees the song through to round two (starting in a few days) and so on. Polls remain open for about 2.5 days and your participation is both encouraged but also warmly appreciated. Round 2 is going to be tasty as its safe to say the vast majority of the match ups for that stage will be difficult at best – and then we have today’s tracks to vote for.

Match 52 -              Jail Guitar Doors versus One Emotion

Match 53 -              Know Your Rights versus Midnight Log

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Before you click away I’ll do my usual link so you can refresh (in case) or just enjoy my meanderings about the songs in question – but don’t forget to click afterwards!

Take a right for Portobello Road

Jail Guitar Doors – This song has taken on a life of it’s own the last couple of years hasn’t it and the blog has mentioned it many times due to the Billy Bragg / Mick Jones backed project to provide guitars as a rehabilitation tool for prison inmates. Can’t let that distract from one of the more enjoyable (I know – shite adjective) Clash singalongs. When I first heard this as 13 year old I played it loud and in the intervening years that remains the only way to listen to it. Originally just a b-side (Clash City Rockers) it’s also one of the rare holdovers from the 101′ers – well the chorus was anyway as Mick Jones rebuilt the verses. Great fun and fairly sure it will defeat:

One Emotion - In the early Summer of ‘78 The Clash spent a lot of time in Basing Street Studios (just 100 yards from the location of today’s photograph from the Westway) and recorded primal versions of much of what to become Give ‘em Enough Rope. From those sessions came the track One Emotion and while its a song I’ve always had a soft spot for a cleaner recording of it would have been welcome. The song itself has a bit of a traditional feel and is apparently the band’s take on wooden actor Roger Moore and his ‘one emotion’ portrayed throughout Bond films. Based on my research the inspiration was probably The Spy Who Loved Me or The Man With Golden Gun. Clash trivia…which band that supported The Clash mentioned both of those films in one of their songs? (easy one for you!)

Know Your Rights – I loved this when I first heard it, I still love it now. At the time it was as a ‘return to form’ by the music press who wanted a punchier Clash than they’d been chewing the prior 18 months. In truth it was a rockabilly riff and Strummer barking out a call to action aimed at anyone who’d listen. It has aged well (in my opinion) and demonstrates that much of what the band were doing in their dying days was still vital, angry and worthwhile. Funnily enough (until I remind myself of the status Combat Rock afforded the band in the States) it is still a song I’ll hear on the radio and jukeboxes alike. It also opened my ears to a whole rockabilly/psychobilly scene I’d previously ignored in London. (ahhh…the Klubfoot!)

Midnight Log – Off we go to another amazing example of the dexterity that was abundant throughout Sandinista! For some reason this was one of the few songs my sister approved off by The Clash. Let me see that was 1981 or 1982 so she was enthused with Antmusic or Dexy’s so I suppose it all adds up. Topper just could play anything eh?

Get voting, polls will close Thursday PM.

Tim

I wanted to share this article from the NME which is in equal parts abrasive and thought provoking. NME are running a series of articles entitled ’sacred cows’ which revisits older classic albums and tries to put the legend in context, in this entry the album on display is the debut (and only official) album by The Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks. Of course you already knew that…

image courtesy contactmusic.com

Before I write this paragraph please understand that when I grew up and became exposed to punk/new wave/post punk (1978)- the Pistols were already finished whilst The Clash had just released Give Em Enough Rope. I spent my teen years waiting for the next move by The Clash, The Jam and The Specials, before later adding Echo and The Bunnymen, Joy Division, New Order, The Cure etc to my list of records I had to get. So in that sense the Pistols never felt ‘current’ it seemed like a look backward and I also saw the divided camps between the Pistols and The Clash – few I knew were fans of both which I found myself being a part of (I was young!). Naturally there are merits in both bands but I don’t think I ever changed my initial assessment that The Clash spoke to me more.  So what of the article and the album itself? The Pistols debut has a worthy place in the history of music and more specifically punk rock. Its the only ‘punk’ album I’ve consistently seen in some people’s very pedestrian music collections that are otherwise cluttered up with Tracy Chapman, Pearl Jam and REM. Perhaps that in itself is a testament to the ‘must have’ aspect of the record? I’m not so sure, though it’s got some very strong (yes landmark is fair to say) songs speaking for myself I find half the album is sub par and not something I return to often. I own the album and always have, I don’t find myself returning to it as often as I do the earliest work of The Clash, The Saints, The Damned, Buzzcocks.

I’m not sure why – the main reasons are probably the production coupled with over-familiarity. I liked the raw ‘tinny’ debut of The Clash debut, the error strewn noise of The Buzzcocks and The Damned whereas ‘Never Mind…’ always seemed quite polished to my ears. First impressions last longest…while I’d admit that the Sex Pistols were absolutely vital (even if you just focus upon who they motivated) I only feel 4 or 5 tracks can be elevated to the inner circle of music history – so as a result I can’t consider the album amongst my personal top 50 of all time. That leaves me at a loss to explain how I the Pistols were one of the 15 most important bands ever and probably in the top 4 for the 1970’s.What can never be denied is that in 1976 The Sex Pistols flipped everything in music upside down….which was crucial to The Clash and the music that followed.

Anyway, please read the article if you can **and especially the comments** some that mention The Clash. Incidentally McLaren ‘managing’ the New York Dolls is one of those great myths, he was consulting on some clothes for the band, not planning their music career.

T