Walking into an eastside used cd store is always a treasure hunt. I'm usually completely dissapointed at the selection or amazingly surprised at what people decided to sell. How anyone can sell off their Beatles, Doors, or in this case Clash cd's are completely beyond me! Their loss is my gain when I found a remastered copy of "London Calling". I figured that this is a good time to add a classic album to my weekly review and sell off my old copy! Originally released in late 1979, "London Calling" was considered the greatest album of the 1980's by Rolling Stone writers, and I wouldn't debate it! Lead by Mick Jones and Joe Strummers political lyrics to a punk and sometimes reggae beat, the Clash was dubbed "the only band that matters". But listening to this band is just pure rock and roll. Adding the title punk band to them is way too narrow of a term. The Clash covered much more ground musically than, say, their counterparts The Sex Pistols. "London Calling" was their true masterpiece!
I also remember when the controversy when this album came out over 20 years ago. My friends and I felt so "sophisticated" about listening to something with a warning sticker on the front of the jacket! There is really only one controversial word on the album, but many years later, the music comes off as being tame in comparison to the controversial stuff that gets pumped out today. The title and opening song of the album has become a bit of an anthem over the years. "London Calling" is dark and powerful with sharp guitars cutting throughout the tune. It's dooms-day type warnings of the "ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in" is probably more relevant now than what it was back in 1980. The seriousness of the opening song gets brushed away with the next two tracks. "Brand New Cadillac" recalls the freshness of 50's rock and roll, while "Jimmy Jazz" brings in a soulfull horn section and great looping baseline that is loose and danceable. "The Right Profile" brings back the horn section in great form. My personal favorite on the cd, the song is really a tribute from Joe Strummer to Montgomery Cliff: "Say, where did I see this guy? In Red River or a Place in the Sun? Maybe the Misfits? or, From Here to Eternity?" The song eventually turns into a pub-sing-a-long with it's "Everybody says..." chorus that is the true hook of the song. The punk attitude returns to the rocking "Clampdown". The song revels in dissing "the system", or in this case the "clampdown". The most poignant statement of the song is "the best years of your life they want to steal" and the song continues to question the current system of government and control. Once again, pretty relevant for 2001! "Wrong 'em Boyo" and "Revolution Rock" dips a bit into the reggae sound that the Clash embraced throughout their career. This sound is what gave the band diversity. The Clash wouldn't have been half the band without this diversity of sound, and "London Calling" represents this well. The original "hidden track" or "Train in Vain" pops up as the last song on the album. Actually making the charts back in the spring of 1980, "Train in Vain" or what people thought was the song title "Stand by Me", is a great pop-rock tune. Clanging guitars and harmonica recalls the ability of a band to write a simple, yet catchy pop song. This is a quality that seems to be the exception with today's music!
The Clash recently flirted with the idea of getting back together for a tour. I really don't think that they could recall the past, so it's probably a good idea for the band to rest. Joe Strummer recently put out a very impressive cd (Rock Art and the X-ray Style). He proved that good and powerful songwriting is still alive and well and we'd be lucky to get a few more releases out of him. "London Calling" was a true period piece of the early 1980's, but it hasn't become outdated at all. This album ranks with some of the best rock music of all time and should be a great addition to anyone's collection. Make sure you find the rematered version of this release (from 1999) since the sound quality is much fuller and dynamic than the original cd release.
