The Clash - The Zombies of Death

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THE CLASH

Released: 8th April 1977

The Clash is the debut studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash, released on 8 April 1977 through CBS Records. Recorded and mixed over three weeks in February 1977 for £4,000, it would go on to reach No. 12 on the UK charts, and has been included on many retrospective rankings as one of the greatest punk albums of all time.

Songs on the album were composed by guitarists Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, with the notable exception of the reggae cover "Police and Thieves". The song "What's My Name" is co-credited to Clash founding member Keith Levene, who left the band in September 1976.

From Wikipedia

Janie Jones

Remote Control

I'm So Bored With The USA

White Riot

Hate And War

What's My Name

Deny

London's Burning

Career Opportunities

Cheat

Protex Blue

Police and Thieves

48 Hours

Garageland 

Hey kids! If you think things are bad in Cameron and Osborne's austerity ravaged Britain, listen to how splenetically angry The Clash were in 1977. And this was under a Labour government. With Tony Benn in the cabinet. All the way from Janie Jones to Garageland, Strummer sings with a savagery that sounds like he really is foaming at the mouth. The Clash are the credible face of punk. Genuinely from the council estates of North London and overtly political (when you can make out what they are singing behind the fury). For example 'Remote Control' includes:

They had a meeting in Mayfair

They got you down an'

They wanna keep you there

It makes them worried

Their bank accounts

That's all that matters

And you don't count

It could have been written yesterday in the Guardian's 'Comment Is Free' section couldn't it?  Our dear friends across the pond get it in the neck with 'I'm So Bored With The USA'. Probably best known is 'White Riot', which throws violence, class and race into a toxic mix of smashing drums and lashing guitars. They identified the white underclass many years before Jeremy Kyle put them on daytime TV. Before Babylon got the treatment, Strummer and co were concerned with blazes closer to home. 'London's Burning' at least gives a nod to the Westway, although maybe the opinion that it is a 'great traffic system' is meant ironically?

'Career Opportunities' describes a trip to the Job Centre which really could go better. It's a great song. You can imagine it getting the pogoing, spitting hordes indulging in a little audience participation. We go via rubber johnnies ('Protex Blue') and crime ('the reggae influenced 'Police And Thieves') to eventually wind up with what amounts to The Clash's manifesto 'Garageland'. No suits, contracts or large scale gigs thanks. We'll just carry on screaming at authority.

Oh. And a word of advice. Don't listen to this on the way to work. It'll put you in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

GIVE EM ENOUGH ROPE

Released: 10th November 1978

Give 'Em Enough Rope is the second studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash, released on 10 November 1978 through CBS Records. It was their first album released in the United States, preceding the US version of the self-titled studio album. The album was well received by critics and fans, peaking at number two in the United Kingdom Albums Chart,^[1][2] and number 128 in the Billboard 200. The album is tied with Combat Rock (1982) for being the highest-charting album for the Clash in their native United Kingdom.^[3][4]

The album marked the first album appearance of drummer Topper Headon, who joined the band shortly after the recording of their first studio album. Most of the tracks, as with the prior album, were written by guitarists Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, with the exception of "English Civil War" (a reworking of the traditional American folk song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") and "Guns on the Roof", which is credited to all four band members, being Headon, Jones, Strummer, and bassist Paul Simonon.

From Wikipedia

Safe European Home

English Civil War

Tommy Gun

Julie's Been Working For The Drug Squad

Last Gang In Town

Guns On The Roof

Drug Stabbing Time

Stay Free 

Cheapskates

All The Young Punks (New Boots And Contracts)

There's a disconcerting moment in the middle of Side 2 when Joe Strummer's desperate howl gives way to Mick Jones' rather tuneful, and much higher-pitched voice singing 'Stay Free'. It could almost be a light soul song of the type that the Shirelles might have recorded, but listen to the lyrics and it's just as scathing as the rest of the album. I was also taken moderately surprised by 'English Civil War' which I remembered but forgot it was a Clash song (not even sure I ever knew it was). It's based on the American Civil War song 'Johnny Came Marching Home' but the theme is the rise of the far right. If we learn nothing else from The Clash, we know that pop-stars are not notoriously good at bringing about any lasting political change.

Elsewhere they address the glamor of terrorism in 'Tommy Gun', so no-one can accuse them of irrelevance in the modern world.  Funny thing about punk is that musically it was rigorously conventional and it's striking that the intros to many of these songs follow standard Rock and Roll riffs. In the case of 'Gun's On The Roof' the similarity to 'I Can't Explain' by The Who is allegedly intentional. The sound is more polished on this compared with the debut. Despite their protestations in Garageland, they obviously took more care over this one. 'White Man In Hammersmith Palais' is contemporary to this but not found on the album. Racial tensions and all that, played to a light reggae beat and a real classic.

LONDON CALLING

Released: 14th December 1979

London Calling is the third studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records.

The Clash recorded the album with producer Guy Stevens at Wessex Sound Studios in London over a five- to six-week period starting in August 1979, following a change in management and a period of writer's block for songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Bridging a traditional punk rock sound and a new wave aesthetic, London Calling reflects the band's growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, including reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock. Lyrical themes include social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood.

From Wikipedia

Side 1

London Calling

Brand New Cadillac

Jimmy Jazz

Hateful

Rudie Can't Fail

Side 2

Spanish Bombs

The Right Profile

Lost In The Supermarket

Clampdown

The Guns Of Brixton

Side 3

Wrong 'Em Boyo

Death Or Glory

Koka Kola

The Card Cheat

Side 4

Lover's Rock

Four Horsemen

I'm Not Down

Revolution Rock

Train In Vain 

Musical progression. That's what I look for. This represents a quantum leap on from Give Em Enough Rope. It has a reputation as one of the greatest albums of all time and I cannot argue, it just emanates brilliance in every song. The diversity of what The Clash produced here is remarkable enough, that the quality is maintained over all 4 sides of a double album beggars belief. They incorporate Ska, Punk, Spectorish productions('The Card Cheat'), a bit of Ray Davies and too many other styles for me to be able to list them all. Let's deal with the title track first of all. When the powers-that-be finally show sense and declare London an independent city state, I'll be voting for this as the national anthem. There is a complicated mix of pride and despair in the song that chimes with Born In The USA. When Springsteen opened his Hard Rock Calling set at Hyde Park with the song, the passion in the audience's shout of "I live by the river!" might have taken even him by surprise.

If I run through every song then I'll be here all day extolling their virtues, so let's focus on the high(er)lights. The Ray Davies influences are apparent in Strummer's vocal on 'Jimmy Jazz' and the Waterloo Sunset riff on 'I'm Not Down'The most heavily ska tracks are 'Rudie Can't Fail' and 'Wrong Em Boyo' (which is a cover anyway). You probably couldn't overstate the infuence of The Clash on the forthcoming Two-Tone explosion and the success of the likes of Madness, The Selector and The Specials. The album remains true to their political values but where there was just anger before they are now expressing themselves with great inventive tunes. Listen to the terrific 'Spanish Bombs' and 'Lost In The Supermarket'.

For me, the standout of the whole album is 'The Guns Of Brixton'. As it starts it is instantly recognizable as the source of the sample for Beats International's (featuring Lindy Layton of course) 'Dub Be Good To Me', but instead Paul Simonon contributes his only song (both as a writer and singer). WIkipedia tells us that he was born down the road from me in Thornton Heath (which actually means he was born in Mayday University Hospital, just like my dear lady wife) but he delivers this like he was born and raised on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica. That isn't to say it sounds like he is putting it on, it's just a great, unique vocal. The content of the song could be accused of glamourizing gang violence, and as a middle class white man brought up on a private housing estate in Tamworth, Staffordshire, I have to say that the lifestyle portrayed seems pretty romantic and exciting, even if it does amount to a choice between being shot in a gunfight with the police or rotting in jail. Even the comedic boings don't detract. My only fear is that this marks the cusp between the Strummer's raw punk of the first two albums and the Jones' production tinkerings that led to Big Audio Dynamite. If you had asked me, I would have said that the closing track, 'Train In Vain' was a BAD track.

Finally, the artwork has to be mentioned. Simonon doing a Basil Fawlty on his bass guitar. It encapsulates everything that this album is in a single image. I was rather surprised when Mrs. M informed me that she had a vinyl copy of London Calling in her collection, most of her albums are Barry Manilow, Def Leppard and Billy Joel. However, she was mistaken. She in fact has a copy of Combat Rock (?!)

SANDINISTA!

Released: 12th December 1980

Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side.^[7][8] It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, gospel, rockabilly, folk, dub, rhythm and blues, calypso, disco, and rap.^[7][8][9] For the first time, the band's songs were credited to the Clash as a group, rather than to Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.^[8] The band agreed to a decrease in album royalties in order to release the 3-LP at a low price.^[10][11]

The title refers to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and its catalogue number, 'FSLN1', refers to the abbreviation of the party's Spanish name, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional.^[9][10][12]

From Wikipedia

Too long, too daunting and too many ideas.That's what I thought initially, but eventually I listened to it properly. A triple album is a risky proposition because it screams lack of quality control but the Clash seem to have pulled it off...mostly. It could be trimmed I think and possibly there is a single album in here that would challenge London Calling.  The Magnificent Seven starts it all. "It's fuckin' long innit' interjects Strummer near the end, well, quite so and a bit repetitive too. 'Hitsville U.K. starts with a 'Town Like Malice' bass intro but immediately becomes a happy clappy style duet between Mick Jones and girlfriend Ellen Foley. Is that a Glockenspiel or Xylophone? It's a grower certainly, but what were the hardcore Clash fans thinking when they heard it. There's plenty of dub and ska to go round. They dabble with what I can only describe as Industrial Salsa on 'Ivan Meets G.I. Joe', the sirens and other sound effects in the background are a little distracting. 'Something About England' brings us right up to date, anxiety about immigration and Class War in general.

The bass loop on 'The Crooked Beat' is reminiscent of The Beat's take on 'Tears Of A Clown'. They use a REALLY irritating (but effective) percussion effect on 'One More Dub', sort of like Headon is playing a copper drum with a brush.

Their willingness to experiment across styles is undiminished in 'Rebel Waltz' (well..., a waltz),  'Look Here' (Brian Setzer style jazz-rock), Lightning Strikes (hefty funk), steel band calypso (Let's Go Crazy), gospel ('The Sound Of Sinners') and even find time for a touch of punk (their take on the Equals 'Police On My Back'); but they are clearly most interested in reggae and its related genres and mash that up with everything too. 'Washington Bullets' amounts to the title track and shows they have retained their political bite.I quite liked the Irish tinged 'Lose This Skin' sung and written by Tymon Dogg who sounds like Toyah without the lisp. Ultimately there IS too much here and sides 5 and 6 seems to be in the nature of what we now call a 'bonus disc' being as it is mainly riffs on existing songs, including Mensworth Hill, which takes backmasking a tad too far with 'Something About England'. Not really listenable. 'Career Opportunities' from the debut album is resurrected but sung by Luke and Ben Gallagher, a couple of kiddies belonging to keyboard player Mickey Gallagher. It's kind of cute but pointless and slightly overindulgent.

Side 1

The Magnificent Seven

Hitsville UK

Junco Partner

Ivan Meets G.I. Joe

The Leader

Something About England

Side 2

Rebel Waltz

Look Here

The Crooked Beat

Somebody Got Murdered

One More Time

One More Dub

Side 3

Lightning Strikes (Not Once, But Twice)

Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)

Corner Soul

Let's Go Crazy

If Music Could Talk

The Sound Of Sinners

Side 4

Police On My Back

Midnight Log

The Equaliser

The Call Up

Washington Bullets

Broadway

Side 5

Lose This Skin

Charlie Don't Surf

Mensforth Hill

Junkie Slip

Kingston Advice

The Street Parade

Side 6

Version City

Living In Fame

Silicone On Sapphire

Version Pardner

Career Opportunities 

Shepherd's Delight

COMBAT ROCK

Released: 14th May 1982

Combat Rock is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash, released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records.^[1] In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the United States, spending 61 weeks on the chart. The album was propelled by drummer Topper Headon's "Rock the Casbah" which became a staple on the newly launched MTV. Combat Rock continued the influence of funk and reggae like previous Clash albums, but also featured a more radio-friendly sound which alienated Clash fans. While the recording process went smoothly, the producing process of the album was tiring and full of infighting between Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Headon's heroin addiction grew worse and he slowly became distant from the band while Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon reinstated Bernie Rhodes as manager, a move not welcomed by Jones. The band had disagreed on the creative process of the album and called in Glyn Johns to produce the more radio-friendly sound of Combat Rock. Lyrically, Combat Rock focuses on the Vietnam War, postcolonialism, the decline of American society, and authoritarianism.

Combat Rock is the group's best-selling album, being certified double platinum in the United States and reaching number 2 in the U.K. Reception to the album believed the band had reached its peak maturity with Combat Rock, as the album's sound was less anarchic but still as political as previous albums. It contains two of the Clash's signature songs, the singles "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go". "Rock the Casbah" became highly successful in the United States and proved to be the band's anticipated U.S breakthrough. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was not as successful until being re-released in 1991 and topping the charts in their native United Kingdom.

From Wikipedia

Side 1

Know Your Rights

Car Jamming

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Rock The Casbah

Red Angel Dragnet

Straight To Hell

Side 2

Overpowered By Funk

Atom Tan

Sean Flynn

Ghetto Defendant

Inoculated City

Death Is A Star

Here's my take on the Clash dynamic. Strummer is the unreconstructed punk, increasingly frustrated by all the experimentation and farting about of the past two albums. Jones is the technician, mucking about with sampling, production tricks and different genres. Simonon is in love with afro-carribean rhythms and musical styles. Headon is the drummer, he don't care much so long as he gets paid. Combat Rock sees them abandoning some of the crossover experimentation of London Calling and Sandinista! and returning to a more punky sound, although the experimentation does continue at a lower level.

The two best known tracks, 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' and 'Rock The Casbah' are fairly typical of what the uninitiated (which I was until about 2 weeks ago) would expect from the Clash but they are not especially representative of the album as a whole however. The former was a fixture on the 1987 incarnation of Sunderland Poly's Wearmouth Bar jukebox. It's a great song, but I've never been entirely sure about the shambolic backing vocals. I didn't realize until now that Jones is on lead vocal. It does have the feel of a classic soul tune though I think.

'Rock The Casbah' features that great honky tonk piano, played by Headon, whom I have just dismissed as naught but a drummer. He could give Jools a run for his money. Of course, once again, the themes of religious suppression of popular culture are as relevant today as they were then. The sparse 'Straight To Hell', which is effectively just Strummer and Headon on drums is also heavily political, touching on industrial decline, immigration and the fallout from wars.

The opening to Side 2 'Overpowered By Funk' has Robert Palmer's 'Looking For Clues' rhythm going on in the background. I guess it's a standard funk loop, but it is awfully close to it. There's low key reggae beats in 'Ghetto Defendant' with a vocal by poet Allen Ginsberg (as recently immortalised by errm, Daniel Radcliffe). 'Inoculated City' has that moderately chippy delivery that Terry Hall of the Specials made his own. The final track 'Death Is A Star' is an odd thing. It might have come off 'Tommy'. The Clash have not been all that notable for album artwork, London Calling excepted, and this looks like a holiday snap, but the album title is a great one.

CUT THE CRAP

Released: 4th November 1985

Cut the Crap is the sixth and final studio album by the English punk band the Clash, released on 4 November 1985 by CBS Records. It was recorded in early 1985 at Weryton Studios, Munich, following a turbulent period: co-founder, lead guitarist and co-principal songwriter Mick Jones and drummer Topper Headon had been dismissed by lead vocalist Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon. Jones and Headon were replaced by three unknowns: guitarists Vince White and Nick Sheppard and drummer Pete Howard. During the tense recording sessions, Clash manager Bernie Rhodes and Strummer fought each other for control over the band's songwriting and musical direction.

Strummer and Rhodes co-wrote most of the songs. During production, Rhodes took charge of the arrangements, track sequencing and the final mix. His production choices, which rely heavily on Strummer's preference for synthetic drum sounds and Rhodes' own inclusion of sampling, were widely derided. One writer described the album's sound as brash and seemingly "designed to sound hip and modern—'80s style!".^[3] Rhodes chose the album title, taken from a line in the 1981 post-apocalyptic film Mad Max 2. The recording process and tension between Rhodes and Strummer left other band members disillusioned. White's and Sheppard's contributions are almost entirely absent in the final mix, and Howard was replaced by an electronic drum machine. Epic Records hoped the album would advance the Clash's success in the United States, and planned an expensive video for a lead single.

From Wikipedia

Side 1

Dictator

Dirty Punk

We Are The Clash

Are You Red...Y

Cool Under Heat

Movers and Shakers

Side 2

This Is England

Three Card Trick

Play To Win

Fingerpoppin'

North And South

Life Is Wild

Not available on Spotify, so I'm having to do the modern equivalent of borrowing it from your mate and recording it onto a TDK C60, that is, finding it on YouTube. Unfortunately we have to pretend that side 1 of my mate's copy is scratched to buggery and I can only properly listen from 'Cool Under Heat' onward*. Jones is gone (musical differences) and so is Headon (heroin addiction), so a lot of the musicianship and inventiveness have gone with them. Let's assume it's effectively a Strummer solo album. I assume that the title intentionally reflects Strummer's attitude as he gets back to Clash basics. 'This Is England' is the standout, but it's little more than a terrace chant.

The artwork is beginner level punk graphics. It's a sorry end to a band that can lay claim to have set tone for the first half of the decade. Of course Jones developed his ideas in Big Audio Dynamite and he recently collaborated with Simonon on the last two Gorillaz albums. Strummer had a brief sojourn in the Pogues as a replacement for Shane MacGowan but all that hard living took it's toll when he died at 50.

*2025 Update. It’s made it to Spotify now and ‘Dictator’ gives the lie to my assertion that all that sampling nonsense has been chucked out of the window. There’s all kinds of discordant racket going on in the background. Almost like someone has decribed what sampling is down the telephone and Strummer has had a half hearted effort at it. ‘Dirty Punk’ is very much a Ronseal proposition and We Are The Clash starts as if they meant to write We Are The Sex Pistols with it’s Holidays In the Sun riff and general half-arsedness. ‘Are You Red..Y’ has a slightly more interesting feel, due mainly to the more inventive rhythm section.