The Clash

[Protoclown]

Alright all you Clash fans, up until yesterday I only owned "London Calling" but I just picked up the US version of their self-titled album yesterday (I wasn't sure which version to get and I figured I might someday get them both) and I like it, but it just doesn't compare to "London Calling".

Is the UK version of their first album worth having as well? What other stuff is really good, and what should I avoid (like "Cut the Crap")?

I need someone to give me a rundown and recommend what to buy next.

[glowbelly]

clash on broadway - 3 discs - pure fun :)

[Protoclown]

I saw that, but I noticed it was really expensive. If I buy the individual albums, won't I have most of that compilation anyway?

[Les Waste]

OH GOD SOMETHING I KNOW LOTS ABOUT!!

First, don't bother buying the UK version of the debut album. There are a few different songs, but the US Version is better, as White Man in Hammersmith Palais is on it.

Second, DO DO DO get "Live From Here to Eternity." The live versions of I Fought the Law, Armagideon Time, Complete Control, Straight to Hell, The Magnificent Seven, White Man in Hammersmith Palais, fuck, if it wasn't for Rock the Casbah they would be known for being one of the best live bands ever. This is such a fucking awesome album.

Third, get Sandinista! It's a double album, so it might be kinda expensive, but it's really good. Some people don't like it, because it's pretty weird (one of the songs is just a bunch of children singing "Career Opportunities") But there are some really great songs on there. The album has a total of 36 tracks, so even if you don't like half the album, there are still 18 songs.

Fourth, listen to Glowbelly. Get Clash on Broadway. Doing so will allow you to not get Combat Rock (it has all the best songs from Combat Rock, except for Sean Flynn) and Give 'em enough Rope (Again, it has all the best songs) as well as many songs that were never on any albums, like Gates to the West, Midnight to Stevens, Groovy Times, and Bank Robber.

And finally, if you're into dub, get "Super Black Market Clash." It's a bunch of remixes, dubs, and b-sides. There is an 8 minute long dub of Armagideon Time that kicks amazing ass.

Don't get Cut the Crap. There are some songs that I like, such as This is England, but if you ask most people, it's a shitty album.

[Royal Tenenbaum]

The Clash - The Clash is one of the best albums ever. I'd say it's just as good as London Calling. Get "The Story of the Clash Vol. 1" since you get all the good Sandinista stuff without the crap.

[Les Waste]

The only Sandinista! songs on "Story of the Clash vol. 1" are Magnificant Seven and Somebody Got Murdered. There are more than two good songs on that album, you nitwit.

[Les Waste]

This thread needs to be bumped to help my sagging self esteem :(

If you don't want to get Sandinista!, you can find a handful of the best songs (Washington Bullets, Broadway, the Call up, the Street Parade, etc.) on Clash on Broadway. However, if you really like London Calling a lot more than the first album, you'd probably like Sandinista.

[Protoclown]

I'll definitely be checking out "Sandinista", thanks for the tip!

[Protoclown]

I picked up "Sandinista!" last night, and I fucking LOVE IT!!! It's awesome! There are some mediocre songs on there, but I really thought the vast majority of them were quality pieces, and when the Clash are good, they're DAMN good!

I need a few more listens before I really become well acquainted with all of the songs. So far some of my favorites are "Hitsville UK", "The Magnificent Seven", "Rebel Waltz", "Washington Bullets", "Somebody Got Murdered".

Oh, and I've REALLY been falling in love with the US version of their self-titled album. I have to agree that it is almost right up there with "London Calling", I'm just going to give that one the edge because 1) there's more variety and 2) there are more songs.

Soon I'll be grabbing "Give Em Enough Rope", "Super Black Market Clash", "Combat Rock" and "Live From Here to Eternity". Then I suppose I'll have just about every damn thing I need, unless somebody knows of something else worth getting. But I think at that point I'll have all the stuff on "Clash on Broadway" and "Story of the Clash".

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Joe Strummer had some pretty solid solo work. If you really need more Clash, it's the best alternative.

[Les Waste]

Royal Tenenbaum is actually right. I really like the soundtrack to the movie "Walker."

And do make sure you get From Here to Eternity. It's probably one of my favorite Clash albums.

It's cool when people like things I like :(

[Protoclown]

I only really know about his stuff with the Mescaleros. What else has he done after The Clash?

[Royal Tenenbaum]

I don't think he had much else. Which is weird. But he was in the Jim Jarmusch film, "Mystery Train," and does a kick ass job too.

[Les Waste]

Besides the stuff with the Mescalero's, Joe also released a solo album around the late 80's called "Earthquake Weather." It was with a back-up band called the Latino Rockabilly War, and there's a reason so few people even know it exists. Oh well, I like it at least.

He also did the entire soundtrack to the Ed Harris movie "Walker." It's a great soundtrack too, even though only three songs have lyrics. He also did a lot of songs for Soundtracks, like the South Park Chef Aide album. Mostly, after the Clash broke up, he tried bo pursue an acting career. He was in "The King of Comedy" along with Paul Simonon (the Clash's bassist) and he had a starring role in the terrible Alex Cox movie "Straight to Hell."

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Don't rent the King of Comedy hoping to see Strummer, since his part is miniscule. But, on the other hand, it's a hilarious and creepy film.

[Les Waste]

I watched the movie "Straight to Hell" recently for no apparent reason and I LOLed more than I remember. It really is a terrible movie, but it's got a few good scenes. It's kind of a waste since it could have been such a good movie, especially since Strummer's character is just so cool.

Have you heard From Here to Eternity yet, Proto? :)

[Protoclown]

I've picked up "Give Em Enough Rope" and "Combat Rock", so now I have all their proper albums except "Cut the Crap", but since that's a piece of trash anyway, I'm perfectly fine without that.

I heard "From Here to Eternity" a long time ago, Les...one of my best friends has it, and I remember it being awesome, but I wanted all the actual albums first so I could enjoy the studio versions of the songs first. I'll be picking up that cd soon though!

I really love the first four songs on "Give Em Enough Rope" but after that the songs are good, but nothing really stands out for me.

"Combat Rock" is worth it for "Straight to Hell" alone. That is one of the most beautiful songs they ever did. I also really love "Know Your Rights" and "Ghetto Defendant".

[Les Waste]

Ghetto Defendant is such an awesome song :(

"Give 'em Enough Rope" is probably my least favorite actual Clash album (Cut the Crap doesn't count) but it's still good. Safe European Home is such an unbelievable song. So is English Civil War. And Stay Free. And Guns on the Roof. But other than that it's not too great. I wasn't always a big fan of Tommy Gun, even though that was one of their more popular songs, and even though Julie's Been Working For the Drug Squad is interesting, I don't think it's that good. And All The Young Punks is :(

And Straight To Hell is probably my favorite song. The version on "From Here to Eternity" is probably better than the studio version. Although there are two studio versions. The first cut is on "Clash on Broadway."

Know your Rights is also better on From Here to Eternity. And in typical Strummer style, he screws up the lyrics on Know your Rights, even though there's only about eight lines, but gets The Magnificent Seven word for word :/

What else do you think of Sandinista? I love hearing people's opinions about it since I think it's my favorite album. Specifically, how do you like Broadway, Version City, If Music Could Talk, and The Sound of Sinners?

I need a new hobby :(

[Protoclown]

To be honest, those four songs you mentioned off Sandinista! don't really stand out much for me, and I can't remember offhand how any of them sound (though I'm still not as familiar with the album as I'd like to be). I really do like that album quite a bit, but I can do without the dub versions of songs that already appear elsewhere on the album. Definitely some filler on there, but out of 36 tracks, most of them are still solid winners.

London Calling, by constrast, I find to be an absolute fucking masterpiece from start to finish.

My favorite on Sandinista! is probably "Hitsville UK". I also really love "Rebel Waltz" and "Washington Bullets".

[Protoclown]

A few questions that hopefully someone can answer:

1. Who is the chick singing on "Hitsville UK"?

2. What do the Spanish lyrics in "Spanish Bombs" translate to? I've tried using an online translator but I didn't get anything that made sense out of it.

3. I've heard that Paul Simonon sang lead vocals on three Clash songs, but the only one I am SURE of is "Guns of Brixton". What are the other two?

[Protoclown]

WHERE ARE YOU LES WASTE? :(

[Les Waste]

I should really look at the music forum more often :(

1. That woman is Ellen Folley, who among other things, was romantically involved with Mick Jones for over two years. If you like her, she made an album with The Clash around the time Sandinista! came out called "Spirit of St. Louis." It's only kind of a Clash album though, and I've never gave it a good listen. But I'm glad you like Hitsville U.K. I've always liked it, but that always seems to be the most hated Clash song ever. I dunno why. If you want to know more about Ellen, here's a really long biography I don't feel like reading:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/ptybisla/efbiog.html

2. I only know this because I took spanish for 9 years (and I've forgotten most of it :pride) and I'm still not sure because Strummer's Spanish wasn't very good. So this is basically a guess, but I don't think it's that inaccurate.
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero y finito
Yo te querda, oh mi corazón

means:

Spanish bombs, I want (or love) you and in the end
I will lose you (I think that's future tense?), oh my heart

3. Besides Guns of Brixton, Simonon did the lead vocals for The Crooked Beat on Sandinista! and Red Angel Dragnet on Combat Rock. The Crooked Beat isn't a bad song, but Red Angel Dragnet is such an awesome song.

[Protoclown]

Aha! I thought that was him on "Red Angel Dragnet". :)

I love "Hitsville UK". It definitely doesn't sound much like a Clash song, but it's one of my favorites despite (or perhaps because of) that.

[Les Waste]

Red Angel Dragnet was a song I really didn't like at first, but now I love it. All of my favorite songs are like that. I used to hate them and now I love them. I don't know why.

If you like Hitsville UK, you'll probably like some of Mick Jones solo work with Big Audio Dynamite. "The Bottem Line," "E=MC2" and "Stone Thames" are some of my favorite songs.

And you should definetely get both Joe Strummer and the Mescalero albums as they rule. Don't bother getting Earthquake Weather though, as you'll be spared from having to hear "Boogie with your Children."

:(

[Protoclown]

Thanks for the tips!

I just heard the song "Bankrobber" for the first time today (my roommate has the Essential Clash cd and I borrowed it to hear the few songs I hadn't heard) and I fucking LOVE it!!!

It just pisses me off that they didn't put it on "Super Black Market Clash". Now how the hell am I supposed to get that song on cd without buying a cd where I already have all the other songs on it?? >:

[Les Waste]

The Clash were really big on not releasing songs on their albums as singles, and instead releasing new songs as singles. That's what Complete Control is about. You know the song Remote Control? Their manager released it as a single against their will and Complete Control is about how much they hated him ("They said, 'release remote control,' / we didn't want it on the label")

You should get Clash on Broadway. Yeah, it's a three disc box set, but it's so worth it. Besides the extremely interesting and informative book that comes with it, it has all the songs that aren't on any other Clash albums, like: Armagideon Time, Bankrobber, Gates of the West, Groovy Times, One Emotion, Midnight to Stevens, Cool Confusion, Every Little Bit Hurts, This is Radio Clash, Stop the World, 1-2 Crush on You, Pressure Drop, Prisoner, really good live versions of I Fought the Law and English Civil War, and some others too probably but I can't remember if they were on the English version of their first album or not.

Actually, there are way more songs on this album you probably hadn't heard yet than I though.

There is a song on Super Black Market Clash called Robber Dub, which is a dub of Bank robber. It's ok, but I like the original version of the song better. There is a dub of Armagideon Time though that is excellent

[Les Waste]

Last night I got into a big drunken argument about whether or not I would recommend "Cut the Crap" to someone. I decided, after much thought, that I would recommend it but warn them that it's not nearly as good as any other Clash album. For example, I would say that if London Calling is a 10/10, then Cut the Crap is probably a 6/10, or maybe a five and a half.

I read a review once calling Cut the Crap is a disco album, and that's probably not far from the truth. There's only one song I really don't like at all (Fingerpopping). This is England is always considered by everyone to be great or terrible (I love it, but SSA called it the worst Clash song ever >:). If you can get it a cheap price, or borrow it from someone, or download it, I would give it a listen though.

[Royal Tenenbaum]

This Is England is one of the worst Clash songs. Not the worst, but one of. I think the worst is Hitsville UK.

[Les Waste]

And Protoclown said he loves Hitsville U.K., so there you go.

[Rongi]

My current favorite Clash songs are "Revolution Rock", "Jimmy Jazz" and "Stand By Me" :).

[Royal Tenenbaum]

"And Protoclown said he loves Hitsville U.K., so there you go."

Really? It's so poppy and lame. >:

[Les Waste]

Rongi, the song is called "Train in Vain" for some reason, not "Stand by Me." To this day, I have no clue why it's called Train in Vain.

And Revolution Rock is one of my two favorite songs of all time (the other being Straight to Hell). It's so fucking awesome, and it's why Topper Headon used to be one of the greatest drummers ever. :(

[Protoclown]

I fucking LOVE Hitsville UK.

Thanks Les, I will take your advice about buying "Clash on Broadway" into consideration.

I'm still trying to decide if it's worth it though. I might be better off buying "The Essential Clash" but I won't get as many new songs from that.

[Royal Tenenbaum]

My favourite Clash songs have to be "Hateful," "Spanish Bombs," "Guns of Brixton," "White Riot," "Overpowered By Funk," "Ghetto Defendant," "Koka Kola," and "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A.."

[Les Waste]

Not many people like Overpowered by Funk. :/

The original cut of Combat Rock was called "Combat Rock: Rat Attack on Fort Bragg" and was completely different. First, most of the songs that did make it to Combat Rock (Straight to Hell, Ghetto Defendant, Sean Flynn, Know your Rights) were all about seven minutes long and of really poor quality. There were also several reggae songs that kick ass and I wish were on the final version of the album (Kill Time is one, and I think The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too is another, although they might have made that during Sandinista. Can't remember, too drunk.)

Their manager Bernie Rhodes, who was solely responsible for breaking them up, complained that everything was a raga (think of that, and think of the first two lines of Rock the Casbah and you'll know what the song is really about) so they had to redo the album. Overpowered by Funk was thrown in at the last second, so it almost didn't make the album.

It's kinda cool cause it's the first ever rap-rock fusion song. The guy trying to rap and failing is a German graffiti artist named Futura. The Clash were weird like that. They always had great opening acts that they liked but their fans didn't. Once, they had Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five open for them and their fans rioted. They also had Bo Diddley as an opening act. I would sell my soul to see a Bo Diddley and Clash concert.

:(

[Rongi]

I just got Sandinista :love

And I LOVE IT :o

I only listiened to the first CD though. I like "The Sounds Of Sinners" and a lot of the other ones I can't remember right now :(

What does Sandinista mean anyway :(?

[Rongi]

And who's the little girl in Broadway :o?

[Protoclown]

Sandinista is fucking wonderful, but I have to say I like the first disc MUCH better than disc 2. The second disc is mostly kind of boring, especially the latter half. :/

[Rongi]

I like the first one a tad better too. And hittsvile u.k. is growing on me :( :( :(

Where are you bobo >:??

[Rongi]

Bump >:

[Les Waste]

The second half of Sandinista disc 2 is pretty boring, but there are some cool songs. Street Parade and Version City are two of my favorite songs. I like Sillicon on Saphire, which if you listen closely enough you hear it's a techno version of Washington Bullets. And the last song on the album sounds a lot like Revolution Rock. Putting a dub of Junco Partner on the album was probably a bad idea though. As was having children sing Career Opperutinites. But even though it might not be good, I like it so much because I think it's extremely interesting.

The album was named after the FSLN, or the Sandinistas, who were a Marxist revolutionary group in Nicaragua named after an old leader named Sandino who was killed years earlier. They overthrew the crooked dictator who was appointed by the US (I can't remember his name right now) and set up a moderately successful, socialist government. One of the verses on Washington Bullets is about that.

After the album was made, Reagan sent contra groups there to try and overthrow the government, and the Sandinistas had to spend all the country's funds on defense. Remember the Iran-Contra scandal? Where we sold weapons to Iran and used the money to fund the contras? Well, after almost 20 years we completely destroyed Nicarauga, but we finally got the Sandinistas out. That's a sad story.

I have no idea who the little girl at the end of Broadway is, but I have an interesting fact: Most people ask me who the girl is who sings the lyrics on "Lose this Skin." Well, that's a guy. His name is Tymon Dogg, and he not only did the vocals, he was also the fiddle player. He joined Strummer's last group the Mescaleros and was on their second album as a fiddle player. Who knew?

[Protoclown]

Yeah, I was pretty surprised to learn he was a guy when I picked up the Mescaleros second album and saw his picture on the back.

[Rongi]

Holy shit :eek! That's a guy? I could've sworn it was a lady :( :( :(

I love Sandinista! because it's just so strange and tries to do a lot of different stuff instead of one thing :o.

I like, in no particular order,"The Magnificent Seven", "Junco Partner", "Charlie Don't Surf", "Hittsville U.K." ( :( ) "The Sound Of Sinners", "The Leader", "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe", and a lot others.

[Protoclown]

:love "Hitsville UK" :love

[Royal Tenenbaum]

:( Hitsville UK :(

[Rongi]

How can anyone hate it? It's so catchy :o

[Rongi]

BTW, should I get 'Westway To The World", Bobo?

[Les Waste]

I don't know. I haven't seen it yet as I can't find it anywhere. :(

I've heard the live performances are great on Westway. You should definetely get From Here to Eternity Live though.

[Rongi]

I'm definatly getting "Live Frome Here To Eternity". I saw it on amazon for ten bucks :).

[Les Waste]

Proto, or anyone, if you want to hear something INTERESTING, but very bad, you might want to download (I wouldn't buy it for two red cents >: ) Burning London, which is a Clash tribute album done by very high-profile artists. Some of the songs include:

White Man in Hammersmith Palais by 311, which is a terrible, terrible version.
White Riot by Uncle Cracker, which is just delightful. 2nd best song on the album.
This is Radio Clash by the Urge, best song here
Lost in the Supermarket by the Afghan Wigs. Topper Headon, the Clash's drummer, is on this track. It's good.
Train in Vain by Third Eye Blind. Awful.
Should I Stay or Should I Go by Ice Cube ft. Mack-10. LOL.
Hateful by No Doubt. :(
Rudie Can't Fail by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Yuck.
Cheat by Rancid. Pretty good.
An accousit version of Clampdown by the Indigo Girls. I don't like it at all.
London's Burning by Silverchair. Terrible.
Straight To Hell by Moby with Heather Nova on vocals. Heather Nova does an awful job. Moby also sucks it up.

There are at least two other Clash cover albums that I know of with less-known artists, but they are VERY rare. I've heard they're alot better. One of them includes covers by the Dropkick Murphys, who do a kick ass cover of the Guns of Brixton.

[Rongi]

I heard Topper made a solo album. Is this true?

[Les Waste]

I don't think so. I know the bassist, Paul Simonon, made an album with a group called Havanna 3 A.M., or something like that. Topper might have made an album with another group or something. That actually kinda sounds familiar.

:(

[Rongi]

http://www.greenphoenix.freeserve.co.uk/waking%20up.jpg

http://store.artistdirect.com/store/artist/album/0,,100440,00.html

Wtf :(

By the way, should I get Joe Strummer's band's album? I forget the name, not Earthquake Weather though.

[Les Waste]

Yes. :(

You should get Rock Art and the X-Ray Style and Global A-Go-Go by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. They are both really good. :(

I should get that Topper Headon album since it sounds good. :(

[Rongi]

I just downloaded the first The Clash cd, and I reallly like it. It's not as good as London Calling, then again nothing really is. My favorite track is Police and Thieves :rock

[Protoclown]

It'll grow on ya, Rongi. I didn't think it was as good as London Calling either at first but now I think I love them both about the same.

[timrpgland]

I like Give em Enough Rope the best.

[Les Waste]

Rongi you should download Combat Rock, I think it's better than their first album. :(

[Rongi]

Yeah, I might end up buying the first album and combat rock anyway. It's worth it for Straight To Hell 8)

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Self-titled is probably their best. Although, LC is so damn good too.

[Rongi]

Heh, proto you're right. I can't stop listeining to Police and Theives and London's burning :(

They truly are the only band that matters :rock

[Rongi]

I like Overpowered by Funk >:.

Most of my favorite clash songs are the ones no one likes. Like "Jimmy Jazz"( one of my favorite songs ever :o ) and"Hittsvile UK",

[Protoclown]

I've never run into anyone who didn't like "Jimmy Jazz".

And timrpgland, I am surprised to hear you say you like "Give Em Enough Rope" the best. Aside from the first four songs, I find it to be their most mediocre work overall. Mind you, it's GOOD shit relative to everything else out there, but as far as the Clash goes, it's my least favorite.

[timrpgland]

Proto, well I have some strange tastes. I really enjoy "Give em Enough Rope." I like their other stuff too but Give em Enough Rope was the first Clash album I bought and I have listened to it way too much that I guess it just stuck with me.

[Les Waste]

Give 'Em Enough Rope is a great album just based on English Civil War, Stay Free, Safe European Home, and Guns on the Roof. That's a weird album; half of the songs I really love, and the other half of all the songs I don't think are anything special, like Tommy Gun or All the Young Punks.

I've never met anyone who likes Jimmy Jazz as much as I do. Everyone I know doesn't like it that much. Most of the people I know who listen to the Clash only like all the popular Clash songs, like Guns of Brixton.

[Rongi]

I am in love with the song Ghetto Defendant :(

I really really like Combat Rock. I can honestly say I like just as much as I like London Calling.