
Saturday, January 28, 2006
The Clash - The Essential Clash
Some would argue that if you only wanted two Clash discs in your collection, you should skip thi
s 40-track overview and pick up The Clash and London Calling instead. No matter how transcendent those two albums are -- and they are among the very greatest popular music of the 20th century -- that overlooks the fact that the group had many, many great songs not on either album, including "Safe European Home," "Stay Free," "Bankrobber," "Rock the Casbah," "Straight to Hell," "This Is Radio Clash," and "Should I Stay or Should I Go," to begin with. That's where this 2003 compilation comes in. It fills in many of the gaps between those two records, while summarizing The Clash and London Calling well, providing a first-rate overview of the greatest punk band. It's not quite perfect, however: some great singles and B-sides fall through the cracks (notably "Gates of the West," "Jail Guitar Doors," "The Call Up," "Armagedion Time," "The Prisoner," "Protex Blue") and the Sandinista! selections feel nearly as haphazard as the album itself. Nevertheless, this does provide the best, most extensive and logical overview of the band yet assembled, and it's worthwhile not just as an introduction, but as a terrific listen.

Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts of the Week
-
14 Album: Boy October War Under a blood red sky The unforgettable fire Wide awake in America The Joshua tree Rattle and hum Achtu...
-
Biography: Best known for the shimmering "Under the Milky Way," their lone Top 40 hit, the Australian band the Church combined th...
-
A powerhouse record set full of what made the Doors important. Strong lyrics married to distinct musical passages; storytelling at its' ...
-
Tenacious D is the debut album of the comedy rock duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass. For their first album, they enlisted the help of drummer Da...
-
Produced by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, The Pixies, Hole) and recorded over several weeks at Allaire Studios (a converted tu...
-
The Jam spent much of the next two years touring. They were not very successful with their U.S. shows, for some of which they were the openi...
-
Family Origins Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle, Washington, the son of Al Hendrix and Lucille Jeter Hendrix. His father,...
0 COMMENTS:
Post a Comment