Clash London Calling CD

Also available in a 3-pack with THE CLASH and COMBAT ROCK.
The Clash: Joe Strummer, Mick Jones (vocals, guitar); Paul Simonon (vocals, bass); Topper Headon (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel includes: Baker Glare (whistling); The Irish Horns (brass); Micky Gallagher (organ).
Digitally remastered by Ray Staff & Bob Whitney (Whitfield Street Studios, London, England).
Personnel: Mick Jones (vocals, guitar, piano); Joe Strummer (vocals, guitar); Paul Simonon (vocals); Irish Horns (brass); M. Jones (piano); Mick Gallagher (organ); Topper Headon (drums, snare drum, percussion).
Audio Remasterers: Ray Staff; Bob Whitney.
Recording information: Wessex Studios, London, England (1979).
Photographer: Pennie Smith.
Give 'Em Enough Rope, for all of its many attributes, was essentially a holding pattern for the Clash, but the double-album London Calling is a remarkable leap forward, incorporating the punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology and roots music. Before, the Clash had experimented with reggae, but that was no preparation for the dizzying array of styles on London Calling. There's punk and reggae, but there's also rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock; and while the record isn't tied together by a specific theme, its eclecticism and anthemic punk function as a rallying call. While many of the songs -- particularly "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," and "The Guns of Brixton" -- are explicitly political, by acknowledging no boundaries the music itself is political and revolutionary. But it is also invigorating, rocking harder and with more purpose than most albums, let alone double albums. Over the course of the record, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (and Paul Simonon, who wrote "The Guns of Brixton") explore their familiar themes of working-class rebellion and antiestablishment rants, but they also tie them in to old rock & roll traditions and myths, whether it's rockabilly greasers or "Stagger Lee," as well as mavericks like doomed actor Montgomery Clift. The result is a stunning statement of purpose and one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever recorded. [In 2000 Columbia/Legacy reissued and remastered London Calling.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
If punk rejected pop history, LONDON CALLING reclaimed it, albeit with a knowing perspective. The scope of this double set is breathtaking, encompassing reggae, rockabilly, and the group's own furious mettle. Such a combination might seem over-ambitious, but the Clash accomplish it with swaggering panache. Guy Stevens, who produced the group's first demos, returns to the helm to provide a confident, cohesive sound equal to the set's brilliant array of material. Boldly assertive and superbly focused, London Calling contains many of the quartet's finest songs and is, by extension, virtually faultless.
If punk rejected pop history, LONDON CALLING reclaimed it, albeit with a knowing perspective. The scope of this double set is breaktaking, encompassing reggae, rockabilly and the group's own furious mettle. Where such a combination might have proved over-ambitious, the Clash accomplish it with swaggering panache. Guy Stevens, who produced the group's first demos, returns to the helm to provide a confident, cohesive sound equal to the set's brilliant array of material. Boldly assertive and superbly focused, London Calling contains many of the quartet's finest songs and is, by extension, virtually faultless.Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #1 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The Eighties" survey.
Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #1 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The Eighties" survey.
Rolling Stone (p.100) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[The album] sounds crucial right now because of righteous blasts such as the title track."
Q (5/02 SE, p.136) - Included in Q's "100 Best Punk Albums".
Q (6/00, p.90) - Ranked #4 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
Q (12/99, pp.152-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...19-track, filler-free double album....the best Clash album and therefore among the very best albums ever recorded..."
Q (5/02 SE, p.136) - Included in Q's "100 Best Punk Albums".
Q (6/00, p.90) - Ranked #4 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
Q (12/99, pp.152-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...19-track, filler-free double album....the best Clash album and therefore among the very best albums ever recorded..."
Uncut (p.122) - 5 stars out of 5 - "LONDON CALLING engages soul riffs, reggae beats and vintage rock'n'roll as a band of true blood brothers define their battle-scarred universe. As remarkable now as it was 25 years ago."
Alternative Press (8/01, p.112) - Included in AP's "10 Essential '80s Albums".
Alternative Press (3/00, pp.74-5) - 4 out of 5 - "...This is a definitive album in rock's pantheon, and surely a WHITE ALBUM for the sub-generation lost between hippie idealism and MTV digitalism..."
Alternative Press (8/01, p.112) - Included in AP's "10 Essential '80s Albums".
Alternative Press (3/00, pp.74-5) - 4 out of 5 - "...This is a definitive album in rock's pantheon, and surely a WHITE ALBUM for the sub-generation lost between hippie idealism and MTV digitalism..."
Magnet (p.112) - "Big, arena-friendly anthems, infectious blue-beat winners and punch-drunk, New Orleans-style R&B workouts....[S]imply one of the era's landmark records."
Magnet (p.112) - "Big, arena-friendly anthems, infectious blue-beat winners and punch-drunk, New Orleans-style R&B workouts....[S]imply one of the era's landmark records."
CMJ (1/5/04, p.6) - Ranked #3 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1980".
CMJ (1/5/04, p.6) - Ranked #3 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1980".
Vibe (12/99, p.160) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century
Vibe (12/99, p.160) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century
Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.76) - Ranked #22 in Mojo's "Top 50 Punk Albums" - "...The iconic sleeve shot of a bass-shredding Paul Simonon is well matched by the music..."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.76) - Ranked #22 in Mojo's "Top 50 Punk Albums" - "...The iconic sleeve shot of a bass-shredding Paul Simonon is well matched by the music..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.123) - 5 stars out of 5 - "The Clash demonstrated beyond any doubt that they had grown beyond their apocalyptic but parochial West London horizons to become a world-class band with a world-wide vision."
NME (Magazine) (9/11/93, p.18) - Ranked #6 in NME's list of The Greatest Albums Of The '70s - "...To hear a group blam away so fluently is a joy..."
NME (Magazine) (9/11/93, p.18) - Ranked #6 in NME's list of The Greatest Albums Of The '70s - "...To hear a group blam away so fluently is a joy..."