The Clash (album)
| The Clash | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by The Clash | ||||||||||
| Released | 8 April 1977 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 10 February 1977–27 February 1977 National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield, CBS Studios London | |||||||||
| Genre | Punk rock | |||||||||
| Length | 35:18 | |||||||||
| Label | CBS | |||||||||
| Producer | Mickey Foote | |||||||||
| Professional reviews | ||||||||||
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| The Clash chronology | ||||||||||
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The Clash is the first album-length recording released by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released in two different versions, both of which are still in print: the original version in 1977 and the revised U.S. version in 1979 (with several post-1977 single sides added to the album).[1]
Contents |
Recording and production
Issued in the UK by CBS Records in 1977, engineered by CBS staff engineer Simon Humphrey and produced by Clash live soundman Mickey Foote, at the (since demolished) CBS Whitfield Street Studio No. 3.[2] This first album by the Clash was unusually musically varied for a punk band, with reggae and early rock and roll influences plainly evident.
Most of the album was conceived on the 18th floor of a council high rise on London's Harrow Road, in a flat that was rented by Jones' grandmother, who frequently went to see their live concerts.[3] The album was recorded over three weekend sessions at CBS Studio 3 in February 1977. By the third of these sessions the album was recorded and mixed to completion, with the tapes being delivered to CBS at the start of March. It cost just £4000 to produce.
Songs
The subject of the opening track, "Janie Jones", was a famous madam in London in the 1970s. "Remote Control" was written by Mick Jones after the Anarchy Tour and contains pointed observations about the civic hall bureaucrats who had cancelled concerts, the police, big business and especially record companies. CBS decided to release the song as a single without consulting the band. "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.", developed from a Mick Jones song, entitled "I'm So Bored With You",[4] condemns the Americanization of the UK.[5] "White Riot" was the first single put out by The Clash. The song is short and intense, punk style of two chords played very fast. Lyrically, the song is about class economics and race.[6]
"Career Opportunities", the opening track of the B-side, attacks the political and economic situation in England at the time, citing the lack of jobs available, and the dreariness and lack of appeal of those that were available. "Protex Blue", sung by Mick Jones, is about a 1970s brand of condom. The song ends with the shouted phrase "Johnny Johnny!", "johnny" being a British slang term for a condom. The version of "White Riot" featured here was not recorded for the album. Instead they used the original demo version, recorded at Beaconsfield Studios before the band signed to CBS.
"Police & Thieves" was added to the album when the band realised just how short the tracklist was. Another cover the band toyed with at these sessions was Bob Marley's "Dancing Shoes". "Garageland" was written in response to Charles Shaar Murray's damning review of the band's early appearance at the Sex Pistols Screen on the Green concert - "The Clash are the kind of garage band who should be returned to the garage immediately, preferably with the engine running".[7][8][9] It was the final track recorded for the album.
Artwork
The album's front cover photo, shot by Kate Simon, was taken in the alleyway directly opposite the front door of the band's 'Rehearsal Rehearsals' building in Camden Market. Drummer Terry Chimes, though a full member of The Clash at the time, did not appear in the shot as he had already decided to leave the band. Another picture from the same Kate Simon photoshoot appears on the UK Special Edition DVD of Rude Boy, released in 2003. The picture of the charging police officers on the rear, shot by Rocco Macauly, was taken during the 1976 riot at the Notting Hill Carnival—the inspiration for the track "White Riot".
Reception and influence
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [10] |
The album received positive reviews from critics and peaked at number 12 in the UK charts. In December 1979, critic Robert Christgau named it his favorite album of the 1970s.[11]
In February 1993, the New Musical Express magazine ranked the album number 13 in its list of the Greatest Albums Of All Time.[12] NME also ranked The Clash number 3 in its list of the Greatest Albums of the '70s, and wrote in the review that "the speed-freaked brain of punk set to the tinniest, most frantic guitars ever trapped on vinyl. Lives were changed beyond recognition by it".
In December 1999, Q magazine rated the album 5 stars out of 5, and wrote about The Clash that they "would never sound so punk as they did on 1977's self-titled debut....Lyrically intricate...it still howled with anger".[13] The same magazine placed The Clash at number forty-eight in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever in 2000,[14] and included The Clash in its "100 Best Punk Albums", giving it 5 stars out of 5, in May 2002.[15]
In 2000, Alternative press rated the album 5 out of 5. Alternative press review saw The Clash as an eternal punk album, a blueprint for the pantomime of 'punkier' rock acts, and that for all of its forced politics and angst, The Clash continues to sound crucial.[16]
In May 2001, Spin magazine ranked the album number 3 in its "50 Most Essential Punk Records", and wrote "Punk as alienated rage, as anticorporate blather, as joyous racial confusion, as evangelic outreach and white knuckles and haywire impulses".[17]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 77 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album was described as a "youthful ambition bursts through the Clash's debut, a machine-gun blast of songs about unemployment, race, and the Clash themselves."[18][19]
In March 2003, Mojo magazine ranked The Clash number 2 in its "Top 50 Punk Albums", writing about the album that it was "the ultimate punk protest album. Searingly evocative of dreary late '70s Britain, but still timelessly inspiring".[20]
Lee Perry (credited with singer Junior Murvin with the composition of "Police and Thieves") heard the album while in London in 1977 and played it to Bob Marley, who in turn mentioned The Clash on his own track "Punky Reggae Party".
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, except where noted.
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Janie Jones" | Joe Strummer | 2:08 | ||||||
| 2. | "Remote Control" | Mick Jones/Joe Strummer | 3:03 | ||||||
| 3. | "I'm So Bored with the USA" | Joe Strummer | 2:24 | ||||||
| 4. | "White Riot" | Joe Strummer | 1:56 | ||||||
| 5. | "Hate & War" | Mick Jones | 2:06 | ||||||
| 6. | "What's My Name" (Jones, Keith Levene, Strummer) | Joe Strummer | 1:41 | ||||||
| 7. | "Deny" | Joe Strummer | 3:06 | ||||||
| 8. | "London's Burning" | Joe Strummer | 2:12 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Career Opportunities" | Joe Strummer | 1:54 | ||||||
| 2. | "Cheat" | Joe Strummer | 2:06 | ||||||
| 3. | "Protex Blue" | Mick Jones | 1:47 | ||||||
| 4. | "Police & Thieves" (Junior Murvin, Lee Perry) | Joe Strummer | 6:03 | ||||||
| 5. | "48 Hours" | Joe Strummer | 1:36 | ||||||
| 6. | "Garageland" | Joe Strummer | 3:12 | ||||||
Personnel
- Mick Jones − lead guitar, vocals
- Joe Strummer − vocals, rhythm guitar
- Paul Simonon − bass
- Terry Chimes − drums (credited as "Tory Crimes")
1979 U.S. version
| The Clash (1979 U.S. version) | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by The Clash | ||||||||||
| Released | July 1979 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1976–1979 | |||||||||
| Genre | Punk rock | |||||||||
| Length | 43:20 | |||||||||
| Label | Epic | |||||||||
| Producer | Mickey Foote, Lee Perry, The Clash, Bill Price | |||||||||
| Professional reviews | ||||||||||
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| The Clash U.S. chronology | ||||||||||
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In the U.S. the Clash's debut album was released one year after Give Em Enough Rope, so it was their second U.S. LP. CBS in America had decided that the album was 'not radio friendly', so it was initially only available in the States during 1977/1978 as an import, and as such became the biggest selling import of the year, shifting over 100,000 copies.[21]
In July 1979, Epic released a modified version of the album for the United States market. This version replaced four songs from the original version with five non-album singles and B-sides, some of which were recorded and released after The Clash's second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope. It also used the re-recorded single version of "White Riot", rather than the original take featured on the UK album.
Dropped from the US release were the following tracks:
- "Deny"
- "Cheat"
- "Protex Blue"
- "48 Hours"
- "White Riot" (original version)
Added were the following tracks:
- "Clash City Rockers" - Initially released as a single (A-side) in the UK in February, 1978
- "Complete Control" - Initially released as a single (A-side) in the UK in September, 1977
- "White Riot" (re-recorded version) - Initially released as a single (A-side) in the UK in March, 1977
- "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" - Initially released as a single (A-side) in the UK in June, 1978
- "I Fought the Law" - Initially released as a track on the Clash EP The Cost of Living in the UK in May, 1979
- "Jail Guitar Doors" - Initially released as the B-side of "Clash City Rockers" in the UK in February, 1978
Initial copies of this American album also came with a bonus 7" single which featured "Groovy Times" and "Gates of the West".[22]
This was another moderately successful American album for The Clash, even though the sales were likely diluted by the longstanding popularity of the UK version on the import market. The Clash peaked at #126 on the Billboard charts, setting the stage for the commercial breakthrough of London Calling later that year.
Since the Clash's first U.K. album had already been released in Canada by CBS Records, when CBS Canada released the U.S. version they changed the cover art so as to not confuse the record buying public. The CBS Canada version of the LP has a dark blue border instead of the green. Initial copies also contained the bonus "Groovy Times" 45.
Track listing (1979)
All songs written and composed by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, except where noted.
| Side one (1979) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Clash City Rockers" | 3:55 | |||||||
| 2. | "I'm So Bored with the USA" | 2:24 | |||||||
| 3. | "Remote Control" | 3:00 | |||||||
| 4. | "Complete Control" | 3:14 | |||||||
| 5. | "White Riot" | 2:01 | |||||||
| 6. | "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" | 3:58 | |||||||
| 7. | "London's Burning" | 2:10 | |||||||
| 8. | "I Fought the Law" (Sonny Curtis) | 2:40 | |||||||
| Side two (1979) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Janie Jones" | 2:00 | |||||||
| 2. | "Career Opportunities" | 1:58 | |||||||
| 3. | "What's My Name?" (Jones, Levene, Strummer) | 1:40 | |||||||
| 4. | "Hate and War" | 2:05 | |||||||
| 5. | "Police & Thieves" (Junior Murvin, Lee Perry) | 5:58 | |||||||
| 6. | "Jail Guitar Doors" | 3:05 | |||||||
| 7. | "Garageland" | 3:12 | |||||||
Personnel (1979)
- Mick Jones − guitars, vocals
- Joe Strummer − vocals, guitars
- Paul Simonon − bass
- Terry Chimes − drums except as noted below (credited as "Tory Crimes")
- Topper Headon − drums on "Clash City Rockers", "Complete Control", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais", "I Fought the Law", and "Jail Guitar Doors"
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Swedish Albums Chart[23] | 42 |
| 1977 | UK Albums Chart[24] | 12 |
| 1979 | Billboard Pop albums[25] | 126 |
Notes
- ↑ Letts Don; Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, Rick Elgood, The Clash. (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. [Documentary]. New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. Event occurs at 25:00–25:35; 25:45–27:40; 34:00–36:00; 44:40–45:00. ISBN 0738900826. OCLC 49798077.
- ↑ The Clash. Mojo, Mojo Classic issue. p. 33.
- ↑ "The Uncut Crap - Over 56 Things You Never Knew About The Clash". NME (London: IPC Magazines) 3. 16 March 1991. ISSN 0028-6362. OCLC 4213418.
- ↑ Caws, Matthew (12 1995). "Mick Jones". Guitar World (New York: Harris Publications) 12. ISSN 1045-6295. OCLC 7982091.
- ↑ MTV Rockumentary. Interviewer: Unknown; Presenter: Kurt Loder. MTV, London, England. Transcript.
- ↑ Letts (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. Event occurs at 25:45–27:40.
- ↑ Murray, Charles Shaar (2003-04-05). "Joe is dead, but the Clash are immortal". Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3592288/Joe-is-dead-but-the-Clash-are-immortal.html. Retrieved 2010-05-07. "I described them as the kind of garage band who should be speedily returned to their garage, preferably with the engine running"
- ↑ Letts (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. Event occurs at 25:00–25:35.
- ↑ Needs, Kris (11 2004). "HOW I MET THE CLASH". trakMARX.com. http://www.trakmarx.com/2004_05/05_needs.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
- ↑ Allmusic Review
- ↑ "Decade Personal Best: '70s" (PHP). robertchristgau.com. 1979-12-17. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/list/decade70.php. Retrieved 2008-nicole Jpo.
- ↑ NME (2 February 1993), p. 29
- ↑ Q (December 1999), pp. 152-153.
- ↑ Q (June 2000), p. 70.
- ↑ Q (May 2002). SE, p. 135.
- ↑ Alternative Press (March 2000), pp. 74-75.
- ↑ Spin (May 2001), p. 108.
- ↑ Rolling Stone (11 November 2003), p. 114.
- ↑ "77) The Clash: Rolling Stone". The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone. 2003-11-01. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598078/77_the_clash. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ↑ Mojo (March 2003), p. 76.
- ↑ Letts (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. Event occurs at 34:00–36:00.
- ↑ Letts (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. Event occurs at 44:40–45:00.
- ↑ "Discography The Clash". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ↑ "UK Chart Archive". everyHit.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ↑ "The Clash > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
References
- Gilbert, Pat (2005) [2004]. Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash (4th ed.). London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
- Gray, Marcus (2005) [1995]. The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town (5th revised ed.). London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker (2003) [1997]. A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash (3rd ed.). London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz (2004) [2001]. The Clash (3rd ed.). London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
- Needs, Kris (2005-01-25). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
- Topping, Keith (2004) [2003]. The Complete Clash (2nd ed.). Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
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