The Clash - London Calling
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Free Music Notes for London Calling
Free Music Review: EEEEEESENTIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
imo, this is the greatest rock album released since 1979 ("ok computer" does give it a good fight) and one of the top 10 off all time.
anyone who give this classic less than 5 stars should stick to watching
"american idol."
btw, in case it hasn't been mentioned, the cover art for this masterpiece was a rip off of the cover of elvis's first album for rca. check it out.
Free Music Review: Best . . . album . . . EVER
Hit: 5 Stars
The most telling comment on this album:
Ed O'Brien, guitarist for Radiohead, in an online journal during the studio sessions for KID A, noted that he had listened to LONDON CALLING that day and that it had made him depressed because (paraphrasing here) "no one's ever going to make anything better than this, so why even try?"
It's THAT good.
Free Music Review: Very good, but not a masterpiece
Hit: 4 Stars
Still, any self-respecting Clash fan should own a copy of London Calling, even if the debut is better. Actually, a better part of the songs on London Calling are excellent, but there are four or five that don't do much for me.
There's plenty of variety on this album, and in fact most of the genre experiments work perfectly. We'll get there later. First, for the group's signature slash-and-burn punk songs. They're all great. Clampdown is a total classic. Yes, you can understand what Joe Strummer's singing for a change. But the lyrics are great, so I don't mind. Spanish Bombs is arguably even better, with a famed Spanish-sung refrain. Hateful, Brand New Cadillac, 4 Horsemen and I'm Not Down are all old-school Clash, each could've easily come off of the first album.
There's also touches of reggae on this album, another thing The Clash did well. For instance, the apocolyptic ticking-bomb title track may seem like it's another Clash rocker (albeit one of the best ever), but that's a reggae rhythm they set it to. The Guns of Brixton, Paul Simonon's lone Clash composition, is even better, my vote for The Clash's best songs. His dead-on vocals deliver the song's harsh message about police brutality perfectly. And even if it were just an instrumental, it would still be perfect, thanks to that great bassline in the intro and the reggae percussion. Rudie Can't Fail, straight-up ska, is one of their more fun songs.
Now onto the more experimental material. The mellow Lost in the Supermarket probably has the best lyrics ever found on a Clash album, yeah it's set to a disco beat, but it ain't Stayin' Alive. Jimmy Jazz is... well, whatever the hell it is. Great song, impossible to pin down. There's also the country/pop classic Train in Vain (Stand By Me), which almost didn't make it onto the album since Joe Strummer reportedly hated it. NEVER trust an artist to review his own material. That song's proof right there.
On the other hand are a couple lesser songs, Lover's Rock, Revolution Rock, The Right Profile, The Card Cheat and Koka Kola. Sorry, but none of these make any impact on me and should've been left off.
Yes, I like London Calling. It's easily one of the best double-albums ever, and by far the last good Clash album - to me, Sandinista! and Combat Rock took the group off in the absolute wrong direction (though they yielded a few good songs each), and Cut the Crap is an insult to the Clash.
Buy this if you like The Clash, since it's really worth having around, even if it may not be one of the ten greatest albums ever made.
Free Music Review: "london calling" your ears!
Hit: 5 Stars
the clash could not have played any better on "london calling". with the way technology was back then (even though remastered today) the clash proved they can take it up a notch by playing divergent punk music to its finest. these guys play relentess hardcore punk! great music from a classic punk band.Free Music Review: Amazing!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm really not sure what else there is to say about this album. London Calling was my introduction to The Clash and it still remains my favorite of theirs. They try their hand at a lot of different styles, from reggae to rockabilly to funk to pop, and everything in between - yet it always works. It is impossible to single out favorite songs on here, every song is wonderful. While I'd be hesitant to call this a "punk" album, this is one CD that every punk fan should own.
If you can, save up and get the 25th anniversary edition with all the extras. The second disc ("The Vanilla Tapes") has some really great demos and outtakes, even if the sound quality is a little bad. The DVD alone is worth the extra money, with a very interesting behind the scenes feature and some videos. Whether you get the single disc edition or the expanded version, you really can't go wrong with London Calling.