The Clash - Sandinista!
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Free Music Notes for Sandinista!
Free Music Review: Sandinista Redux is the only way to go.
Hit: 3 Stars
Sandinista is where The Clash finally takes a wrong step. There are simply too many horrendous songs on this album to give this any more than three stars (seriously, if you think "Rebel Waltz" has anything close to redeeming about it, you must e-mail me and let me know what it is because I'bve been listening to this CD for years and I can find nothing positive to say about it).
Still, any CD that includes:
"The Magnificent Seven"
"Hitsville U.K."
"Junco Partner"
"Ivan Meets GI Joe"
"Somebody Got Murdered"
"The Leader"
"Police On My Back"
"Midnight Log"
Is not a bad CD by a long shot. This is perhaps where The Clash should have started to "cut the crap", as it were. But just because they didn't, doesn't mean you can't. By all means, purchase this and then make your own perfect "Sandinista" redux mix.
Free Music Review: What a mess
Hit: 5 Stars
Thankfully, once you clean up the mess, you have what could be my favorite Clash album (London calling is no longer my favorite album of all time). Sandinista! still remains the biggest, most ambigtous album in the history of rock music, beating out The Beatles (The White Album) by a mile. That's how _________ diverse it is.
You already probally know about the numerous genres, so I will go straight into the songs. The songs on here are seriously Clash, songs that you will not be able to find anywhere else. From futuristic war lands, the streets, the 40's, New York, who knows where, and of course, tropical areas, Sandinista bleeds image. Plenty of other images abound, but it's mostly up to the listener. No doubt this album will also bring up nostalgia of the "wonder years" (not the show, mostly what the show is based on. That's right, being a __________ kid).
SInce I would be pretty much doing a number on myself, here's the songs I like (with a useless description).
The magnificient Seven (the first white rapping, and rap with pop and rock elements in them); Hitsville UK (A gospel song); Junco Partner (complete with slack key guitar!); Ivan Meets G.I. Joe (Futuristic war Land); The Leader; Look Here (this songs reminds me of New York during the age of Masfistos, and it's jazzy. You have to here this one), The Crooked Beat (bassline is intoxicating), Lighting Strikes (The other rap song), Corner Soul; Let's Go Crazy; If music could talk (reggae jazz? Maybe!); Police On My Back; Midnight Log; The Equalizer; Washington Bullets; Broadway; Charlie Don't Surf; Junkie Slip; Version City.
How To make your own Sandinista!:
Basically, your Sandinista! will most likely be different, but if you are figuring out what songs you like, don't attempt to listen to a song that dosen't grab you the first time you listen to it. Skip it, and don't even attempt to turn it on a listen to the whole thing through, waiting for it to grow on you. It just dosen't ________ work like that.
I gave it a ten because the songs I love are all classics, great, and worth the money (since the whole album is for the price of one). That's not counting the songs I haven't had the time to listen to again (I haven't listened to the other non ones in almost two years. SO give me a not helpful vote, Anthony Rupert.
Personally, I would love to see 311 cover more Clash songs. I loved the White Man cover even better than the original! No joke. What does this have to with the review? Absolutly nothing.
10/10
Free Music Review: The Clash: Sandinista!
Hit: 4 Stars
Sandinista is so long -- so mind-numbingly long -- that by the halfway mark you'll no longer be able to tell a good song from a bad one. When you listen to a single album for this long, you lose all perspective: Soon you're thinking that certain songs are good which aren't, simply because they come right after 5 really boring songs; or you're thinking that a certain song sucks, because it sounds just like so many others, when really only the instrumentation is the same but the melody itself is exceptional.
So here's my advice: The first time you listen to Sandinista, hit the skip button on a song as soon as you realize it has failed to grab your attention or impress you. You can go back and listen to them all later, but not now. This is the only way you can hope to not get bogged down. And you have my personal assurance that there aren't any songs which start out boring but throw a curveball toward the middle or end; if a song starts out bad, it's bad.
Although I absolutely think this album is worth the effort, I agree with other reviewers that the production values suck. You should be prepared for sound quality which on many songs is not nearly as good as that of London Calling, or even of The Clash.
Also, I thought this was pretty funny: "Look Here" is one of the 13 Sandinista songs that I put on my ipod, and I totally love it; but I noticed that another reviewer chose it as the ONE song - out of all 36 (!) - that should have been left off the album. I guess that just highlights once again the completely subjective nature of this beast.
(Or maybe that guy's just an idiot).
Free Music Review: ambitious melting pot with many musical hues
Hit: 5 Stars
the clash overreach with this album that shows them moving way beyond the stark punk of their first album, but who cares! way more hits than misses with songs like crooked beats, charlie don't surf, guns of brixton, lost in the supermarket and on and on. few bands could play so many genres (punk, rockabilly, reggae) with such genuine passion and authority.
classic!
Free Music Review: Tons of great songs, some crap, too...
Hit: 4 Stars
This was originally released as a triple album. That was almost unheard of back in 1980, where the only triple albums you usually saw were live ones, or ones by Frank Zappa. This was a triple album of new material, and for the most part, it's excellent. I used to tell people this was my favorite Clash album, but it's now my second (predictably, London Calling is). But this one has around 3 sides of excellent material, one side of good material, one side of average stuff, and one side of s*** (most of which is in the last 6 songs). Just a few favorites...The Magnificent Seven, The Leader, Rebel Waltz, The Sound of the Sinners, Lose this Skin, Police on My Back, Version City. There are some drawbacks, though. There are some songs that should have been tossed in the incinerator (like One More Dub, Lightning Strikes, If Music Could Talk, Junco Partner), and the last five songs of the album. 3 of these (Living in Fame, Silicone on Saphirre, and Version Pardner) are all remixes of earlier songs (and vastly inferior). Career Opportunities is a remake of an early Clash song, and Sheperd's Delight is an instrumental that sounds like it just got thrown together. Is this worth picking up? Sure, there's enough great material here for that. There's a lot of filler, though. But The Clash does get points for ambition. I miss that kind of ambition these days...