...but it doesnt mean this album is crap. whereas their debut album had that raw energy and venom, this album is quite different. musically it opens its arms to rockabilly, reggae, ska and all manner of different music genres, but there is still the old punk spirit and a certain edginess to it. the cover of Brand New Cadillac is as thrilling as it ever was, London Calling ranks up there with the finest opening tracks and is arguably THE definative Clash song while Clampdown is proof that the band havent lost any of the old fire in their bellies. other highlights include The Card Cheat, the reggae-tinged Guns of Brixton, Lost In The Supermarket and Train In Vain, which shows that The Clash can do pop as well.

the bottem line is that its a very different album to the two before (their self-titled debut and Give Em Enough Rope), but is nonetheless a great one (for me, its on par with their first). to paraphrase another one of my Clash reviews; The Clash are the thinking man's punk… more »

...but it doesnt mean this album is crap. whereas their debut album had that raw energy and venom, this album is quite different. musically it opens its arms to rockabilly, reggae, ska and all manner of different music genres, but there is still the old punk spirit and a certain edginess to it. the cover of Brand New Cadillac is as thrilling as it ever was, London Calling ranks up there with the finest opening tracks and is arguably THE definative Clash song while Clampdown is proof that the band havent lost any of the old fire in their bellies. other highlights include The Card Cheat, the reggae-tinged Guns of Brixton, Lost In The Supermarket and Train In Vain, which shows that The Clash can do pop as well.

the bottem line is that its a very different album to the two before (their self-titled debut and Give Em Enough Rope), but is nonetheless a great one (for me, its on par with their first). to paraphrase another one of my Clash reviews; The Clash are the thinking man's punk band, they had more to say, they said it better and were musically more diverse.

Probably the Clash's worst album, (I think the dreary 'Sandinista' is better because a} its got one whole side of lp more, and b} its got the fabulous 'Somebody Got Murdered' on it.) 'London Calling' is as bland as it's title suggests. I thought London was burning with boredom,(Dial 99999!) now it's just.. 'calling'. Oh well.
It starts brilliantly with the title track, and then it's downhill fast, with lack-lustre forays into reggae and jazz, r+b and rockabilly. Meandering and mooching all over the place in a vain attempt to find some kind of badly needed cohesion, some sort of direction in among the painfully forced 'diversity'.
It's a well known rock truism that Strummer and Jones weren't getting on at the time they recorded this, and you can tell. It sounds like they were in different rooms!
Strummer didn't recover til 'Combat Rock', and before you all start scoffing, compare 'Straight to Hell' with anything on here, and it'll be the stronger song by streets.… more »

Probably the Clash's worst album, (I think the dreary 'Sandinista' is better because a} its got one whole side of lp more, and b} its got the fabulous 'Somebody Got Murdered' on it.) 'London Calling' is as bland as it's title suggests. I thought London was burning with boredom,(Dial 99999!) now it's just.. 'calling'. Oh well.
It starts brilliantly with the title track, and then it's downhill fast, with lack-lustre forays into reggae and jazz, r+b and rockabilly. Meandering and mooching all over the place in a vain attempt to find some kind of badly needed cohesion, some sort of direction in among the painfully forced 'diversity'.
It's a well known rock truism that Strummer and Jones weren't getting on at the time they recorded this, and you can tell. It sounds like they were in different rooms!
Strummer didn't recover til 'Combat Rock', and before you all start scoffing, compare 'Straight to Hell' with anything on here, and it'll be the stronger song by streets.
Anything with the inexplicably awful 'Guns of Brixton' on it, just HAS to suck a big one, (Now THERE'S a song worth a giggle or two!) Along with 'Radio Clash', their poorest song in a frustatingly inconsistent canon.
If only 'London Calling' the album, was as good as 'London Calling' the song- happy days!
'London Calling' has been voted the best album of all time in a poll. It's not even the best Clash album.