The Clash - The Clash

When Joe Strummer first saw the Sex Pistols at the 101 club, little did he know that he would later form one of the most influential punk rock bands ever! Strummer recruited Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Terry Chimes and formed The Clash, releasing their debut self-titled album in 1977. The Clash were know for creating a more diverse sound of punk rock and this album sets the tone for future releases. More varied and musically ambitious, this album delves into multiple genres of music. "Police And Thieves", a cover of Bob Marley's infamous song shows The Clash's influences and is an early sign of an even more diverse side they would explore later on ...  Read the complete review

When Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Mick Jones and Terry Chimes first started, they drew inspiration from the Sex Pistols, little did they know that they would produce an album that towers over the pistols record both lyrically and musically. Formed out of the remnants of a band called ‘The London SS’, lead guitarist and sometime singer Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Chimes approached the frontman of a much respected pub-rock act named the 101’ers who called himself Woody Mellors to see if he wanted to join their group, under the management of Sex Pistols’ svengali Malcolm McLaren’s friend-cum-rival Bernie Rhodes, who were going to join the Pistols ...  Read the complete review

... and then become part of the machine. The Clash were like that, a band full of paradoxes. They complained about being "so bored with the USA," yet had little compunction with becoming BIG IN AMERICA. They pleaded, "No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones," then rapidly become the punk rock version of the Stones. They refused to comply with establishment ethics, yet swiftly sold their souls to the bloated media corporation, CBS, eventually becoming so dissatisfied with the establishment lackey results that they penned the vociferous and very, very wonderful 'Complete Control', striking out at the Big Brother mentality of the ...  Read the complete review

The Clash's debut album is one of the finest punk albums of all time. Despite the fact that the band isn’t quite the group of adventurous artists they were to become, they still started out as great songwriters. There are a barrel-load of great songs on here. My favourite song on this album is for the moment "Career Opportunities" with Strummer pretending he's stupid and unemployable when of course he probably could have become an up-and-coming businessman or banker quite easily. Anyway he still manages to sound brilliantly disaffected and the lyrics are a brilliant dismissal of the British employment system. The bit where he sneers ...  Read the complete review

IN 1977 I HOPE I GO TO HEAVEN COS I BEEN TOO LONG ON THE DOLE AND I CAN'T WORK AT ALL DANGER STRANGER YOU BETTER PAINT YOUR FACE NO ELVIS, BEATLES, OR THE ...  Read the complete review