Post by Fuggle on Sept 20, 2004 13:53:16 GMT -5
London Calls Back 25 Years Later
When The Clash released London Calling 25 years ago this month, it's unlikely anyone envisioned the record would ever be declared among the greatest albums of all times by countless critics or that it would continue spinning today in living rooms, bedrooms and dorm rooms the world over. So with a special 25th-anniversary reissue featuring new tracks due in stores Sept. 21, existing fans and a new generation can rediscover an album that has produced an enduring legacy.
While hearing remastered versions of such well-known songs as "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," "Lost in the Supermarket" and "Train In Vain (Stand By Me)" may be enough to appeal to longtime fans, the reissue packs a few bonuses. A second disc featuring the Vanilla Tapes, recorded in practice sessions for the album and recently rediscovered by guitarist Mick Jones, and a 45-minute documentary DVD are included.
The energetic and politically charged (if somewhat sloppy) original album featuring Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon and Jones raised the profile of the punk movement and has continued to inspire musicians, fans and revolutionaries for a quarter-century. While the album only peaked at number 27 on the Billboard album chart and developed modest hits in title track and the uncredited "Train In Vain," it kicked the door open for a whole new sound for many listeners. The band followed with such notable releases as Black Market Clash, the three-disc set Sandinista! and the hit-making Combat Rock (which, depending on your view, was either brilliant or a sell-out). But Headon left the band in 1982, and Strummer kicked Jones out the following years. The first album with the new lineup, Cut The Crap, was a critical and commercial disaster.
Members of the band did carry on, with Jones keeping a high profile for a while with Big Audio Dynamite and Big Audio Dynamite II scoring airplay with songs like "Rush" and "The Globe" (the latter featuring a sample of "Should I Stay or Should I Go"). Simonon sold some records with his new band Havana 3 a.m., while Headon did a solo album in 1986 but more or less left the business. Strummer kept at it by fronting Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.
But any idea of a reunion tour of the Clash's big four wasn't meant to be. Strummer passed away in December 2002, leaving music fans everywhere many Plasticians realizing just how much The Clash had meant to them. Shortly thereafter, the surviving members did appear when the band received induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003.
Over the years, the album received a river of critical acclaim and bridged the transition of two decades and musical eras, named the best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone and rated by Pitchfork Media as the second-best album of the 1970s. Over the decades, critics and pop-culture observers have deconstructed, discussed and debated the band, the album and its impact. But Simonon thinks that any attempt to intellectualize the album overreaches. "What seems to count these days with the album is that there's some really great songs," he said recently. "I think at the end of the day that's what counts -- great songs. Songs that were recorded by four human beings with a passion and not over-produced."
When The Clash released London Calling 25 years ago this month, it's unlikely anyone envisioned the record would ever be declared among the greatest albums of all times by countless critics or that it would continue spinning today in living rooms, bedrooms and dorm rooms the world over. So with a special 25th-anniversary reissue featuring new tracks due in stores Sept. 21, existing fans and a new generation can rediscover an album that has produced an enduring legacy.
While hearing remastered versions of such well-known songs as "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," "Lost in the Supermarket" and "Train In Vain (Stand By Me)" may be enough to appeal to longtime fans, the reissue packs a few bonuses. A second disc featuring the Vanilla Tapes, recorded in practice sessions for the album and recently rediscovered by guitarist Mick Jones, and a 45-minute documentary DVD are included.
The energetic and politically charged (if somewhat sloppy) original album featuring Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon and Jones raised the profile of the punk movement and has continued to inspire musicians, fans and revolutionaries for a quarter-century. While the album only peaked at number 27 on the Billboard album chart and developed modest hits in title track and the uncredited "Train In Vain," it kicked the door open for a whole new sound for many listeners. The band followed with such notable releases as Black Market Clash, the three-disc set Sandinista! and the hit-making Combat Rock (which, depending on your view, was either brilliant or a sell-out). But Headon left the band in 1982, and Strummer kicked Jones out the following years. The first album with the new lineup, Cut The Crap, was a critical and commercial disaster.
Members of the band did carry on, with Jones keeping a high profile for a while with Big Audio Dynamite and Big Audio Dynamite II scoring airplay with songs like "Rush" and "The Globe" (the latter featuring a sample of "Should I Stay or Should I Go"). Simonon sold some records with his new band Havana 3 a.m., while Headon did a solo album in 1986 but more or less left the business. Strummer kept at it by fronting Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.
But any idea of a reunion tour of the Clash's big four wasn't meant to be. Strummer passed away in December 2002, leaving music fans everywhere many Plasticians realizing just how much The Clash had meant to them. Shortly thereafter, the surviving members did appear when the band received induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2003.
Over the years, the album received a river of critical acclaim and bridged the transition of two decades and musical eras, named the best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone and rated by Pitchfork Media as the second-best album of the 1970s. Over the decades, critics and pop-culture observers have deconstructed, discussed and debated the band, the album and its impact. But Simonon thinks that any attempt to intellectualize the album overreaches. "What seems to count these days with the album is that there's some really great songs," he said recently. "I think at the end of the day that's what counts -- great songs. Songs that were recorded by four human beings with a passion and not over-produced."