London Calling

I was in that room, 5 years ago. We were hooked, and our lives were changed. Hyperbole? Not if you care about music. With London Calling, the Clash proved punk bands didn't have to accept the narrow confines of that genre. By embracing rock 'n' roll history and roots and mythology, they made the most stunning transformation in rock history: they went from a sneering, acidic, speed-addled punk band from the class of '77 to a world-class rock 'n' roll band, one of the greatest, perhaps the last truly, undeniably brilliant rock band. We thought we were rebels for embracing the second-hand punk served to us by MTV and marketing executives - bands like Green Day, Rancid, NoFX, and Pennywise. London Calling proved that true rebellion knows no boundaries - not the stagnant expectations imposed from above OR the narrow-sighted constrictive ones imposed from within punk itself. London Calling IS a punk record. Not in any particular sound or necessarily even any particular lyric, but in its steadfast refusal to accept any limits, to comfortably meet any expectations.

Many cite the sweeping diversity of London Calling as its great accomplishment. While true, this is only half the story. What makes this record - and the Clash by extension - so special is that it doesn't just give an accurate performance of various genres, but manages to infuse these genres with that spirit-of-Clash that makes every single song drip with the defiance and passion and musical celebration undeniably unique to these four London lads. The band doesn't just play reggae and R&B and rockabilly and ska; they conquer them, turning them into nothing but 100% authentic Clash. Rudie Can't Fail is a routine ska workout in the hands of the competent Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but becomes a rousing and celebratory ode to rebel rude boys refusing the doldrums of ordinary life when the Clash attend to it. Nothing in the sheet music for Clampdown necessarily pins it down as one of the great rock songs of the century, but when Strummer and Jones spit the words out with all the fury and defiance they can summon, who could doubt that it becomes just that? Even the less memorable songs - Jimmy Jazz, Lover's Rock, Four Horsemen - show a level of creativity and performance zeal that most bands could only dream of.

If there were any justice in this world, people wouldn't think twice about uttering the names Strummer/Jones in the same breath as Lennon/McCartney. To punk fans, I'd gladly recommend the seminal Nevermind the Bollocks, the teenage classic Singles Going Steady, the minimalistic bliss of Rocket to Russia. But London Calling I recommend to anyone who cares about music. Every dull, banal, safe, generic rock band on the airwaves today only serves as a painful reminder that a time once existed when music really did matter. This album is the ultimate testament to that era's last years. Buy it and remember.


Classic Punk Album!   April 26, 2000
M. Scagnelli (Brandon, Florida)
13 out of 18 found this review helpful

This album and The Clash's debut album are the two greatest punk albums ever made. This album isn't merely a great punk album. There first album is true punk. This album, however, is much more. True, songs like London Calling, Clampdown and Guns Of Brixton are real punk songs along with many others on the album. Train in Vain, however, is very similar to a mainstream rock song at the time. Brand New Cadillac and Jimmy Jazz do have a punk sound, but they are almost classic swing songs with distortion. Rudie Can't Fail, Spanish Bombs and Wrong 'Em Boyo are close to being Pop Rock songs. And no, that isn't a bad thing. It could be, but here it is good. Everyone should own this album. It is not only a punk classic, but it is a Rock classic.


The most overrated record in rock history.   February 11, 2000
Marc E. Sterling (Washington, DC)
12 out of 56 found this review helpful

I bought this after reading all the raves below - "Greatest rock album ever," Rolling Stone's Album of the Decade, etc. etc.... now I remember why I never bought it when it first came out. Half of it is cruise ship in hell reggae. There's no real tension in the songs (like on the best ones from their first album), and Joe Strummer is one of the worst singers in the history of recorded music. Kids- this is what smoking will do to you! Throw in the Clash's usual muddled politics and you've got an undigestible messy sprawl of a double album set that really should have been whittled down to a single album. There were so many great English bands during the period- Sex Pistols, Wire, Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, XTC, Elvis Costello, Pretenders... and yet the Clash made it bigger than any of them in America. I'll never understand it.


Punk's Sgt. Pepper.   June 27, 2004
Erik Samson (San Fransisco, CA)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

In 1979, Punk was in full swing. Though 1977's "explosion" was beggining to die down, the genre's golden age was far from over. The Buzzcocks were putting out the now legendary Singles Going Steady. The Sex Pistols' Anarchy Tour was in full swing. Black Flag was revolutionizing hardcore with two brilliant E.P.s. The Ramones were going strong with their last great album, Road To Ruin. But 1979's most important contribution to Punk will always be the Clash's masterpiece, London Calling.
At the time, Strummer, Jones, and crew had already put out two albums, the raw, punky, self-titled debut, and the less successful follow-up, Give 'Em Enough Rope. On both albums, they had experimented with Regge ("White Man In Hammersmith Palais"), rockabilly ("Safe European Home") and a variety of other styles. So it seemed natural that their third album, London Calling, should follow in tht same vein.
But nothing, however, could prepare the world from the dizzying multidude of styles, lyrical themes, and genres this album would feature. On it, the Clash experiment witrh regge ("Rudie Can't Fail"), Disco ("Lost in the Supermarket"), Flat-out rock ("Brand New Cadillac"), Pop ("Spanish Bombs"), and even a bit of country ("Jimmy Jazz").
Of course, at heart, London Calling is still a Punk album, full of classic punk anthems such as the title track and "Clampdown." The songs are dominated by singer Joe Strummer's vicious snarl and Mick Jones' crunchy, simple guitar playing.
Another feature that sets London Calling ahead of the pack is it's obvious political smarts. On these 19 songs, Strummer and Jones (and to a degree, bassist Paul Simonon, who wrote "The Guns of Brixton") explore themes of war, crime, poverty, racism, economic disaster, and the like. The powerful and profound lyrics go well with the excellent music, and give the album an apocalyptic feel.
As a whole, London Calling is one of the great masterpeices of Punk and of music in general, a true landmark in creativity.


This album changed my life.   December 28, 2004
T. Snook (Fountain Hills, Arizona United States)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

When this album came out 25 years ago, I was 17 and listening to whatever crap they played on the radio. This album, more than any other, showed me that there's a lot more to music than what the record companies tell the radio stations to play.

This record is so good, it's hard for me to talk about it without sounding like an ineloquent dufus, so I'll let others describe the music. (I know that doesn't make this review very "helpful".)

I had a chance to meet Joe Strummer in the summer of 2002. I just shook his hand and said "thank you". Now, two years after his death, I am very glad I did.