I had my own personal Joe Strummer tribute this weekend.
In case you weren’t aware, the former Clash frontman, punk rock pioneer, and all around nice guy, Joe Strummer, passed away last week from an apparent heart attack, at the young age of 50.
The saddest part of Strummer’s passing, was that The Clash was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this summer, with all four original members (Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon) slated to reunite for the first time since their fiery breakup in 1982.
As many of you know, I’m a huge Clash fan. So, in tribute, I pulled all my Clash CDs off the shelf and proceeded to listen to each one in their entirety. Well, except for Cut the Crap, and I kinda skipped around Sandinista. But still, that’s a lot of music.
God, what a great band. I haven’t listened to some of these CDs in years and I’ve got to comment on some of them.
Sandinista: As Chris Orcutt commented in his review of this album, Sandinista takes some patience to listen to. A 2-disc set, with 36 songs, that tackles everything including funk, reggae, gospel, waltz, disco, children's ditties, dub, and instrumental. Classics off this album include, “Magnificent Seven” and “Police on my Back”. But this album also has my all-time favorite Clash tune, “Washington Bullets”.
London Calling: This is perhaps the most perfect album ever recorded by anyone. Almost every song is a classic, but “Death or Glory” and “Clampdown” are my favorites.
The Clash: Their debut CD which is only paled by London Calling. Classic anthems like “I’m so bored with the USA” and “Janie Jones”. There are two versions of this album, a U.S. release and an original U.K. release. The U.S. release has “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” and “Clash City Rockers”, while the U.K. release is missing these, but adds three others.
Combat Rock: Probably the most popular Clash album because of the commercial success of “Rock the Casbah” and “Should I stay or should I go”. But I always enjoyed “Overpowered by Funk”.
Super Black Market Clash: My favorite Clash album, because of all the great remixes and lost tracks. See my original review for more info.
So, thanks Joe. Thanks for the “Groovy Times”. Try to “Cool Out” at the “Gates of the West”, keep in mind that “Time is Tight” and remember to “Listen” to the “Jail Guitar Doors” in the “City of the Dead”.
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