Search - Clash :: Essential Clash

Much more than Punk

Steven Stewart | 05/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me The Clash was Combat Rock, the album they released in early 80's (81?) that bring me back to my youth. A couples of years ago I read in every list of the best rock bands ever that The Clash were among the top 20 and London Calling was one of the best 10 albums ever. So I began to look for more music from the group. Discovering this collection and the early recordings of the group. I have to say That I'm impressed. From the early really punk recordings like White Riot, through their evolution to post punk and pop singles like Rock The Casbah, or Should I stay or Should I go, The Clash demonstrate that They were not just THE punk group but wise composers and instrumentalists not mentioning the message of rebellion and anger about the matters of those days. The Clash ws indeed one of the best groups ever and their music stand the test of time. In this collection you'll find their most important recordings and what They were really about."

The Band The Sex Pistols Could Have Been

Steven Stewart | Liverpool | 11/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sure, when you think of 70s punk music, the majority of people will call up the name of the Sex Pistols. With just the one album they apparently changed the world (as I've said in a previous review). Yes they did form a year later than the pistols, but they have given us a more quality catalogue of music than the Pistols did. They ended in 1986 but The Clash will still go down in history as one of the defining bands of that era. It wasn't just punk music, they also experimented with a bit of Funk and rap to keep the band fresh with mild success (thinking Rock The Casbah anyone?)



Anyway, this may not be the best collection in the world especially for the die hard fans. I have to admit that I'm not one of those die hard fans who likes songs the mainstream audience has never heard of. In fact I'm a member of the mainstream audience and I'm quite happy to say that this collection would take pride of place in my CD rack... If I hadn't already downloaded it (legally) and if I had a CD rack. Songs such as I Fought The Law and Janie Jones make the collection worth the purchase price altogether.



I would always have loved to see some form of reunion tour in the new millenium especially seeing the Pistols getting back together, but alas it was not meant to be with the tragic loss of the legend of Joe Strummer. I can only ask this of you, buy the album and savour the memories because that's all we have left."

Good double cd covers best of Clash

Andres C. Salama | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 07/11/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This double CD is a fairly good compilation of The Clash' best songs. It is arranged chronogically - the first CD covers the first albums, the second CD from London Calling on. I found the second CD far better than first, with a lot of great songs (London Calling, Clampdown, Rudie Can't Fail, Lost in the Supermarket, Bankrobber, The Magnificient Seven, Police on my Back, Ghetto Defendant, Train in Vain, This is England, and of course Rock the Casbah and Should I stay or Shoud I Go) and many different styles (ska, reggae, calypso, rap, disco, rockabilly, even sort of jazz in Jimmy Jazz). After listening the second CD, the first one sounds quite standard punk from a musical point of view - a not very inspired imitation of the Sex Pistols - the only song that I found memorable is a cover - I fought for the Law. In both cds the lyrics are great, though you have to listen to them in the context of the song, if you read them without music as poetry the number of allusions can sound pretentious. So I give four stars to this cd - an average of three stars for the first cd and five stars for the second cd."