The Clash - London Calling (1979)

If punk rejected pop history, LONDON CALLING reclaimed it, albeit with a knowing perspective. The scope of this double set is breaktaking, encompassing reggae, rockabilly and the group's own furious mettle. Where such a combination might have proved over-ambitious, the Clash accomplish it with swaggering panache. Guy Stevens, who produced the group's first demos, returns to the helm to provide a confident, cohesive sound equal to the set's brilliant array of material. Boldly assertive and superbly focused, London Calling contains many of the quartet's finest songs and is, by extension, virtually faultless.
Bursting at the seams with creative energy, the Clash's stunning 1979 double album more than made up for the artistic and commercial disappointment of its predecessor, 1978's tried-too-hard Give 'Em Enough Rope. With ex-Mott the Hoople producer Guy Stevens harnessing their sound as never before, the band yielded what proved to be the best work of their career. Bouncing from hard rock (the apocalyptic vision of the title track) to rockabilly ("Brand New Cadillac") to reggae ("Rudy Can't Fail") to pop (the Top 40 hit "Train in Vain"), the Clash knocked down all musical walls and, in the process, ended the argument over punk's viability in the U.S.

Tracklist:

CD 1 (65:09 min):
01. London Calling
02. Brand New Cadillac
03. Jimmy Jazz
04. Hateful
05. Rudie Can't Fail
06. Spanish Bombs
07. The Right Profile
08. Lost In The Supermarket
09. Clampdown
10. The Guns Of Brixton
11. Wrong 'Em Boyo
12. Death Or Glory
13. Koka Kola
14. The Card Cheat
15. Lover's Rock
16. Four Horsemen
17. I'm Not Down
18. Revolution Rock
19. Train In Vain

CD 2 (67:37 min):
01. Hateful
02. Rudie Can't Fail
03. Paul's Tune
04. I'm Not Down
05. 4 Horsemen
06. Koka Kola, Advertising & Cocaine
07. Death Or Glory
08. Lover's Rock
09. Lonesome Me
10. The Police Walked In 4 Jazz
11. Lost In The Supermarket
12. Up-Toon
13. Walking The Slidewalk
14. Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)
15. The Man In Me
16. Remote Control
17. Working And Waiting
18. Heart & Mind
19. Brand New Cadillac
20. London Calling
21. Revolution Rock

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