Complete control, that's a laugh
The Clash, "the only band that mattered", was falling apart after the release of the phenomenal Combat Rock. Topper Headon left the band right before the 1982 Combat Rock tour due to his heroin addiction, and tensions were rising between Joe Strummer and Mick Jones over the direction of the band. The band took a short break and the Clash would return to the stage one last time in May 1983, after being offered $500,000 from Apple's cofounder, Steve Wozniak to headline US Festival's New Wave Day. Initially there was outrage from the band over the inflated ticket prices and the lack of any black performers. It would lead the band demanded Apple to make a donation of $100,000 to charity to make up for it; however, the band did go through with their performance. The performance would be a disaster: the band showed up 2 hours late, Strummer and Jones taunted the crowd while performing a sloppy 90 minute set, and the band brawled with security after being denied stage access to perform an encore. This performance would be Jones's last as he would be sacked by three months later after poor rehearsals with the band. In a ordinary story this would be the last the world would have ever heard from the Clash. Even the Clash's official website last entry in it's history was the US festival performance. However, the Clash is not an ordinary band and would try to make one last album. The result would be considered the worst Clash release and one of the worst albums of all time…
But is it?
Yes, at points.
Normally the phrase "the Clash's foray into New Wave" should be met with "oh yeah, Rock the Casbah!", but to me it conjures up the god awful opener "Dictator" with it's stupid drum machine intro, hilariously outdated synthesizers, and random news samples. This song sounds like xenochrony gone horribly, horribly wrong to the point that I thought something was wrong with my headphones. All this while Joe Strummer sings over a much better track…
the live version of Dictator!
Which has all of the energy and attitude that we all know and love from the Clash. So what went wrong?
The release of the album is infamous as Joe Strummer was paid in advance for the album, and after the lead single, "This is England" was released to horrible reviews. Strummer jumped ship, and producer Bernie Rhodes was left to complete the album using Strummer's demoes and drummer Pete Howard. Strummer's original plan was to "cut the crap", as in forgo the Reggae and Funk influences the band had developed over its career and to return to the straight forward Punk roots of the self-titled LP. This album cannot be any further than the Clash 1977 debut. Rather, Rhodes decided to include, of all, things FOOTBALL CHANTS into the mix?
These football chants would have completely ruined "Life Is Wild", 'Cool Under Heat" and "We Are the Clash" if the was in fact something to ruin in these songs. I cannot understate how bad the production is which completely lifeless, filled with stupid pointless synths and drum machines. However, the songs are boring to the point that they are making me very, very sleep-
zzzzz
WE ARE THE CLAAAaaaaaaASH!!!!!!!
I'm awake, I'm awake!
"This Is England" also contains these, ugh, football chants, but somehow, probably due to Joe Strummer's involvement it actually works! In fact, it's the best song on the album and can easily stand with the rest of the Clash catalogue.
The old cliche of have a hundred monkeys with a hundred typewriters and they would eventually write Shakespeare comes to mind with "Are You Ready", which all of the synthesizers, Strummer demoes, and guitar all come together to sound like an Oingo Boingo b-side. Seriously, get Danny Elfman to sing over this and this wouldn't sound too far from "Nothing to Fear"
If "Are You Ready" represents one side of the New Wave spectrum, then "Finger poppin" is the Total Devo side of the spectrum. If it weren't for Joe Strummer's vocals it wouldn't sound out of place if it were played in a Supermarket or a Dentist's office.
"Dirty Punk" and "Movers and Shakers" try to be heavy hitting punk anthems, but fall flat on their face due to the horrible production and terrible songwriting. I have a feeling that this songs would be a lot more listenable if they weren't overproduced to the where all life has been squeezed out of the track.
"Three Card Trick" is this albums foray into Reggae… which completely misses the original point of this album, but whatever. It's not absolutely horrible, it has a nice, relaxing feel to it, but this is the band that wrote "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais"! Undoubtedly, in my mind, the greatest Reggae Rock song of all time. I simply expect way more than this.
"North and South" is listenable and would be decent enough to be a Sandinista outtake if it didn't half it's life blood sucked out of it by Bernie Rhodes.
I have no idea what "Play To Win" is supposed to be and I don't think it knows what it wants to be, but I don't like it. At all.
This album is bad. But buried underneath all of these stupid keyboards and drum machines are Joe Strummer's excellent lyricism. He still has his bite and poignance in this album in, albeit slightly weaker than in previous and future releases. Coupled with "This is England" and two decent songs ("Are You Ready" and "Three Card Trick"), it saves it from being unlistenable.
The Clash toured one last time following the release of the album, with the only remaining original members being Joe Strummer and Paul Simmon, then would promptly dissolve. There were plans to reunite in the early 2000s, but those plans were shelved once due to Joe Strummer's sudden death in 2002 from an undiagnosed heart defect.
While the Clash may of ended with a whimper rather than a bang, their previous five releases have stood the test of time, while this album has been deservedly forgotten.
3/10
Final Grade: F+
But is it?
Yes, at points.
Normally the phrase "the Clash's foray into New Wave" should be met with "oh yeah, Rock the Casbah!", but to me it conjures up the god awful opener "Dictator" with it's stupid drum machine intro, hilariously outdated synthesizers, and random news samples. This song sounds like xenochrony gone horribly, horribly wrong to the point that I thought something was wrong with my headphones. All this while Joe Strummer sings over a much better track…
the live version of Dictator!
Which has all of the energy and attitude that we all know and love from the Clash. So what went wrong?
The release of the album is infamous as Joe Strummer was paid in advance for the album, and after the lead single, "This is England" was released to horrible reviews. Strummer jumped ship, and producer Bernie Rhodes was left to complete the album using Strummer's demoes and drummer Pete Howard. Strummer's original plan was to "cut the crap", as in forgo the Reggae and Funk influences the band had developed over its career and to return to the straight forward Punk roots of the self-titled LP. This album cannot be any further than the Clash 1977 debut. Rather, Rhodes decided to include, of all, things FOOTBALL CHANTS into the mix?
These football chants would have completely ruined "Life Is Wild", 'Cool Under Heat" and "We Are the Clash" if the was in fact something to ruin in these songs. I cannot understate how bad the production is which completely lifeless, filled with stupid pointless synths and drum machines. However, the songs are boring to the point that they are making me very, very sleep-
zzzzz
WE ARE THE CLAAAaaaaaaASH!!!!!!!
I'm awake, I'm awake!
"This Is England" also contains these, ugh, football chants, but somehow, probably due to Joe Strummer's involvement it actually works! In fact, it's the best song on the album and can easily stand with the rest of the Clash catalogue.
The old cliche of have a hundred monkeys with a hundred typewriters and they would eventually write Shakespeare comes to mind with "Are You Ready", which all of the synthesizers, Strummer demoes, and guitar all come together to sound like an Oingo Boingo b-side. Seriously, get Danny Elfman to sing over this and this wouldn't sound too far from "Nothing to Fear"
If "Are You Ready" represents one side of the New Wave spectrum, then "Finger poppin" is the Total Devo side of the spectrum. If it weren't for Joe Strummer's vocals it wouldn't sound out of place if it were played in a Supermarket or a Dentist's office.
"Dirty Punk" and "Movers and Shakers" try to be heavy hitting punk anthems, but fall flat on their face due to the horrible production and terrible songwriting. I have a feeling that this songs would be a lot more listenable if they weren't overproduced to the where all life has been squeezed out of the track.
"Three Card Trick" is this albums foray into Reggae… which completely misses the original point of this album, but whatever. It's not absolutely horrible, it has a nice, relaxing feel to it, but this is the band that wrote "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais"! Undoubtedly, in my mind, the greatest Reggae Rock song of all time. I simply expect way more than this.
"North and South" is listenable and would be decent enough to be a Sandinista outtake if it didn't half it's life blood sucked out of it by Bernie Rhodes.
I have no idea what "Play To Win" is supposed to be and I don't think it knows what it wants to be, but I don't like it. At all.
This album is bad. But buried underneath all of these stupid keyboards and drum machines are Joe Strummer's excellent lyricism. He still has his bite and poignance in this album in, albeit slightly weaker than in previous and future releases. Coupled with "This is England" and two decent songs ("Are You Ready" and "Three Card Trick"), it saves it from being unlistenable.
The Clash toured one last time following the release of the album, with the only remaining original members being Joe Strummer and Paul Simmon, then would promptly dissolve. There were plans to reunite in the early 2000s, but those plans were shelved once due to Joe Strummer's sudden death in 2002 from an undiagnosed heart defect.
While the Clash may of ended with a whimper rather than a bang, their previous five releases have stood the test of time, while this album has been deservedly forgotten.
3/10
Final Grade: F+
No comments:
Post a Comment