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The Clash in High-Res

The Clash in High-Res

In their heyday—roughly the late-70s to early 80s—the Clash, with typical insouciant bravado, dubbed themselves “The Most Important Rock Band in the World.” They may well have been right. No doubt the band staked that proclamation on its fervid and acute political soundings. Sure, the Sex Pistols could express anger at the status quo, but that’s about as far as they went. The Clash, on the other hand, railed against the real-world, real-time imperialism it perceived in America, Europe, and the Middle and Far East. Yet while the group dealt with modern-day crises, their subject matter ranged beyond the large scale of war to the personal anguish of alienation. In other words, unlike their contemporaries, the Clash actually had much more to say than “we’re angry.”

But the group’s “most important” moniker, intended to point up its political instincts, could apply equally well to its music. Here was a band that combined fearsome power, a surprisingly sweet sensitivity, melodic hooks aplenty, and— like every great rock band—a drumhead-tight rhythm section. Guttural vocalist Joe Strummer and inventive guitarist Mick Jones made a team with the synergy of a John and Paul or a Mick and Keith.

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the Clash, and the element that most distinguished it from other bands of the era, was their exultant sense of exploration. Not since the Beatles had there been a group so intent on probing different styles and genres. The Clash was a bold experiment that posed the question, “How much punk bravado can we insinuate into every musical genre we can think of—without the wheels coming off?” For the most part, the wheels stayed amazingly on track.

Now, thanks to a recent spate of Clash download releases on HDtracks, all at 96/24 resolution, we have the opportunity to revisit—and re-evaluate— the band’s work.

The Clash

The arc of the Clash’s discography bears a striking resemblance to that of another highly experimental band: The Beatles. Consequently, the Clash’s first studio album serves much the same role as, for example, The Beatles’ Live at the BBC. Neither album is one you’re likely to play repeatedly, nor will either reveal hidden depths over time. Rather, knowing what we do now about what was to come, both albums are primarily of historical interest. The Clash showcases a raw, undeveloped band whose final lineup was not yet set, and whose ultimate potential is only hinted at. Far from exploring new terrain, which was to become the group’s hallmark, The Clash rarely veers from standard slash and burn punk: guitar-fueled instrumentation, bitter sensibilities, and a brisk 4/4 tempo. There are flashes, albeit brief, of the strong melodic talent that would later surface, as well as of the group’s facility with reggae.

I don’t mean to diminish The Clash’s significance as a peek into a historically significant band’s formative period, just as I would not belittle Live at the BBC. But in marking the Clash’s catalog being released in high-res, we have the luxury of picking and choosing which releases to buy in this new format. The Clash doesn’t really foreshadow what the band would become. And while it succeeds as a punk album, that genre in its purest form—as it is here—never delivered much in the way of long-term satisfaction. For these reasons, I wouldn’t recommend The Clash over other Clash albums any more than I’d recommend Live at the BBC over pretty much any other Beatles album.

 

The recording, at least as reflected in the 2000 digitally-remastered CD, is abysmal. Instruments and vocals all sound like they are emanating from a tin can; no highs, no lows, no dynamics. I purposely used the singular form of “can” in the previous sentence, because most tracks have so little stereo separation they might as well have been mixed in mono. Overall the sound is as monochromatic as the emotional range of these songs. Given this baseline, it’s surprising how much better the HDtracks download sounds. This will never be anyone’s demo disc, but the download at least banishes the “tin can” phenomenon. There are hints of highs (but not lows), a side-to-side soundstage (but not depth), and rhythms are more convincing. Tonally, though, this is still a threadbare recording and the 96/24 version can’t fix that. Nonetheless, for Clash completists, the download is definitely the version to get.

Give ’em Enough Rope
Give ’em Enough Rope is the Clash’s Meet the Beatles; both are confident and satisfying, yet still don’t hint at what will come. Nonetheless, Give ’em Enough Rope does establish fundamental elements that, like the Beatles’ harmonies, would serve them well throughout their career.

The Clash in High-Res

By now the Clash’s lineup was firmly in place, with Topper Headon ably taking on drum duties. Here too, songs are more tuneful than they were on the debut album, and the group’s political worldview is more fully formed. This is also the first album on which the Clash treads onto new stylistic terrain, while also flashing their sense of humor, as on “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad”. (“They put him in a cell/they said you wait here/You got the time/to count all of your hair.”) There would be much more of both to come.

I recommend Give ’em Enough Rope for completists and lovers of great punk. Why not others? There are many good songs here, but they are still packaged in a nearly-unremitting punk wrapper, which isn’t for everyone. For everyone, see London Calling below. Sonically, the remastered CD sounds just like The Clash, which is most unfortunate. And, once again, the download is leagues better, and in all the same ways as The Clash download.

London Calling
For two reasons, London Calling must be considered The Clash’s Sgt. Pepper. First, like the Beatles’ classic, it represented a huge leap from its immediate predecessor. Second, it was determined to push the envelope, both of the group’s capabilities and in terms of musical genres. With London Calling, the Clash morphed from an excellent punk-rock band to a versatile ensemble. Just as The Band did on The Last Waltz, the Clash here demonstrates an ability to effortlessly segue from style to style. From the commanding, opening title track to the closing Top 40 hit “Train in Vain”—and the blues, lounge jazz, music hall, reggae, rockabilly, ska, and Asian-flecked songs in between—the group proves comfortably in command of every genre.


The Clash in High-Res

Yet London Calling never abandons the Clash’s core musical elements. Indeed, never has the band been tighter or more propulsive. You might believe you’ve heard some group or other really rock out; but one listen to the Clash’s version of “Brand New Cadillac” will likely force you to reconsider. Here is an unbridled performance that nonetheless remains solidly planted. Few groups have been capable of—or willing to—pull off such a feat. The band’s melodic skills also reached a peak on this album. The Clash viewed melody as a vehicle for its political message, so they never shirked hummability. The group was able to invest their songs with this quality thanks to songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, who had uncanny pop sensibilities and seemingly brimmed with catchy tunes.

 

In addition to branching out musically, London Calling also explores new lyrical terrain. Several songs, like “Lost in the Supermarket,” are surprisingly personal. And the band’s sense of humor is given free rein. Consider, for example, “The Right Profile.” Far from a serious political treatise, the song is a movie star send-up: “Everybody says what’s he like/Everybody says is he all right?/Everybody says he sure looks funny/That’s….Montgomery Clift, honey!”

Released in the U.K. in 1979 and in the U.S. in 1980 as a double-LP, London Calling was an immediate smash. Its critical reception at the time bordered on euphoria, and the set went on to sell five million copies. History has been equally kind. London Calling is widely regarded as the best album of the 80s, and it was ranked number eight on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, among many other accolades. Listening to the album today only confirms history’s verdict—and confirms the album’s brilliance. London Calling is a must own.

Sonically, London Calling is almost as big a jump over its predecessors as it is musically. Finally, there is bass! That means that overall tonality is far more balanced. Even on the CD, the tin can effect is far less pronounced. Dynamic range remains limited, so my advice for the proper effect is to play it loud.

Unlike the previous releases, the download of London Calling doesn’t represent a wholesale improvement over the re-mastered CD. The two are, in fact, very similar. The CD has a hair more top end, but the high-res version gets the nod because it cleans up all the grit around Joe Strummer’s voice, which, on the CD, is considerable. If you have the CD, I wouldn’t call the download essential. If you don’t have the CD, download London Calling posthaste.

Sandinista!
If London Calling is the Clash’s Sgt. Pepper, then Sandinista! is surely its White Album. A sprawling three-LP release, Sandinista! strives to be even more inventive than London Calling. In that it succeeds, adding calypso, dub, gospel, cabaret, and rap (before it was popular) to the group’s arsenal. Unfortunately, the album is, like The White Album less focused, disciplined, and cohesive than its predecessor. No doubt this is due to it being self-produced rather than having the benefit of an experienced, external producer. There is some terrific material on Sandinista!, but there are also some outright bad songs, particularly the over-indulgent exercises in dub. I used to believe that what is sometimes said of sex or pizza—that even when it’s bad it’s still pretty darn good—is also true of the Clash. However, Sandinista! proves that the group can be just plain bad.


The Clash in High-Res

If there were only one “Revolution #9” equivalent on Sandinista!, that would be a manageable situation. However, in listening to the album anew after many years, I realize that there are quite a few washouts. Like the “Jam” that constitutes the third LP of George Harrison’s otherwise compelling All Things Must Pass, the third LP here is a complete throwaway. That said, the first two discs, properly edited, would have made a great single album release.

 

And that is the paradox of Sandinista!, for within its messy three LP’s lies some superb material. The opening track, “The Magnificent Seven,” is a sort of combat rap that works brilliantly. “Somebody Got Murdered” and “Washington Bullets” are among many other highlights that can stand with the group’s best work.

Sandinista! was recorded in four different studios, yet manages to sound fairly consistent. The CD’s sound is roughly comparable to London Calling, which is a good thing, but now we’re back to the download being a quantum leap over the CD. The 96/24 version is so much clearer and cleaner; it removes a thick layer of grime. This is an album with plenty going on instrumentally (number of guest musicians on Give ’em Enough Rope: 0; number of guest musicians on Sandinista!: 20) so hearing it all for the first time is invigorating. Consequently, in this case my recommendation is different than it was for London Calling. Whether you own the CD or not, get the download. Just delete the stinkers. You’ll still have a good album’s worth of superb music.

Combat Rock
The Clash’s penultimate studio album is something of an Abbey Road/Let it Be hybrid. Abbey Road was the Beatles determined to get back to what they did best, without sacrificing all that they had learned along the way. Similarly, the Clash, having exhausted experimental possibilities (and then some) with Sandinista!, decided that Combat Rock would be a return to more straight-ahead rock. The result was the group’s most commercially successful album ever, a multi-platinum bonanza with two bona fide radio hits, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and “Rock the Casbah.”


The Clash in High-Res

As originally conceived, Combat Rock threatened to be another multi-LP release populated with too little material of merit. However, as were the Beatles during the Let it Be sessions, the band was already starting to disintegrate, and its internal feuding caused their manager to bring in an independent hand to finalize the mixes. Playing that Phil Spector role was the estimable Glyn Johns, who quickly filtered out the wheat from the chaff. In this way, Combat Rock emerged as a trim single-LP release.

Whereas London Calling today sounds every bit as good as it ever did, and Sandinista! has faded a bit with time, Combat Rock seems to have improved with age. The album’s vibe is quite different than any previous Clash album. On most tracks, the group displays a heretofore unseen looseness and is clearly having a good time. That spirit of enjoyment— like the spirit of adventure in earlier albums—proves infectious. There is one all-out dance track, “Overpowered by Funk,” and several songs employ witty wordplay even as they rail against death squads, etc. “Inoculated City” marks the Clash’s first use of a kazoo, not to mention an excerpt from a toilet cleaner commercial.

Through all this the band never loses its bedrock political sensibilities; it just finds a merrier way to package them. Nor does the powerhouse rhythm section, which would be disbanded on the next album, lose any of its power. Melodically, Combat Rock has fewer memorable moments than its two most immediate predecessors, but the album proves winning in many other ways and so is warmly recommended.

Sonically, Combat Rock marks an unfortunate return to the thin tonality of early Clash albums. Thankfully, neither dynamics nor highs are as restricted as on those releases, so the CD is perfectly listenable. The download is a bit more fleshed out, especially in the vocals. Rhythms are steadier and, as with all these downloads, removal of various forms of noise allows more music to emerge.

Overall, the HDtracks release of the Clash catalog in high-res must be considered a colossal success. Without exception, the downloads improve the sound of the most widely available digital version of these albums: the 2000 remastered CDs. Further, the high-res files allow us to revisit a great band’s work, which proves to be highly rewarding in itself.

By Alan Taffel

I can thank my parents for introducing me to both good music and good sound at an early age. Their extensive classical music collection, played through an enviable system, continually filled our house. When I was two, my parents gave me one of those all-in-one changers, which I played to death.

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