The Clash
London Calling (Remastered)
Play London Calling (Remastered)
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MOG Editorial Review
On the Clash’s third album, the band refused to merely dabble in punk and reggae, and smartly embraced the influences of earlier rock ‘n’ roll generations, from rockabilly to hard rock, to ska, and New Orleans R&B. With Joe Strummer and Mick Jones giving voice to the rebellious righteousness their band firmly represented, and the eclectic nature of the double album builds upon itself. The title track opens things up with its staccato guitar riffs mimicking siren calls, touching on racial conflict and unemployment in the UK, while “Rudie Can’t Fail” had them expertly combining ska, pop, punk, and reggae elements. In “Spanish Bombs,” The Clash took on the Spanish Civil War while “Death or Glory” is an anthem for anyone who knows the struggles of adjusting to adulthood responsibilities. Effectively churning out as vast an array of styles as the Clash do on London Calling is all too often a failed attempt, in spite of this, the punk legends succeeded at it to create a timeless and essential rock ‘n’ roll album.
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AMG Review of London Calling
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music GuideGive 'Em Enough Rope, for all of its many attributes, was essentially a holding pattern for the Clash, but the double-album London Calling is a remarkable leap forward, incorporating the punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology and roots music. Before, the Clash had experimented with reggae, but that was no preparation for the dizzying array of styles on London Calling. There's punk and reggae, but there's also rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock; and while the record isn't tied together by a specific theme, its eclecticism and anthemic punk function as a rallying call. While many of the songs -- particularly "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," and "The Guns of Brixton" -- are explicitly political, by acknowledging no boundaries the music itself is political and revolutionary. But it is also invigorating, rocking harder and with more purpose than most albums, let alone double albums. Over the course of the record, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (and Paul Simonon, who wrote "The Guns of Brixton") explore their familiar themes of working-class rebellion and antiestablishment rants, but they also tie them in to old rock & roll traditions and myths, whether it's rockabilly greasers or "Stagger Lee," as well as mavericks like doomed actor Montgomery Clift. The result is a stunning statement of purpose and one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever recorded. [In 2000 Columbia/Legacy reissued and remastered London Calling.]
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 "London Calling (Remastered)")
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