Customer Reviews

The Clash (U.K. Version)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First off, I have no respectable punk credentials (is that an oxymoron?). I did buy the U.K. version on vinyl back in the late 70s, when it was the only version, but that was kind of a fluke, although I did love that record.

Anyway, personally, I like the U.S. version.

For the U.S. release, Sony replaced Deny, Cheat, Protex Blue and 48 Hours, all worthy songs, with Clash City Rockers, Complete Control, (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais, I Fought the Law and Jail Guitar Doors (yeah, they threw in an extra song).

I agree that the U.K, version hangs together better. The U.S. version sounds a little more like a collection of singles, and in fact that's what all the substituted songs were. And the substituted songs are a little less hardcore.

But to their credit Sony picked some great, in fact indispensible, songs for the U.S. version. I Fought the Law is one of the Clash's signature tracks. Complete Control, besides being a great song, was produced by reggae god Lee Perry, the Upsetter himself. And (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais is a classic, perhaps the classic, punk-reggae tune. The other two substituted songs, while great, aren't quite as historically significant.

Yeah, sure, you could buy the more authentic U.K. version and then buy the Clash collection The Singles and get all the songs that were added to the U. S. version--and more. But that collection includes a couple of the songs already on this CD, so you have to ask yourself: Do you want two versions of White Riot or Remote Control? Are you interested in everything the Clash did throughout their career, including obscure B sides? How much of a scholar are you?

Or you could find the songs Sony added on the Internet, which might be the way to go if you're a completist.

But you're a cheap lazy sod and just want one version of the Clash's first CD, I would hesitantly recommend the U.S. version.

Perhaps the finest of all punk albums--pure energy, lean and ferocious. From Joe Strummer's agonized barks to the blistering roar and squeal of Mick Jones' guitar, this album defined punk rock forever. Angry, defiant, youthful, socially aware but not self-righteous, "The Clash" is a perfect statement of intent. From the ripped& torn cover photo, Jones, Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon glare at us sullenly, boldly, with a Union Jack starkly displayed on Simonon's shirt. Simple, effective, to the point. Then there's the photo of the Notting Hill riots on the back--complementing perfectly the music within. The bored youth of "Janie Jones" could have been any kid in the UK at the time who never would have heard his story told by Mick Jagger or Rod Stewart or Elton John. In "Remote Control" the state of youthful affairs is put almost too succintly: "Big business it don't like you/Don't like the things you do/You got no money/You got no power/So you don't count--PUNK!" On this new remastered version, "I'm So Bored with the USA" and "White Riot" are fearful things indeed--clear, overpowering, shattering experiences that'll leave you exhilirated. Here's punk philosophy in a verse: "All the power in the hands of the people rich enough to buy it/While we walk the streets too chicken to even try it." Is the Clash daring you to try it? Oh yeah....

The four songs that have been unavailable in America for so long are short sharp shocks: "Deny," "Cheat," "Protex Blue" and "48 Hours," delineating the world of the young UK citizen of the time. Very tough, nihilistic, and very very serious. But of course the most amazing song here is "Police and Thieves," a compassionate reggae hit of that year that the Clash made completely their own. Bands today are still trying to nail the formula that the Clash perfected here with this example of how rock can blend with reggae. Keep trying is all I gotta say. There's such a sense of drama and despair in the song it gives me goosebumps.

"The Clash" is far and away the single greatest punk album of any year. It is a textbook for future bands. It's vision of a world in flames, of oppression and self-determination, of crisis and indignant fury. The Clash realized just what a powerful tool rock'n'roll could be to voice the frustration and boredom of a lost generation and they did it like no one else. The Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Dolls, Iggy, etc. etc., may have been the catalysts, but the Clash were the guys who understood what punk could mean on a worldwide scale, as each subsequent album ventured further and further from the confines of the United Kingdom. This is it, folks: Punk's Ground Zero Year One. The Clash: Still the only band that matters.

There's no denying that the UK version of The Clash's self-titled debut is the essential version. Anyone remotely familiar with The Clash or the UK punk scene can tell you that. It's all here - the snarling, cockneyed fury, the amphetamine-laced vitriol, stungun guitar chops, DIY musicianship and songwriting (though Strummer/Jones hardly deserve to be lumped into that category) and most of all satisfying, searing music played at a breakneck pace. After all, the album's barely 40 minutes long and by 2000's standards that's not a lot of music. Then again, when was the last time 'N Sync or any other band burst out of the gate with an album like this? 1976 or 1977 if memory serves ...

The arrangement on this CD is superior to the US version. It flows much better. The right songs are here (excepting, arguably, '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais') and this is the way The Clash intended the world to hear their debut album. That last point is probably an important one in making the case for this version.

Perhaps most importantly, though, is the fact that this album truly defines punk. It's not just three chords and a disaffected chorus. That's going through the motions. It's about emotion - raw & pure. That's what The Clash has in spades. Take 'Police & Thieves' as an example. Is it punk rock? You bet it is.

Bottom line: If you're at all interested in punk music - or music period - you need to own this album.

After 23 years, the Clash's first album is finally available in America, with its original UK program, running order, and artwork. The US version is a fine album, with good, later songs replacing four of the originals, but it sounds a bit of a confused patchwork. The added songs, some of them recorded more than a year after the UK album, slow down the program and dillute its message and power.

The Clash recorded this album over two weekends in early 1977, and the passion and single-mindedness of the performances made it almost a concept album: it had range and variety but an almost obsessive focus on young, down-and-out life on London's streets. Its insight, humor, hangdog defiance and rock power made it one of the greatest albums of all time.

By meddling with its content and sequencing, the executives at CBS made a technically superior product (the US version) that lacks the soul and drive of the original. "Clash City Rockers" is just mediocre; "White Man at Hammersmith Palais" has a style and theme that seem out of place here; "I fought the Law" effaces the other songs' scabby realism with silly, cowboy braggadocio; "Jail Guitar Doors" is an irrelevant outtake from Strummer's 101'ers days. And how could these CBS execs have failed to see "Janie Jones" for the perfect album opener that it is?

But the original masterpiece is now in the stores, so rejoice! And hear the Clash's first statement as it was meant to be heard.

The one-star rating has nothing to do with what Mick, Paul + Joe were doing in 1977 and everything to do with the avarice shown by their record label in 2000. I have no intention of debating whether the US or UK version is better, either (although personally, I'll take "Clash City Rockers" and "...Hammersmith Palais" over "Protex Blue" and "Cheat" any day). The fact of the matter is, Sony should have put out one disc with all the tracks on it, rendering all such arguments moot.

If not the most popular of the wave of classic British punk, then certainly the most politically radical. The quartet consisted of Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, (ex-101ers), bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky Headon. The group's name came from a word found in London tabloid describing British class and race riots in the 1970's Britain. Songs from their classic debut album do just that. Highlights follow.

The visceral hard-edged guitar and drums and in-your-face vocals, is demonstrated with "Clash City Rockers." "I'm So Bored With The USA" takes on the US military and political establishment, US foreign policy, and political corruption, with a Sex Pistols-like guitar from "Pretty Vacant." But despite being bored with the USA, "what can I do?" underlies helplessness of overpowering US hegemonism.

Punk power was demonstrated in two ways in "Remote Control." The song denounces the power of government and big business. However, CBS Records released this song without their permission. While this song isn't as hard-driving as others, it does have some worthy guitar riffs.

The group lashed back at CBS with the hard "Complete Control." The issue about control of single releases is evident here, but the song's also about how the fan-band interraction is hampered by security throwing the fans out. At the end, Strummer screams out "Total C-o-n control-that means you!" meaning his fans.

After a police siren, a grinding, fast-paced guitar sets the pace for "White Riot," calling for the white working class to stand up for their rights just like the blacks had at Notting Hill Gate. School is a place "where they teach you how to be thick" (true!) and the rich have all the power.

One of the best songs they put out is the reggae-influenced "White Man In Hammersmith Palais," which is a nod to black culture and people, who fight for something instead of among themselves like punkers, but also details the harassment they get from the police and army: "The British army is waiting out there/An' it weighs fifteen hundred tons." The solution to their poverty: some wealth distribution from some Robin Hood.

"London's burning! london's burning!" Anthemic guitars, but no, it's not about a riot but how London is burning with boredom, burned out with traffic jams and the usual subway ride and becoming vegged out on the tube.

This reading of the Crickets' "I Fought The Law" (no, Bobby Fuller did NOT originally do it!) is the best rendition I've heard, with the power guitar and galloping and thundering drums.
Breakin' rocks in the hot sun. Very apropros for the anti-copper attitude of the time.

The first of two job songs. The boyfriend of "Janie Jones" hates his boring job, with a neverending in-tray and a jerk of a boss, leading to a confrontation: "This time he's gonna really tell the boss/Gonna really let him know exactly how he feels." And one of my favourite songs, "Career Opportunities" is about economic dead ends, with words growled at breakneck pace: "They offered me the office, offered me the Shop/They said i'd better take anything they'd got." Indeed, "Career opportunities are the ones that never knock/Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock."

The condemnation on racism of "Police And Thieves" has reggae-influenced guitar riffs and vocals and predicts a cataclysmic result from the police and thieves who are scaring and fighting "the nation with their guns and ammunition."

Youth identity and feeling alienated and not belonging is the theme behind "What's My Name," be it at home, being in trouble with the law, leading to burglary.

An all-out assault of unleashed energy, the Clash's debut album demonstrates their taking social and socialist realism to artistic and political levels.

This is ground zero for true punk rock, the apex, the most vital and contemporary album from the time. From the dope-smoking, alienated youth with a nowhere job in love with "Janie Jones" (a "vice queen" in all the tabloids of the day) to the rabid, spitting indignation of "White Riot" (this version leagues beyond the American one for sheer exhiliration), from the staggering roar of "London's Burning" to the cynical, hard-bitten "Cheat," this record stands as one of the most undeniably powerful and stream-lined debuts in rock history. Nary a false move, with balls and attitude and even some compassion. The reggae classic "Police and Thieves" becomes truly the Clash's own as they align themselves with downtrodden and oppressed rude boy culture. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were a songwriting duo worthy of mention along with Jagger/Richards and Lennon/McCartney for vivid, intense, blistering songs. Strummer and Jones and Paul Simonon were on the front lines of a youth culture that had been abandoned in sterile high rises and tower blocks, offered only a bleak future in factories and office buildings. Alienation, rage, boredom, unemployment, drugs--it's all worked into these songs. Loss of identity and individuality is dealt with in "What's My Name," the loss of integrity and principles in "Deny" and of course "Career Opportunities" are the ones that never knock. This new remastering sounds brilliant and still raw at the same time; "White Riot" has never sounded so frightening, or "I'm So Bored with the USA" so true. Buy this album if you care at all about rock'n'roll, about passion and conviction in music, about the ability of youth to be resourceful and tough and angry and to confront the real world. They don't make 'em like this anymore because everybody's sitting round watching television and playing video games and all the kids like turning rebellion into money.....

THE CLASH is one of those bands that kicked off the UK punk scene somewhere in the late seventies. Like most of their NY cousins in the early punk shift, they transformed into many different styles in the years to come. In fact, THE CLASH would branch into all sorts of styles in the eighties including Reggae, Rockabilly, and New Wave, but in 1977, they were punk.
Yet, what a commercially satisfying brand of punk they were. Yes, they were angry.. and yes, they were poor, but The Clash had a certain degree of professionalism to them that few, (if any) punk bands have even today. The songs on this record are raw (very nice) but are also well crafted. JANIE JONES the lead off track on this (the UK version) is as close to a pop song as a respected punker can get. In this modern age of punk rock, few musicians have much for respect to what they are doing. Punk today is sugared up and for the most part, pretty gay. In 1977, punk was dirty and dangerous. This lead off track doesn't stray, yet is strangely danceable.
The rest of this album moves foward with more edge, so this is a true punk record.. not pop.
If you purchase here, you will get the UK version. This is a little more edgy than the US version, which substituted some of the harder stuff (DENY, CHEAT, PROTEX BLUE, and 48 HOURS) for a handful of earlier CLASH singles. If you purchase somewhere else be sure to check the back, there is usually a sticker that will say either US or UK, and the track lists are noticeably different. I personally like both. I have the UK on CD and the US on vinyl.
If you are new to school, then I would go with this version, since it IS the original cut of the album. You may miss CLASH CITY ROCKERS and I FOUGHT THE LAW though. Its really a tough decision. Record companies like to jerk us around, even though they could obviously fit ALL of the tracks from both releases onto one disc, they don't.
The strongest cuts can be found on both though WHITE RIOT, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES, BORED WITH THE USA, and all sorts of other gems. Well worth the dough.

So yeah, I bought the US version a while back without hesitation. Purists may disagree, but I think it`s more about the music, not how legendary it is or what version it is. The songs taken from the original (Deny, protex blues, 48 hours, cheat) really aren`t missed when substituted with Clash- essentials like Complete Control, [White Man) In Hammersmith Palais, I Fought The Law and Clash City Rockers. This is one of my favorite albums ever, one of the few that has only a couple of skippable tracks. There are so many incredibly good songs in this, but my favorite has to be the aforementioned [White Man] In Hammersmith Palais. This isn`t their usual loud punk, but a very catchy and great reggae song. White Riot is too an excellent track, a complete opposite to [WM]IHP, a loud, angry, riot- inducing punk gem. London Burning, Garageland and Career Opportunities are also classics, very good songs.

So, I highly recommend this album. If you can`t find the US version, then buy the UK version, just nevermind what version it is if it`s available. Both are classics.

Next to Never Mind the Bollocks and The Damned's debut album, this is the album that defined British punk. Unlike the fun punk coming out of the states, these UK bands sang like their lives depended on it. It's all fast driving songs at breakneck speed and the killer sound of those buzzsaw guitars. I prefer this album to the US version because it contains a rawer, much better version of White Riot (did they think it was "too crude" for US release?) and it just overall is more consistent and better characterizes what this album is about: pure punk. The US version might confuse some new listeners because although songs like "jail guitar doors" "white Man.." and "i fought the law" are awesome and show the band maturing as a musical force, they are totally out of context of what the album was originally conceived to be. "white man..." makes for too much reggae on the album and "i fought the law" is one of my favorites but it sounds terribly overproduced compared to the rest of the album. in other words, if you have to choose one, choose the uk version, but i recommend getting both if you can.