Combat Rock [Vinyl]

The Clash | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (July 7, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00004WXE7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (133 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,928 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Know Your Rights

2. Car Jamming

3. Should I Stay or Should I Go

4. Rock the Casbah

5. Red Angel Dragnet

6. Straight to Hell

7. Overpowered by Funk

8. Atom Tan

9. Sean Flynn

10. Ghetto Defendant

11. Inoculated City

12. Death Is a Star

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, July 20, 2005

By 

race_of_doom (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Combat Rock (Audio CD)

I usually hate it when people cry "underrated!!" like it's going to do anything, but I feel that "Combat Rock" (as well as "Sandinista") deserve the complaint.

The first Clash record I seriously fell in love with was "Sandinista." It was wildly experimental, fun, and almost always consistently interesting. It was after that album that I started listening to their more appreciated work (the two albums -- you know which ones).

What stopped me from listening to this album was the surplus of negative reviews and opinions attached to it. People seem to like it even less than "Sandinista," and there are a lot of people who find that triple album repulsive.

But I finally gave it a listen. "Know Your Rights" sounds like a tossed off one-note experiment at first. I was a bit disappointed. But by "Car Jamming," something happened.

I really, really liked it! It's so catchy and weird at the same time. In fact, that goes for the entire album, minus the more "normal" hits -- catchy and absolutely weird. (Sell out? Pfft.) Take the last track for example. "Death Is a Star." Does that even sound like the Clash?

No, not really. In fact, not at all. But for what it is, it's not half bad! That's the beauty of The Clash circa "Sandinista!" and "Combat Rock" -- they tried so many genres and almost always succeeded in some various way. And if they didn't, it was at least an interesting failure.

This one is like "Sandinista!" edited down to a single disc, making it an extremely cohesive album. In fact, it's probably their most cohesive album. Even more so than the perfection of "London Calling."

Hell, even the hits ("Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "Rock the Casbah") are great. They're not as overplayed as some on here make them out to be.

Every single song has something to offer. "Inoculated City" is perfect pop, "Overpowered by Funk" is The Clash doing (good) disco, "Ghetto Defendant" is an interesting mess of tense drumming, seemingly computerized voices and tight rhythms.

And last but certainly not least, we get "Straight to Hell" on here. What's not to like?

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'll take this over the Offspring anyday..., October 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Combat Rock (Audio CD)

Is it their finest hour? No, but Combat Rock far surpasses the third rate, so-called 'punk rock' of recent years. I'll never forget the teenage me watching the Clash on late-night live tv playing 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'; I was completely in awe---fatigues? A mohawk? I didn't even have cable, this was unbelievably exciting stuff. Today, when I hear 'Rock the Casbah' on the radio during one of those insidious 'remember the eighties' hours, sandwiched between one-hit wonder novelty nonsense, I'm angered that the Clash aren't acknowledged in their proper context---a British punk rock band who wrote brilliant pop songs, introduced reggae music and culture to white kids, and changed my life for the better.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Sell-out, December 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Combat Rock (Audio CD)

If I read any more ignorance about this being The Clash's "Sell-out" record I'm going to go mad. Listen, selling out is putting out the same record 10 times and being afraid to take chances. The Clash were way ahead of their time with this experimental album, and while there are a few missteps ("Should I Stay", "Overpowered By Funk"), there is also absolute brilliance on this album: "Ghetto Defendant", "Straight To Hell", "Inoculated City", and yes even "Rock The Casbah". "Death Is A Star" has out of tune vocals which somehow almost makes it avant-garde. I put this album up there with "The Clash" and "London Calling". Remember, "selling out" is someone deciding what is, and is not, punk. Punk is someone deciding for themself they're not afraid to take chances, even if they might fail. The Clash, here, try and succeed. Buy this.