Customer Reviews

Live at Shea Stadium (Snyr)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Of course we all love the Clash, who doesn't, and the limited amount of "official" releases means any new release from them gets trumpeted as must-have material, but does this really qualify? The Who played 2 dates @ Shea Stadium (home of the New York Mets baseball team, and at the time the New York Jets football team) in October of 1982, the Clash preceded them on both nights, this CD is the full Clash set from 10/13. It has been well-documented that fans were not particularly kind to the Clash during most of their stints opening for The Who, but you wouldn't know it as this recording is soundboard-quality. If anything it's Joe Strummer that was in a peevish mood during the festivities, directing the occasional miffed barb towards the crowd.

The set-list is laden with hits, slanted towards the latter-day radio-friendly material (Casbah, Train In Vain, SISOSIG, etc.) and at this point the band had been playing together for 10 years so the versions present here are razor-sharp and tuned to perfection. This might put off some folks who prefer the earlier, more punk rock sound where the band sacrificed tunefulness for a more edgy & earnest passion. But given the total package this release is geared more toward the casual fan, with the die-hards obviously along for any ride they can obtain. It's not a particularly long set (remember this was The Who's show) so the brevity is somewhat disappointing but works well for the runtime of a standard album.

So do you need it? If you're a fan, of course you do. It doesn't take you on the vibrant journey that From Here To Eternity provides, but don't lose sight of what this is: a single complete concert from the final stage of The Clash's career. As long as you aren't expecting the greatest live album evar! then you won't be disappointed. Take it as the historical artifact that it is & enjoy.

This is a really puzzling release. The Clash are my absolute all-time favorite band, so I had o get this. But I really question the decision to release this particular show when we know there are so much better performances out there. Listening to this record made me feel a bit sad. They sound like they're out there singing songs that they've done a thousand times and lost all enthusiasm for. Take the opener "London Calling" for example. On the album version, Joe sounds desperate and violent, putting every last ounce of passion and fury into the delivery. On "live at Shea" he's just up there singin' a tune. Nothing special about it. At this point the band was only a few shows away from effectively breaking up and it shows. Gone is the feeling of comradery among the members. If you've seen footage of this gig, they're standing about 5 miles apart from each other. The loss of Topper is painful too. Terry Chimes just can't hack it with his boring, unenthusiastic drumming. Just listen to his poor excuse for a reggae beat on "Armagideon times". Awful!! And Rock the Casbah never sounded great live, and here it's just pitiful. Terry can't hack the drum beat.
Another comment- The album art is disgusting!! As a teenager I thought the Clash imagery was stunning, matching their sound. I mean Paul Simonon is a graphic designer and he did a great job on those early LPs and 45s. But the whole American flag thing is just stupid from the band that sang "I'm So Bored with the USA". They're from the UK anyways!! And the little baseball designs? Yuck. I guess because its Live at She Stadium, but I don't get it. Doesn't fit their style.
Great audio quality, but that's about it. Get the amazing live compilation "From Here to Eternity" instead. That disk proves what The Clash were capable of.

i was at this concert and i had seen the clash about 20 times, this is not a good indication of what the band was like live...the set list was weak and topper is a much better drummer...stick with the bootlegs..

Back in 82 I waited 9 hours in line to get tickets to see The Who at Shea. By the time we got to the front of the line Oct 12 was sold out so we got tickets to see them Oct 13. They were pretty crappy seats, nosebleed. My friend and I got there during the middle of David Johansens set. Now at the time since I was only 17 I didn't pay too much attention to who the opening acts were. I have to admit that I was one of the stupid idiots who were booing the Clash to get off so The Who would come on. Years later when I started listening to The Clash and realized how good they really were I wish I had paid more attention to them. I bought The Who's Last (Live at Shea) album a few years later and realized how underwhelming there show had really been. Again what does a 17 year old know?

Listening to The Clash finally Live in all of there majesty and what I missed at that show is just amazing. I can totally understand why The Who had them on. It was a passing of the torch moment. probably an even bigger if less noticed passing like when The Police passed the torch to U2. I think if The Clash hadn't imploded they may have been even bigger than U2 is today??? Maybe? Anyway.

I've been listening to this pure joy of power a week before it comes out on Vh1 The Leak. Now I'm not going to try to disseminate this product. (It's fantastic) But I will point out just a few things. All of the songs sound great and the production is spectacular. It was engineered by Glyn Johns who also did The Who's Next. I love this live version of Rock the Casbah. I always thought RTC was just a little commercial, but this version sounds pure punk raw!! And when Joe Strummer rants on the crowd after Clampdown I feel like it's the first time anyone ever gave me the finger where I really deserved it!!

Well 17 is 43 now, Joe Strummer is gone and there tearing down Shea soon. But I'll always have my memory and ticketstub for Oct 13,1982 Now 26 years later I have another great addition to the memory of that great day!!!!

What a drag it is, getting old! I saw the Clash on this tour at their Dallas stop and this CD sounds just the way I remember them-tired, burnt out and ready to throw in the towel. I saw them in 1979 and it was as if they'd been shot from a cannon. So there you go-why should you buy this album? For that matter, given the tons of live recordings that must have been available, why release it? I don't hold this against the surviving band members, who are after all dependant on their music for a living. I'm just saying that you don't have to buy every product they release just because their name is on it. I wish the Clash the very best and I hope that they're doing well and that they're not wanting for anything. They gave me some of the best music I've ever heard. But none of that is on this CD. I would have preferred to have sent a check directly to the members of the band to paying for this album, which I did not enjoy. It would have eliminated the middle man and shown my sincere appreciation to a really steller band. I urge the curious to pass this up and buy one of their earlier studio albums. For a taste of what they sounded like live, "From Here to Eternity" covers this time period in the band's history along with providing some some earlier performances that will melt your speakers. I loved the Clash. But this isn't a good CD.

I was there the first night. I was wet and cold as I stood on second base looking at the stage against centerfield wall. Honestly, was not impressed by Clash that night and was by the Who. Little did we know that the Clash were at eachother's throats and days away from breaking up.

However, I do like this cd. Sound quality is very good. Performance seems a little rote (photo inside shows night's schedule with the band squeezed in before the Who) and rushed. They were better at the Pier Concert that summer. Much more fun to listen to now in warm house or car! Let's hope there will be more concerts released in the future.

This album is a lot of fun. Sure, there are some great songs not included in the set list, but keep in mind, The Clash was an opening act this night.

In the car, my three-year-old daughter insists on listening to "Police On My Back" over and over again. She loves singing the days of the week at the top of her lungs. I'll take Mick Jones over Raffi any day!

Enjoy.

As The Clash was disintegrating due to the drama between Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, the band was actually riding a high wave of popularity on AOR stations.

And more in line with any number of arena rock acts of that era, the performance venues seemed to get larger as the personal clashes became more numbered. Recorded on the second - 10/13/82 - of two nights at Shea Stadium while opening for The Who, there are some surprisingly inspired moments in such an impersonal atmosphere.

While it may not be the place to start for fans to hear the band deliver an electrifying performance, it is a great chronicle of The Clash as arena rock icons as the band members waded through the debris left by the implosion of punk rock and the battle of egos in their combat rock.

Well, I'm not sure what to make of this one. It's a mess. Best tune, "Police on my Back," worst aspect,as usual during that period, Terry Chimes on rubber drum sticks. Looking at the guy puts you to sleep. Let me start by saying that the set list is so obviously tilted toward any songs that remotely have a military bent in support of their 1982 looks, GI Joe, except for Strummer's Daniel Boone hat(??). Sort of like when KISS changes their costumes every few years. Disjointed, no energy, and what's with Strummer's bizarre rantings, almost hostile toward the crowd. Anyway, if you want live Clash at its best, go for the bootlegs "This is Radio Clash," Bonds, 1981, I was there, unreal. The Palladium 9/21/79 (the ill fated cover of "London Calling," or so they say,) The Capital Theatre show in 1980, and anything you can find before June 1981. I would also skip the new Pink Clash book. It's very heavy and can be read in one sitting in a book store, like Barnes and Noble. It also has a cheap sell out feel to it, especially with Strummer contributing posthumously. Post Clash, I was glad to have the opportunity to see Strummer perform with the Mescaleros at the Palladium, he played a few Clash tunes, and really put on a good show. If you want to hold on to some of the magic that made them the "Only band that mattered," I'd pick up "Rock art and the X-Ray Style." Nice work by Strummer and the Mescaleros. Finally, if you want a decent live disc, "From here to Eternity" is a pretty good effort. Long live the Clash!

Ok, so the date is Oct. 13, 1982. The Who are headlining and The Clash are touring in support of their latest opus, Combat Rock. The performance will prove pivotal in their world following, particularly in the US. Commercial hits, Rock the Casbah and Should I Stay or Should I Go, are played that evening. Although the band were very much pulling apart, namely the strained relationship of Strummer and Jones, they play to an audience of about 50,000 at the legendary Shea Stadium with picture perfect results. The sound quality is remarkable but should come as no small wonder considering Glynn Johns (The Who fame) is recording the event. This would be one of the last times that Strummer, Jones and Simonon played at their most meaningful. The Clash were only too close to conquering the rest of the world at the time they broke up and it's a shame that their potential was never realized. For Clash fans who know, they didn't need to achieve that level of success to reach the hearts of those who listened to them (or luckier still were able to attend one of their performances). They are missed in a world that lacks innovation and creativity. Here is a snapshot in beautiful, untainted, and unrelenting sound. The only band that ever mattered.