Customer Reviews

A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with the Clash

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

 

 

What a blast! I read this book in one day, I just could not get enough of its personal, unpretentious and colorful tone. Johnny Green has written a sly, thoughtful, and very sharp memoir of his days with the almighty Clash. Here one actually sees the courage and stamina and wit it took to be a punk rock band in the 70s--Green writes vividly of the police troubles, the riots and the madness (and poverty) of life on the road. He also does a great job of sketching the personalities of the Clash men: Strummer comes off the best, with his man-on-the-street persona, his gentle whisper in conversation, his concern for his downtrodden fans, and his insatiable interest in life around him. Jones is the prima donna, a "muso" with a definite vision for his band, fueled by coke, pot and women. Simonon is the sharp, funny, beautiful one, very cool. Topper's spiral into drug abuse begins near the book's end--he's the guy that just goes along, but Green always seems impressed by his talent. We see here how The Clash were truly trailblazers; albums like "London Calling" and "Give 'em Enough Rope" are among the finest British rock'n'roll ever recorded. I love this book, found it more insightful than the recent bio, "Last Gang in Town"; the Clash finally became real people to me, involved with the real world and people of all types. The Clash still remain, for me, the Only Band That Matters. Thanks to Johnny Green for putting his story to paper! (and after all this, won't you give me a smile???)

I bought this book on Joe Strummer's recommendation in a recent interview... but if this is the best book about the Clash then that is a shame... it is another one of those dry accounts by a "bystander/not a writer" who rifled through their diary and patched together a string of less-than-remarkable anecdotes until he had enough pages for a book.
For someone who hung out with the Clash on a daily basis for several years I would have expected more insight into their personalities. Many of the "stories" related left me wondering why he thought that was interesting enough to mention.
If you are a die-hard Clash fan you do get some snippets of insight into their day-to-day working methods while rehearsing for and recording the classics "Give 'Em Enough Rope" and "London Calling" but, beyond that, it is little more than another boring rock&roll travelogue offering scant depth, details, or juice.

Man, I really wanted to like this book. You won't find a bigger Clash fan than me, and books about them are scarce and usually re-tell the same stories over and over again. I was hoping that this one, written by Johnny Green (the Clash's former road manager), would provide some new insight into the band and the period of time as a whole.

Very few new things are revealed. Mick Jones seems difficult, Joe Strummer is idealistic, Paul is handsome and charismatic, and Topper is stoned. Drugs and alcohol flow freely, but is that new? No, not really. The author himself spends much of the book commenting on his own intoxicated state, which often leads to *hilarious* anecdotes where he is naked/driving a bus/throwing sound equiptment into the Thames.

I realized how disappointed I was with this book when I found myself obsessing over a two-sentance mention Johnny Green makes about not paying child support. Why should I even notice this? At the end of reading this book, all I wanted to do was smack Johnny Green's big, drunk face with a boot and scream, "I don't care how much coke you snorted, stop talking about it already!" His narration (which often sounds like the rambling of the big goon at the party who won't shut up about his glory days doing keg stands) gets in the way of really detailing the personalities of much of the band. Like, he'll begin an anecdote about the Clash's intensity onstage, only to interrupt it to describe whatever he was drinking. Other reviewers have mentioned how his relationship with the band is hard to figure out, and I agree. Is he a close family member? Or more a member of the crew?

Day-to-day descriptions are pretty good, though, and there are enough occasionally revealing anecdotes about the band to keep the reader hoping for more. The best thing would be if a member of the band writes a book, I guess. Please, Joe Strummer?

I read this book in one sitting quite easily. It was a blast to read, with one hilarious anecdote after another. And Green really does do a good job of conveying the excitement and innovation that surrounded the Clash, making you understand why they truly did matter so much. The personalities in the band definitely come out - in the case of Mick Jones, not really in a terribly flattering manner. Strummer on the other hand seems incapable of doing any wrong and comes off golden. The truth undoubtedly lies somewhere in the middle, but you will not doubt that everyone in the band was absolutely committed to the music - even Jones, whom Green describes as incapable of buying his own milk, admirably performs shortly after having his hand slammed in a car door. A great read, without pretentious social analysis - just a well-written book about one of the world's greatest rock bands.

It's great to see how the best rock and roll band treated their help. And the message from Joe in the beginning lets you know it's all good. Speaking of Joe, Green's little story on how Strummer couldn't handle his girlfriend was right to the point of how cool the book was. How one of the most articulate political artists in pop music couldn't treat someone so close to him is so perfect. And it's not dramatized like one of those stupid biopics, it's just human and downbeat and true. And the messings with politics, drugs, drinking and the road were perfect too. I forgot they didn't get their fame until later. And you'll remember alot when you read this book too if you are a fan (like why the drums in Train in Vain are the way they are..?) It's just pitch perfect. Let's you in on so much that you wanted to know. And the ending (last page) fits the book in so many ways. Not necessarily a bio either, just how they work on the road and the studio. And if the creation of art fascinates you as it does me, this is so worth it.

Now this is good. So many rock biographies spend too many pages describing the youth of the subject - like Lost in the Wood, a book about Syd Barrett that is painfully boring until after 150 pages.

No such prevarication here. Now it may be important for making a detailed psychological profile, but I want to read stories about the band, and get a bit of insight into the meaning of lyrics, or some description of how a song was written/ recorded. So on that level, 'A Riot of Our Own' delivers. Covering just the period that Johnny Green worked with the band, it's basically full of anecdotes and stories of day to day life with The Clash.

And that's it. It may not be as completely Clash-focussed as some fans might like, but that's just cos it's a personal account of one of the road-crew, and as such is more authentic that so many other biographies. So it's worthwhile.

Really, if you liked The Clash and their attitude towards music you can't help but like this book. The book tells real storys about actual guys; they're not super heros they're rockers; come on that's what made them so great. With the recent loss of Joe Strummer this one'e worth reading. Don't forget to spin your records while you read.

Why does this book evoke more about the Clash than Marcus Gray's in only half the length? Probably because Johnny Green knows playing "Joe vs. Mick" is a petty exercise and downplaying the Clash's overall existence is the act of a writer too self-conscious about changing times.

"Riot of Our Own" benefits greatly from Green's casual perspective. That he doesn't try to steep the Clash's growing success in socio-political terms allows us to see how focused, passionate and honest the band tried to be. He also reminds fans how great it was to enjoy a band of such articulate energy in the present tense.

OK, ok, I've heard it a million times...being on the road with a band is only exciting for that one or two hours a night they're playing. BOY, does Green's book drive that point home! But, where a better story teller might have turned an account like this into a character study of some doubtlessly fascinatinating individuals (the band and its hangers-on), Green provides a series of dull anecdotes that don't seem to go anywhere or offer any real insight into the main characters. A big yawn by any standards, and a big disappointment for anyone looking for some insight into the Clash myth and legend.

If there are 3 Clash items that are essential then it's this book, the "Westway to the World" dvd and Bob Gruen's photo book.

Johnny Green's book tells it like it was. It doesn't dress up the rather US originated "stylised" view of the Clash from 1980-83 as almost the new wave successors to the Stones which may have resulted in gaining them many fans world wide but lost much of their original UK fan base. Instead it covers the essential 1977 to 1979 period and paints the band as human beings - Mick with his rock star aspirations and pretensions, Paul and Topper as jack the lads chasing women and wanting a laugh and Joe as the humanist who cares about the fans and who wants to know about what's going on in the world.

RIP Joe - you died way too young.

Johnny Green - you wrote a terrific book, thank you

Martin...