Customer Reviews

Super Black Market Clash [Vinyl]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay folks, for the puzzled people out there, let's see if I can straighten some things out about Super Black Market Clash and the purpose it serves.

Many people here and there are (understandably) very confused about why Black Market Clash (a super-cheap EP issued back in 1980 with rockers galore on one side and a slice of Clashreggae heaven on the other) hasn't been reproduced in full on this CD.

The reason is that with CDs and compilations, the prerogative for a Clash odds'n'sods collection have changed. You won't find songs like "Cheat," "Bank Robber," or "Armagideon Time" (all on the original release) here on this CD, because they can all be found on The Story Of The Clash, Volume 1 (and the UK debut album, now available in the US in remastered form - go buy it!). Now admittedly, this Super Black Market Clash CD destroys the concept of the original EP, but then again they have different identities.

What THIS CD does now is collect ALL of the Clash's non-album rarities, B-sides, dubs, etc. and place them in one spot. There are only TWO tracks in the entire Clash discography that are missing: the live "London's Burning" from the B-side of "Remote Control" and the mediocre "Rockers' Galore" (yet another dub remix of "Bank Robber," which is precisely why it's not on this CD). Trust me, you aren't missing anything if you lack these two tracks. The point is, if you get all the Clash albums (including the UK version of the debut, not the US one) plus The Story Of The Clash, and this CD, you'll otherwise have everything they ever did, singles, EPs, etc. That's how you get a complete collection. For example, that's why the whole Cost Of Living EP is here EXCEPT for its flagship track "I Fought The Law": that song is on The Story Of The Clash.

Admittedly it's not the MOST graceful way to handle the sorting of their back catalogue, but it's pretty good, especially in light of the argument that A: bonus tracks would have arguably ruined the flow of the debut CD and Give 'Em Enough Rope, and that B: there'd be no space on the London Calling and Sandinista! CDs to PUT bonus tracks (both of those use up every minute of their running time, pretty much.) Put yourself in the shoes of the people compiling this CD with a hard 80 minute limit staring them in the face: they could include those songs from the original Black Market Clash EP that were already available on other albums (and anyone buying this disc would already own the other albums), or they could drop them and instead include B-sides that would otherwise NEVER see the light of day on CD. They chose the latter option to reward the completist fans, and I think that was the right move. So that's that. Agree or disagree, that's the logic that went into the track selections here.

Now, for those of you who don't own this album yet, here's why it I'd argue that it makes a great purchase:

The Clash weren't a PERFECT B-side group (like The Beatles, whose B-sides are pretty much all totally ace) but, like few other bands of their era, they were pretty damn close. Some of the dub remixes on the second half of the album are dispensable if you're not into that kind of music (although I have to say that although I wasn't initially, they've REALLY grown on me - especially the great "Justice Tonight/Kick It Over"), the early B-sides are ALL great.

They play like an alternate history of The Clash, really. You hear their one of their first recordings, the enraged "1977" ("No Elvis, Beatles, or The Rolling Stones!") followed up by a primitive instrumental from the Capital Radio EP, "Listen." Then a clutch of awesome B-sides: the great "Jail Guitar Doors," which was out of place on the US version of the debut album but fits just right here, "The City Of The Dead," "The Prisoner," and the endearingly juvenile "1-2 Crush On You," all nearly as powerful as most of the stuff from the albums they were offcuttings from.

Then you get what I consider the lost highlight of The Clash's career: the Cost Of Living EP. Recorded after Give 'Em Enough Rope, it was a conscious effort to return to their roots, but by this time they had begun to grow artistically to the point that all sorts of influences were seeping in, chiefly American ones. There's the great harmonica-driven "Groovy Times," and a hilarious remake of "Capital Radio" complete with a mock classical guitar intro.

But what makes it so powerful is "Gates Of The West." Ever heard this one? If you're a Clash fan and you haven't it's a shame. It's just flat-out brilliant, a written manifesto of their aim to conquer America and its music. Here they are, British punks, telling anyone who bothered to listen to the lyrics where they were going:

"I should be jumpin' shouting that I made it all this way/From Camden Town Station to 44th and 8th/Not many make it this far and many say we're great/But just like them we walk on and we can't escape our fate/Can't you hear the sighing?/Eastside Jimmy and Southside Sue both said they needed something new/So we're standing at the gates of the west."

Can you see why London Calling was so inevitable after this song? Here it is, the blueprint for everything that came afterwards for The Clash. If you wanted to put a pinpoint on the moment The Clash began to grow into one of the most terrifyingly mature and brilliant musical groups of its era, it's right here on this song.

I could be melodramatic and say that this song alone justifies buying this, but I won't - that's why it gets 3 1/2 stars (rounded up to four in the Amazon system) and not five. But it's a milestone, and many other tracks here are hardly less dispensable. For those devoted to The Clash, it's an essential purchase. All others should approach it not with doubt, but caution.

First the bad news--the original Black Market Clash was a 10 inch vinyl "ep" released in 1980 as a method of tying up all of the extra Clash UK singles and B sides that had not been on any US albums. The result was an excellent record that clocked in at 34 mins.-- almost a long player-- at the price of an ep. The first side was mostly thrashy punk, while the second side was 17 mins. of pure white boy reggae bliss. This record took on a personality of its own and I came to think of it as the fourth Clash album-- between London Calling and Sandinista! This version is a disjointed mess with a lot of pointless remixes thrown in at the expense of some of the original songs. Where is "Cheat"? Where is the original "Bankrobber" with the complete vocals? Why wasn't the whole album put on this cd in the correct order--then throw in some extra tracks? Why? Why? Why?

Now for the good news. This is an absolute must for the real Clash fan. It starts off with the terrific "1977" which was left off of the US version of the first album. It has "Pressure Drop", an early excursion into reggae that is one of the Clash's best songs. "Groovy Times" and "Gates of the West" would sound right at home on London Calling. "Justice Tonight/Kick It Over" is some tasty dub/reggae even though the original "Armagideon Time" was left off. Even the remixes of "The Call Up" and "The Magnificent Seven" grow on you.

In short, Super Black Market Clash is an interesting compilation of Clash loose ends that traces the band's development from angry punks to the reggae dub experiments to the funk songs from the Sandinista! and Combat Rock era. Worth buying if you are a completist--if not stick with London Calling or the Singles.

"Super Black Market Clash" is the replacement for theoriginal "Black Market Clash" which is now out of print.For lots of reasons, "Super" is inferior to the original, but it's still a must-have for The Clash enthusiast.

Standout tracks include '1977,' 'Pressure Drop,' 'Gates of the West' and 'Groovy Times.' These are among some of the best songs The Clash has written and recorded. The rest of the tracks are an assortment of odds and ends and remixes. This isn't the best introduction for new fans, but it is essential listening for the diehards.

It's pretty obvious from most of the reviews that they have never heard the original 10" vinyl EP "Black Market Clash," at least the edition that was released in the US.

Just for the record, here's the original song list for the vinyl EP:
1. Capital Radio One
2. The Prisoner
3. Pressure Drop
4. Cheat
5. The City Of The Dead
6. Time Is Tight
7. Bankrobber/8. Robber Dub
9. Justice Tonight/10. Kick It Over

First of all, here's what you DON'T get on from the original EP release of "Black Market Clash" on "Super Black Market Clash:"
1. Capital Radio One
2. Cheat
3. Bankrobber

Why is that? Why would anyone/label re-release an album (especially as a "Super" edition) without the original songs?

In addition to the omissions, what's left of the original song sequencing is prefaced, interfaced and postfaced with some very inferior material. Certainly not material worthy of sharing the same disc space as the original EP's tracks.

It's nice to have remastered versions of those tracks that weren't previously included in other releases, most notably "The Clash On Broadway" box set, but the brilliance of a classic EP has been erased by a sad, sad manipulation by Sony.

OK, there are 2 schools of thought here, and neither of them are complete or perfect: 1) If you have the English versions of these cd's, including the 'Singles' cd, this cd of b-sides and remix rarities gets you caught up. WRONG: in that case, where the hell is London's Burning (live), the b-side to the single Remote Control, or Armagideon Time, b-side to London Calling, or Rocker's Galore, b-side to Bankrobber??? (Speaking of the 'Singles' cd, where in the hell is Capital Radio One? Again, close but not complete.) 2) If you have the US pressings, then where in the world is White Riot from the UK version of the first LP?? What we have here, as is the case in ALL Clash releases anywhere, is a 'close but not complete' set of songs. It's like Epic always purposely leaves just those 1 or 2 songs off that make you go out and buy some other cd that have them on. So much for the fans. This cd is good, but it could have been so much more. And Kosmo Vinyl was the consultant here? What a rip-off you turned out to be. "So cheap and real phony". Now, what really needs done, is a major overhaul of the complete catalog, and have cd's with all lp songs and subsequent singles and b-sides as bonus tracks, plus all original artwork. Take a look at how beautiful Elvis Costello's reissuing campaign was. (Hey Rykodisc, are you listening??) Until then, we'll only continue buying Clash cd's for that 1 song we don't have, and keep rebuying the 15 others that we already do.

It's all to do with magic moments, that great febrile beast, rock and roll. Those unfathomable moments that send shivers up your spine. And it is why this is my favourite Clash record. Oh, yeah, pound for pound, even I would go for London Calling or the eponymous debut. But, there are two songs on this collection of odds and ends, EP releases, B-sides and so forth, that really make me hair stand on end like a true glued-up punk. The first comes at the end of the rather insubstantial song, 1-2 Crush on You, with Strummers voice fighting against the fade, but still jumping all over Jones's weak voice. It's only for a few seconds, no more, and I can't really put my finger on why it gets me but it does everytime. The second comes in Capital Radio 2 where, in a spoken interlude, Strummer hoarsly calls out to his guitar partner in crime, Hey Jonsey? and the laconic reply, yeah what? Brilliant. Oh, I forgot, in the same song, that fantastic rush of adrenelin in the shape of Topper Headon's drum solo.
So that makes three magic moments on one collection. Not much to go on is it? But listen up, life isn't overflowing with those almost mystical sensations that raise you up for the briefest of seconds. And when such moments come along be sure to savour them, they are what elevate us, a chance to feed from the source for the barest of moments. And rock and roll is all about encapsulating that rarefied magnificence.
Duh! I didn't really review the record, did I?
Love the Clash as you would your mother. She might have the odd day off but she's still your mother.
The mother of all bands welcome you - dive in and find your own magic moment!

okay, here's the deal.

1) a CD can hold 70+ minutes of material. the original "Black Market Clash" was issued on 10" vinyl, containing 9 songs/remixes, and clocked in at a little over half an hour.

2) "Super Black Market Clash" contains 21 songs/remixes, with 77+ minutes, BUT LEAVES OUT MATERIAL FROM THE ORIGINAL RELEASE.

now, the additions are welcome, don't get me wrong. but WHY leave out material from the ORIGINAL "Black Market" when releasing the expanded CD version? Specifically "Cheat" (admittedly available on the rereleased green [or blue] album, "The Clash"), and "Armagideon Time" (which originally preceded "Justice Tonight/Kick it Over")? I don't get it. Luckily I still have a working turntable. buy this one if you don't have the original, or if you don't own one of the many fabulous versions of "This is Radio Clash" once available on vinyl.

..I happen to be a true fan of The Clash and i really enjoy Black Market Clash, however i'm quite disappointed at the omission of Bankrobber and Armagideon Time. I've acquired these tracks on a copy of "story of the clash vol. 1" so i'm still able to enjoy them, but Black Market Clash suffers without them.

However...

The City of the Dead, The Prisoner, Pressure Drop, Groovy Times, Gates of the West, Capital Radio Two, and Stop The World are some of the best Clash tracks I've heard and make this album very enjoyable.

As for the dubs... i can't stand Justice Tonight/Kick it Over, or Robber Dub. The Magnificent Dance is okay but the song really needs lyrics to be good, same with The Cool Out. The Mustafa Dance is an enjoyable dub of Rock The Casbah though

i first bought this when it was called just "black market clash" and was a 10" vinyl release back in the early 80's.

at first i was thrilled to see it re-released with added bonus tracks but then to my horror i discovered two very disturbing omissions. both "bankrobboer" and "armagideon time" are NOT on this!

i could almost do without having armagideon time but bankrobber is a clash essential. it puzzles me to why they would not include that great song on this disk.

so on one hand you get all these other clash tunes that are impossible to get anywhere else but then on the other hand, you don't get bankrobber. (it does however appear on the new clash "essential" cd, as well as "singles" i believe).

all in all, this still remains a must-have for clash fans regardless of their terribly misguided track selection.

I think you'd be really hard-pressed to come up with any other band that had as much belief in the virtually unlimited potential of rock music---both musically and lyrically. The Clash defy all labels and categorization---their vision and spirit were so strong that they always overpowered and seemlessly blended with whatever genre they happened to be working in at the time.

This is a great collection that really gives great examples of the many directions of the Clash. From the tough punk of "1977", to the rousing "Pressure Drop", to dub work of "Justice Tonight" and "Robber Dub", to the cool remixes of "This is Radio Clash" and "Rock the Casbah", this covers a lot of their range. My only complaint is that they didn't include the original tracks from "Black Market Clash", as there was a different (and superior, IMO) version of "Pressure Drop" on that one.