Customer Reviews

This Is Big Audio Dynamite

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mike Jones's career took a dramatic turn when he left The Clash and formed Big Audio Dynamite. From his punk origins, he moved into heavily sampled dance music with a rap and reggae feel. His success with this style was decidedly mixed, but occasionally yeilded terrific high points, such as the excellent "Bottom Line," "E=MC2" and "Medicine Show" from the band's first album. The latter song, in particular, is a brilliant fusion of witty lyrics and extensive samples from the classic Clint Eastwood Western "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Once you get used to the style, this is good stuff, indeed.

Mick Jones and Don Letts had a good thing going when they penned this album. I would rate this as one of the best cross over albums ever made at the time, it's surprising how over looked it was in hindsight as most of the tracks on this album are out of sight. The track that defined BAD at this junction was 'Medicine Show' Ennio Morricone's 'Good the Bad and the Ugly' was a center peice for the song's structure, Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach had some great lines as well but the clincher was the Bandit's response to Humphrey Bogart in 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'
"I don't have to show you any stinkin badges!!" Letts' made an art of sampling before it really caught on and this first album by BAD was a real gem.

Big Audio Dynamite's first album has got to be their absolute best. My first exposure to B.A.D. was hearing the song "Bad" in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", and it made me seek out this album. (This was before I was even a big Clash fan, and I later become one.) To my surprise, every single track was just as good as that one, if not better. From the western sampled "Medicine Show" (with clips from "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" and "The Treasure Of Sierra Madre"), the catchy and kitschy "Sony", the dance hit "E=MC2", to the Reggae peppered "A Party", I can't find a track among these 8 songs that isn't good.

I highly recommend checking out anything of Big Audio Dynamite that you can get your hands on, but a lot of it is out of print. (The drastically underappreciated F-Punk being one of those) Luckily, the brilliant debut album is still in print, and even though it's still a bit hard to find, you can find it without nearly as much as hassle as some of the other releases. Grab this one!

When the core of The Clash broke up after "Combat Rock," the two main members, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, went on rather divergent paths. Strummer attempted to remake The Clash and released "Cut The Crap"-a truly egregious effort, and an insult to the name The Clash. Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite, and continued some of the experiments that The Clash had explored on albums such as "Sandinista!" by using massive numbers of samples and more synthesized percussion. As a result, "This Is Big Audio Dynamite" is an outstanding album, one that has held up well over the passing years. The opening track "Medicine Show" samples heavily from the movie "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly," and the song "The Bottom Line" was the "hit," heavily played on the then-nascent college radio scene. Future releases from BAD would not match the excellence and promise shown on the debut release, but in the alw! ays-fun game of determining who had the better career after a group broke up, Jones beat Strummer hands-down in his post-Clash career. Now if The Clash would only follow the lead of The Sex Pistols and reform for a reunion tour......

This is almost exactly what I look for in a sampling-based album - strong vocal, strong song structure, and catchy beats. "This is Big Audio Dynamite" definetely delivers in all aspects - unimaginably catchy, intoxicating beats that really get into your soul.

"E=MC2" is now one of my favorite 80s tracks - brilliantly put together with a strong vocal and amazing beat.

Why did it take me so long to find such an amazing-sounding album? I thank the wonderful "Listmania" creators on Amazon.com for this amazing discovery.

Besides "E=MC2", the best tracks are "Sony" and "The Bottom Line." Download or buy ASAP!!

Mick Jones' vocals,as a previous reviewer noted, may be limited.However, they're not the worst. B.A.D. was not an opera group project. Their sound was unique and different with their edgy blend of pop-rock,reggae, some faint punk-ska and various audio samples.There was a definite underlying tone of the Clash (Mick Jones) with a more pop vein geared towards a tamer version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers without crossing into Beastie Boys territory. You have to admire a group of guys who did take experimental bounds and leaps to create a unique and different sound that did not fit the typical new romantic or new wave format drowning the airwaves during that time period !

BAD went on after this witty, original, melodic, rhythmic release to produce at least two other superb works: Megatop Phoenix and The Globe. Mick Jones is a really creative fellow, with some of Frank Zappa's humor and ability to write a great tune. Wanted to point out - since many reviews refer to the Good/Bad/Ugly sampling - that the dialogue in E=MC2 (you're Jack the Lad...give them a bit of stick) comes from the Nicholas Roeg film Performance, with James Fox, Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg, set in 60s London. Jones evokes the Swinging London era quite often; there's a hilarious sequence on The Globe where Cathy MacGowan, or someone like that, is rambling on about dolly birds and with-it clubs.

I never understood why this album(it was vinyl when I first owned it) was not more appreciated. The sampling was terrific, though it's probably illegal or too expensive to do today. They had a great sound and provocative lyrics. Electronic music has evolved way beyond what was possible when BAD was made, but to my ears, it still holds up pretty well. The politics of the songs are still relevent, and they evoke nostalgia for a time when people actually cared enough educate themselves and have a political opinion.

Mick Jones has been oft criticized for his attempts to craft a hip hop record with this, his first post-Clash release. And yes, he borrows heavily from urban music on this disc. But it simply is not hip hop. What is it? It's an absolutely unique combination of groove, sampling, good old-fashioned song writing, and catchy choruses. Mick Jones may not have an incredibly tuneful voice, but he knows a good hook when he writes it. E=MC2 is still a winner, 15 years later. Sergio Leone should be proud...

Finally we get to find out who really was the creative mind in The Clash. With this album mick jones proves once and for all that he is a great writer and musician. From "Medicine Show" to "B.A.D." a pure genious journey into the musical world of Mick Jones. this record is a must in any respectable collection