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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A disappointing album that still deserves a review, September 20, 2002
By A Customer
"Cut the Crap" is by far the worst Clash album ever recorded, to the extent that it's not even considered a real Clash album by most people. This is in part due to singer/song-writer Joe Strummer completely denouncing the album, which in essence made it alright for everyone else to as well. Yet how many people have really even listened to it? Most reviews simply say this album is terrible and leave it at that, but as the Clash's swan song it at least deserves a review.Aside from the lack of Mick Jones, there are a few key differences between this album and other Clash albums. Joe Strummers songs are mediocre; not terrible, while the production is awful. The songs often sound overly synthed, like the worst of all 80's music, and provide a strong contrast to the intended grittiness of the album. The grittiness, for that mattter, doesn't particularly work either. Strummer's otherwise alright songs are ruined by three punk kids snarling and shouting the choruses as if they've been drinking in a pub. It certianly adds an element of intensity missing from Combat Rock, yet even at it's best it's merely distracting. After three excellent diverse rock albums, returning to stripped down punk just seems a little bit regressive. And on the plus side? Strummer's voice sounds pretty good, not great, but it's still Strummer wailing away. A few of the songs make this new sound work as well, "Dictator," is great and raw, while the slow "This Is England" is surprisingly haunting and atmospheric, with a chorus ("This is England/This is hell...") that's probably the most memorable thing on the album. I still can't recommend this album to anyone, even the biggest Clash fans, but I just wanted to point out that it's not completely without merit: some advocates of raw 80s punk might actually enjoy this. Fans of the Clash's early material and of later punk movements occasionally do embrace this album as underrated, but fans of the band's best, most experimental work such as Sandinsta, no matter how open minded, will likely be unable to listen to this all the way through. Every other Clash album, even b-side collections and live albums, have almost unlimited replay value, but this Cd gathers dust in just about every collection. If you've already collected all of the other material by the Clash, allow me to suggest trying Joe Strummer's latest two solo CDs, Rock Art and X-Ray style and Global A-Go-Go. They're fantastic, mature and sincere, and like the Clash's best work, draw from a variety of influences. They're everything this album isn't.
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