From Here to Eternity: Live [LIVE]

The Clash

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 26, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00001X593
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #106,470 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 1999
The Clash were the only first-generation punk band capable of (or perhaps interested in) tailoring their up-from-the-gutter firepower to suit arena-size audiences. Here, at last--a decade and a half after their demise--is proof of their substantial stage skills. --Steven Stolder

Amazon.com
Touted for many years as the greatest live band in the world, the only surprise about this live album is that it's taken so long to appear. Recorded between '78 and '82, it captures the London punk torchbearers in all their fury--Strummer spitting out vocals like every breath is his last, the guitars of Jones and Simenon taut and abrasive. Even after all this time, songs like their debut album's scathing "Complete Control" and the dub-fired "Armagideon Time" blister out of the speakers, sending streams of scouring guitars and tight, chunky reggae rhythms into the atmosphere. Two complaints: no "White Riot," and no songs from Give 'Em Enough Rope, the underrated second album. Instead we have material from the sprawling Sandinista and disappointing Combat Rock. These are minor flaws though. Buy Live: From Here to Eternity for the first 12 tracks alone. From the angry, articulate dub of "London Calling" to the full-on force of "I Fought the Law," this is punk at its pinnacle. --Everett True

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, The Live Clash We've Been Waiting For (Almost), November 23, 1999

By	Pop Kulcher "Pop Kulcher" (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Pop Kulcher Review: A mere 20 years in the making, we finally have an official live release from what was, for a brief shining moment, the Only Band That Mattered. And let's get right to it, you need to own this. Period. That said, though, there are a whole lot of downsides to this album, and I can't help but be disappointed. Among the faults:

1) While the title is merely bad, the cover art is downright terrible. Granted, in the age of the compact disc, album cover art is of decreased relevance; and the Clash (with the exception of London Calling's inspired Elvis Presley take-off) were never known for their tasteful cover art. But this is the pits.

2) The concept, while somewhat clever, ultimately doesn't work. The album is a hodge-podge of live tunes from throughout the band's 6-year lifetime, arranged not in order of performance, but based on the age of the song (i.e. moving from the oldest songs to the newest songs). Although that might work for a greatest hits collection, the effect here can be a bit jarring. Though the songs are carefully segued together to give the appearance of a single performance, they can't hide the variations in sound quality. Unlike, say, the Grateful DeaD, who meticulously recorded every performance straight off the soundboard and carefully archived each show, recordings of Clash performances (as bootleg collectors know) are a bit sketchier. So while they have cleaned up the sound quite a bit, there are noticeable changes in sound quality from song to song. Coupled with varying instrument mixes and performance quality, it all gets a bit unsettling if you listen too closely.

3) The song selection is, at best, highly questionable. Sure, any collection of this nature is going to cause disagreements among fans, but the choice here seems particularly dubious. Of the 17 songs, 7 are from the band's debut (I could list 2 dozen songs I'd rather hear than "London's Burning" and "What's My Name"), and 3 are from their weak swan song Combat Rock. That means there are no songs from Give 'Em Enough Rope, an album with a few outstanding numbers which, given that album's much-criticized production, would have been particularly worthy of live treatments. And Sandinista, the band's 3-lp opus, gets a mere one track here. Instead, we're stuck with the interminable "Armagideon Time" -- I suppose they wanted to have a representative of their reggae/dub flirtation, but it's hardly essential. So, whining aside, is this still great? You bet. Tunes like "Career Opportunities" and "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" (from the debut) and "Capital Radio" and "City of the Dead" (underplayed singles from the Black Market Clash collection) are absolutely riveting; "The Magnificent Seven" is so hot you'll never want to hear the studio version again; and "Train in Vain," while derided by the band's punk loyalists as a radio-friendly sell-out, confirms its status as one of the premier pop songs of the rock era. So, yes, by all means buy this; maybe if enough interest is shown, they'll treat us to an official release of an actual show, warts and all, rather than a flawed collection of live snippets.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW - An incredible live album!, December 13, 2001

By	J. Righter "jrighter3" (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not usually a fan of live albums, but "From Here To Eternity" is a much-appreciated exception. Any one who doubts the Clash's greatness, needs only to hear this album. Yeah, I would like to have "Safe-European Home," "Bankrobber," and something else from "Sandinista!" on the album, and I could do without "Armigideon Time," but that's mere quibbling. The song selection is generally outstanding, the recording quality is as good as you could hope for in a live recording (strong and clear, while still sounding 100 % live), the energy is sky-high (Strummer on "Know Your Rights" or Jones on "Train In Vain," e.g.) and, to top things off, the Clash jazz their songs up just enough to make it fresh and compelling. I, in fact, PREFER a few of the songs on this CD to the originals (and I love the originals), including absolutely stellar versions of "White Man in Hammersmith Palais," "What's My Name," "Know Your Rights," "Straight to Hell," and "Guns of Brixton." I've always heard the Clash were amazing live, and this album proves it to me. Man, I wish I had been there!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what a live album should be., December 18, 1999

By	grundle2600 "grundle2600" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

I have owned all of the Clash's studio albums for roughly a decade. They are one of my five favorite bands of all time.

Many of today's so-called "punk/alternative" bands think that the way to make good music is to play louder, harder, and faster. But they are wrong. And anybody who thinks that these bands are good has obviously never heard the Clash.

The Clash is the greaest punk band, and even the greatest reggae band, of all time. They were one of the most intelligent, politically aware, energetic, and passionae bands in the history of music. And perhaps most imporantly, they were really, really pissed off. This anger helped to give a tremendous depth to their music.

This CD is their first official live release. I have never heard the Clash in conert in person, but this CD sounds exactly like I would imagine one of their concerts would have sounded like. There's an urgency to the music, as if the fate of the world depended on them playing the music with as much energy and passion as they could command. Much of the disc focuses on their earlier songs, when they were more raw and wild. Those early songs were awesome. My only real regret for this CD is that it only has three songs from London Calling, which is certainly their best album. Still, this is one of my two favorite live albums of all time, with my other choice being Velvet Underground's 1969 double live album. If you are a Clash fan, then this new Clash CD deserves to be in your collection.