give 'em enough rope LP

The Clash | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EPIC
• ASIN: B00005AKMO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,997 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clash's only disappointment, but still good, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Give Em Enough Rope (Audio CD)

When all the other major British punk bands died in 1978 and were replaced by tepid New Wave, CBS (the Clash's label) tried to push the band into the US market whether they liked it or not. They shipped the band to New York and set them up with Sandy Pearlman, a metal producer w/ a commercial track record.

The result is not nearly as good as it could have been. First of all, Pearlman hated Strummer's voice and buried it disastrously low in the mix. Secondly, he packed the sound with distortion, booming drums, and overdubbing, making all the songs sound similar and muddying the impact of the Clash's considerable guitar fury. Thirdly, the lyrics Strummer wrote are histrionic, cranky and soaked in melodrama: it looks unkindly on British punk, their own career and certainly the world at large.

The situation the Clash were in was not a pleasant one -- they were being accused of selling out and of being phonies, and being pushed into a clean sound they loathed. The music falls apart under the war between producer and band.

That said, some of the songs are fantastic, and would have been truly world-class with better production: "Safe European Home" is a great mixed paean to Kingston, "Tommy Gun" is a chilling take on terrorism, "Drug Stabbing Time" has an undeniable rock groove and "Stay Free" is a world-class romantic history of the band by Jones along the lines of "I'm Not Down" on London Calling.

All in all, worth a listen (especially at only $9.50) but it's a bit of a letdown.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "GIVE 'EM ENOUGH ROPE" ... AN OVERLOOKED CLASSIC, August 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Give Em Enough Rope (Audio CD)

The Clash's sophomore release, "Give 'Em Enough Rope," is an album that has been long overlooked and is long overdue for some serious recognition. The album stacks up to anything else that the band released, and continues in the band's tradition of political incorrectness and indispensable fury. Angst is bursting from every track. The opener, "Safe European Home," is one of the highlights of the band's catalog, and the Beatles-esque "Julie's in the Drug Squad" is some of the band's most innovative and wittiest work. The Clash obviously had catchy guitar hooks and infectious melodies in their pockets like most people have pennies. The beautifully crafted and moving "Stay Free" and the closing track "All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)" feature some terrific harmonizing by the band. The production on this album is much better than on its predecessor, but this only adds to the album's remarkable intensity. I'll say it again: the Clash are STILL the only band that ever mattered, and are the most influential band of the past 25 years.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the clash fall just short of perfection, September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Give Em Enough Rope (Audio CD)

Many of the tracks on "Give 'Em Enough Rope" are true punk classics. Tommy Gun, Drug-Stabbing Time, English Civil War, and Safe European Homes are all powerful commentary on 1970s politics, not to mention powerful, intelligent songs. Julie's in the Drug Squad is an entertaining change of pace and Stay Free, despite how close it gets to being poppy (if it had a chorus, I think it could have been a hit), is possibly my favorite Clash song. However, I must say that the rest of the album, while still good, is not as explosive as the songs previously mentioned. Those remaining songs lack that special something that makes me sit up and take notice of most Clash songs. But, in a time when record companies were molding "punk" to be the next big moneymaking deal, the Clash showed how strong and rebellious punk could be.