London Calling (25th Anniversary Edition/+DVD) [Digipak] [Remastered] - Clash (The) > Reviews > How To Improve Your CD Collection Infinitely

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	The Clash
Disadvantages:	Shut Up It is The Clash

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Well what can I say about this album other than it is one of the greatest rock and roll albums ever made, and it is also vastly overrated. Overrated in that far too many people rant on about how great it is without ever really listening to it.

This is the 25th anniversary edition, which features the original album, a second CD of demos recorded at Vanilla Studios in Pimlico and a DVD with a documentary directed by Don Letts, rare footage of the band recording the album in Wessex studios with Guy Stevens and 3 promos.

The packaging is awesome, with a big triple fold out digi-pack thing and all the original artwork, there are also extra photos which I have in a book somewhere but it still great to have more. You have a reproduction of the lyric sheet, and an additional booklet with lots of information about the recording of the album and a bit of band history which for fans is awesome, but for folk with just a passing interest may be just slightly enlightening.

Ok onto London Calling itself this was the album that really cemented the Clash's reputation as possibly the greatest Rock and roll band ever. It was originally going to be called the Last Testament. As the band said they thought it was going to be the last great Rock and Roll album. The cover of Paul Simenon smashing his bass at the NYC palladium along with the lettering inspired by the first Elvis album was designed to reflect this. The album was produced by the legendary Guy Stevens and his influence on the sound should not be understated. It has a Phil Spector wall of sound type thing going on, this was due to the method of recording where they would record each part twice, which results in a really big sound, ooohh the Joys of Multi-track recording. The album swoops across a wide range of styles Rock and Roll (Brand New Cadillac), Reggae (The Guns of Brixton), Funk (Train in Vain) and of course good old fashioned Punk rock but it never looses continuity. The follow up album to this "Sandinista" which arguably had too many different styles of music on it and lost it's way quite often.

There is also some amazing songwriting skill going on here take "Lost in the Supermarket", everyone though that this was one of Mick Jones songs but Joe Strummer had written it with Mick in mind. So too fool that many people shows immense skill. It is still today a great album and I cannot think of a rock and roll album made in the last 25 years that tops it, and it is a testament to the songwriting partnership of Joe Sturmmer and Mick Jones. Forget Lennon/McCartney or Jagger/Richards, Joe and Mick were astounding.

Onto the second CD now the Vanilla tapes, after the last album "Give 'em Enough Rope" the Clash split with their management. The result of this was that they had no rehearsal space. Off they sent one of their roadies to find a rehearsal studio. He found a studio in the back of a garage in Pimlico called Vanilla studios. The band were under immense pressure to follow up on the US success of their first two albums and with the recent spilt between them and their management only adding to the pressure, they realised they needed to work hard on the next one. The tapes from these sessions were thought to have been lost on the London Underground, but a few years ago Mick Jones found them during a clear out of his archives. The CD features the best recordings for every song on the London Calling album from these session and two songs not features on the final album “Lonesome Me" and a cover of Dylan's "The Man in Me". To a Clash fan this is absolute dynamite, here you hear the songs in their raw unfinished form and you can spot the differences between the embryonic versions of the songs and the final arrangements on the album. The booklet describes it as London Calling without the Horns and Keyboards. For someone who is not a Clash fan then you will be lucky if you listen to it once all the way through, as the quality of the recordings is variable.

The DVD includes 32 min doc, directed by Don Letts, on the recording of the album. This is interesting but it is just a typical low budget documentary which is a disappointment. Though the interviews with Joe, Mick, Paul and Topper Heaton are good and well edited. It also includes previously unseen Black and white footage of the band during recording of the album at Wessex Studios. Here the star is producer Guy Stevens as he charges around the studio goading the band in order to get them to play with more passion, though interesting as it is only fans will really watch all the footage. For non fans the three videos, The Promo of London Calling and live footage of Train in Vain and Clampdown are far more rewarding. The live footage shows just how good and energetic the band was at this time, they were a band at the top of their game.

This edition of the album is an absolute treat for fans, and I think that is they way the band wanted it. Better still it cots me £12-99 from CD Wow. For non-fans there is some interesting stuff their and I’d recommend that you get it cause it will without doubt increase the coolness of your CD collection 1000000x.