The Clash : London Calling Album Review

In 1979 a wonderful thing happened a punk  band  made a record that has and will change countless generations and yet there are  bands that can claim this, none can say over such a huge diversity of genre,  This  album  is a classic and the reason  for me is  because its all over the place there isn't  two songs that sound the  same  not to mention the different styles that was  used  ranging  from  Reggae, Punk Rock  , SKA , Jazz  and Rockabilly all the  songs are pretty  unique and  catchy the album  has a  host of influences gambling  ,  politics , consumerism , poverty , crime ,sex and many more .The startling thing about  London Calling  is  this  album was  released  over 30 years ago  and  boy has it stood the test of time and will  be still getting rave reviews 30 years from now Ed O'Brien, guitarist for Radiohead, in an online journal during the studio sessions for KID A, noted that he had listened to London Calling that day and that it had made him depressed because   "no one's ever going to make anything better than this, so why even try?", While i don't agree with  the forementioned comment i  do agree its a hard album to topple.
The cover features a photograph by Pennie Smith of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar against the stage, at The Palladium in New York City - which was at the time the Mecca of punk and new wave music - on 21 September 1979 during the "Clash Take the Fifth" U.S. tour. The album cover makes me laugh and  to me is a intentional message to show  a revolution from  Elvis Presley's debut album to this new movement maybe urging people to compare  or an intentional swipe or piss take what ever the reason It certainly has emulated success

                 Tracklist                    Duration
         London Calling                      3:17
         Brand New Cadillac              2:05
         Jimmy Jazz                            3:51
         Hateful                                  2:42
         Rudie Can't Fail                     3:25
         Spanish Bombs                      3:17
         The Right Profile                    3:50
         Lost In The Supermarket       3:43
         Clampdown                          3:45
         The Guns Of Brixton             3:08
         Wrong 'Em Boyo                  3:08
         Death Or Glory                     3:52
         Koka Kola                           1:44
         The Card Cheat                    3:44
         Lover's Rock                        3:59
         Four Horsemen                    2:55
         I'm Not Down                      3:03
         Revolution Rock                   5:29
         Train In Vain                        3:02

The track review here is being paraphrased only because i concur 100% which is rather rare  for me  to find something i agree with totally  the review  deserves a big hats off and the link is here
London Calling- A strong start.This is probably the most hard-hitting songs on the album. The song starts off with a ska-ish guitar part and a cool bass part. More of a punk song than others on this album too. "London is drowning and I live by the river" 4/5

Brand New Cadillac- A cool catchy song that's a cover of a 50's song I think. It's really fun and fast. "My baby drove up in a brand new Cadillac!" 5/5

Jimmy Jazz- Belive it or not this is a jazz song. It has a catchy saxaphone part and good lyrics. "Police came looking for Jimmy Jazz." 4/5

Hateful- This is one of my favorite off the album. It starts off with a nice slow part then hops into fast chording with the verse. "Well I have a friend who's a man. What man? The man who keeps me from the lonely." 5/5

Rudie Can't Fail- This is one of the songs where you can see how much of an influence ska and reggae had on the Clash. A nice fast verse then a slower chorus makes this song really catchy, and it has a good horn part. "Rudie can't fail, Rudie can't fail." 5/5

Spanish Bombs- A very slow song with virtually no distortion in the guitar. It is also a more emotional song on the album, and definetely one of the best. "Spanish Bombs, yo t'puierro y finito, yo te querda, oh ma corozan." 5/5

The Right Profile- A really fun and cool song. I love the horn part in the chorus. It is one of the faster songs on the album and puts you in a good mood. "Everybody say 'What's he like?'/Everbody say 'Is he all right?'/Everybody say 'He sure look funny'/ That's Montgomery Cliff honey!" 5/5

Lost In the Supermarket- By far the most personal song on the album. It is very slow and sad, but still one of the best on the album. " I'm all lost in the supermarket, can no longer shop happily/ I came in here for the special offer, guarunteed personality." 5/5

Clampdown- Definetely a song you would expect from the Clash. It is fast and heavily chorded, more like the stuff from the first album. " You grow up and you calm down, and you're working for the clampdown." 5/5

The Guns Of Brixton- This is kind of a reggae song which is pretty cool. Just an overall great song and nothing bad about it. " Whoa-oa the guns of Brixton" 5/5

Wrong 'Em Boyo- Very catchy and fun, and very much a ska song. And it is another song with a cool horn part. " Don't you know that it's wrong to cheat a trying man." 5/5

Death or Glory- More of a punk song like earlier Clash stuff, great song. "Death or glory becomes just another story." 5/5

Koka Kola- Another more punk song like earlier stuff but it has a more floaty chorus. " I get good advice----from the advertising world. Treat me nice----says party girl." 5/5

The Card Cheat- The most sad song on the album with a great piano part, and my favorite Clash song ever. " The Hundered Year War and the barroom gin/ In the Belmont chair playing violins." 5/5

Lover's Rock- A poppy song that's lots of fun. " But nobody knows-the poor baby's name" 4/5

Four Horsemen- Another song that's on the heavier side of this album kind of like Death Or Glory. Two real memorable words: "Four Horsemen!" 4/5

I'm Not Down- One of the sadder songs on the album, but in my opinion the second best to The Card Cheat. It starts off with a really good guitar/bass part. "I've been beat up, I've been thrown out, but I'm not down. I'm not Down." 5/5

Revolution Rock- Another reggae-ish song with a very good horn part. "Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this brand new beat!" 5/5

Train In Vain- The poppiest Clash song EVER! Though this is true, it's a great song and very fun. "You didn't you stand by me. No, not at all." 4/5

Conclusion : A absolute masterpiece a cross genre  journey over various topics and influences that  will  be  coming out  of Audiophiles speakers 100 years from now the album is near faultless in every way possible .My favourite song is clampdown  and i know most people wont agree with this shows you how powerful the album is, most reviewers i have read state about  10 different personal favourites which  is a startling amount and shows the depth and diversity i rate this album  9.2  / 10 is recommended for anyone  that  still has a heartbeat and a set of speakers