Combat Rock
Sony - Sony
The Clash
Release date: 2000-01-25
Audio CD
British Punk, Dance-Rock, Hard Rock, New Wave, Pop, Pop/Rock Music, Punk, Rock, Rock & Roll, Rock/Pop
1. Know Your Rights - The Clash, Jones, Mick [Clash]
2. Car Jamming
3. Should I Stay or Should I Go
4. Rock the Casbah
5. Red Angel Dragnet
6. Straight to Hell
7. Overpowered by Funk
8. Atom Tan
9. Sean Flynn
10. Ghetto Defendant
11. Inoculated City
12. Death Is a Star
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Combat Rock
Date undefinedGhetto deffendant, streight to hell, should i stay, rock the casbah... how the hell someone can say this is not one of the best rock albums ever? I like how they explore the sound of the guitar, different rithms but in a different, maturer way than in Sandinista... great record, with flaws, but listen without prejudice and you'll fall into it more and more (i started decades ago)
Combat Rock
Date undefinedWhile Combat Rock would give the Clash the band its greatest success, it is also the most inconsistent release that the original lineup recorded. Having said that, it's still a decent album. It is best known for their two most popular songs, "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go." These songs were all over the radio in 1982-1983 and you still hear them quite often. Those tunes are the heart of the album's first side where everything works. The excellent "Know Your Rights" finds the band recalling the focused anger of their debut while "Car Jamming" is just as strong both lyrically and musically with its tribal beat. "Red Angel Dragnet" is another great tune sung by bassist Paul Simonon and led by his funky bass line. "Straight to Hell" finds Joe Strummer perhaps at his most politically aware as he addresses racism, abandonment, and the possibility of an unrealized American dream over its reggae beat. From here, the album is very hit and miss with the best tunes being the jazzy and somber "Sean Flynn" and one of their best reggae tunes, "Ghetto Defendant". The track "Inoculated City" is also pretty catchy. The remaining tracks aren't up to par as "Overpowered by Funk" is too simple and too long while "Atom Tan" and "Death is a Star" just don't work with the latter sounding like an attempt to replicate the Specials' moodier work. All told, while Combat Rock is their least satisfying album, it's still worth hearing and this is the only place where you'll find the songs "Car Jamming" and "Sean Flynn".
Combat Rock
Date undefinedI approach this album from a different perspective than some other reviewers. There are two great ponderous Joe Strummer numbers (Straight to Hell, Ghetto Defendant - featuring poetry from Allen Ginsberg) two instant hits, one by Mick Jones, the instantly catchy Should I Stay or Should I Go, and the darker, more powerful Joe Strummer number, Rock the Casbah (or as we used to sing in the 80s, 'fk the taskforce'). Car Jamming is another rockability number.
'Know your rights' is full of attitude and anger. Songs like 'Overpowered by funk' are still solid, even if they show disco influence. The last song "Death is a Star" has an almost cabaret feel to it, and is fittingly the endpoint for a great band.
This album was much criticised as being soulless. I think it is simply diverse. It has elements of Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, and some experimentation. This should have been the end point. Do not buy Cut the Crap but get a compilation which has 'This is England' on it.
