The Clash

A1***** Very good.

Yes, another reissue, this time for National Album Day in 2022. Not much has changed really from the first release to this one, same songs, same order, same cover - pink vinyl though and I'm such a roll over when it comes to coloured vinyl or anything Clash related.I've got about 30 different releases of this album not, pressings from Canada, the US, Argentina, Yugoslavia, Greece etc, re-issues when HMV did it in green vinyl, there's a blue edition, a picture disc and a plethora of various coloured releases, and I love them all.It's the Clash, the only band that mattered, the last gang in town. Discogs has not yet gone mental with this version and you can still pick up a mint one for £27 quid including the shipping.There's not a duff track on the album and I'm never tempted to skip or lift the needle for the next sone, sometimes I'll play some of them a few times because I've got a little fantasy rolling about my head and with some of the pacier tracks coming in under 2 minutes, you don't have time to keep reworking the sequence going on in your noggin.

For years I never really 'got' the Clash they were that band who were always on the greatest band or album lists but I never knew why. Then I decided lately to listen to them properly and this album seemed like a place to start. This band were the real deal and you can hear that they meant it. Long time Clash fans and music fans were right. Only regret is I waited so long to purchase this . Loved every single song

There seem to be many parallels between today and the late seventies. A time of economic depression, a working class trodden down by the conscienceless political rulers and moneyed elite, ethnic tensions simmering, a generation of young people with no future prospects ready to lash out a wave of destruction in the form of riots in protest at the injustices of the world they find themselves in. And the development of a new musical form which encapsulates the passion, the anger and the political stance of the youth. OK, perhaps the similarities end there, as plastic Cowell pop seems to be the hallmark of this generation, but thirty years ago the social situation gave rise to just such a musical form, Punk. And the prime exponents were the Clash.This debut record is, for me, a fascinating piece. I was born around the time it was released, so have no real memories of the era. This is a historic document of what it meant to be a teenager in the late seventies. With an in your face attitude, a social awareness and political agenda, all backed by angry, passionate full speed ahead music played (unusually for many Punk bands) by a group of talented musicians, it's an absolute classic. It is a record that grabs you and commands your full attention, screaming in your face about just what is wrong with the world. Subtle it isn't.There are two versions of this album on sale, the UK and US version. This one, the UK version is 14 tracks and contains `Deny', `Cheat', `Protex Blue' and '48 Hours'. For some reason these were deemed unsuitable for the US market which had a 15 track release containing `Clash City Rockers', `Complete Control', `White Man In Hammersmith', `I Fought The Law' and `Jail Guitar Doors'. Both are equally essential, and I have both versions as I like all the tracks that are unique to each.A classic debut, and one that heralded great things to come. Five stars.

This is a unique album. Probably the only true punk album from a British perspective. Punk is an American musical idiom which was probably born out of the New York Dolls and then re-focussed by The Ramones. The idea being that you don’t have to be a musical genius to make great music. The early 1970s had been a low point with the preponderance of prog rock bands, 20 min guitar solos and so forth. It was dreadful over indulgence and it had got to the point where the artists were riding above the heads of the teenage audience. It had to go back to basics. The American version of this, was a simple guitar, bass, drums arrangement and three or so chords — really going back to their version of British beat groups, with their own American folk/blues background. The British perspective is very different — much harder, more aggressive and with a pronounced political edge. I mean, apart from Vietnam, (which the hippies were always going on about), what was not to like in America? Britain however, had been rife with economic problems, power strikes and social unrest. This album is about what many young working class people really felt at the time (even if they had never actually thought it before they heard this). Sadly, The Clash never progressed from here and perhaps worse, no one else managed to express it better. A masterpiece

Not a massive fan but their first album is a classic with songs like white riot...

Brilliant album, lost none of its impact. Even the covet has attitude. And it’s pink vinyl! Buy it again!

Nearly 40yrs since I got this LP from Probe in Liverpool, served incidentally by a certain Pete Burns (looking just like boy George did a few years later) Pete was a sarky git & reacted to your purchases with scorn, not this time though, he knew it was great and as soon as I got it home & on the turntable so did I. A true classic along with first albums by the Damned SLF, the Lurkers and Pistols. Pure fast punk rock apart from a remake of Police & Theives which gave a hint at future Clash sound which while good can never better this gem. I've not aged too well in 39years but this album has