CLASSIC ALBUM: The Clash – London Calling

In 1979, The Clash released theirs’ and punk’s magnum opus, London Calling, an apocalyptic, eclectic end of days odyssey. Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Headon are romantic, left-wing outlaws wielding their brand of punk in its many guises as across 19 tracks they slip in and out of rockabilly, reggae, funk, ska, rock n’ roll, with a rugged ease, and a consistent spirited sensibility that ties everything together with an aura of ‘Clashness’.

While the album is strong in its consistency and its sequencing and flow, we shouldn’t forget that London Calling also features many of The Clash’s best individual tracks. The iconic opening title track is a perfect opener to the album as Strummer takes a long hard look and sets the scene as the moment the world is about to implode, the 70s drawing to a close amidst the grim realities of an impending Thatcherite Britain, nuclear paranoia, racial tension, unemployment and poverty. What follows is an extraordinary sequence of tracks that include Rudie Can’t Fail, Spanish Bombs, Clampdown, Death or Glory, the excellent Mick Jones’ sung Lost In The Supermarket and Train In Vain, the dub grit of Paul Simonon’s Guns of Brixton, and a string of brilliant covers Brand New Cadillac, Revolution Rock and Wrong ‘Em Boyo.

Double albums might be fairly ubiquitous now but making an album longer than 40 minutes in ‘79 was still seen as statement of ambition, especially in the immediate, short, sharp and snappy, throwaway world of punk. London Calling is double album that sits comfortably alongside other gigantic records in the pantheon of such statements, The White Album, Exile on Main St, Freak Out, Electric Ladyland Songs in The Key of Life and Blonde on Blonde. An album that takes you on an road-trip but never loses its energy or vibrancy, nor sight of its political attack and intention, a record that burns bright like a hopeful, swaying flare in a desolate wasteland.