What do you think of when you think of the Clash? I think they are still regarded as a punk-rock group, but that only really held true for a brief period, when the Clash debuted in 1977. That album was a punk record, for sure, though if you listen carefully, you could hear some melodies buried in the mix.
But the Clash were more sophisticated than we thought. By 1980, they gave us London Calling, a two-record set with a variety of styles and, most importantly, good songs. Songs like London Calling, Train in Vain, Lost in the Supermarket. There were now horns and some world music. These guys could do what the Sex Pistols and the Ramones could not.
After London Calling came Sandinista!, a three-record set. That was five albums in two years. Sandinista has some fluff, but at least two records worth of listenable variety, including more world music, ska, even some gospel. Had the Clash made Sandinista! a two-record set, it would be one of the great albums of all time.
I saw the Clash in 1982 when the opened for The Who at Shea Stadium. Peter Townsend was a big fan of the Clash. He liked their style, and he saw himself in them. The Who were the Clash of the 1960s. You know, My Generation and other mod/rebel songs. And like the Clash, The Who moved on better things, like Tommy, Who's Next and Quadrophenia. London Calling and Sandinista! are the Clash's Quadrophenia. Problem was, in 1982, I was not aware of the Clash's musical development by 1982. Rock and Casbah and Should I Stay or Should I Go were the hits that year, but the Clash were on their way down by then. Here's a Clash song from Sandinista! to wet your whistle.
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