There are three bands that stand alone in the Holy Trinity of punk rock. Those bands are the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and The Clash. All three have combined to inspired literally hundred of thousands of kids to pick up guitars, start their own bands, and express themselves musically. All three have had a massive impact that is still felt to this day.
The Ramones specialty was churning out hook-filled pop songs hidden behind a wall of overdriven guitars. Simple, catchy, to the point. They took 60’s-era melodies and made them their own. The Sex Pistols were nihilists, filled with piss and vinegar, an image and a lifestyle as much as a collection of musicians. Like Icarus, they flew too close to the sun and finished their career with a single album to their name.
The Clash? The Clash were different. They had a wide repertoire of tastes and influences and the tenacity to explore all those styles all at once while still feeling cohesive. They were transcendent in a way I’m sure they didn’t even imagine they could be when they first came together, and have an everlasting quality that still sounds fresh to this day.
1979’s London Calling is their magnum opus.
Following the release of their second album Give ‘Em Enough Rope, a years-long writers block plagued head songwriters Joe Strummer (lead vocals, guitar) and Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals). That meant The Clash entered the studio in the summer of 1979 without a single song to their name. What followed was London Calling, a massive double LP that effectively laid the groundwork for punk rock and all it’s related offshoots (ska, 2 tone, skate punk, new wave, the list goes on) in the decades that followed. If you went to Warped Tour in the early 2000’s, you basically listened to a bunch of bands that were influenced in some way by The Clash.
Strummer and Jones’ prolific songwriting is simply sublime here. Many bands in history have attempted to cover such wide ground only to find themselves lost out at sea, but The Clash manage to hold everything together. Strummer and Jones provide little vignettes of seedy characters and political themes laid out over the urban sprawl, but unlike their first two releases, there is a sense of burgeoning adulthood and responsibility that wasn’t present before.
These genre-hopping sensibilities only work in practice due to the rhythm section of Paul Simonon (bass) and Topper Headon (drums). Simonon ties everything together with his masterful work on the bass. Highlights include the opening lines in “London Calling”, the hook at the beginning of “Death or Glory”, and his walking bass line in “Revolution Rock” that helps the whole thing bop around.
And then there’s Headon, who perhaps might be one of the most underrated drummers in rock history. Entire courses could be taught on the way he leverages the hi-hat to drive beats forward and accentuate certain phrases, opening and closing with fanatical flourishes that add so much depth to each song, as well as his emphasis on the up-beat that gives everything an infectious energy. His groove on “Train In Vain” is simply legendary and served as the foundation for so many drum grooves decades later. If you ask any drummer in your life, they’ll name this as one of the most impactful grooves of all-time.
London Calling is a must-listen, an incredible experience both from a historical perspective and how well it stands up 45 years after its release. Come for the album cover (outside Abbey Road is it the most iconic album cover in rock history?) and stay for the eclectic tunes.
You won’t regret it.
Standout Songs: “London Calling”, “Train in Vain (Stand By Me)”, “The Card Cheat”, “The Right Profile”, “Death or Glory”, “I’m Not Down”
