The London Calling album is, in my book, the pinnacle of the punk movement. It grew until this release and afterwards, seemed to be in decline. The album is a masterpiece of angst and anger mixed with real human concerns.
Great album no doubt. That said it really is more of The Clash's departure from punk and its limitations to more rock and roll influences. I would say the first two albums are really punk and the rest is a band eclipsing the movement that spawned them. The Clash are my favorite band of all time.
It’s not even close. The Clash brought talent and creativity to a genre that consisted of many talentless bands following the axiom of ‘if you can’t play good play loud’.
@@michaeloreilly2533 Actually most original punk bands broke out of that rigidity. The ones we know of went on to do other creative things (PiL, Style Council, Adam and the Ants) and the one hit wonders just disappeared. UK 84 was far heavier but honestly I see that as a completely different crowd. I think a lot of players just got better and migrated to other pastures. But original bands like Stiff Little Fingers, Stranglers, and The Damned stuck around and changed their sound much like the Clash. Any given punk scene pretty much has a 2-5 year lifespan in any given town. I think a lot of bands go into inactivity and pop back up here and there. Really any genre does this. I just think the Clash did it the best!
Interesting that you mention the ska feel. The clash where one of the first punk bands to be inspired and influenced by jamaican music, particularly ska and reggae, tho you hear it more on songs like police and thieves or white man in hammersmith. They even recorded an album in Jamaica, and worked with legendary reggae producers like Mikey dread
The Album that changed Punk Forever. Gone was just the in your face shouting, and anger. In came the melody and the 'I've got something I want to talk about' story telling, and Political Movement Activism where they started calling out Governments, and shit that was wrong in Cities & Town. Nuclear Weapon fears (this song), Racism, Inequality, Poverty. It became a real voice for change, and it all started right here with this Album.
gotta say tho man, clash weren't the first punks to dabble in real issue politics, beyond the level of adolescent rage- tho they where the most successful. Crass comes to mind as the first to take punk in a really radical direction politically, much more so than the clash went on to do a few years later. Bit too Avant-garde to hit mainstream however
Never heard that statement before, I remember them well from the 70s, but I never really found them to be a hardcore Punk Band like Sham 69, The Undertones, Tenpole Tudor, The Buzzcocks or the early Stranglers. They were definitely a good band though.
@@kurtsaxton823 They were good but individually I think they were just ok, except drummer Topper was remarkable. Musically, pretty sure Stranglers and Damned were superior. But I prefer Clash for the People's politics. Stranglers lyrics too sexist, but brilliant music
@@mattjohn4731 I meant good as far as punk bands went for the time. To me they were mediocre at best compared to other musicians of other genres at the time.
You're spot on about the "ska" vibes, the Clash was influenced by reggae and when Bob Marley saw them play live he wrote the song Punky Reggae Party about it. The Clash also covered Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves, wich might be an interresting song for you to react to. (the Murvin version i mean)
The clash & like the Buzzcocks are way better examples of punk than sex pistols IMHO. And yeah you're right about the ska, these people all often played together & attracted the same crowds. RIP Joe Strummer
“Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” by The Jam is another track that is well worth listening to. It’s a great example of the complexity and textures in punk. It also captures the grittier side of life that is often lost/scrubbed away in other genres of music.
Reasons I love punk: In the mid to late 70’s, music was seen by many as only ‘belonging’ to the intellectual classes…the idea that music was for everyone had been lost. Punk was about giving a voice to people who felt repressed. It didn’t start out as being a particular style, rather an attitude that ‘anyone can do it.’ It’s a really liberating idea. The Clash were one of the most interesting of the punk bands because they were open to incorporating so many different styles, including reggae and ska, which was influential on the two tone, ska revival of bands like the Specials and Madness. They also brought politics into music (along with the Sex Pistols of course) in a way that hadn’t been popularised since the 60s. If you want to check out some other interesting punk/post-punk bands that had their own thing going on, check out Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, Television, the Ramones and the Modern Lovers. Thanks as always for listening without prejudice to something you don’t listen to very often.
I need to correct this, SOS is (3 short, 3 long, 3 short). 2 short is the letter I. So what you have incorrectly written as being SOS in Morse code is actually the letters OIO.
Joe Strummer has one of the greatest rock voices ever. Has nothing to do with range or hitting high notes. Dimash could never do this even with a gun to his head...
Of the Classic British Punk Bands, The Clash, The Buzzcocks and the Damned are probably the ones that still stand tall today. Note London Calling was released only a few months over the very public and in the news Tree Mile Island nuclear disaster in the US. So the line "A Nuclear Error" had an extra resonance.
I'd recommend so many other clash songs to a vocal coach. But I dig that you gave it a shot. Train in vain would be more up your alley if I had to guess
I love the end bit where it sounds like Joe Strummer is about to launch into “Singing the blues”. There’s a primal quality to this song, really raw and edgy.
Beth! Oh my God!!! Thank you for covering this! The Clash are my favorite band! To be honest I fell for you over this review...A+ and spot on! I'm a Punk singer and it does take talent to do that kind of singing. It really lies more with personal conviction in what you are singing over style. I live in Arizona so there are times where I can actually sing but due to allergies sometimes I have to revert to more of barking words over being able to sing if I am actually playing. This is because my allergies rob me of lung power and rob my vocal chords of being able to fine tune certain frequencies. So if you read this I might suggest a band called Tiger Army. That said while they are Psychobilly the singer Nick 13 has a few styles. I would suggest checking out three songs. The first one would be "Incorporeal", the second one would be "Forever Fades Away" and then the last would be "Dark and Lonely Night." Thanks again and you are awesome Beth!😎👍✨
Hi ya, Beth. I really dig your channel. You have a very particular insight that I find interesting. It struck me when you commented on the slowness of this one. So many equate punk rock with "fast" and "aggressive". Much of it is that, but so much isn't. I know it's cliche, but it really is more attitude than tempo. Anyhow, thanks for doing these. Take care.
Great reaction and analysis. The Clash fused a lot of other genres with punk, which certainly set them apart and made them the legendary band that they were, but I don't know if it makes them the best example of the genre per se. If you decide to react to more punk bands, I'd recommend The Ramones, Joey Ramone is imo a highly underrated vocalist, and my personal favorite punk band is Bad Religion, who you might find particularly interesting because they use a lot of vocal harmonies.
You'd like some of their deeper tracks too on the very same album and on their next one, Sandanista. They were extremely eclectic and jazz sounds and rhythms were definitely in the mix. Really enjoyed you enjoying The Clash. Their music brings me joy and it makes me glad to see it bring joy to someone else as well. Cheers! 🍻
The Clash drifted so far from what Punk morphed into, they became more Punk than the Punk they were avoiding. Mash up rockabilly, ska, reggae, hints of early rap, and working class disgust - what do you get? You get the Reverend Joe Strummer. Long may he reign.
Just wanted to say I love your channel and the reacts you post. I love that you are so diverse in the music that you choose and how much you enjoy all the different styles. This is one of my favorite bands and one of their best songs. I bought this record on vinyl in 1982 at the underground in Washington DC. So glad to see you react to it. Keep the great content coming.
Joe has soul. ☮️ Check out a live recording/video of them cause the whole band's amazing . Joe stood up for alot of things when it wasn't necessarily Easy. Vocally and lyrically Joe was alot more than a first listen would suggest.
You need to take into consideration the context of the times when this song was written. It's a setup device, as a visualization of a powder keg on the brink of exploding. You feel the tension Strummer exudes in his lyrics and vocal performance. That entire album, in my opinion, is more about a shift away from punk rock, and towards Strummer's messaging about the expanding of the class divide between the aristocrats and the working class. Racial division, apartheid and injustices, will be reoccurring themes which will eventually culminate into the album, Sandinista, which would defy any specificity of musical genre, and I would argue was one of the most important influences of the 80's on street culture, Rock music (Punk as well as the sound of Seattle) and early New York Hip-hop.
I have always thought this song was about WW2 and London calling the USA. Though I am 100% American, I can relate being my mother was born in the US but was raised in London and was there during the blitz... Yep I'm getting old. I saw the Clash in concert great show!
One of my favorite bands from that later era of Punk. Yep, as previously mentioned by Rowan, the beginnings of the flavours of Ska & Reggae influences creeping into their music. AAAAAHHHH!!! the memories. Thanks. I must dig out the old vinyl and give it a spin. It's been too long.
Mick Jones and Joe Strummer are in high on my list of bands with 2 lead singers. They both also know how to play the part of back up perfectly when the other is on lead. They add so much to each other's performances without stealing the spot light in the process.
Glad you picked out the ska vibe. Jamaican music was such a huge part of the Clash's ethos. Thanks for checking them out. We Clash fans are pretty passionate about them!
This was a transformational album, if you compare London Calling and Sandinista with the earlier The Clash and Give'Em Enough rope you can see the transformation, from a pure punk sound in for example, Career Opportunities or White Riot or London's Burning to a sound that would inspire the alternative music of the post punk era in the 80's and 90s
There is so much great punk. I'd suggest Bloodstains by Agent Orange or Kids of the Black Hole by The Adolescents for American punk. Maybe something by the Dead Kennedys, too, California Uber Alles or A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch (I think Jello Biafra would intrigue you as a vocalist. You might like X, maybe Johnny Hit and Run Paulene, The Unheard Music or Motel Room in My Bed for their incorporation of male and female voices in punk. There's just a whole world of music there, have fun exploring!
Beth I think two punk records worth a review is Stiff Little Fingers- The price of admission and New Model Army - vagabonds or Love Songs. Probably A typical punk tracks.
Beth, punk is so often pidgeon-holed as one particular type of music that is supposedly fast, always aggressive (more on that in a sec), and played without regard for musical ability. This is wholly not true. Punk, at least what was called punk for the first two decades or so of the genre's existence, was more about conviction and getting your message across at all costs. It focused less on virtuosity than allowing for deficiencies in ability to be accepted as long as what you had to say had merit. It was all about the passion of playing rather than focusing on the technique. The result was "punk" being as diverse as The Clash, Buzzcocks, Patti Smith, The Voidoids, Ramones, Bad Brains, and Black Flag, but also Violent Femmes, Television, X, and so, so many more. Each of these artists has a distinct and intelligently conceived style. And incredible musicianship was often a genuine hallmark of so many punk bands, with people like Robert Quine, Billy Zoom, Mike Watt, Dr.Know and others being considered as virtuosos by many.
Was watching a channel the other day when X-ray specks were called postpunk!,the bands were all different musically and only the hardheaded thought they sounded the same.
I love The Clash! I’d love you see you review some of the songs Mick Jones sang on. He’s got a totally different voice and it’s really interesting the way they play off each other
Far too often people think music should only be about phenomenal performances with masterful vocals ale Elvis Presley, but those who think music should only be that way are misguided. Music can also be a champion for a cause and impact your soul in a different way. That's The Clash. They were never about being a band like Queen. They spoke for the people, singing their blues, telling their message of despair, and pushing back at the higher echelon for making the working class live such a melancholic life. I love both The Clash and Queen, but it's The Clash who changed my world forever because they spoke out in such a profound way that it literally shaped me into the compassionate human I am today. The Clash are from London, and they're from a time period when England was in a profoundly bad place with a very bad economy. And I would like to think that things improved for England because of them, the Sex Pistols, The Damned, and others who came up into the Punk Rock world in England in the mid-1970s.
I love the Clash. And for many years of her childhood my daughter loved the Clash. Happy to see you discuss them. Request: Henry Rollins. Check him out.
I love The Clash but I would have love to see a reaction of a live song, they have incredibles live songs such as Complete Control or English Civil War…
Beth, if you love the Albert Bridge, you should consider reacting to The Pogues' lovely song, "Misty Morning Albert Bridge." Would love to hear your comments on Shane McGowan's vocals--unique and unconventional.
I chose a good moment to subscribe - clicked that button like 2 days ago, and now here we go - The Clash! Though it's really easy to say that they're not your cup of tea, I would encourage you to explore their music further, cause they were the pinnacle of the entire genre (well, at least in the English-speaking world). Unfortunately, contemporary punk rock got mostly dumbed down, both musically and lyrically. The Clash however made actually good music, they were experimenting and mixing styles, and maybe you'll find soemthing you like (based on your comments I would suggest "Jimmy Jazz"). What about some Pogues now?
Enjoying you venturing into different genres and ones that aren't neccessarily known for their vocals.The Clash are an incredible group and a perfect representation of the melting pot of the UK and London in particular ( they apparently took their name from a priece of graffiti in Camden where the sounds of reggae and punk from adjacent neighbourhoods "clash" ). Would love to see you analyse Dire Straits live version at Alchemy of 'Sultans of Swing'
📖 Get your signed copy of my album Fable here: www.bethroars.com/shop ☀ Pre-save my first single "Power Of The Wolf" on Spotify (it really helps me out!): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/bethroars/power-of-the-wolf 🥁 Become a Patreon Supporter: www.patreon.com/bethroars
I really suggest giving the Dead Kennedys - Police Truck a listen to for punk music. The lyrics ring true today as they did back in 1980. The song was inspired by an incident that occurred in Oakland in the late 1970s. It also functions more generally as an attack on police corruption and brutality.
Hi Beth, the song is actually about a nuclear disaster destroying London. Also, by this time, the Clash had moved well beyond their punk roots. Listen to the album London Calling, and you'll hear a wide variety of musical styles.
I mean next time the punk topic comes around, you have some fabulously unique vocalists to choose from: Jorge from The Casualties, Jello Biafra from Dead Kennedys, Glen Danzig from The Misfits.. i mean there isn't really a "punk" style, there's am entire gamut that's utterly fabulous.
I wouldn't call this punk... this is a 1979 song (and album) The Clash had evolved musically, punk had become another commercial label, and they were trying to cover all the musical range they're interested in. Besides, Strummer started to write in a more poetic way, quite influenced by spanish poet Federico García Lorca (Strummer traveled frequently to Spain, specially Andalucía, particularly Granada, the city of La Alhambra and Lorca) Long were gone the days of 1976 and 1977, when The Clash played fast, quick and furiously punk gems like White Riot
Precisely. The only thing interesting about this vid is that it demobstrates just how sickeningly fast misinformation is created and disseminated. In this case only 40 years. And look how earnest she is? Its really shocking. Punk indeed.
@@RussellParker good Lord... Imagine being this butthurt about a musical genre. Get outta your basement for a bit. It'll do wonders for your perspective.
I agree, I liked some of the Clash, but was more an Undertones, Sham 69 and Buzzcocks fan. I never really thought of them as a punk band, I remember them being plastered all over the Teenie mags and ‚Smash Hits‘ as pin ups in the 70s. Although good, I never really classed them as a punk band as such, they were more a rock band with diverse influences in my view.
@@marconi460 I'd say their first 2 albums are as punk as any other punk recording of its time. That's during 1977 and 1978, after that even The Damned started trying to stay away from the punk label, The Sex Pistols just fell apart... The bands you mentioned are phenomenal, specially The Buzzcocks in my opinion, but they released their first albums when all the punk movement was becoming just a trend, although they were playing that style before the 'trend'... I never cared about Sham 69, though. But I like that period of early punk in the UK, and some of those bands. It's just that everything was absorbed by the business very quickly. I don't care very much about the post-punk or new wave bands. Being from Spain what happens to me is that I listened to spanish punk bands first, and that was a couple of years after the breaking up of The Pistols and The Clash signing for CBS (which many saw as a 'treason' or whatever...) So, I prefer some of those spanish bands instead of the british bands that came after the first punk 'wave', just because they were kind of closer to the original punk movement in a way
Before there was punk the genre, there was punk - the attitude, the movement, where ANYTHING rebellious, intelligent, and unpretentious was embraced in the spirit of fun. What mattered was that, in their own way, these people all said “no thanks” to the rock pomp and disco camp that ruled the charts through much of the ’70s. The Clash are among those who laid the foundation of punk’s beginnings. They are as punk as they come... and not narrowly defined by music that is loud, fast, and snotty.
I'm not sure I'd classify The Clash as strictly a Punk band. Yes, they began as Punk, but they incorporated so many different elements into their music that they were a breed apart from the vast majority of there peers. Most notable is a strong Reggae influence, and the songwriting broached subjects, even Punk aggression and protestations, that were often deeper than just being angry about something. Even more importantly, their lyrics and singing/playing style brought the listener into the track. In so many ways, The Clash were a style all to themselves. As for the huge draw to Punk that so many of us had, and continue to have, consider that we'd been subjected to several years of Disco, Prog that was getting to full of itself, and what I call Wet Noodle music - the really lame Pop that filled AM radio in the middle of the 70's. Add to the mix that the majority of UK youth felt there wasn't any future to be seen beyond the drudgery of the 9 to 5, if we even got that far. Protest and anger seemed to be the only way to express what was felt and Punk was the perfect vehicle for that.
