The Clash, London Calling : Whenever I hear the opening bars of this album, my pulse quickens and my hand reaches for the volume knob. The range of musical styles the group takes on is absolutely amazing — Rockabilly in Brand New Cadillac, reggae in Rudy Can’t Fail, disco in Lost in the Supermarket, and even the Phil Spector-ish Wall of Sound in The Card Cheat.
On Calling, the band borrowed heavily from the past, but filtered and sharpened the music through their late-70s, malaise-clouded lens. Even the album cover design was an homage to Elvis’s first LP — however, the smiling portrait of the 50s rocker was replaced by a now iconic photo of Paul Simonon, smashing his bass on stage.
As you listen track by track, Strummer and Jones’s vocal harmonies intertwine like a twin-headed monster — completely synced, but so different in tone. Jones’s Train in Vain sounds a lot like a bouncing McCartney tune turned sour, while tracks like London Calling and Death or Glory strut Strummer’s lyrical wit and coolness. This juxtaposition of song-writing personality always interests me in the great bands — like Bono & The Edge, and Lennon & McCartney, Strummer & Jones seem like an odd pairing. But perhaps this tension fosters an unusual creative chemistry, I don’t know.
I do know that there was a time in the late-70s, not shortly after I was born, when the world seemed to be a mess. There was Three-mile island, war in the Middle-East, Thatcher, Reagan, and the demise of the political Left. In many ways, it reflects our times… which is why I think this album sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did 25 years ago.
0 Responses to “Most Influential Modern Rock Albums, Part 3”