The Clash

Super Black Market Clash

Unheard treasures at market prices...

Review Score:

(8/10)
Two years ago, before I really started paying attention to the Clash, my brother played this album for me on a road trip up North. I had "Story Of The Clash" but that was it. What struck me was the strength of some of the songs, but from a B-side collection?!? It seems that there are a number of bands that can pull this off, and for the most part this album works if only to show you where they're from and where they were heading.

I'll agree with almost everyone else and say that this is for the devout, hardcore Clash faithful. Since my initial listen, I've gone out and beefed up on my Clash CD's and even read the excellent "Last Gang In Town" by Marcus Gray and if I hadn't done that I would be lost. You get an even better grounding for these songs after reading about the vast amount of trouble the Clash went through/caused to get their music released the way they wanted it.

This collection serves up a large serving of their reggae/dub experiments but also throws in the odd early chestnut. Is it all necessary? No, but it can be a lot of fun as "Capital Radio 2" is infintely better than when they first offered it as a "mail in" offer with an early EP.

I'll go ahead and say that I can't stand the way Mick Jones sings. Awful. Whiny. Irksome. Having said that, he has written some great tunes and his production efforts are reflected here with all the reggae numbers. Still, his nasal tone shows up on a few tracks here, and unless you just have to hear "Jail Guitar Doors" (which was an early 101'ers number Strummer wrote) you'd be advised to steer clear of that and "1-2 Crush On You." Listen to that a few times and you'll understand why the others tagged Jones with the nickname "Poodle." Sounds like he'd been listening to nothing but the "Grease" soundtrack over and over. Of course, it was the influence of British rock music circa 74-75 that spawned much of the early Clash song efforts and it wasn't until they broke free of some restraints that they were able to make some great music.

A lot of dance-y remixes here as well, with "Kick It Over" logging nearly nine minutes of slow dub and echoing reverb. "Groovy Times" is ace, and both of the instrumental tracks prove that they could be a competent band, which they didn't always get credit for. Some of the tracks were polished by a re-recording session here or there as "1977" didn't have the count-up to 1984 ending originally on it.

Super Black Market Clash is a great addition if you're still trying to figure out the myth that was the Clash, and I dare you to listen to "Pressure Drop" without wanting to get up and dance.

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