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The final album by the Clash's original Strummer/Jones incarnation is also their most inconsistent. There were musical and ideological rifts developing within the band, and it shows: the experimentation is almost as wild as Sandanista!'s (and the biggest experiment is heading away from their punk shiftiness and into a commercial rock sound), but they seem to be enjoying it less. The band's stabs at funk and poetry aren't terribly successful, but it all came together for two massive hits: "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" has the biggest, stupidest, most perfect riff this side of "Louie Louie," and "Rock the Casbah" pulls the band's politics, fine-honed sarcasm, and saw-toothed guitar sound into the service of a dance-floor beat. --Douglas Wolk
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The final official Clash album was their most commercially successful, yet in terms of praise it has little. I think that to understand `Combat Rock' you have to first have been able to appreciate `Sandinista!' While less ambitious than the former album, `Combat Rock' covers styles and ideas pursued through all the bands albums.
`Combat Rock' features those two big hits, `Should I Stay Or Should I Go' and 'Rock The Casbah', while the remainder is often dismissed as disappointing. This disparity is very rewarding through further listening. `Sean Flynn', `Ghetto Defendant', `Red Angel Dragnet' are odd the first time round, and but more idiosyncratic and engaging with each further listen. The album musically embodies the bands strains and problems. The stripped sound production is obviously a result of its recording on the road. Another distancing feature of the album is the generally negative and down-tempo feel. This is in strong contrast to their earlier rebellious and up-tempo aggression on the debut and `Give `em Enough Rope' albums. Apart from the two energising hit singles the material sinks in differently. This makes for a totally new kind of Clash album. `Combat Rock' is the next step from `Sandinista!' yet it has a stronger set of pop tunes and hooks closer to `London Calling'.
All in all the greatest virtue of the set is 'Straight To Hell'. It is possibly the most beautiful and sorrowful song they ever wrote. It's inclusion half way through the running order can upset the mix, especially so since the listener is propelled into 'Overpowered by Funk'. `Combat Rock' is definitely an album for an open mind and is a great last hurrah for Mick and Topper. While it may be the groups most overlooked album, it is still as much a complement since the bands standard was so high.
(As a side note it is worth noting that it's so unjust that 'Know Your Rights' is always left off of other Clash compilations. I love it)
`Combat Rock' features those two big hits, `Should I Stay Or Should I Go' and 'Rock The Casbah', while the remainder is often dismissed as disappointing. This disparity is very rewarding through further listening. `Sean Flynn', `Ghetto Defendant', `Red Angel Dragnet' are odd the first time round, and but more idiosyncratic and engaging with each further listen. The album musically embodies the bands strains and problems. The stripped sound production is obviously a result of its recording on the road. Another distancing feature of the album is the generally negative and down-tempo feel. This is in strong contrast to their earlier rebellious and up-tempo aggression on the debut and `Give `em Enough Rope' albums. Apart from the two energising hit singles the material sinks in differently. This makes for a totally new kind of Clash album. `Combat Rock' is the next step from `Sandinista!' yet it has a stronger set of pop tunes and hooks closer to `London Calling'.
All in all the greatest virtue of the set is 'Straight To Hell'. It is possibly the most beautiful and sorrowful song they ever wrote. It's inclusion half way through the running order can upset the mix, especially so since the listener is propelled into 'Overpowered by Funk'. `Combat Rock' is definitely an album for an open mind and is a great last hurrah for Mick and Topper. While it may be the groups most overlooked album, it is still as much a complement since the bands standard was so high.
(As a side note it is worth noting that it's so unjust that 'Know Your Rights' is always left off of other Clash compilations. I love it)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This seems ot divide opinion more than any other Clash album - some see it as a sell out, others as a return to form following the sprawling, flawed Sandinista. Im certainly in the latter camp; i love this record, and certainly believe the criticism levelled at it is wholy unfair: its a "sell out", why? Because it had two hit singles on it? London Calling was hardly Aphex Twin either, was it? Ironically the Clash's attempt to "reign it in" following the musical binging that was Sandinista is where, in my opinion, this album fails. It has a fairly good cross section of musical styles on here, but fails to really sink into any kind of groove due to the genre-hopping combined with its relative (ie for a Clash album) brevity. Strummers lyrics have also deepened on this record - Allen Ginsberg turns up on Ghetto Defendant and its clear on some of the other tracks (Car Jamming, Straight To Hell) that he was an influence on Strummers songwwriting. It came out at a time when the Clash had just broke big (that is Shea Stadium, albeit supporting the Who, big) in America, and i think this is one of the major influences in people who claim this record is commercial. In my opinion, its no more commercial than London Calling or even the first Clash record, which did appear, lest we forget, in 1977 - a time when no punk record could fail.
Probably my third favourite Clash record, which would place it in my top 15-20 of all time. Love it.
Probably my third favourite Clash record, which would place it in my top 15-20 of all time. Love it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Following on from the gargantuan and indulgent "Sandanista" the Clash went and got a bit global on us with this album.
There's the standards that are unarguably, irrefutable classics. "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - a no-brainer guitar riff that is so obviously mesmeric. "..Cashbah" being an eccentric classic with Topper's piano riff carrying it.
However, the real charm of this album lays in it's highpoint - the profound and elegant "Straight To Hell" which stands up as one of the most moving and bizarre tracks they ever put down. Bleak post-'Nam lyrics and a fascinating musical back-drop.
Some pleasant but indecisive noodling towards the end perhaps lets this album down a little from being a full-blown masterwork.
But this remains a defining album and a reminder of what The Clash had about them that so many other bands don't.
Even Travis Bickle pops up.
There's the standards that are unarguably, irrefutable classics. "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - a no-brainer guitar riff that is so obviously mesmeric. "..Cashbah" being an eccentric classic with Topper's piano riff carrying it.
However, the real charm of this album lays in it's highpoint - the profound and elegant "Straight To Hell" which stands up as one of the most moving and bizarre tracks they ever put down. Bleak post-'Nam lyrics and a fascinating musical back-drop.
Some pleasant but indecisive noodling towards the end perhaps lets this album down a little from being a full-blown masterwork.
But this remains a defining album and a reminder of what The Clash had about them that so many other bands don't.
Even Travis Bickle pops up.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Combat Rock: The Clash - Listen to this and be overpowered by the...
There seem to be many parallels between today and the late seventies. A time of economic depression, a working class trodden down by the conscienceless political rulers and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Victor
should i stay or should i go
what a masterpiece this song is and the clash were my favorite of the punk rock bands. i'm not a big punk rock kid, but the clash was my favorite. Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2007 by for whom the bell tolls
Over -rated Punk Rock!
I bought this based on others reviews and boy was i disappointed.Take way the two singles and you have a rambling album-whats with all the spoken word bits? Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2007 by B. Hazel
It's the best Clash album
I was a few years too young to appreciate The Clash in 1977, but just old enough (about 12) to like Combat Rock when it came out. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2004
Overpowerd by funk
Dont listen to all the sad reviews of how the clash sold out on Combat Rock. This is the clash at the peak of their evolutionary scale. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2004
The Clash at their worst (but still OK)
This was the last Strummer/Jones album, and was recorded just prior to the sacking of Topper.
Lyrically, it has some of the best songs ever written, with all band members... Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2003
"This Is A Public Service Announcement"
'Know Your Rights' is possibly the high-point of the Clash-as-protesters but this album also sees the shift toward commercial mode with 'Rock The Casbah' and 'Should I Stay'. Read more
Published on 12 July 2001 by A. Reynolds
Brilliant
There isn't a track on here that I don't like - they are all excellent. Sure, it's not London Calling, but why expect it to be? Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2001
They say no politics !
Sean Flynn - An ode to the son of Errol, and a fine War photographer.
Ghetto Defendant - Shows the boys didn't waste time in New York they spoke to/shared ideas with the soon to... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2000
Oh dear.
Can this album be by the same band that brought us the brilliance that were 'The Clash' and 'London Calling'? This is quite poor really, with few songs that I actually like. Read more
Published on 2 May 2000
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