London Calling [CD]

Punk's death knell had already been called, but London Calling found The Clash fighting a heroic rear guard battle. Having shelved the no-frills heads-down thunder of The Clash and Give 'Em Enough Rope, London Calling was an extravagant benchmark. Ostensibly about the ideological and real struggles that rent British society asunder at the end of the 1970s, London Calling was couched in the language of revolutionary desperadoes. Influenced by reggae and ska, and augmented by the Irish Horns, the result was one of the most heady, celebratory rock & roll records to have come out of the punk movement. For every traditional rabble-rouser like "Rudie Can't Fail" or "Revolution Rock", though, there was a starker truth to London Calling found in "Guns Of Brixton", or a shred of poignancy in "Lost In The Supermarket" that confirmed The Clash's ideological importance to a generation. Seldom, if ever, had punk sounded so gloriously righteous, but so damn right. --Louis Pattison

Bursting at the seams with creative energy, the Clash's stunning 1979 double album more than made up for the artistic and commercial disappointment of its predecessor, '78's tried-too-hard Give 'Em Enough Rope. With ex-Mott the Hoople producer Guy Stevens harnessing their sound as never before, the band yielded what proved to be the best work of their career. Bouncing from hard-rock (the apocalyptic-vision of the title track) to rockabilly ("Brand New Cadillac") to reggae ("Rudy Can't Fail") to pop (the Top Forty hit, "Train in Vain"), the Clash knocked down all musical walls and, in the process, ended the argument over punk's viability in the U.S. --Billy Altman

'London Calling' is the 3rd album by English punk rockers The Clash and was released on December 14th 1979. The album represented a change in The Clash's musical style and featured more diverse elements; Ska, pop, soul, rockabilly and reggae influences were more audible than on their previous albums. The cover is clearly a tribute to Elvis Presley's self-titled album sleeve, whereas the album's subject matters vary from unemployment, racial conflict, drug use and the responsibilities of adulthood. Recordings took only a couple of weeks and most songs were cut in 2 or 3 takes. The album received unanimously positive reviews and was ranked high in some of the All Time Greatest Albums listings (number 8 on Rolling Stone's list, number 4 on Q Magazine's list). 'London Calling' was a top 10 album in the UK, and its title track was a top 20 single. In 2007, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, for being a collection of recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Exactly 30 years to the day, we're pleased to announce the release of this album in remastered sound and on 180 grams audiophile vinyl.

titolo-london callingartista-clash etichetta-columbian. dischi1data15 ottobre 1999supportocd audiogenerepop e rock internazionale----braniascolta 30''1.london callingascolta2.brand new cadillacascolta3.jimmy jazzascolta4.hatefulascolta5.rudie can't failas