''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
.
It was released on 14 May 1982 through
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the United States, spending 61 weeks on the chart. The album was propelled by
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
's "
Rock the Casbah
"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in 1982. The song was released as the second single from their fifth album, ''Combat Rock''. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US (t ...
" which became a staple in the newly launched
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. ''Combat Rock'' continued the influence of funk and reggae like the previous albums, but also featured a more radio friendly sound which alienated some Clash fans. The recording and producing process of the album was tiring and full of infighting between
Mick Jones and
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
. Headon's heroin addiction grew worse and he slowly became distant from the band. The band had disagreed on the creative process of the album and called in
Glyn Johns
Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer.
Biography
Early history
Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...
to produce the more radio friendly sound of ''Combat Rock.''
''Combat Rock'' is the group's best-selling album, being certified
double platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in the United States and reaching number 2 in the U.K. Reception to the album believed the band had reached its peak maturity with ''Combat Rock'', as the sound was less anarchic but still as political as previous albums. It contains two of the Clash's signature songs, the singles "
Rock the Casbah
"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in 1982. The song was released as the second single from their fifth album, ''Combat Rock''. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US (t ...
" and "
Should I Stay or Should I Go
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, from their album ''Combat Rock'', written in 1981 and featuring Mick Jones on lead vocals. It was released in 1982 as a double A-sided single alongside " Straight to ...
". "Rock the Casbah" became highly successful in the United States and proved to be the band's anticipated U.S breakthrough. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was not as successful until being re-released in 1991 and topping the charts in their native
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. ''Combat Rock'' is the last Clash album featuring the classic lineup.
Topper Headon was fired days before the release of Combat Rock(due to his heroin addiction) and Mick Jones was infamously fired after the end of the Combat Rock tour in 1983.
Background
Following the triple-album ''
Sandinista!
''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...
'' (1980), singer/guitarist
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
felt the group was "drifting" creatively.
Bassist
Paul Simonon agreed with Strummer's dissatisfaction towards the "boring" professionalism of the Clash's then-managers Blackhill Enterprises.
Strummer and Simonon convinced their bandmates to reinstate the band's original manager
Bernie Rhodes
Bernard Rhodes is a designer, band manager, studio owner, record producer and songwriter who was integral to the development of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom from the middle 1970s. He is most associated with two of the UK's best kn ...
in February 1981, in an attempt to restore the "chaos" and "anarchic energy" of the Clash's early days.
This decision was not welcomed by guitarist
Mick Jones, who was becoming progressively estranged from his bandmates.
During this period, drummer
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
escalated his intake of
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
and
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
. His occasional drug usage had now become a habit that was costing him £100 per day and undermining his health.
This drug addiction would be the factor that would later push his bandmates to fire him from the Clash, following the release of ''Combat Rock''.
Recording
The album had the working title ''Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg'' during the recording and mixing stages.
After early recording sessions in London, the group relocated to New York for recording sessions at
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...
in November and December 1981.
Electric Lady was where the band had recorded its previous album ''
Sandinista!
''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...
'' in 1980.
While recording the album in New York,
Mick Jones lived with his then-girlfriend
Ellen Foley
Ellen Foley (born 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom '' Night Court'' for one season. In music, she has released five solo albums but is best known for her colla ...
.
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
,
Paul Simonon and
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
stayed at the
Iroquois Hotel
The Iroquois Hotel New York is located at 49 West 44th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of six hotels owned by Shimmie Horn and Gerald Barad under the Triumph Hotels br ...
on West 44th Street, a building famed for being the home of actor
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
for two years during the early 1950s.
After finishing the New York recording sessions in December 1981, the band returned to London for most of January 1982. Between January and March, the Clash embarked on a six-week tour of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Thailand.
During this tour, the album's cover photograph was shot by
Pennie Smith
Pennie Smith (born in London) is an English photographer, known for her photography of the rock music industry. She specialises in black-and-white photography.
Early life
Smith attended art school in Twickenham in the late 1960s, studying gra ...
in Thailand in March 1982.
Mixing and editing
Following the gruelling Far East tour, the Clash returned to London in March 1982 to listen to the music that they had recorded in New York three months earlier.
They had recorded 18 songs, enough material to possibly release as double-album.
Having previously released the double-LP ''
London Calling
''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records.
The C ...
'' (1979) and the triple-LP ''
Sandinista!
''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...
'' (1980), the group considered whether they should again release a multi-LP collection.
The band debated how many songs their new album should contain, and how long the songs' mixes should be. Mick Jones argued in favour of a double-album with lengthier, dancier mixes.
The other band members argued in favour of a single album with shorter song mixes.
This internal wrangling created tension within the band, particularly with Jones, who had mixed the first version.
Manager Bernie Rhodes suggested that producer/engineer
Glyn Johns
Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer.
Biography
Early history
Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...
be hired to remix the album. This editing took place in Johns' garden studio in
Warnford
Warnford is a village and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. The parish covers 1283 hectares (3170 acres). The population in 2019 was estimated at 220.
The village lies on the A32 in the upper valley of the ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
(not at
Wessex Studios
Wessex Sound Studios was a recording studio located at 106a Highbury New Park, London, England. Many renowned popular music artists recorded there, including Sex Pistols, King Crimson, the Clash, Theatre of Hate, XTC, the Sinceros, Queen, Talk Tal ...
, as is stated by some sources).
Johns, accompanied by Strummer and Jones edited ''Combat Rock'' down from a 77-minute double album down to a 46-minute single
LP.
This was achieved by trimming the length of individual songs, such as by removing instrumental intros and codas from songs like "Rock the Casbah" and "Overpowered by Funk". Additionally, the trio decided to omit several songs entirely, dropping the final track count to 12.
During these remixing sessions, Strummer and Jones also re-recorded their vocals for the songs "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "Know Your Rights" and remixed the songs with the intent of maximising their impact as singles.
Music and lyrics
The music on ''Combat Rock'' has been described as
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and
new wave.
A recurring motif of the album is the impact and aftermath of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
"
Straight to Hell" describes the children fathered by American soldiers to Vietnamese mothers and then abandoned,
while "Sean Flynn" describes the capture of photojournalist
Sean Flynn, who was the son of actor
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
. Sean Flynn disappeared(and presumably killed) in 1970 after being captured by the
Vietcong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
in Cambodia.
Biographer Pat Gilbert describes many songs from ''Combat Rock'' as having a "trippy, foreboding feel", saturated in a "colonial melancholia and sadness" reflecting the Vietnam War.
The band was inspired by
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
's 1979 film about the Vietnam War, ''
Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...
'', and had previously released the song "Charlie Don't Surf" on ''Sandinista!'', which referenced the film. Strummer later stated that he became "obsessed" of the film.
Other ''Combat Rock'' songs, if not directly about the Vietnam War and U.S. foreign policy, depict American society in moral decline.
"Inoculated City" satires the
Nuremberg defense
Superior orders, also known as the Nuremberg defense or just following orders, is a plea in a court of law that a person, whether a member of the military, law enforcement, a firefighting force, or the civilian population, should not be considered ...
plea by soldiers on trial who've committed war crimes.
The original version of this song included an unauthorized audio clip from a TV commercial for
2000 Flushes
2000 Flushes is an automatic toilet cleaning product produced by the WD-40 Company. The toilet cleaner is dispensed from an in-tank package.
History
2000 Flushes was created by Al Eisen, founder of New Jersey-based Flushco, Inc. According to th ...
, a toilet bowl cleaner. The maker of this product threatened a lawsuit, forcing the group to edit the track, though the longer version was restored on later copies.
"Red Angel Dragnet" was inspired by the January 1982 shooting death of Frank Melvin, a New York member of the
Guardian Angels
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in ...
.
The song quotes
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
's 1976 movie ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'', with Clash associate
Kosmo Vinyl
Kosmo Vinyl (born Mark C. Dunk, 9 February 1957, England) is a former longtime associate and sometime manager for The Clash, as well as being associated with Ian Dury & the Blockheads and The Jam, three seminal English bands of the 1970s and 1980 ...
recording several lines of dialogue imitating the voice of main character
Travis Bickle
Travis Bickle is a fictional character and the anti-hero protagonist of the 1976 film ''Taxi Driver'' directed by Martin Scorsese. The character was created by the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader. He is played by Robert De Niro, who received an ...
. Bickle sports a
mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
* Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
* Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...
in the latter part of ''Taxi Driver'', this was a hairstyle adopted by
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
during the ''Combat Rock'' concert tour.
The song "Ghetto Defendant" features
beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery (c ...
poet
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
, who performed the song on stage with the band during the New York shows on their tour in support of the album. Ginsberg had researched punk music, and included phrases like "do the worm" and "slam dance" in his lyrics.
At the end of the song he can be heard reciting the
Heart Sutra, a popular Buddhist mantra.
The song "
Know Your Rights
"Know Your Rights" is a song by the Clash. It was released in 1982 as the first single from the album ''Combat Rock'', three weeks prior to the release of the album.
The song begins with the words "''This is a public service announcement... wit ...
" starts off with: "''This is a public service announcement...with guitar!''" The musical style of the song was described as being one of the "more punk" songs on the album, reflecting the open and clear lyrics of the song. The lyrics represent the fraudulent rights for the lower and less respected class, with a nefarious Civil servant naming three rights, with each right having an exception to benefit the rich or being skewed against the lower class.
Music for "Rock the Casbah" was written by the band's drummer Topper Headon, based on a piano part that he had been toying with.
Finding himself in the studio without his three bandmates, Headon progressively taped the drum, piano and bass parts, recording the bulk of the song's musical instrumentation himself.
The other Clash members were impressed with Headon's recording, stating that they felt the musical track was essentially complete.
However, Strummer was not satisfied with the page of suggested lyrics that Headon gave him.
Before hearing Headon's music, Strummer had already come up with the phrases ''"rock the casbah"'' and ''"you'll have to let that raga drop"'' as lyrical ideas that he was considering for future songs.
After hearing Headon's music, Strummer went into the studio's toilets and wrote lyrics to match the song's melody.
Release
Following along the same note as ''Sandinista!'', ''Combat Rock''s catalogue number "FMLN2" is the abbreviation for the
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
''
Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional'' or FMLN.
Lead single "
Know Your Rights
"Know Your Rights" is a song by the Clash. It was released in 1982 as the first single from the album ''Combat Rock'', three weeks prior to the release of the album.
The song begins with the words "''This is a public service announcement... wit ...
" was released on 23 April 1982,
and reached number 43 on the U.K. singles chart.
''Combat Rock'' was released on 14 May 1982 and reached number 2 on the U.K. album charts, kept off the top spot by
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
's ''
Tug of War
Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...
''.
In the United States, ''Combat Rock'' reached number 7 on the album charts, selling in excess of one million copies.
Combat Rock was the band's most successful album in the United States. However, in the U.K, Combat Rock was tied with the 1978 album
Give 'Em Enough Rope
''Give 'Em Enough Rope'' is the second studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 10 November 1978 through CBS Records International, CBS Records. It was their first album released in the United States, preceding the ...
for the highest charting album for the band in their native U.K.
"
Rock the Casbah
"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, released in 1982. The song was released as the second single from their fifth album, ''Combat Rock''. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US (t ...
", which was composed by drummer Topper Headon, reached number 8 on the U.S. singles chart.
The single was accompanied by a distinctive video directed by
Don Letts
Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...
that aired frequently on the then-fledgling television channel
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. Headon, despite composing the song, was not in the music video after being replaced by Terry Chimes for his raging heroin addiction.
In January 2000, the album, along with the rest of the Clash's catalogue, was remastered and re-released. A fortieth anniversary reissue was released in May 2022 with demos and previously cut songs.
Reception and influence
''Combat Rock'' peaked at number 2 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, number 7 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries.
["UK Chart Archive"](_blank)
everyHit.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2008.[ "The Clash > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" ]Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved 26 October 2008.["Discography The Clash"](_blank)
NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 26 October 2008.["Discography The Clash"](_blank)
SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 26 October 2008. It was ranked at #4 among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1982 by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', with both "Straight to Hell" and "Know Your Rights" ranked among the year's top 50 tracks.
The United States
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA)
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
''Combat Rock'' as a Gold album in November 1982, Platinum in January 1983, and Multi-Platinum in June 1995.
In a contemporary review for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'',
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
lamented the same attempts at
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
dub the Clash had tried on ''
Sandinista!
''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...
'' (1980). Nonetheless, he dismissed the notion the band were
selling out
"Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal gai ...
and believed they were "evolving" on ''Combat Rock'', writing songs at a "higher level of verbal, musical, and political density", albeit in less "terse and clear" fashion than on their early work.
Douglas Wolk
Douglas Wolk (born 1970) is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including ''The New York Times'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Nation'', ''The New Republi ...
said in a retrospective review for ''
Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...
'' that while the record was originally seen as the Clash's "sellout move" because of its danceable sound and two hit singles, the other songs featured "audaciously bizarre arrangements and some of Strummer's smartest lyrics."
''Q'' magazine was less enthusiastic, deeming it "their biggest seller, but the beginning of the end."
In 2000, ''
Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' called it "the penultimate Clash album ... employing lessons learned in the previous three years ... their most commercially rewarded release ... containing
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
most poignant song 'Straight to Hell'."
''
CMJ New Music Report
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
'' ranked ''Combat Rock'' at number five on its 2004 list of the Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1982.
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
listed the album at No. 80 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
listed it in his top fifty albums of all time.
Track listing
Fortieth Anniversary Reissue
The songs added to the fortieth anniversary reissue were titled ''The People's Hall''.
All tracks are written by the Clash.
Personnel
*
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
– lead and backing vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano
*
Mick Jones – guitar, backing and lead vocals, keyboard, sound effects
*
Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Red Angel Dragnet"
*
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
– drums, piano and bass guitar on "Rock the Casbah"
;Additional musicians
*
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
– guest vocals on "Ghetto Defendant"
*
Futura 2000
Leonard Hilton McGurr (born November 17, 1955), known as Futura, and formerly known as Futura 2000, is an American graffiti artist.
Biography
He started to paint illegally on New York City's subway in the early 1970s, working with other artist ...
– guest vocals on "Overpowered by Funk"
*
Ellen Foley
Ellen Foley (born 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom '' Night Court'' for one season. In music, she has released five solo albums but is best known for her colla ...
– backing vocals on "Car Jamming"
*
Joe Ely – backing vocals on "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
*
Tymon Dogg
Tymon Dogg (born Stephen John Murray) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Dogg's career started early with shows at the Cavern and Peppermint Lounge in Liverpool when he was 15. As well as pursuing a solo career, he coll ...
– piano on "Death Is a Star"
*
Tommy Mandel
Tommy Mandel (born June 2, 1949) is a keyboardist most notable for playing with Bryan Adams from 1981 to 1998, starting with the album ''You Want It You Got It''.
Life and career
Prior to joining Bryan Adams' band, Mandel released a self-titled ...
(as Poly Mandell) – keyboards on "Overpowered by Funk"
*
Gary Barnacle
Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wem ...
– saxophone on "Sean Flynn"
*
Kosmo Vinyl
Kosmo Vinyl (born Mark C. Dunk, 9 February 1957, England) is a former longtime associate and sometime manager for The Clash, as well as being associated with Ian Dury & the Blockheads and The Jam, three seminal English bands of the 1970s and 1980 ...
- vocals on "Red Angel Dragnet"
;Production
* The Clash – producers
*
Glyn Johns
Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer.
Biography
Early history
Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...
– chief engineer, mixing
* Joe Blaney; Jerry Green; Eddie Garcia – assistant engineers
*
Pennie Smith
Pennie Smith (born in London) is an English photographer, known for her photography of the rock music industry. She specialises in black-and-white photography.
Early life
Smith attended art school in Twickenham in the late 1960s, studying gra ...
– cover photography, taken March 1982 in Bangkok, Thailand
Charts
Certifications
Sources
*
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
1982 albums
Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios
The Clash albums
CBS Records albums
Columbia Records albums
Epic Records albums
Albums produced by Glyn Johns