The Clash “Historia de la Musica Rock”

sfilzen — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:27:49 +0000

The Clash “Historia de la Musica Rock” 1983. Orbis Records. I’m spinning the Spanish re-issue version of The Clash’s 1978 album Give ‘Em Enough Rope in honor of Joe Strummer’s birthday (b. John Mellor, Aug. 21st 1952, d. 2002). The Historia de la Musica Rock is a series of albums released in the early 80′s, sold as a companion to a 6-volume rock encyclopedia released weekly for about two years in Spain with artists ranging from The Clash to Joe Cocker to Chuck Berry. This reissue of The Clash’s second album (the first to be released in the US) follows the original UK track listing titles: “All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)” was renamed “That’s No Way to Spend Your Youth” on the original US release, and “Julie’s In the Drug Squad” became “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad.” Give ‘Em Enough Rope peaked at #2 on the album charts and made it to #128 in the US with the single “Tommy Gun” hitting #19 on the UK charts. I love that song and some of my other faves are “Guns on the Roof” (its opening riff highly reminiscent of “Clash City Rockers” plus I’m even more fond of the song having recently been to London where we saw the particular roof in Camden Market where the gun incident that inspired the song happened – a special shout-out to and recommendation of Alison and her Rock-n-Roll Camden Walking Tour), and “English Civil War” (its melody derived from the American Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”) which was released as a single in early ‘79 and went to #25 in the UK. I love the entire album, one listed by NME in the top 100 records of all-time, except “Stay Free” which is the only track that features Mick Jones on vocals; though all the tracks have writing credits given to Strummer and Jones (“Guns on the Roof” gives Paul Simonon and Topper Headon credit as well), I have a feeling “Stay Free” was a very Jones-inspired song: sing-songy and a pop music flavor.

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The Clash “Give ‘Em Enough Rope”

sfilzen — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 16:08:01 +0000

The Clash “Give ‘Em Enough Rope” released on this date, November 10th, 1978. It is The Clash’s second studio album, though the first to be released in the US; their debut record The Clash was released in the States in ‘79 and altered a bit in song order and content. In the UK Give ‘Em Enough Rope peaked at #2 on the album charts, making it to #128 in the US. The record pictured here is an original US pressing: the font used on the cover is in block capital letters, the track “That’s No Way to Spend Your Youth” is the alternate title from the UK original and later US releases, “All the Young Punks,” and “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad” appears instead with the original title “Julie’s In the Drug Squad.”

Though from the late 1970′s, the content of the album is still very relevant for today. “Tommy Gun” (released as a single in November ‘78, #19 on the UK charts) is about terrorism in the Middle East; Joe Strummer stated his idea for the song stems from the revelation that terrorists probably enjoy the press from their “triumphs.” “Guns on the Roof” refers to terrorism, war and corruption while “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad” decries the tactics of the police and government in the war on drugs. And “English Civil War” couldn’t be more contemporary in the wake of the post-Brexit world, the music derived from the American Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and the lyrics an alarm to the rise of institutionalized racism, anti-immigration and violent far-right groups.

When Johnny comes
Marching home again
He’s coming by bus or underground
A woman’s eye will shed a tear
To see his face so beaten in fear
An’ it was just around the corner in the English civil war

It was still at the stage of clubs and fists
When that well-known face got beaten to bits
Your face was blue in the light of the screen
As we watched the speech of an animal scream
The new party army was marching right over our heads

Alright

There you are, ha ha, I told you so
Says everybody that we know
But who hid a radio under the stairs
An’ who got caught out on their unawares?
When that new party army came marching right up the stairs

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The Clash “Historia de la Musica Rock”

The Clash “Give ‘Em Enough Rope”