This is a CLASH POLL service announcement...WITH RESULTS!!!!!! ILX Artist Poll #41

And now, the two that got multiple (i.e. two) votes!

"The Magnificent Seven" - Tom Snyder Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_DPKWGH9yc

"Complete Control" - From Here to Eternity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeTw_p_WglY

Ok I'll be back in about 15 minutes with the albums and then we can get this show on the road.

cool, that'll give me time to change into my poll fedora

http://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/ap/65910b9c-6624-4275-be61-e3d2da01ab52.grid-6x2.jpg

That live "Street Parade" is great. I love how the Sandinista! material sped up ridiculously in concert.

Albums

This was optional, so not everybody voted, but it's a bit wonkier than usual as some people only voted for one or two albums and others ordered all 8. I assigned points going down anyway, but if people didn't put an album on their list, it got no points. Unscientific, sure, but maybe this is a poll about enthusiasm anyway.

Cut the Crap - 7 pts

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091101152922/lyricwiki/images/c/cf/The_Clash_-_Cut_The_Crap.jpg

(d'oh)

too high

(d'oh at CtC getting 7 whole points, or not getting more?)

d'oh for me submitting the post without adding the image. Somebody recommended a live track from the 1984 Glasgow show that I couldn't find the individual songs for, but I listened to some of it and the songs do sound a lot better without Bernie's studio trickery.

I didn't even consider that this would be eligible but two people voted for it anyway. And it still beat Cut the Crap

8. From Here to Eternity - 8 pts

http://image.lyricspond.com/image/t/artist-the-clash/album-from-here-to-eternity-live/cd-cover.jpg

Wow, I never realised just how much the Manics were cribbing 'til I saw that vid for Complete Control

Dammit, forgot to vote in this poll.

Write in vote for 'Lost at the supermarket' as my numero uno followed by magnificent seven and bank robber.

7. Super Black Market Clash - 88 pts

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/83597747/Super+Black+Market+Clash+BSides+Collection+SuperBlackMarketClashalbumcove.jpg

ok i have to run an impromptu errand so i'll be back with the rest of the albums in a bit.

Combat Rock wins, right?

Big Audio Dynamite shockah

Been listening a lot to Combat Rock and Super Black Market Clash lately.

What a weird fuckin' band they were.

Combat Rock is certainly the oddest "sellout" album ever recorded.

i don't know much about that album...was there a sense that its success was deliberate and planned, or was it kind of a 'right songs at the right time, no double/triple album to scare off casual fans' thing?

how was it a sellout album?

London Calling and Sandinista sold modestly but of course generated massive cred, print magazine discussion (back when this meant something), and critical acclaim, so I guess there were set to capitalize. I AM surprised the album went top ten, double platinum, lingered in the chart a year, etc. It reminds me a bit of Speaking in Tongues' trajectory.

how was it a sellout album?

― fit and working again, Monday,

I've read carping in the British and American press. I forget which eighties punk band included a lyric about destroying any band that would release a Combat Rock (Rob Sheffield quotes it fully in his Clash entry for the SPIN book).

I always thought the only "sellout" aspect was that it was released as a single record rather than the double they'd recorded. But that may have been more to do with internal bickering; the rest of the band didn't like Jones' mixes, so everyone agreed to hand the mixing (and possibly track choice/sequencing) over to a neutral 3rd party (Glyn Johns).

"Should I Stay" sounds more obviously radio-friendly than anything else on the record, but it didn't even hit the top 40 (whereas "Casbah" topped out at #8).

There were serious-minded punks (including Johnny Ramone) who hated all the funk and dub stuff. I remember Johnny calling it a disco record.

went #1 in England in the early nineties too..as a jeans advert, nO?

xpost

Yep, with "Rush" by B.A.D II as the b-side!

rush for a change of atmospheeeeeewhereeeehuwheeereeeughwweeeeerrreeeeeeee

Should I Stay was playing in the sandwich shop the other day and 50% of the people in there were tapping their feet to it. Which made me like, wow this is a really well-liked song by lots of non-Clash-liking people...and simultaneously thinking that it's a really fucking annoying song

come sit by me

Chart succession
Preceded by
"Do the Bartman" by The Simpsons

UK number-one single
9 - 16 March 1991 (2 weeks)

Succeeded by
"The Stonk" by Hale and Pace

yeah, i fully expect to see a lot of 'should i stay' hate in this poll -- i'm pretty indifferent to it personally. hoping not to see any hate for 'rock the casbah' which is awesome.

They're both wonderful, but Rock The Casbah is better by miles.

Alfred: Are you thinking of Too Much Joy ("Any great band should be shot / before they make their Combat Rock")?

btw if you want to compare US vs UK reactions to the Clash, check out the comments in Tom's Popular entry for "Should I Stay"

http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2011/03/the-clash-should-i-stay-or-should-i-go/?cp=0

"Should I Stay" is garage-rock royalty, but I'll wait for it to show up to mount a proper defense.

Didn't vote for it, but I like it. I am a little surprised that there were Clash fans at the time that didn't hear it as a fun piss-take.

I remember being indignant at the time that it was getting much more radio attention than the far superior Straight to Hell on a AA side, and even made me (very briefly) a bit anti-Mick. But I like it fine these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w50RblItq4E

Combat Rock is awesome. Nothing wrong with that record. And it's not like the alternate "Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg" version reveals some crazy alternate "Combat Rock" universe. Basically more of the same. Also good.

There was talk last year about releasing a 30th anniversary Combat Rock with the original Rat Patrol mixes/tracks/running order. Supposedly the reason it got nixed was that Mick felt it would be wrong to release something Joe disliked at the time and wasn't around to approve/disapprove.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH_kgfDyRPg

Etc.

alright, sorry for the delay.

6. Give 'Em Enough Rope - 93pts

http://www.musicshop.com.au/media/catalog/product/4/9/4962462_3.jpg

wow. that's terrible. guess I should be thankful it beat out Super Black Market Clash but damn!

and probably only because of my number one vote

Absurd!!

I should say I just assigned points from 8-1 on these.

Lets fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us.

then yeah, I saved Give 'Em Enough Rope from total humiliation. still, this is some extreme revisionism

5. The Clash (UK Version) - 104 pts

http://24.media.tumblr.com/5f7ec67511c4ce13bd112b5f00e9e8a7/tumblr_mofb3vpFXG1soyk8ho1_500.jpg

Big thanks for this, this poll has meant I've spent the last 2 weeks with the Clash, which is great.

since everyone's posting their lists, I'll jump in-I guess I love their covers, I have 3 in my top 10. I guess the surprise for me is all the antipathy towards 'Should I Stay', though I think for me and other voters Combat Rock has aged well. A lot of talk about that album, but I remember pretty clearly at the time it was no secret that it was probably the last Clash album, and probably viewed more as a last gasp than a sell-out. Anyway, my top 10.

1 (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
2 Train in Vain (Stand by Me)
3 I Fought the Law
4 Brand New Cadillac
5 Police & Thieves
6 Should I Stay or Should I Go
7 Rudie Can't Fail
8 London Calling
9 Straight to Hell
10 Complete Control

My ballot:

Clampdown
Complete Control
I Fought The Law
Clash City Rockers
I'm So Bored With The U.S.A.
This Is Radio Clash
(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
Brand New Cadillac
Rudie Can't Fail
White Riot (single/US debut version)
London Calling
Washington Bullets
The Magnificent Seven
Train In Vain
Career Opportunities
Spanish Bombs
1977
Jail Guitar Doors
Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)
Straight To Hell
Lost In The Supermarket
Safe European Home
Rock The Casbah
I'm Not Down
Somebody Got Murdered
Know Your Rights
Kingston Advice
The Call Up
Atom Tan
Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)

top live:

1. Clampdown (official video...can't find info on where/when it was filmed, though)
2. I'm So Bored With The U.S.A. (Chicago, 9/14/79)
3. Capital Radio (From Here To Eternity)
4. London's Burning (fhte)
5. Train In Vain (fhte)

albums:

1. The Clash (US)
2. London Calling
3. Sandinista!
4. Combat Rock
5. Give 'Em Enough Rope

Thanks for doing this, Gukbe! Great rollout!

hey gukbe, no rush obviously, but i hope you are still intending to post the full list of trax and votes. thx!

I'm glad there was so much Topper appreciation in the pre- and poll discussion. Sort of a cliche to say he's underrated, and maybe that's not even true anymore. But these days when I listen to the Clash (at least, to anything from the Topper era), I find myself listening to the drums as much as anything.

Topper's beats on the Bonds version of Street Parade at the top of the thread were really doing it for me this morning

I was listening to Combat Rock this morning and holy fuck, he came up with some bizarre/brilliant parts ("Red Angel Dragnet," "Straight To Hell").

hey gukbe, no rush obviously, but i hope you are still intending to post the full list of trax and votes. thx!

― Roberto Spiralli, Friday, July 19, 2013 9:30 AM (1 week ago)

^^^

^^^^^

BBC's Front Row, half-hour special:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037vb11

Consider this a bump for the full list of trax and votes and to ask if any of you are buying the super overpriced Sound System box. I've been listening to the remasters and they did an amazing job. But I don't have $200. I am gonna plonk down for the 5 album set, but it's missing all the crucial singles including our poll winner. Argh. Wish they would have included the single A-Sides at least in that lower end box but no such luck.

I'm still annoyed there's no proper live album from the classic lineup. It's like they included those 3 songs from the Lyceum show just to taunt me.

As for the remasters themselves, I only listened to self-titled and the Cost of Living EP. Self-titled was hugely improved. Harder to spot any changes on Cost of Living.

On headphones the details pop like a motherfucker. I checked versus the 90s remasters and it's pretty easy to hear the improvement all through the catalog.

I agree on the live stuff. This quote Mick gave Rolling Stone breaks my heart:

There's not a ton of live music on this set. Are you thinking about releasing more Clash concerts in the future?
Not really. Years ago, before even the Internet, there were places where you could send off blank tapes and get nearly every concert. This fantastic exchange was going on. They wouldn't even charge you money. I know fans want to get their hands on everything, but it's already out there. So there's no plans to release any concerts now. I'm not even thinking about any more Clash releases. This is it for me, and I say that with an exclamation mark.

That's such a PR circuit quote that I don't lend it much credibility.

Hmmmm. I believe it.

So, the 'albums only' set has LC and S as 2 and 3 cd sets respectively

.. And you can get it for £30 or thereabouts.

So, 3cds of rarities, a DVD, and a whole bunch of silly will cost you an additional £70 up.

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais - 999 37 3
Complete Control - 924 34 7
Straight to Hell - 687 34
Janie Jones - 662 23
Safe European Home - 658 29 3
Train in Vain - 568 27 2
Rudie Can't Fail - 564 28 2
The Magnificent Seven - 548 28 1
Police on My Back - 541 26 1
Guns of Brixton - 540 24 1
I Fought the Law - 522 23
Clampdown - 521 25 1
White Riot - 494 29
London Calling - 477 27 2
Spanish Bombs - 476 26
Lost in the Supermarket - 465 25
This is Radio Clash - 463 23 1
Rock the Casbah - 441 25
Career Opportunities - 406 26
Bankrobber - 399 21 1
Police & Thieves - 396 23 1
I'm So Bored with the USA - 369 19 1
Death or Glory - 356 24 1
Armagideon Time - (2 for Justice Tonight/36) 339 17 3
Somebody Got Murdered - 325 24
Know Your Rights - 310 19
Stay Free - 299 17 1
Hateful - 298 15
Tommy Gun - 291 17 2
The Call Up - 290 19
Should I Stay or Should I Go - 280 19
The Card Cheat - 278 15 1
Clash City Rockers - 277 18
I'm Not Down - 226 15
London's Burning - 220 14
Brand New Cadillac - 190 8
Washington Bullets - 174 10
Lose this Skin - 173 9 1
The Right Profile - 168 8 2
The Street Parade - 162 8 1
Hitsville UK - 157 12
The Prisoner - 151 8
This is England - 148 10
What's My Name - 145 10
Charlie Don't Surf - 142 12
Wrong 'Em Boyo - 140 10
Garageland - 138 9
Jimmy Jazz - 136 8
Groovy Times - 136 8
1977 - 131 10
Gates of the West - 127 6 1
Remote Control - 126 9
Capital Radio - (one = 50 two= 74) 124 7
Jail Guitar Doors - 122 11
Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad - 113 11
Up in Heaven (Not Only Here) - 111 10
Ghetto Defendant - 106 10
Pressure Drop - 104 10
Car Jamming - 104 7
Hate and War - 96 6
The City of the Dead - 94 8
Rebel Waltz - 92 6
English Civil War - 90 5
All the Young Punks - 88 6
Broadway - 87 6 1
Revolution Rock - 82 2
Cheapskates - 81 6
Sean Flynn - 78 5
One More Time - 76 6
Four Horsemen - 74 6
Last Gang in Town - 71 4
Sound of Sinners - 70 6
The Equaliser - 69 4
Ivan Meets GI Joe - 64 5
Koka Kola - 61 5
Junco Partner - 61 6
The Leader - 59 3
Corner Soul - 58 5
The Cool Out - 53 3 1
Something About England - 53 6
Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice) - 48 6
Inoculated City - 48 3
Deny - 44 3
Protex Blue - 35 4
The Crooked Beat - 34 2
Death is a Star - 33 3
Guns on the Roof - 32 3
Overpowered by Funk - 30 4
Guns of Brixton (Sandanista) - 30 1
Lover's Rock - 29 3
Cool Confusion - 28 1
Atom Tan - 27 3
Let's Go Crazy - 26 3
Version City - 25 1
Midnight Log - 25 1
In the Pouring Rain - 24 2
Mensforth Hill - 22 1
First Night Back in London - 22 1
Junkie Slip - 20 2
Mustapha Dance - 18 1
Midnight to Stevens - 15 1
Career Opportunities (Sandanista) = 12 2
Long Time Jerk - 9 2
Listen - 8 1
We are the Clash - 7 1
Look Here - 7 1
The Magnificent Dance - 5 1
Kingston Advice - 5 1
How Can I Understand the Flies? - 5 1
48 Hours - 5 1
Time is Tight - 3 1
Shepherd's Delight - 2 1
Kill Time - 2 1
Drug-Stabbing Time - 2 1

apologies for the ugly formatting. first number is points, second number of votes, and if there's a third, that's the number of #1s.

thx!

Thanks sir!

Thanks, gukbe! Cool to see at least one vote for "Mensforth Hill."

Thanks for the totals!

On the remasters, did they at least fix the screw-up at the beginning of "Koka Cola" from the last round of reissues? I'm one of those oddballs who thinks the circa-'99 remaster of London Calling was bad all around--the first try was much closer to the record.

I've read that the bell no longer sounds all goofy (as it did on the "legacy edition"), and the elevator sound is back.

Yes. It's fixed.

I wanna note that this poll inspired me to finally pick up a vinyl copy of Give 'Em Enough Rope to replace the one I traded in maybe 25 years ago. Much better than I remembered!

Tell you what, I'd forgotten how great the 'Capital Radio' remake is!

There's a documentary that was produced to coincide with the box set. Not revelatory so far, but nice to see the guys together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16-WktpcHpI

Mick and Paul are on reddit answering some questions. Some of these redditors make some lame questions so if you have an actual Clash fan question you want answered here you go:

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1msew6/this_is_mick_and_paul_from_the_clash_ask_us/

For the holidays, a two-hour This Is Radio Clash program, with bizarre Bernie Rhodes cameos in Chipmunks speed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mjl04

I still can't stand a certain minor chart hit.

if memory serves it was a major chart hit over here and yeah it is crushingly dull

Phony Clashmania has bitten the dust!.

Nice work! But it's Safe European Home, not Homes

it's the Sumner-ite in me.

Ha!

Where would you put Black Market Clash? That was a big one for me, the record (or more accurately, $5.98 cassette) that made me an obsessive. They padded it out for the CD era as Super Black Market Clash, which inexplicably replaced the original Bankrobber with a dub version that goes on twice as long, but it half as good.

just scanned through the results thread and I have no idea what I would've picked for #1 (this poll pre-dated my ILM posting by a few months--pretty sure I registered to ILM so I could vote in the Elvis Costello poll)--there were at least 12 candidates just looking at the songs that made the list

inexplicably replaced the original Bankrobber with a dub version that goes on twice as long, but it half as good.

it's explicable! and also the original Black Market Clash edited Bankrobber and Robber Dub together, so the Super version is the one that's half as long.

I bought the triple 10" version, that's a different thing!

how so? https://www.discogs.com/The-Clash-Black-Market-Clash/release/103078 vs https://www.discogs.com/The-Clash-Black-Market-Clash/release/2987143

I had never seen that before. It adds the tracks that were left off the US debut.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Clash-Super-Black-Market-Clash/release/420020

Yes, side one is those tracks, plus "Listen" without the interview, which are all from those sessions.

Two = b-side tracks from "give them enough rope" era

three = the "Cost of Living" e.p. without "I fought the law" and the "ad" but with "Time Is Tight" instead.

four = Armagideon Time 12" dubs and Bankrobber dub

five = Mostly "Combat Rock" b-sides along with "Cool Out"

Six = Whatever's left: Casbah Dub / Mag7 dub / "This Is Radio Clash" (the a-side?)

So, basically pick yr side, it's like having 6 ep's

oh derp, I missed "triple"