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Monday 21 February 2011

Sandinista!

Apologies for getting round to this a couple of months late, but last December saw the 30th anniversary of the release of the triple album "Sandinista!" by The Clash.

Like all right-minded people I bought a copy at the time it first came out. I then listened to it a few times, decided it wasn't very good, put it away and eventually got rid of it. After those first few times I never listened to it again until recently when I picked up a CD copy for £1 in the Dalston Oxfam Shop. And I quickly realised I had been missing out.

My initial reservations about it were mainly that stretching it to three albums meant there was an awful lot of flab, and that it was nowhere near as good as "London Calling". The first point still stands to a degree - does anyone really need Mickey Gallagher's kids singing "Career Opportunities"? - but there is a lot less filler than I remember. With some judicious trimming you could certainly make a very good double album. And as for the second point, well, thirty years greater experience has taught me that albums as good as "London Calling" come along once in a blue moon, so judging anyone by that standard is unfair.

Anyway, thirty years and two months late, here are some new favourites of mine.

"Washington Bullets" - The Clash

"Corner Soul" - The Clash

"Charlie Don't Surf" - The Clash

Meanwhile, at number 14 in the singles chart the week "Sandinista!" was released, another classic sound that has stood the test of time almost as well.

3 comments:

  1. Their best album by far and with a pay no more than £5.99 when it came out a bargain the record company hated. Loads of daft punks hated it but who cares about narrow minded nazis? Were you one of them?

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  2. Do you really expect me to answer "yes" to a leading question like that? I never objected to "Sandinista" in principle, it's just that I found it disappointing after "London Calling" and never gave it time to grow on me. I was wrong. Clearly you were both right and self-righteous long before the rest of us.

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  3. Now time to re-evaluate that Crucial Three 12" ?

    ReplyDelete