blast from the past- London Calling

London Calling is a landmark album release by The Clash in 1979. It marks a big change in the style of music being written by the band, and is influential for many bands in a wide style of genres from punk and pop to third-wave ska.
The title track for the album, ‘London Calling’ blasts through right away with a powerful and very recognizable bass riff. Even if you think you don’t know The Clash, you know ‘London Calling’. The lyrics of the song powerfully invoke images of some post-apocalyptic, war zone London: “London calling to the faraway towns / Now that war is declared and battle come down.”
Just a couple tracks later, the band takes a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn with the song ‘Jimmy Jazz.’ Where ‘London Calling’ was a bit of a harder punk song, the influence for ‘Jimmy Jazz’ lies quite clearly on the shoulders of reggae. A powerful walking bass-line, some up-strummed guitar chords and fantastic horns really keep it mellow.
‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ is another song heavily influenced by early Jamaican ska and reggae, with a bit of punk flavor. The heavy Jamaican influence is not only heard in the music of the song, similar to ‘Jimmy Jazz,’ but also in the spoken and written lyrics. The song itself is about a ‘rudie,’ or a delinquent Jamaican youth heavily involved in the early ska scene. Aside from all the Jamaican lyrics influence, it seems as if they may also be poking a bit of fun at organized society; In this you can see the early ska and reggae music being fused with punk ideals.
A lot of punk and pop sound shines through in ‘Lost In the Supermarket,’ musically and idealistically. In particular the lyrics of this song are quite powerful, touching on psychology and mental disorder, the mark of the educated punk deity who is Joe Strummer. Stuff like “I wasn’t born so much as I fell out” and “I heard the people who lived on the ceiling / Scream and fight most scarily / Hearing that noise was my first ever feeling / That’s how it’s been all around me” reveals a certain air of a distorted childhood, a hallmark of modern punk music. This song also pokes some fun at society like ‘Rudie Can’t Fail.’
‘The Guns of Brixton’ is an awesome anthem of civil unrest with lyrics that depict a rough time in London: ‘When the law break in / How you gonna go? / With your hands on your head / Or on the trigger of your gun?” The tune is the only Clash song written solely by bassist Paul Simonon, featuring him on lead vocal duties, that was released by the band. Simonon drew his influence for ‘The Guns of Brixton’ from growing up in Brixton, South London and the civil unrest of the people versus the brutal police activity that was taking place at the time of the song’s writing.
With all the other serious themes like drugs, revolution, sex and society going on in ‘London Calling,’ The Clash still had the time to throw in a classic song about heartbreak at the end called ‘Train in Vain (Stand by Me).’ ‘Train in Vain’ was originally not going to be included on the original 1979 release of ‘London Calling’ but was a last minute addition and therefore is not included on track listings for the original album.
The Clash are one of the most recognizable bands in the beginning of the English Punk movement and ‘London Calling’ is one of the most powerful albums released by the band, and even one of the most fantastic albums to come out of the glorious 1970’s. The influence of this band and album can be seen in so many different musical groups of many genres. In the punk scene it’s clear that guys like Rancid were heavily influenced by The Clash with such ballads of unrest as ‘Arrested in Shanghai.’ In the third-wave ska scene, a band that is heavily influenced by the Clash is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. You can catch this band’s level of appreciation by the spirit with which they cover ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ at their live concerts. It’s clear Sublime has also drawn from The Clash’s rich infusion of punk, ska, and early reggae music. These are only a few examples of the wide effect ‘London Calling’ and The Clash have had on music as a whole, never mind the effect they have had on society and culture from their heyday through the times we live in now.