The Clash - London Calling [180g] (2LP) Vinyl

London Calling is the third studio album by the English rock band The Clash, originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States and Canada in January 1980 by Epic Records. It bridges the band's punk rock beginnings and a broader new wave aesthetic, and has retrospectively been named one of the greatest albums ever made.

The Album

The Clash recorded the album with producer Guy Stevens at Wessex Sound Studios in London between August and November 1979, following a change of management and a period of writer's block for songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Rehearsals were held at Vanilla Studios in Pimlico. The line up is Joe Strummer on rhythm guitar, vocals and piano, Mick Jones on lead guitar, vocals, piano and harmonica, Paul Simonon on bass and vocals, and Topper Headon on drums and percussion.

The record reflects the band's growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, among them reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans rhythm and blues, pop, lounge jazz and hard rock. Lyrical themes include social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, drug use and the responsibilities of adulthood.

Artwork

The front cover is Pennie Smith's photograph of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his Fender Precision Bass against the stage at the Palladium in New York City on 20 September 1979. Smith did not want the photograph used, judging it too far out of focus, but Strummer and graphic designer Ray Lowry thought it would make a good cover. Q magazine named it the best rock and roll photograph of all time in 2002, and the sleeve was one of ten classic album covers by British artists commemorated on a Royal Mail postage stamp in 2010. The logotype was modelled after that of Elvis Presley's debut album.

Reception

London Calling was a top ten chart success in the UK and its lead single "London Calling" was a top 20 single. The album has sold more than five million copies worldwide, and is certified 2x Platinum in the United Kingdom by the BPI and Platinum in the United States for sales of one million. Reviewing it for The New York Times in January 1980, John Rockwell wrote that it "captures all the Clash's primal energy, combines it with a brilliant production job by Guy Stevens and reveals depths of invention and creativity barely suggested by the band's previous work". At the end of 1980 it was voted best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz and Jop critics poll, and in 2007 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked it number 8 in the 2003 and 2012 editions of its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and number 16 in the 2020 edition.

This Pressing

This is the Columbia and Sony Music double LP reissue, catalogue number 88875112701, pressed on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl and manufactured in the EU. The audio was re-mastered by Tim Young and The Clash at Metropolis, and both records play at 33 RPM. The four sides are housed in a single pocket sleeve with four printed paper inner sleeves carrying the full lyrics, credits and Pennie Smith's live photographs.

As on the original 1979 release, "Train in Vain" is not listed on the rear of the sleeve, but it does appear on the side four record label as the closing track.

Tracklist

Side One

1. London Calling (3:19)
2. Brand New Cadillac (2:09)
3. Jimmy Jazz (3:52)
4. Hateful (2:45)
5. Rudie Can't Fail (3:26)

Side Two

1. Spanish Bombs (3:19)
2. The Right Profile (3:56)
3. Lost in the Supermarket (3:47)
4. Clampdown (3:49)
5. The Guns of Brixton (3:07)

Side Three

1. Wrong 'Em Boyo (3:10)
2. Death or Glory (3:55)
3. Koka Kola (1:46)
4. The Card Cheat (3:51)

Side Four

1. Lover's Rock (4:01)
2. Four Horsemen (2:56)
3. I'm Not Down (3:00)
4. Revolution Rock (5:37)
5. Train in Vain (3:09)