The Clash

Discuss any non-related Stranglers bands here

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jason
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The Clash

Post by jason »

Am I missing something? I like Spanish bombs, Rock the Casbah, London Calling , 1977 and a few other tracks are ok but are they the most over rated band ever? They sound really bland to me compared to the Stranglers or am I missing something? :?
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Re: The Clash

Post by aldinblack »

They are not as good as the Stranglers but then who is ? They can't match the musical adventure and musicianship or the variety and size of catalogue, nor quirkiness of the Stranglers but then who can ?

The Clash were still a fucking great band IMO, and London Calling is a great album through and through- and that album as a standalone double album is difficult to beat by any band. The 2nd album Give em enough rope, and the 4th Combat Rock are also great. The first album I find a bit limited musically and certainly no match for Rattus. But it has good songs and is a good "punk rock" album.

The tribute band called London Calling are excellent imo and really worth seeing if you like Clash music.

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jason
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Re: The Clash

Post by jason »

I just get the feeling a lot people like them because it's cool to like them!
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aldinblack
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Re: The Clash

Post by aldinblack »

jason wrote:I just get the feeling a lot people like them because it's cool to like them!
yes that is true, there are those who wear the t shirt, a bit like the Ramones.

In terms of "style" the clash were not for me, but the Stranglers' dark & a bit dangerous image fascinated me.

But if you ignore all that style/image stuff there really is some good music with the Clash, we'll I think so anyway...

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Re: The Clash

Post by Jon the Impaler »

I liked The Clash ...... for a fairly short while . I thought the first album was great , 2nd very good ....... but once the reggae and other stuff surfaced I completely lost interest in them . London Calling didn't do a lot for me , Sandanista I found awful , but then I generally don't like South American/Spanish style stuff like that anyway . I'd gotten into the hardcore punk by that stage , though The Stranglers I still liked ( always been my favourite ) .... Crass summed The Clash up for me , saying they'd sold out . The Clash to me by LC/Sandanista stage , were nothing to do with The Clash of the punk era ....now The Stranglers by that stage had gone soft , but you listen and you can still tell its The Stranglers .... The Clash for instance "Rock The Casbah " , you ask a 76/77 punk who that was and if they hadn't heard it they wouldn't have a clue - there was NOTHING of the punk Clash in that . Obviously it did there sales worldwide no harm at all , but it lost a hell of a lot of original fans . To me The Jam were far more genuine - Weller gave that up when he was doing his stuff as it didn't fit with what The Jam were about - he could have sold far far more under The Jam name than Paul Weller , but he didn't , he moved and did his own stuff under a different name/s and credit to him for that . I have far more time for Weller than The Clash ....just my opinion of course .
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Re: The Clash

Post by Lafleur »

Always liked The Clash and most of their music but always preferred The Stranglers, best band of the whole Punk/New Wave area. The Clash were very productive, even more than The Stranglers in those years (1979/1980 - double and triple Clash albums). But you can't compare the two bands, so you shouldn't.
And by the way, bring on a new Stranglers album soon, just for downloading will be ok. There's enough time for writing and recording new stuff (JJ must have 500+ song ideas in the next few months).
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Re: The Clash

Post by jetblacksdad »

Some great singles. They had the look. Lots of slogans but they were pretty superficial.
I have a few albums but I don't think any of them were that great singers.

Just "OK"

Never seen why people rate them so highly!
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Re: The Clash

Post by theraven1979 »

With The Clash you always had a prominent frontman in the shape of Strummer with the political sloganeering/posturing etc. I think Strummer appeals to more people (as in Joe Public....speaking! :lol: ) as a frontman than say the subtlety of Hugh for example. Americans lapped it up and they were all over it also, unlike another band I can think of :lol:

For me I enjoy they're albums, even the solo stuff - which reminds me I need to give Strummer's Earthquake Weather a much needed spin!

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jason
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Re: The Clash

Post by jason »

At least Rock the Casbah has a great hook to it but some of their other songs on say Combat Rock don't seem to have any strong hook or melody at all! Maybe the Clash need a lot of repeated listening to get into them? :?
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Re: The Clash

Post by Jon the Impaler »

theraven1979 wrote: 09 Apr 2020, 15:26 With The Clash you always had a prominent frontman in the shape of Strummer with the political sloganeering/posturing etc. I think Strummer appeals to more people (as in Joe Public....speaking! :lol: ) as a frontman than say the subtlety of Hugh for example. Americans lapped it up and they were all over it also, unlike another band I can think of :lol:

For me I enjoy they're albums, even the solo stuff - which reminds me I need to give Strummer's Earthquake Weather a much needed spin!

Jim
I guess the difference between the bands is , politically The Clash had something to say , whereas The Stranglers were never political ( bar JJ's odd comments about USA from time to time ) ...so you then think Strummer has an agenda but The Stranglers don't . Maybe The Clash were the first punk band of their era that I know of to actively bring politics into music , the Pistols never got involved in politics to that extent , they just wound EVERYONE up but a bit tongue in cheek sometimes . There was no humour though with The Clash , the Pistols could be funny , The Stranglers wound a lot up but it wasn't political . But you look at the 3 bands there , and you think the real one's with attitude were The Stranglers , you look at Hugh's sneer , or JJ's aggression and it looked for real , with the others a lot of the time it looked put on , especially when you watch old clips now . Out of those , you really wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of The Stranglers ( esp JJ) , The Clash would probably lecture you , The Pistols would swear at you but not much else ........ The Stranglers would violate you :grin: . Don't know why I'm smiling at that :oops:
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Re: The Clash

Post by Jon the Impaler »

I guess further to my comments above - The Pistols and The Clash were run pretty much by their managers ( Rhodes and McLaren ) , The Stranglers didn't have that , they were freer spirits in that sense .
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Re: The Clash

Post by Lafleur »

The Clash were BIG IN AMERICA. Stadium rock...
https://youtu.be/78PoG2qw9G4
Hugh didn't get that big success with The Stranglers. . JJ wasn't a friend of western boots and for him American people are strange or even ridiculous.
One main reason Hugh left the band...
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