The Clash vs The Stranglers

[Palais81]

You know how Google throws up articles for you? I received one a couple of days ago which referred to Martin Scorsese's best punk song ever. Janie Jones by the Clash. No surprise there then from the idolised by critics, The Clash (especially stateside). Well I am a bit tired of hearing that they were the best punk band etc.

So therefore I thought I would compare their albums to the Stranglers trying to match the release years. I then would score like the old football points i.e. back in 77, a win was 2 points, a draw 1 point, a loss nil points.

So after a lot of listening, here are my results:

Rattus 1977 2 points The Clash 1977 0 points.
The Stranglers hit the studio with a complete sound honed by hundreds of gigs and with each member playing with great ability. The Clash sound amateurish on this album, sounding angry with poor musicianship. There are good songs but overall an easy win from the Meninblack. They could have put their second team on with No More Heroes 1977 and still easily have won.

Black and White 1978 2 points Give Em Enough Rope 1978 0 points. Where the Stranglers were experimenting with different song structures and pushing bleakness perfectly, The Clash were still developing slowly - they had improved their sound and there are a few very good solid punk songs but really no contest to songs such as Toiler, Sweden, Tokyo etc.

The Raven 1979 1 point London Calling 1 point. What a fantastic year for Music, simply because of these 2 albums. The Stranglers push the boundaries even further musically but still were eminently listenable. What could be as good as that? Well how about a double album of original sing along songs of different styles plus 2 brilliant covers - Cadillac and Boyo. Both bands at their best.

Gospel 1981 2 points Sandanista 1980 0 points.
This was decided on penalties as it was a finely balanced game. Both experimental albums but in different directions. Gospel had many of us scratching our heads and Sandanista did the same. Had both bands lost it?! Not quite. Gospel took many listens before it sank in. It wins over Sandanista through consistency. Sandanista does have some very good songs but there is a lot of half baked ideas. Shame because the drumming and bass are excellent.

La Folie 1981 1 point Combat Rock 1983 1point
Phew, thankfully the Meninblack returned back to Earth with La Folie. Not quite as good as their first 4 albums but included some beautifully warped/melded beauties. Combat Rock also saved The Clash with some cracking songs including Straight to Hell. However neither album was flawless and therefore a well earned draw.

Aural Sculpture 1984 2 points Cut The Crap 0 points.
An easy win here. Basically side A of Aural decimated The Clash. No comparison - take my word for it and don't bother listening to the "Crap".

So there you go, in the seasons 1977 - 1985, the Stranglers topped the table by 10 points to 2. Proven...
Well from my point of view.

[StanInBlack]

Oh god, this is ridiculously easy for me - The Stranglers would get ALL of the points. I actually don't mind The Clash and find plenty to enjoy in their discography, but I'd be lying to myself and everyone else if I said that I liked them more than The Stranglers, or The Jam, or The Damned, or even Buzzcocks.

[Jake]

Yes very easy, most of The Clash albums have good songs from The Clash to Combat Rock at least, but I haven’t felt compelled to listen to a single album, apart from “London Calling” a couple of times in the last ten years. I used to be very into political punk, and have largely come to have seen the overwhelming majority in farcical terms, with The Clash being not much of an exception. I’d go with London Calling being the closest to a solid album, it’s their best in my opinion, and even then, there’s a few dull numbers on it. Out of all the U.K. first generation punk and new wave bands The Clash and Pistols are ones that I personally find a chore to listen to these days


The first nine albums the stranglers released I would take over any album The Clash released any day

[jason]

Yes I find it strange the Clash seem to get so much praise in the music media compared to the Stranglers. It seems like people like them just because it's cool to like them. They've done some good tracks but I think the Stranglers are far more superior musically.

[theraven1979]

Scorsese worked with Strummer which probably explains Scorsese's love for the Clash

Oh yeah and I'm one of the few people who actually likes Cut The Crap. Did you see the guy on YouTube who took out all the bleeps and noise? Crazy.

Jim

[parasiteinblack]

Scorsese worked with Strummer which probably explains Scorsese's love for the Clash

Oh yeah and I'm one of the few people who actually likes Cut The Crap. Did you see the guy on YouTube who took out all the bleeps and noise? Crazy.

Jim

I quite like Cut The Crap too.
Who's this guy on youtube, you can consider my interest piqued?
I've been trying to decipher the lyrics to the chorus to Life Is Wild for many years, I even emailed Bernie Rhodes but he didn't know either...

[aldinblack]

Yes I find it strange the Clash seem to get so much praise in the music media compared to the Stranglers. It seems like people like them just because it's cool to like them. They've done some good tracks but I think the Stranglers are far more superior musically.

Yes that's it the Clash are cool to like, a bit like the Ramones in that people who've never even listened to them can still wear the t shirt.

The Stranglers were superior but never were really very cool were they?
They were just never fashionable in any way, but the Clash certainly were.
Even today the song London Calling is viewed as more iconic than any Stranglers song isn't it?

Personally I think the London Calling album is excellent, as is Combat Rock. Give em enough rope is also very good.
But overall The Stranglers have released much more high quality material than any of their peers..

[Frederik]

Much of the song writing, particularly Janie Jones, is like playground or nursery rhyme chants, and the production on the albums is irritating.

[gjinblack]

As much as I like the music of The Clash, especially the first album and as mentioned the London Calling album, they must have been more amiable to journalists and critics than our lads to become darlings of the media.
Perhaps they learned a few lessons by being just behind The Stranglers.

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

[Greatkudu]

I was never a huge Clash fan but I'm not going to compare to the Stranglers as so different, but The Clash cracked America so that's why they get more Kudos than the Stranglers, and the Clash didn't stay in the Punk format, they developed, so I think they were on of the greatest bands ever but obviously I prefer the Stranglers. Lt Kudu.

[Greatkudu]

I saw a documentary about the Clash last week, and have far more respect for them now, alot of the lyrics were very involved, and Mick Jones was a fantastic guitar player and Topper possibly the best drummer from the Punk period, I won't mention Jet oh I just did as I wouldn't say he was a Punk drummer, he was more Jazz influenced but Topper loved Jazz. I'm not sure about Paul the bass player but his bass on London Calling is pure class. Lt Kudu.

[theraven1979]

I don't mind the Clash but they did sell out a bit by focusing all attention on cracking America (which to be fair did work in some respects). Used to love all their albums when I was young but now only Sandanista, Cut The Crap and bits of Combat Rock get an airing. London Calling the album is a very fast burner. Give Em Enough Rope for me is the punk equivalent of 10 - too much gloss.

Jim