It’s not like the world really needs another tribute album. There are already hundreds out there, running the gamut from the obvious (like the Beatles or Hank Williams) to the asinine (like string quartet renditions of Evanescence.) Still, the idea of an album recreating the Clash’s Sandinista! is outrageous enough to pique a perverse curiosity. It certainly wasn’t their most cohesive effort, rambling as it did through a myriad of musical styles. What it may have lacked in focus, however, Sandinista! stands alone as the Clash’s most audacious album.
It makes sense, then, that The Sandinista Project would be equally audacious in its attempt to recreate the original work’s 36 tracks, using almost that many artists, interpreting them in often unexpected styles. Certainly not an album for Clash purists, TSP often draws its inspiration more from Appalachia than Kingston, and at least as much from the honky-tonk as the disco. What rock journalist turned producer Jimmy Guteman and the diverse assemblage of musicians represented here have done is taken the original album’s material and placed it in a present-day context. Think of it as a renovation project of sorts.
The world is a much different place (at least, superficially) now than when the Clash released Sandinista! in the dying days of 1980, but the themes they expressed on the album are as relevant now — if not more so — as they were when 1984 loomed on the horizon of uncertainty. It’s only the context that’s changed. So when Jason Ringenberg and Kristi Rose take “Ivan Meets GI Joe” out of a frenetic London disco and have them face off in an East Texas honky-tonk, it’s not only amusing, but somehow more relevant - we get two over-the-hill adversaries in a beer-soaked bar fight. Likewise, Ruby on the Vine’s rendition of “Rebel Waltz” conjures up images of American warriors fighting grimly against hopeless odds, just as the Coal Porters’ version of “Something About England” brings it home to the mines of Kentucky, rendered in a purely bluegrass idiom.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Good review Ray. I have a buddy who's a total Clash nut and he swears by Sandinista. Personally, I'm more of a London Calling guy and I think Sandinista would have made a far better double album than the sprawling triple record that the Clash released. I'm not surprised that Willie Nile and Joe Grushecky receive high marks from you either -- you know what they say about them Jersey boys.
Reading your review definitely makes me want to check this out though. Good stuff.
-Glen
2 - Ray Ellis
No doubt it--"London Calling" is not only a more cohesive album than "Sandinista"-- it's one of the best rock albums of all time. Still, "Sandinista" gets a load of points for ambition. I listened to the tribute and the original side by side, and either way, "Sandinista" more or less holds up even now.
Anyway, thanks for the comment, Glen.
3 - zingzing
i'm a huge clash fan... actually have been listening to them at the expense of all others for the last couple of days. i know it's heresy... but i'll say it anyway: "london calling," although a great album, suffers from a lack of the clash being the clash. in trying to make an album that covers rock history, the clash kind of made their own songwriting sound like they were doing covers. it's almost too perfectly done. now, of course, the songs on london calling are some of the best rock songs ever. but the clash is definitely one of the best rock bands ever... so it's kind of a conundrum.
"sandanista!" rights this wrong. even if it is a sloppy mess, it's definitely the sound of the clash, and not someone else, pushing their own sound to the absolute limit. even with all the fake jazz, the ballads, the disco, the dub, the rap, etc, it ALWAYS sounds like the clash. i absolutely adore it, and no matter what people say, i don't think you could chop off too much without damaging the whole. there are a few songs that kind of limp along... but not much. there are streaks (especially the beginning of [compact] disc 2) that are so damn solid... i think it's one of the most creative albums ever released, and i find myself wanting to listen to it every time i put on "london calling."
as for people covering "sandanista!..." hrm. dunno. maybe. will have to check it out in some form or another.
4 - Ray Ellis
We're pretty much sympatico, Zing. I remember when "London Calling" was released. and it was met with a lot of cries of "sellout!" among the hardcore punk community here. I know-- I was writing for a punk magazine at the time, and I was pilloried for giving it a rave-up review. What they did on that album, though was force people to reexamine their definition of punk, and remember that the first rule of it is that there are no rules.
"Sandinista!" took the premises of "London Calling" and expanded them even more--even if it was with sometimes mixed results. The arguments over whether it was their "WHite Album" are superfluous. What matters is that what the Clash did on those two albums laid the foundation for a new generation of rock, and that can't be denied.
They really were the only band that mattered. This tribute works best when it experiments with the source material. Beneath it all, though, it makes you realize what truly great songwriters the Clash (read that Strummer) really were.
5 - Jason Miller
I can't believe I only found this tribute recently. Sandinista is my favorite Clash Album. With some trimming it could've been London Calling's equal. As it stands warts and all, Sandinista is an intimate monument for the faithful. Jimmy Guterman should be commended for assembling this collection of underground artists keeping true the spirit of the original. My favorites: Wreckless Eric's Crooked Beat and Sex Clark Five Career Opportunities.
6 - Ally
Love this record. And, great review .. apart from dissing Camper Van's Kingston Advice. easily my favorite track on it. Felt that magnificent 7, Police on my Back and Washington Bullets -- my 3 favorites on the original -- were covered way too slavishly here. Especially Bullets, which even does Strummer's phrasing wheeze for wheeze, grunt for grunt and note for note,
7 - Sean
Nice review. I love Jon Langford's cover of Junco Partner. It evokes sidewalk-strumming street music for me. I bet Joe'd be smiling if he heard it.