While TSP often transports the original album from reggae and dub to acoustic bluegrass and country, it explores other translations as well, with somewhat mixed results. The new version of “One More Time/One More Dub,” featuring swirling guitar runs by Voidoid alumnus Ivan Julian and spectral vocals by Iranian-born Halle, is a haunting soundscape of Middle Eastern beats melded to psychedelic trappings. Ethan Allen brings a sleazy back alley feel to “Corner Soul,” evoking a B-movie noir feel to the material. On the other hand, the Lothars’ theramin-inspired rendering of “The Call Up” merely sounds cold and robotic. The least said about Stew’s “Broadway” cover, the better - it would have been a bad disco song in 1977, and it certainly doesn’t fare well in 2007.
Even though much of TSP consists of radical rethinkings of the source material, there are some nearly spot-on covers here. ”The Magnificent Seven,” as performed by Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, opens the album, and more or less evokes the spirit of the original’s white boy rap. Sadly, Camper Van Beethoven could have called in their version of “Kingston Advice.” Willie Nile’s scorching cover of “Police On My Back,” however, reminds you why the Clash were the “only band that matters,” at least in 1980.
The Sandinista Project has its flaws, just as its namesake did. Labors of love are like that. Where Guterman and the various artists succeeded here is in their passion for the project. In many ways, it’s as experimental as its source material, and in that regard, they’ve done the Clash proud.
(I should note here profits from the album’s sales are split between two charities - Amnesty International, and the Joe Strummer Memorial Forest, which is a division of Future Forests, an organization fighting global warming.)
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.