Gotta feed the monkey. That apt quote from the movie The Big Lebowski lodged itself in my brain as I read that Epic/Legacy had issued yet another Clash “retrospective.” In that movie, The Dude used the aforementioned phrase to describe Bunny Lebowski’s dalliances in the porn industry in order to generate some needed baksheesh.
And like any aging porno queen long out of tricks or new material, Epic/Legacy has settled into a boring and fairly disgusting routine of groping by rote, in the form of pointless Clash compilations.
The latest offering from the label is the non-essential The Singles. First a disclaimer: The music included is of course for the most part brilliant [insert plaudits, praise, admiration, and general ass-grabbing common to most reviews of The Clash’s recorded output here]. So let’s put it on the pedestal and leave it there.
The main problem I have with this release, and with the glut of Clash releases of recent years, is that it’s impossible to view any of them as anything more than a collective quick cash grab. This new disc simply contains nothing that offers any new insight into the band or their songs. Listeners are still best served by giving the debut self-titled album, London Calling, or the three-disc Clash On Broadway a listen to truly appreciate the Clash’s songs.
I do not expect the major labels to break the stigma of being unimaginative, uncreative, and uninspired. After all, their primary business is bottom-line profit, especially as CD sales plummet and listeners turn to iTunes and other less above-the-board ways of hearing music. If I want creative re-issues or compilations, better to see what the indie labels serve up. The most ambitious recent attempt to place the Clash’s music in some sort of larger cultural and historical context was the 19-disc box set of the band’s U.S. and UK singles from 1977-1985. That set included, b-sides, promos, the Capitol Radio EP, and a chubby booklet full of essays waxing poetic about the good ol’ days when singles meant something.
Aesthetically it was quite pleasing, especially for those fans old enough to remember the Clash on vinyl (I’m not one of them). But in practical and monetary terms, the box set reeked of desperation. At a hefty price of around $80 (over $4 per song, plus there was no discount given for the lousy ones from Sandanista), flashy packaging and faux-vinyl compact discs were not enough to justify this set. Plus, to listen to the entire set, a listener would need to change CDs 19 times. Or, as is more probable, spend an hour or two uploading the songs to a PC. Calling it a “collector’s item” is being generous.
Article comments
1 - zingzing
first off, sandanista is their best album. now that that's out of the way, i agree with nearly everything you have to say. (the only thing is that it's about $4 per SINGLE for the singles box set, not per SONG, as there are somewhere between 2 and 7 songs on each single.)
what, really, is the difference between "the singles" (2007) and "singles" (oh, 2000 or so)? they added a couple of tracks? maybe?
beyond their singles, the clash is really hard to compile. their albums were either amazingly solid (the clash, combat rock) or wonderfully sprawling (london calling, sandanista) or pretty damn crappy (give em enough rope, cut the crap). there are already b-sides/rarities discs (superblackmarket being the best).
of course what needs to be done is to rerelease the first album in the u.k. form with all of the singles and e.p. tracks from 1977 tacked on. maybe a nice little live set.
sandanista could use a little audio tweaking. a live album from the time period (say an nyc show or something) would be nice.
if there are outtakes from give em enough rope (or better, more energetic versions of the song in demo form...) then rerelease that album as well.
i would love to hear a combat rock era live show as well (the better to hear them falling apart) and the alternate mixes from that album have to be a hoot.
but enough is enough. only the first album/extraneous materials from the period need really be rereleased at this point.
2 - Mark Saleski
there are bad songs on Sandinista!??