The Clash - London Calling - 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition

The 25th anniversary reissue of The Clash's London Calling is satisfyingly thick and protected by a thin plastic sleeve. The package sits fat at three stories high; the spine is broad, smooth and silver. Pennie Smith's unfocused, emblematic cover shot remains intact, with Paul Simonon's bass hovering, vertical and doomed, between Elvis-baiting pink and green text. Stacked inside are three separate discs: the original 19-song album, a 21-track disc containing rehearsal sessions for the record ("the long lost Vanilla Tapes"), and a DVD of The Last Testament, Don Letts' 30-minute, after-the-fact documentary about the making of London Calling. Here, neatly lined up: preparation, realization, hindsight. Finally. This is how they did it.

For those who came of age in the late 80s and early 90s, calling The Clash a punk band was (and remains) more a matter of affect than honesty-- in 2004, wholly and completely divorced from a context that never fully resonated with a global audience, The Clash are a rock band, and 1979's London Calling is their creative apex, a booming, infallible tribute to throbbing guitars and spacious ideology. By the late 70s, "punk" was more specifically linked with rusted safety pins, shit-covered Doc Martens, and tight pink sneers than any steadfast, organized philosophy; The Clash insisted on forefronting their politics. This album tackles topical issues with impressive gusto-- the band cocks their cowboy hats, assumes full outlaw position, and pillages the world market for sonic fodder and lyric-ready injustice. A quarter-century after its first release, London Calling is still the concentrate essence of The Clash's unparalleled fervor.

The Clash
London Calling - 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition

Tracks:

CD 1 - Original LP

1. London Calling
2. Brand New Cadillac
3. Jimmy Jazz
4. Hateful
5. Rudie Can't Fail
6. Spanish Music
7. The Right Profile
8. Lost In The Supermarket
9. Clampdown
10. The Guns Of Brixton
11. Wrong 'Em Boyo
12. Death Or Glory
13. Koka, Kola
14. The Card Cheat
15. Lover's Rock
16. 4 Horsemen
17 I'm Not Down
18. Revolution Rock
19. Train In Vain

London Calling

CD 2 - The Vanilla Tapes

Previously unheard rehearsal sessions including five new songs (*)

1. Hateful
2. Rudi Can't Fail
3. Paul's Tune
4. I'm Not Down
5. 4 Horsemen
6. Koka, Kola, Advertising & Cocaine
7. Death Or Glory
8. Lovers Rock
9. Lonesome Me *
10. The Police Walked In 4 Jazz
11. Lost In The Supermarket
12. Up-Toon
13. Walking The Slidewalk *
14. Where You Gonna Go (Soweto) *
15. The Man In Me *
16. Remote Control
17. Working And Waiting
18. Heart & Mind *
19. Brand New Cadillac
20. London Calling
21. Revolution Rock

The Vanilla Tapes