London Calling
by The Clash

From Mercury TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/09/2013 18:52 | #91472 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This record is pretty much as close to perfect as I've personally heard. It just rolls. Every track has its own unique identity but at the same time adds to the completeness of the whole. The wild diversity of the songs and styles and sounds on this record never seem forced or half-baked. And has been just about my all time favorite record since I was 13.

This album has a definite unharnessed energy. And it conveys that energy not through nihilistic, rabid punk but mostly through just the production. The horns on here sound so god damn good it hurts. The energy and creativity of the musicians just flows out of this record.

And this album actually probably changed my life more than any other album. This record introduced me to a whole new world. I never knew rock and roll could be so fucking great until I heard a tape of this from the library. This album influenced my attitudes in work, in life, in how I treat other people. This album sort of provided a template and an example on which to live. I am very very thankful for this album.

"Kick over the wall, cuz government's to fall. How can you refuse it? Let fury have the hour. Anger can be power. Did you know that you can use it?"

From nachosbob 08/28/2014 01:43 | #120554 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Whenever my house is empty and I'm doing homework I blast this album from my PA system and the second the album reaches "Train in Vain" I get out of my chair and dance around my entire house.

So... basically the only bad thing I can say about this album is it makes doing homework very unproductive.

The moment when the Clash burst out of the punk 'bag' and captured the spirit of rock 'n' roll. Not really a punk record at all, but the many styles of music are all shot through with the punk attitude. Bought it at the time, 'Do not pay more than £4.99'; great value for a double LP and the passage of time makes it look like the bargain of the century. Saw them busking outside a pub one early evening in Leeds in 1985. They were apparently trying to disrupt an official gig by the Alarm at the university. They played old rock and roll standards; the drummer sat on a wall and played the drainpipes! What a memory!

From Strangel TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/13/2016 06:49 | #174867 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I'm sorry, but this is not a masterpiece. Here, a punk band goes unpunk by trying to be a bit of everything. None of the genre/styles that the Clash attempt on the album are in any way masterful. Instead they are somewhat pedestrian in quality. Sure, as a whole it's a fairly likeable album and I admire their ability to stretch beyond the punk template but I certainly don't find it at all inspiring. I'm also very luke warm on Strummer's vocals. The lyrics, for their time, had punk sensibilities, but other than that I'd take anything by The Ramones above this every time (despite their inflexible style). (Edited)

It's quite unfortunate that this work is pigeonholed into the punk category. Even labeling this Rock 'n' Roll doesn't do it justice. What sets this album apart from the pack is it's sheer diversity and seamless blend of many influences. You can everything from Woody Guthrie, The Kinks, The Who, Bob Marley, The Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan and the list goes on and on. All of this in 19 songs and 64 minutes. Elvis should be honored by the fact that the cover of this work is a tribute to the cover of his 1956 debut.