The Clash (album)
The Clash is the first album-length recording released by the English punk band The Clash. It was released in two different versions, both of which are still in print: the original version in 1977 and the revised "US Version" in 1979 (with several post-1977 single sides added to the album).
The original release, 1977
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Issued in the UK by CBS Records in 1977 and produced by Mickey Foote. This first album by the Clash was unusually musically varied for a punk band, with reggae, dub, pop, and early rock and roll influences plainly evident.
Track listing
All tracks written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, except where indicated.
- "Janie Jones" – 2:09
- "Remote Control" – 3:03
- "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." – 2:25
- "White Riot" – 1:57
- "Hate & War" – 2:07
- "What's My Name?" (Jones/Levene/Strummer) – 1:42
- "Deny" – 3:03
- "London's Burning" – 2:13
- "Career Opportunities" – 1:54
- "Cheat" – 2:06
- "Protex Blue" – 1:47
- "Police & Thieves" (Murvin/Perry) – 6:04
- "48 Hours" – 1:36
- "Garageland" – 3:12
Personnel
- Mick Jones − guitars, vocals
- Joe Strummer − guitars, vocals
- Paul Simonon − bass
- Terry Chimes − drums (credited as "Tory Crimes")
Miscellanea
- "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." was developed from a Mick Jones song, entitled "I'm So Bored With You".
- "Protex Blue", sung by Mick Jones, is about a 1970s brand of condom. The song ends with the shouted phrase "Johnny Johnny!", "johnny" being a British slang term for a condom.
- In 2000 Q magazine placed The Clash at number 48 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
- "Garageland" was written in response to Charles Shaar Murray's damning review of the band's early appearance at the Sex Pistols Screen on the Green concert - "The Clash are the kind of garage band who should be returned to the garage immediately, preferably with the engine running".
The US version, 1979
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Like many other British punk albums of its day, the album was not released by a US record company. However, the UK version of the debut album became the best-selling import-only album of all time in the United States. Epic Records—a subsidiary of columbia Records—did release The Clash's second album Give 'Em Enough Rope, which reached #128 on the US Billboard album chart in 1978.
In July 1979, Epic released a modified version of the debut album for the United States market, some two years after its original UK release. The American version replaced four songs from the original version with five non-album singles and b-sides, some of which were recorded and released after The Clash's second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope. It also used the single version of "White Riot", rather than the re-recorded take used on the UK album.
This was another moderately successful American album for The Clash, even though the sales were likely diluted by the longstanding popularity of the UK version on the import market. The Clash peaked at #126 on the Billboard charts, setting the stage for the commercial breakthrough of London Calling later that year.
Track listing
All tracks written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, except where indicated.
- "Clash City Rockers" – 3:49
- "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." – 2:24
- "Remote Control" – 3:01
- "Complete Control" – 3:14
- "White Riot" (Single version) – 1:59
- "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" – 4:00
- "London's Burning" – 2:10
- "I Fought the Law" (Sonny Curtis) – 2:41
- "Janie Jones" – 2:06
- "Career Opportunities" – 1:52
- "What's My Name" (Mick Jones, Keith Levene, Joe Strummer) – 1:41
- "Hate & War" – 2:05
- "Police & Thieves" (Junior Murvin, Lee Perry) – 6:01
- "Jail Guitar Doors" – 3:05
- "Garageland" – 3:12
Personnel
- Mick Jones − guitars, vocals
- Joe Strummer − guitars, vocals
- Paul Simonon − bass
- Terry Chimes − drums except as noted below (credited as "Tory Crimes")
- Topper Headon − drums on "Clash City Rockers", "Complete Control", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais", "I Fought the Law", and "Jail Guitar Doors"
