Izdavač: Ostalo
Žanr: Rege, Ska i Dab, Rok
Poreklo: Strani izvođač

Original, made in EU

Cd1 4+ Cd2 5

Studio album by the Clash
Released 14 December 1979
Recorded August–November 1979
Studios Wessex, London
Genres
Punk rocknew wavepost-punkska punk
Length 65:07
Labels
CBSEpic
Producer Guy Stevens
The Clash chronology
Give `Em Enough Rope
(1978) London Calling
(1979) Sandinista!
(1980)
London Calling is the third studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States and Canada in January 1980 by Epic Records.

The Clash recorded the album with producer Guy Stevens at Wessex Sound Studios in London over a five- to six-week period starting in August 1979, following a change in management and a period of writer`s block for songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Bridging a traditional punk rock sound and a new wave aesthetic, London Calling reflects the band`s growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, including reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock. Lyrical themes include social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood.

The album was a top ten chart success in the UK, and its lead single `London Calling` was a top 20 single. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide, and was certified platinum in the US for sales of one million. It was also met with widespread critical acclaim and has retrospectively been named one of the greatest albums of all time.[1] On Rolling Stone`s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, London Calling was ranked number 8 in the 2003 and 2012 editions, and number 16 in the 2020 edition. In 2010, it was one of ten classic album covers from British artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail.[2][3]

Background
On their second album Give `Em Enough Rope (1978), the Clash had started to depart from the punk rock sound.[4] While touring the United States in 1979, they chose supporting acts such as rhythm and blues artists Bo Diddley, Sam & Dave, Lee Dorsey, and Screamin` Jay Hawkins, as well as neotraditional country artist Joe Ely and punk rockabilly band the Cramps. The Clash`s growing fascination with rock and roll inspired their direction for London Calling.[5]

After recording Give `Em Enough Rope, the Clash separated from their manager Bernard Rhodes.[6] This meant they had to leave their rehearsal studio in Camden Town. Tour manager Johnny Green and drum roadie Baker found a new place to rehearse, Vanilla Studios, in the back of a garage in Pimlico.[7][8][9]

The Clash arrived at Vanilla in May 1979 with no new songs prepared for their third album.[10] Main songwriters Mick Jones and Joe Strummer had experienced a period of writer`s block and had not written a new song in over a year; their recently released Cost of Living EP featured a cover song and three other songs that had all been written over a year earlier.[11]

Rehearsals and The Vanilla Tapes
Rehearsals were held in Vanilla Studios over mid-1979. The Clash began playing covers from genres including rockabilly, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and reggae.[12][13] In contrast to previous rehearsal sessions, the band kept these rehearsals private, and did not allow hangers-on to attend.[14] This seclusion allowed the band to rebuild their confidence without worrying about the reaction from outsiders, who were familiar with the band`s punk rock style.[15]

The band developed an `extremely disciplined` daily routine of afternoon rehearsals, broken by a late-afternoon social football game, which fostered a friendly bond between the band members. The football was followed by drinks at a local pub, followed by a second rehearsal in the evening.[16]

The band gradually rebuilt their confidence, with the styles of the session`s early cover songs setting the template for the diverse material that would be written for London Calling.[17] The band were also encouraged by a growing recognition of drummer Topper Headon`s skills, which they realised could be used to perform music in a wide array of genres and styles beyond punk rock.[18]

During these rehearsals in the early summer of 1979, a series of demos dubbed The Vanilla Tapes (after the name of the rehearsal studio) were made on a TEAC 4-track recorder. These tapes contain early versions of 15 of the 19 songs that would eventually appear on London Calling, sometimes in very rudimentary forms (several lack the lyrics, musical structure, or titles of their final versions – the instrumental track titled `Paul`s Tune` would eventually be recorded for London Calling under the title `The Guns of Brixton`, while the instrumental tracked titled `Up-Toon` would ultimately be released as `The Right Profile`, for example).[19] They also include covers that did not make the final album, including Sonny Okosun`s `Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)` and a reggae version of Bob Dylan`s `The Man in Me` (possibly influenced by London-based reggae band Matumbi`s 1976 version), as well as never-officially-released Clash tunes like `Heart and Mind` (described by rock journalist Pat Gilbert as `a rocker`), and the country-inflected `Lonesome Me.` Notably, they do not include the London Calling tracks `Spanish Bombs`, `Wrong `Em Boyo`, `The Card Cheat`, or `Train in Vain`, suggesting that these tracks were written (or, in `Wrong `Em Boyo"s case, selected) later, possibly during the actual album sessions.[20] These tapes, believed lost in 1979 (roadie Johnny Green claimed in his 1999 autobiography A Riot Of Our Own that he had lost them on the London Underground prior to the album`s recording), were rediscovered by Mick Jones while he was moving in 2004, and 21 were curated for release on the 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition of London Calling.[21]

Personnel
The Clash
Joe Strummer – rhythm guitar, vocals, piano
Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals, piano, harmonica
Paul Simonon – bass, vocals
Topper Headon – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
Mickey Gallagher – organ
The Irish Horns

Ray Bevis – tenor saxophone
John Earle – tenor and baritone saxophone
Chris Gower – trombone
Dick Hanson – trumpet, flugelhorn
Production
Guy Stevens – producer
Bill Price – chief engineer
Jerry Green – second engineer
Ray Lowry – design
Pennie Smith – photography