London Calling

1	London Calling 3:19
2	Brand New Cadillac 2:08
3	Jimmy Jazz 3:54
4	Hateful 2:44
5	Rudie Can't Fail 3:29
6	Spanish Bombs 3:18
7	The Right Profile 3:54
8	Lost in the Supermarket 3:47
9	Clampdown 3:49
10	The Guns of Brixton 3:09
11	Wrong 'Em Boyo 3:10
12	Death or Glory 3:55
13	Koka Kola 1:47
14	The Card Cheat 3:49
15	Lover's Rock 4:03
16	Four Horsemen 2:55
17	I'm Not Down 3:06
18	Revolution Rock 5:33
19	Train in Vain 3:10

Barnes & Noble

By 1979, the Clash had established themselves as one of the premier avatars of the punk movement, but the release of London Calling made a strong case for their consideration among rock's all-time greats. The two-record set is a sprawling epic that captures the raw intensity of their earlier work on some tracks, opens new vistas on others, and in general reveals a considerably more mature and adventurous band of punks. "Train in Vain" even made it to the American pop charts, while the title track captures all the anger and dismay of Thatcherite England. "Spanish Bombs" refines the blueprint for heroic anthems, and "Lost in the Supermarket" takes the contempt of their earlier "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." and morphs it into a scathing critique of consumerism. Elsewhere, their facility with reggae and rockabilly influences enhanced their role as low-fi aesthetes. Rolling Stone proclaimed London Calling the No.1 record of the '80s despite its British release date of 1979, but such a distinction only underscores the album's value as one of the best recordings of any decade. Martin Johnson

All Music Guide

Give 'Em Enough Rope, for all of its many attributes, was essentially a holding pattern for the Clash, but the double-album London Calling is a remarkable leap forward, incorporating the punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology and roots music. Before, the Clash had experimented with reggae, but that was no preparation for the dizzying array of styles on London Calling. There's punk and reggae, but there's also rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock; and while the record isn't tied together by a specific theme, its eclecticism and anthemic punk function as a rallying call. While many of the songs -- particularly "London Calling," "Spanish Bombs," and "The Guns of Brixton" -- are explicitly political, by acknowledging no boundaries the music itself is political and revolutionary. But it is also invigorating, rocking harder and with more purpose than most albums, let alone double albums. Over the course of the record, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (and Paul Simonon, who wrote "The Guns of Brixton") explore their familiar themes of working-class rebellion and antiestablishment rants, but they also tie them in to old rock & roll traditions and myths, whether it's rockabilly greasers or "Stagger Lee," as well as mavericks like doomed actor Montgomery Clift. The result is a stunning statement of purpose and one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever recorded. [In 2000 Columbia/Legacy reissued and remastered London Calling.] Stephen Thomas Erlewine