The Essential Clash

Disc 1
1	White Riot 1:59
2	London's Burning 2:10
3	Complete Control 3:13
4	Clash City Rockers Original Version 3:56
5	I'm So Bored With the U.S.A. 2:25
6	Career Opportunities 1:52
7	Hate & War 2:05
8	Cheat 2:06
9	Police & Thieves 6:00
10	Janie Jones 2:05
11	Garageland 3:13
12	Capital Radio One 2:09
13	(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais 4:01
14	English Civil War 2:36
15	Tommy Gun 3:17
16	Safe European Home 3:51
17	Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad 3:04
18	Stay Free 3:40
19	Groovy Times 3:30
20	I Fought the Law 2:39
Disc 2
1	London Calling 3:20
2	The Guns of Brixton 3:10
3	Clampdown 3:50
4	Rudie Can't Fail 3:29
5	Lost in the Supermarket 3:47
6	Jimmy Jazz 3:55
7	Train in Vain (Stand by Me) 3:11
8	Bankrobber 4:35
9	The Magnificent Seven 5:33
10	Ivan Meets G.I. Joe 3:07
11	Police on My Back 3:17
12	Stop the World 2:33
13	Somebody Got Murdered 3:34
14	The Street Parade 3:29
15	This Is Radio Clash 4:11
16	Ghetto Defendant 4:44
17	Rock the Casbah 3:42
18	Straight to Hell 5:30
19	Should I Stay or Should I Go 3:08
20	This Is England 3:50

Barnes & Noble

Famously dubbed "the only band that matters," the Clash proved it with every note. This 40-song, two-disc collection likewise delivers on its promise, culling the best moments from the career of the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Beefier than the 1988 collection, The Story of the Clash, Vol. 1, and with its tracks selected by Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and the late Joe Strummer and arranged chronologically, The Essential Clash finds the group evolving from petrol bomb–throwing punks -- hitting with pinpoint precision on such spiky missives as "White Riot" and "London's Burning" -- into adroit explorers of the world music underbrush. Along the way, they never lost their knack for honing a political point to razor sharpness, as evidenced by "Clampdown" and the raucous "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" revision "English Civil War," or the ability to tweak the work of their shared icons into fascinating new shapes, particularly their take on Junior Murvin's reggae classic "Police and Thieves." The second disc, which delves deep into the sprawling caverns that made up Sandinista!, hits on the band's prescient hip-hop fascination ("The Magnificent Seven") as well as their surprising way with old-fashioned balladry ("Somebody Got Murdered"). Complemented by new liner notes from Mojo magazine's Pat Gilbert, Essential is a near-perfect distillation of one of the most pure essences in rock history. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Some would argue that if you only wanted two Clash discs in your collection, you should skip this 40-track overview and pick up The Clash and London Calling instead. No matter how transcendent those two albums are -- and they are among the very greatest popular music of the 20th century -- that overlooks the fact that the group had many, many great songs not on either album, including "Safe European Home," "Stay Free," "Bankrobber," "Rock the Casbah," "Straight to Hell," "This is Radio Clash," and "Should I Stay or Should I Go," to begin with. That's where this 2003 compilation comes in. It fills in many of the gaps between those two records, while summarizing The Clash and London Calling well, providing a first-rate overview of the greatest punk band. It's not quite perfect, however: some great singles and B-sides fall through the cracks (notably "Gates of the West," "Jail Guitar Doors," "The Call Up," "Armagedion Time," "The Prisoner," "Protex Blue") and the Sandinista! selections feel nearly as haphazard as the album itself. Nevertheless, this does provide the best, most extensive and logical overview of the band yet assembled, and it's worthwhile not just as an introduction, but as a terrific listen. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone

This two-disc collection finally does [the Clash] justice. Gavin Edwards