"Give 'Em Enough Rope" by the Clash-why is it so unlovable?

how strange
i was at the Dream Syndicate first ever european show at London Dingwalls , after the release of the album ( Precoda was still in the band and a keyboard player ) and they sounded nothing like the studio album at all , fortunately .

 

As the tour went on, Wynn & co. got tired of replicating the record live. I got a cassette of some Spanish TV concerts they did later that year - after ditching the keyboard player - and everything was much more grungy and spontaneous.

 

There is half an incredible album on GEER (and a brilliant first three tracks). The problem is the other half is not very good and sounds like punk by numbers, which the Clash never should sound like, and at the time the problem was compounded that they were knocking off things like Complete Control and White Man, which are just incredible.

This would be what I would have liked:

Safe European Home
English Civil War
Tommy Gun
City of the Dead
Cheapskates

Capitol Radio
Pressure Drop
Groovy Times
Stay Free
I Fought The Law

 

If GEER had sounded like The Cost of Living EP it wouldn't receive as much flak as it does. And if "Groovy Times" & "Gates of the West" are mere outtakes from GEER, then someone had their heads up their a$$ for leaving them off.

The Cost of Living EP is that link from the post debut singles to London Calling, without it the gap is wide.

 

Should have included the "Ooh Baby Ooh" demo of Gates Of The West on the boxset.

 

Not to get too off-topic on a thread I started, but I saw them in 1983 and they sounded very much like the record.

Now back to GEER. Why did they change the font on the cover anyway?

 

medicine show, ruined by Sandy Pearlman , was released in 84 so you must refer to first album
going back to GEER , none of the songs would feature in my Clash top 25 list , at quick glance

 

They are overdubbed outtakes. As pointed out above, Gates of the West had completely different lyrics and Groovy Times was refitted with acoustic guitar and harmonica. But the basic rhythm tracks were retained for both from the GEER sessions.

 

I remember getting in during college when it was first released. I've always loved it. The production is different to their other albums, but I thought it was fine.

 

Never cared much for Rope. As for Sandinista I can easily edit it down one LP's worth, that I love a lot.

 

Tommy Gun is one of their best songs live!

 

I love Cheapskates - that's my favorite song on the record. However, to me, Drug-Stabbing Time, Last Gang in Town, Julie's In The Drug Squad, Guns on the Roof, Tommy Gun and English Civil war are all terribly weak, and Stay Free is kind of maudlin and crap too. Their worst album for sure.

 

I use to know Dave Provost and I think he was not happy with pearlman's production but its been almost 15 years since I've talked to him so I might be wrong

 

They could release Sandinista Now!!

 

It's the album with most meaning if you were there. The first is like "hey! some people think like we do! They want to make life in the boring 70's exciting too!".
GEER is like "we blew it! What's next?" it's that moment when we all thought there would be no future to the punk rock explosion. But Strummer and the band stood, flag raised. They didn't flinch.
Then came Joy Division, PiL, Bauhaus, The Specials, Madness, Joe Jackson etc.
Cost of Living builds on that, a conduct to London Calling. But GEER is the statement of the first battle lost, and what hope there is out there. You have to be there to understand that London Calling, as a song, couldn't have the same impact if you didn't went thru GEER before.
I still remember getting into the store, xmas 79, asking to listen to LC 12" single, and still remember the needle hitting the groove, the headphones on my head, and the first bars coming up. There was life after death after all. It's engraved in my mind forever.
Basically, it's like you meet your girl, and you have one year of passion. Then, it all goes sour, and you are depressed and think about darkness and death. Then she comes back. The come back can't be as good without the darkness that went before. And even that darkness, is part of the relationship, a feeling that makes it whole.

 

IIRC, the liner notes to the recent MEDICINE SHOW reissue indicate the band was put through a grueling regimen of recording and re-recording to meet Pearlman's standards.

I believe Graham Parker expressed similar frustration with HEAT TREATMENT, which was likewise produced by perfectionist Mutt Lange.

But whether the musicians remember the sessions fondly or not, both MEDICINE SHOW and HEAT TREATMENT are clearly the best sounding recordings in the artists' respective catalogs. Sorry, guys, there's a price to be paid for getting the music to pop off the turntable!

 

I could edit it down to a decent album too, but the fact that there's three records kinda makes it a bad album. Plus, there's nothing on Sandinista as good as "Safe European Home" IMO.

 

That was one of the greatest run of singles that any band has EVER had.

 

I always had a soft spot for Generation X's second "Valley Of The Dolls" even if it did turn off most of their original fans.

 

Nice piece of writing there, seventeen.

Jeff

 

I remember that period well. It seemed like an eternity between GEER and LC. The Cost of Living EP was like a mini-album stop-gap which was very exciting leaving us with so much anticipation for what was to follow. The twinkle of acoustic guitars in there showed that they were beginning to stretch out and move definitively away from "punk" (whatever that was). When "London Calling" finally did arrive, it was awesome.

 

1st album and London calling are my faves. GEER and Combat Rock are just a notch below. Sandinista is the weakest (not including Cut The Crap because it's not really The Clash without Mick)

Safe European Home, Stay Free & All The Young Punks are amongst the best Clash tracks of their career but there are a few songs that do nothing for me (ie Cheapskates). I also always loved the transition from Guns On The Roof to Drug Stabbing Time. The recording was not as good as other Clash records which didn't help.

I think people were overly critical of most punk bands' 2nd albums because many wanted to think these bands couldn't sustain their initial success

Valley Of The Dolls is probably my fave Gen X
Music For Pleasure is definitely not the best Damned album but MUCH better than people give credit
That's Life is my fave Sham 69 record (I realize their stock have gone way down over the years but they were an essential part of the punk scene and made some great music IMO)
Buzzcocks' Love Bites, Wire's Chairs Missing, Strangler's No More Heroes & even The Jam's TITMW are great records and before I go further off topic, I would like to state that Give Em Enough Rope is indeed an excellent record and essential Clash.

 

Rope was the first Clash LP for us Yanks. It stood out for the songs, arrangements & overall tunefulness, all of which were unusual for hard rock LPs in the late '70s. Rope was my gateway to their UK 1st album, all the singles up to The Cost Of Living EP -- and the rest of their great output. Not to mention the Pistols, the Damned and a whole lot of other bands.

For those reasons, it will always have a special place in my music library.

 

"I still remember getting into the store, xmas 79, asking to listen to LC 12" single, and still remember the needle hitting the groove, the headphones on my head, and the first bars coming up".

Original UK 12" single is a killer with superb sound quality.

 

Decent single album ??
i totally disagree , that would make a killer classic single LP , an excellent double and a triple that i like for what it is but still better than the whole of GTER ;
Nothing is GTER is as good in my opinion as Police on my back, Somebody got murdered, The Callup ; Magnificent 7 etc