Is the first Clash album, the green one, better than London Calling?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Scott S., Dec 13, 2018.

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  1. ZenMango

    ZenMango Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    I like their 1st much better. Fresher, full of energy
     
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  2. Hardy Melville

    Hardy Melville Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    For me it is. I think the first one is great. Many love LC, but I think it plods along too much. It's been a long time since I listened to it.
     
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  3. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I see where you're coming from, but since I don't, really, I definitely prefer London Calling.
     
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  4. Peter D

    Peter D Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Yeah, but London Calling came out in January 1980 in the US (which is why it's in Christgau's book of '80s reviews), so it wasn't eligible to be his favorite album of the '70s.

    Did he ever explicitly say somewhere that he preferred the UK Clash LP to London Calling?
     
  5. Pavol Stromcek

    Pavol Stromcek Senior Member

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I prefer London Calling for lots of reasons, but I do think the first Clash album is excellent.

    Of their run of albums from the debut through Combat Rock, the only one I don't care much for is Give 'em Enough Rope.
     
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  6. uzn007

    uzn007 Pack Rat

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Their debut is an all-time classic, but personally, I listen to it the least out of their first four.
     
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  7. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    For me they're very different albums, with the band caught at diffeerent times in their development. London Calling is when they were at the top of their game. The debut has more of the punk attitude, which isn't truly there on London Calling, imo.
     
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  8. Paul Gase

    Paul Gase Everything is cheaper than it looks.

    Location:
    California
    I have the green UK, but grew up with US version. I need to get it as I loooove I Fought The Law!
     
  9. noahjld

    noahjld Der Wixxer

    The debut is awesome, a snapshot of UK society at that time.
     
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  10. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    I’m not sure, but there’s no mention of London Calling in his '70s or '80s decade-best lists...

    Robert Christgau: Decade Personal Best: '70s

    Robert Christgau: Decade Personal Best: '80s

    So unless he thinks those ten 1980s albums top The Clash, it stands to reason he prefers it London Calling. Both are A+ albums for him, though.
     
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  11. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Here you go, from the “How to Use These Appendices” section of his '90s Consumer Guide book...
     
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  12. Saint Johnny

    Saint Johnny Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asbury Park
    It actually came out the first/second week of December 1979, in the UK, so I guess it just made it under the wire.
    I know because I was at Crazy Eddie's when they put it out on the shelf, and was most definitely before Christmas 1979.
    EDIT: FWIW, wikipedia states Dec 14. 1979.
     
  13. Rich C

    Rich C Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northbrook, IL
    I don't know but if memory serves he called the first record one of the greatest rock records ever. And I think he was referring to the American version with the singles.
     
  14. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Look two posts above yours. And he wasn’t talking about the U.S. version. Here’s his review of the 1979 album...

    The Clash [Epic, 1979]
    Cut for cut, this may be the greatest rock and roll album (plus limited-edition bonus single) ever manufactured in the U.S. It offers ten of the fourteen titles on the band's British debut as well as seven of the thirteen available only on forty-five. And the sequencing is anything but haphazard; the eight songs on side one divide into self-contained pairs that function as extended oxymorons on careerism, corporate power, race, and anomie. Yet the package feels misbegotten. The U.K. version of The Clash is the greatest rock and roll album ever manufactured anywhere partly because its innocence is of a piece--it never stops snarling, it's always threatening to blow up in your face. I'm still mad the real thing wasn't released two years ago, and I know for certain (I made a tape) that the singles would have made a dandy album by themselves. Nevertheless, a great introduction and a hell of a bargain. A
     
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  15. pscreed

    pscreed Upstanding Member

    Location:
    Land of the Free
    Not within a million miles of London Calling.
     
  16. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Not for me. The U.S. "Green" album is my second favorite though...
     
  17. Rich C

    Rich C Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northbrook, IL
    :oops::tiphat:
     
  18. Archguy

    Archguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond VA
    Well put.

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. manicpopthrill

    manicpopthrill Forum Resident

    Location:
    ICT, Kansas
    Stodgy? Stodgy?!! :faint:
     
  20. sunking101

    sunking101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, England
    For rockers London Calling has too many duff pop tracks like Lost In The Supermarket to cut the mustard. Compared to Sandinista London Calling is excellent of course. I think it's overrated but nontheless a great album by a great band.
     
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  21. Echoes Myron

    Echoes Myron Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    It is an excellent album but no. London Calling and Sandinista are more musically accomplished on every level.
     
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  22. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I recall buying London Calling at around Xmas time during my school vacation. So I'm guessing that it was in the stores by sometime in late December 1979 even in the USA.

    Now it's possible my memory is fooling me and I went to the store in January 1980. But if I had to bet, I'd bet my memory is correct in this case. The album impressed me to an incredible degree, so it went into my long-term memory bank.
     
  23. Joseph LeVie

    Joseph LeVie Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    No. Not even close.
     
  24. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Yep.
     
  25. Mr. D

    Mr. D Forum Resident

    The official Clash website says: The US release came a month later, on January 10th 1980.
     
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