London Calling album. Emperor's New Clothes?

[MC Bodge]

6Music mentioned that it was 40 years since the release of London Calling and were doing a feature of it.

I decided to listen to it on Spotify. I listened to it through a couple of times.

Whilst there are a couple of stand-out tracks and I spotted a few sections that have been sampled by others, I would not describe it as a stand-out album.

Much of it is samey and bland.

Maybe it was of significance when new (I was 2 years old), but Abbey Road and the White Album, 50 years old, seem much better - even if they also contain some duff tracks.

[Mothersruin]

One of the best sleeves of all time, if nothing else.

[Teddy Lop]

Its called taste, its subjective and individual.

For example I think the Beatles are absolute toss but I wouldnt be so indulgent as to start a thread to advise people of this as I suspect most people who care already have their own fully formed opinion.

[Turn7]

Teddy Lop said:

Its called taste, its subjective and individual.

For example I think the Beatles are absolute toss but I wouldnt be so indulgent as to start a thread to advise people of this as I suspect most people who care already have their own fully formed opinion.

Agreed.

I love London Calling and would say its easily in my favourite top ten album list.

[MC Bodge]

Teddy Lop said:

Its called taste, its subjective and individual.

For example I think the Beatles are absolute toss but I wouldnt be so indulgent as to start a thread to advise people of this as I suspect most people who care already have their own fully formed opinion.

I didn't describe London Calling as old toss.

I posed a question.

I was looking to be educated.

The Beatles were prodigious, ground-breaking and technical pioneers. Whether you like them or not.

The Clasg are often grouped with the Sex Pistols as "punk", but I don't see why.

Edited by MC Bodge on Saturday 12th October 12:01

[psi310398]

Teddy Lop said:

Its called taste, its subjective and individual.

For example I think the Beatles are absolute toss but I wouldnt be so indulgent as to start a thread to advise people of this as I suspect most people who care already have their own fully formed opinion.

^ This.

I listen to it quite often and I think it has stood the test of time better than most albums from that era.

But, of course, memory and nostalgia come into the equation and somebody younger who doesn't remember buying and playing the album back in 1979 will naturally approach it in a different context.

For me, most of the tracks still work and the two LPs stack up as a body of work which is much, much more than can be said for Sandinista which is, famously, a single album struggling to escape from a triple.

EDITED TO ADD:

Part of why the OP might find it bland is that the Clash was perhaps one of the more influential bands of the era and thus much of what they were playing in era became more mainstream and the sound became more commonplace. The Clash were certainly more experimental in their music than the rather talentless punk movement as a whole and tinkered with reggae and ska more than most of their contemporaries, for example.

Edited by psi310398 on Saturday 12th October 12:07

[MC Bodge]

psi310398 said:

^ This.

I listen to it quite often and I think it has stood the test of time better than most albums from that era.

But, of course, memory and nostalgia come into the equation and somebody younger who doesn't remember buying and playing the album back in 1979 will naturally approach it in a different context.

For me, most of the tracks still work and the two LPs stack up as a body of work which is much, much more than can be said for Sandinista which is, famously, a single album struggling to escape from a triple.

I did suggest that it may be to do with my age. I have no reason to like or dislike it. I sought it out of my own accord!

[psi310398]

MC Bodge said:

I did suggest that it may be to do with my age. I have no reason to like or dislike it. I sought it out of my own accord!

There's no right answer!

[Teddy Lop]

MC Bodge said:

Teddy Lop said:

Its called taste, its subjective and individual.

For example I think the Beatles are absolute toss but I wouldnt be so indulgent as to start a thread to advise people of this as I suspect most people who care already have their own fully formed opinion.

I didn't describe London Calling as old toss.

I posed a question.

I was looking to be educated.

The Beatles were prodigious, ground-breaking and technical pioneers.

The Clasg are grouped with the Sex Pistols, but I don't see why.

I don't known what you mean by educated, by your post count i'd assume you're a fully formed adult who knows what he likes and doesnt, you don't have to like or even appreciate something to accept it as influential and or symbolic etc.

As for sex pistols yeah they're massively different, but groupings mean nothing beyond lazy journos pigeonholing stuff. For instance I cant stand oasis or blur but don't mind a bit of pulp but they all get stuffed in that Britpop thing and a lot of people think you have to take a scene or leave it. I guess the sex pistols were archytypal of punk which was a revolt against the nice pop of the time wheras the clash were a fusion of a lot of stuff including punk and it was easy just to stick em in punk because frankly where do they "fit"

[Antony Moxey]

Who knew people would have different tastes? For me pretty much everything before 1976 is old toss but I also realise that there are probably more people who would disagree with me than agree which is fine by me.

As for London Calling, well I consider it to be the greatest sleeve ever on the greatest album ever from the greatest band ever. Every track is a work of genius and since buying it on the day of its release I still haven’t tired of listening to it at least once a month since.

[MC Bodge]

psi310398 said:

There's no right answer!

You could be right regarding their sound subsequently becoming mainstream.

I did spot the reggae and ska elements.

They may have been influential at the time, but as a new discovery it didn't grab me.

[Ultuous]

I'm not a huge Clash fan but surely the point of 'pop' music (as the OP alludes to) is that it's relevance is bound to a time, which is something as a music fan I've always found fascinating, and couldn't be much more relevant than to the punk/ new wave ethos...

I remember years ago when "Zombie Nation" went big in the clubs a friend telling me that Dave Clarke (who'd been championing it) played his copy one last time, pulled it from the decks and smashed it against the side of the booth - a bit extreme perhaps, but it does make the point that some music is designed to be consumed whilst hot and is all the better for it - it's kind of ironic that us music buffs still rant about it decades down the line!

[TCX]

Significant when new,back in those days,new music,specially from a band like The Clash,was an event,information overload wasn't present,probs one music paper,2/3 DJs on radio one where information came from,the album cover,brooding dark feeling of London calling,matched the turbulant times,lol even the lyrics London's drowning,global warming?
Guns of Brixton a great track,they changed n while this caused alienation with some original fans,the group had a much deeper grasp and understanding of musical roots,and to my mind were an interesting band that progressed

[TwigtheWonderkid]

MC Bodge said:

6Music mentioned that it was 40 years since the release of London Calling and were doing a feature of it.

It was released on 14 Dec 1979. I bought it on it's release day from HMV on Oxford St opposite Tottenham Court Rd station. I was 17.

Seems like only yesterday, although Michael Owen was born on the same day, and he's had an entire football career and retired years ago!!!!

[andy_s]

Zeitgeist album.

[anonymous-user]

Of course you must say you like London Calling, just as you must say you like Joy Division the band.... according to those trendy folk at BBC 6 Music.
There's probably a lot a people who rave about the London Calling album who only know the title track if the truth be told.

[MC Bodge]

Raygun said:

Of course you must say you like London Calling, just as you must say you like Joy Division the band.... according to those trendy folk at BBC 6 Music.
There's probably a lot a people who rave about the London Calling album who only know the title track if the truth be told.

Interestingly, I listened to Unknown Pleasures when 6Music informed me that it was 40 years old. I was very impressed by it.

[anonymous-user]

MC Bodge said:

Raygun said:

Of course you must say you like London Calling, just as you must say you like Joy Division the band.... according to those trendy folk at BBC 6 Music.
There's probably a lot a people who rave about the London Calling album who only know the title track if the truth be told.

Interestingly, I listened to Unknown Pleasures when 6Music informed me that it was 40 years old. I was very impressed by it.

Not that many people were impressed with it when it first came out, it reached number 71 on the album charts.
I'm afraid another case of BBC 6 Music trying to be 'too cool for school' again.

[psi310398]

Raygun said:

Of course you must say you like London Calling, just as you must say you like Joy Division the band.... according to those trendy folk at BBC 6 Music.
There's probably a lot a people who rave about the London Calling album who only know the title track if the truth be told.

Hmm. I have consistently loathed Joy Division all my adult life...I've never seen what the fuss was about.

[MC Bodge]

Raygun said:

MC Bodge said:

Raygun said:

Of course you must say you like London Calling, just as you must say you like Joy Division the band.... according to those trendy folk at BBC 6 Music.
There's probably a lot a people who rave about the London Calling album who only know the title track if the truth be told.

Interestingly, I listened to Unknown Pleasures when 6Music informed me that it was 40 years old. I was very impressed by it.

Not that many people were impressed with it when it first came out, it reached number 71 on the album charts.
I'm afraid another case of BBC 6 Music trying to be 'too cool for school' again.

Interesting isn't it?

I came to these 1979 albums as a 40 something man, did like Unknown Pleasures, but didn't think that much of London Calling.

I was, obviously, aware of the Beatles work, and listening to them through a few times, liked the 1969 White Album and Abbey Road.

I am likely to listen to them all again, with the exception of London Calling.