New Clash Box Set Looks To Be Really Fucking Promising

[Kristy]

Being a collector of box sets myself Sound System looks to be one of the best. Appears the surviving members of the band had a heavy hand in the making from the artwork to the actual remastering of the music (those 2004? remasters were shit) and they should be embarrassed that Columbia ever allowed that to happen.

"All five of the band’s American releases are here—the self-titled début, “Give ‘Em Enough Rope,” “London Calling,” “Sandinista!,” and “Combat Rock.” (In a permissible bit of revisionist history, the band’s hobbled, post-Jones sixth record, “Cut the Crap,” largely crap, has been cut.) In addition, there are three discs of B-sides, rarities, and outtakes; a DVD with videos, live material, and previously unseen footage by Julien Temple and Don Letts; a reprint of the famous Armagideon Times zine; and sundry merchandise, including badges, stickers, and dog tags. It’s a tremendously expansive set, and it’s tremendously expensive, currently retailing for a hundred and seventy seven dollars on Amazon."

Story here:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/09/the-clash-think-inside-the-box.html

So just under $200 which isn't too bad. I do hope that with the band's personal attention it kicks the shit out of that disappointing Jam box set from earlier this summer. Now, that was a rip off. Yeah, fuck you too, Paul Weller.

[FORD]

Good news is they finally issue the first album the way God and Joe Strummer intended. Bad news is that they split London Calling into 2 CDs and Sandanista into 3, just so they can make the packaging look like "miniature" versions of the original vinyl.

As far as the complete Clash catalog here.... it's probably the closest you'll ever get in one collection. To be fair, it probably IS the entire collection of the original studio releases. Doesn't have Cut the Crap (not that it would be missed) but the biggest drawback is probably the "Vanilla Tapes" that came with the last remaster of London Calling which aren't in this box.

Since I have all this material in one form or another, I'm in the "maybe" column as to whether or not this is worth $200. If they improved the sound enough to notice, I might have to do it.

I'm assuming Mick Jones was personally involved in this project, possibly Paul Simonon too, but it probably comes down to who else was helping them out with the remastering. Hopefully this isn't another "made for iPod/turn all the goddamn levels up to infinity" wastes of time.

Or maybe it is, and all the fucked up weather all over the country is a result of Joe Strummer getting pissed off and causing a "white riot" somewhere up in Heaven?

[Kristy]

Good news is they finally issue the first album the way God and Joe Strummer intended. Bad news is that they split London Calling into 2 CDs and Sandanista into 3, just so they can make the packaging look like "miniature" versions of the original vinyl.

Story is when the Clash singed to Columbia in 77? they were under contract to release 8 studio albums in 8 years. However, the contract never said how those 8 studio albums were to be sold much less packaged. Even though you can count Sandanista! as one release, Strummer claimed and legally so according to contract that it was three studio albums which let's face it was really two for there was a lot of awful filler on that record. This came on the heels of Springsteen when he started recording 'The River' in late '79 right about the time 'London Calling' was released that since 'The River' would be counted as two albums that 'London' would be no different under legal contractual Columbia Record guidelines or some such mumbo-jumbo. When The Clash decided to call it quits in 1983 due to "artistic and commercial " differences Columbia tried to nail Stummer & Co. on breech of contract but it obviously didn't fly. They cleverly got under the radar on that one.

I'm assuming Mick Jones was personally involved in this project, possibly Paul Simonon too, but it probably comes down to who else was helping them out with the remastering. Hopefully this isn't another "made for iPod/turn all the goddamn levels up to infinity" wastes of time.

They all were - including Topper. The ghetto blaster photo for the box set was actually Simonon's that he said he carried with him all the time when Strummer moved The Clash to New York in early 1980 and that "they played everything through it." I'm sure Jones more or less did the remastering studio production/technical details. It would have been somewhat more interesting if Guy Stevens was still alive to assist. I did not care much for Pearlman or Glynn Johns offerings. Pearlman tried to make them sound like an punk Rock Blue Osyter Cult and Johns like a punkish version of The Who. No idea on why The Clash went with such people. Maybe they didn't have a choice after the commercial failure of Sandnista!

I do hope these remasters are better in both terms of clarity and rawness that was The Clash. And speaking of Springsteen, I do wonder what the hold up is with his early material not being remastered. I'm not big fan of him but it does not make much sense since Columbia has redone and released a boatload of unreleased material from just about ever major act on their label from Miles Davis to Jeff Beck. 'The River' is just unpleasant to listen to on CD. It almost worse than any Zeppelin production.

[VHscraps]

I was tempted myself, but decided that if I was going to buy stuff I have bought before - or already own - I'd buy vinyl, because that's what I got rid of in the 80s / 90s after CDs became the thing. But, I have to admit I don't like vinyl for any real audiophile reasons - it's more to do with the fact that it forces me to sit and listen to albums the way I used to listen to them, when the music really meant everything to me - beginning to end, with attention on the music, and without skipping, and all the distractions that listening on iTunes or whatever seems to inevitably entail (for me, anyway).

So, here in the UK, all the Clash albums seem to be getting new 180g vinyl releases from this week. I've got Give 'Em Enough Rope winging its way to me from Amazon. Last week, they issued The Clash Hits Back - it's a sort of greatest hits compilation, but sequenced according to the running order of a particular 1982 show. TRIPLE vinyl, 180g - I don't have a great system, and probably not the most discerning ears, but anyway it sounds great to me. The running order is excellent - sure, you could compile your own playlist if you have all the CDs, but I was quite excited to get this.



Remastering, according to the credits on the inside sleeve, was "by Tim Young and the Clash at Metropolis Studios, London". I expect the other remasters were all done together as part of this one big re-issue project, including the vinyl reissues and the box set. Incidentally, after losing my original London Calling vinyl album years ago, and having listened to the CD version for the last 20 years, I had already bought a 180g re-issue pressed by Music on Vinyl about 6 months ago (they do reissues for all sorts of labels / bands). Sounds fucking amazing. According to their website, it looks like they are doing all these new vinyl reissues

It was always a clean, great sounding album anyway - like most albums of that era that were tracked for vinyl on analog equipment - but a real nice experience to have the vinyl package.

I'll post another pic of the back of the sleeve of The Clash Hits Back, which has the tracks and running order ...

[VHscraps]

And the track running order on the back sleeve is here:

[Kristy]

That looks cool. Although vinyl is nice, it's just not all that practical for me. Come to think of it, neither are CD's.

[VHscraps]

It's probably a teenage regression deal, in my case - vinyl and CDs are totally impractical for me as well. But I never learn.

I moved home last summer, and I got rid of all my CD jewel cases to try and reduce bulk. I think I had about 5 large black garbage sacks just stuffed with these horrible plastic cases. The CDs are now kept in soft plastic covers I found on an American jazz buff website - the Jazz Loft or something.

[FORD]

Praise the Lord, it's a little good old fashioned Gospel music, Clash style!

[78/84 guy]

The only people that put iced tea in their whiskey bottles is the Clash baby !! Yeah !!!

[Mr. Vengeance]

It's a great looking package, but I have all the Clash stuff already and I'm not sure that there's anything worth paying for here. Maybe if you get a bargain. I'll probably wait until it's been out a while and see if the price drops.

[FORD]

[FORD]

[Kristy]

It's a great looking package, but I have all the Clash stuff already and I'm not sure that there's anything worth paying for here. Maybe if you get a bargain. I'll probably wait until it's been out a while and see if the price drops.

Yeah!? Well I can afford to buy it...and dope!

[Igosplut]

Yeah!? Well I can afford to buy it...and dope!

Easy girl, they don't call it dope for nothin.....

[Kristy]

They started calling it "dope" when those pussy metalheads became involved with it. FACT!