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. 'Released: 23 April 1982.
'Released: 10 June 1982. 'Released: 11 June 1982. 'Released: 17 September 1982Combat Rock is the fifth studio album by the English band. It was released on 14 May 1982 through.
In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the United States, spending 61 weeks on the chart.Combat Rock is the group's best-selling album, being certified in the United States. It contains two of The Clash's most popular songs, the singles ' and '.
Combat Rock is the last Clash album featuring the classic lineup. Contents.Background Following the triple-album (1980), singer/guitarist felt the group was 'drifting' creatively.
Bassist agreed with Strummer's dissatisfaction towards the 'boring' professionalism of The Clash's then-managers Blackhill Enterprises. Strummer and Simonon convinced their bandmates to reinstate the band's original manager in February 1981, in an attempt to restore the 'chaos' and 'anarchic energy' of The Clash's early days. This decision was not welcomed by guitarist, who was becoming progressively estranged from his bandmates.During this period, drummer escalated his intake of. His occasional drug usage had now become a habit that was costing him £100 per day and undermining his health. This drug addiction would be the factor that would later push his bandmates to fire him from The Clash, following the release of Combat Rock.Recording The album had the working title Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg during the recording and mixing stages.
After early recording sessions in London, the group relocated to New York for recording sessions at in November and December 1981. Electric Lady Studio was where the band had recorded its previous album in 1980.While recording the album in New York, lived with his then-girlfriend., and stayed at the on West 44th Street, a building famed for being the home of actor for two years during the early 1950s.After finishing the New York recording sessions in December 1981, the band returned to London for most of January 1982.
Between January and March, The Clash embarked on a six-week tour of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Thailand. During this tour, the album's cover photograph was shot by in Thailand in March 1982. Mixing and editing Following the Far East tour, The Clash returned to London in March 1982 to listen to the music that they had recorded in New York three months earlier. They had recorded 18 songs, enough material to possibly release as double-album. Having previously released the double-LP (1979) and the triple-LP (1980), the group considered whether it should again release a multi-LP collection.The band debated how many songs their new album should contain, and how long the songs' mixes should be.
Mick Jones argued in favour of a double-album with lengthier, dancier mixes. The other band members argued in favour of a single album with shorter song mixes. This internal wrangling created tension within the band, particularly with guitarist Mick Jones, who had mixed the first version.Manager Bernie Rhodes suggested that producer/engineer be hired to remix the album. This editing took place in Johns' garden studio in, (not at, as is incorrectly stated by some sources).Johns, accompanied by Strummer and Jones edited Combat Rock down from a 77-minute double album down to a 46-minute single. This was achieved by trimming the length of individual songs, such as by removing instrumental intros and codas from songs like 'Rock the Casbah' and 'Overpowered by Funk'. Additionally, the trio decided to omit several songs entirely, dropping the final track count to 12.During these remixing sessions, Strummer and Jones also re-recorded their vocals for the songs 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' and 'Know Your Rights' and remixed the songs with the intent of maximising their impact as singles.
Music and lyrics A recurring motif of Combat Rock is the impact and aftermath of the. ' describes the children fathered by American soldiers to Vietnamese mothers and then abandoned, 'Sean Flynn' describes the of actor who disappeared in 1970 while covering the war.Biographer Pat Gilbert describes many songs from Combat Rock as having a 'trippy, foreboding feel', saturated in a 'colonial melancholia and sadness' reflecting the Vietnam War. The band was hugely inspired by 's 1979 film about the Vietnam War, and had previously released the song 'Charlie Don't Surf' on Sandinista!, which referenced the film.Other Combat Rock songs, if not directly about the Vietnam War and U.S. Foreign policy, depict American society in moral decline. 'Red Angel Dragnet' was inspired by the January 1982 shooting death of Frank Melvin, a New York member of the. The song quotes 's 1976 movie, with Clash associate recording several lines of dialogue imitating the voice of main character.
Bickle sports a in the latter part of Taxi Driver, this was a hairstyle adopted by during the Combat Rock concert tour.The song 'Ghetto Defendant' features poet, who performed the song on stage with the band during the New York shows on their tour in support of the album. Ginsberg had researched punk music, and included phrases like 'do the worm' and 'slam dance' in his lyrics. At the end of the song he can be heard reciting the, a popular Buddhist mantra.Music for 'Rock the Casbah' was written by the band's drummer Topper Headon, based on a piano part that he had been toying with. Finding himself the studio without his three bandmates, Headon progressively taped the drum, piano and bass parts; recording the bulk of the song's musical instrumentation himself.The other Clash members were impressed with Headon's recording, stating that they felt the musical track was essentially complete.
However, Strummer was not impressed by the page of suggested lyrics that Headon gave him. Before hearing Headon's music, Strummer had already come up with the phrases 'rock the casbah' and 'you'll have to let that raga drop' as lyrical ideas that he was considering for future songs. After hearing Headon's music, Strummer went into the studio's toilets and wrote lyrics to match the song's melody. Release Following along the same note as Sandinista!, Combat Rock 's catalogue number 'FMLN2' is the abbreviation for the or FMLN.Lead single ' was released on 23 April 1982, and reached number 43 on the U.K. Singles chart. Combat Rock was released on 14 May 1982 and reached number 2 on the U.K.
Album charts, kept off the top spot by 's. In the United States, Combat Rock reached number 7 on the album charts, selling in excess of one million copies.' ', which was composed by drummer Topper Headon, reached number 8 on the U.S. Singles chart. The single was accompanied by a distinctive video directed by that aired frequently on the then-fledgling television channel.In January 2000, the album, along with the rest of The Clash's catalogue, was remastered and re-released.
Reception and influence Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRating3/54/58/10B+Combat Rock peaked at number 2 on the, number 7 on the Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries. It was ranked at #4 among the top 'Albums of the Year' for 1982 by, with both 'Straight to Hell' and 'Know Your Rights' ranked among the year's top 50 tracks.The United States (RIAA) Combat Rock as a Gold album on November 1982, Platinum in January 1983, and Multi-Platinum in June 1995.In a contemporary review for, lamented the same attempts at and The Clash had tried on (1980).
Nonetheless, he dismissed the notion the band were and believed they were 'evolving' on Combat Rock, writing songs at a 'higher level of verbal, musical, and political density', albeit in less 'terse and clear' fashion than on their early work. Douglas Wolk said in a retrospective review for that while the record was originally seen as The Clash's 'sellout move' because of its danceable sound and two hit singles, the other songs featured 'audaciously bizarre arrangements and some of Strummer's smartest lyrics.' Was less enthusiastic, deeming it 'their biggest seller, but the beginning of the end.' In 2000, called it 'the penultimate Clash album.
Employing lessons learned in the previous three years. Their most commercially rewarded release. Containing their most poignant song 'Straight to Hell'.' Ranked Combat Rock at number five on its 2004 list of the Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1982. Listed the album at No. 80 on its list of 'Best Albums of the 1980s'.
Listed it in his top fifty albums of all time. Track listing All tracks written by The Clash, except where noted. Side oneNo.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength1.' 'Strummer, Jones3:392.' Car Jamming'Joe Strummer3:583.' 'Headon, Strummer, JonesJoe Strummer3:445.'
Red Angel Dragnet'and3:486.' 'Joe Strummer5:30Side twoNo.TitleLead vocalsLength1.' 'Joe Strummer and4:552.' Atom Tan'Mick Jones and Joe Strummer2:323.' Sean Flynn'Joe Strummer4:304.' Ghetto Defendant'Joe Strummer and4:455.'
Inoculated City' (some copies of the album have an edited version lasting 2:11)Mick Jones and Joe Strummer2:436.' . ^ (24 June 1982). From the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
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Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Combat Rock in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter. 1 December 1982. Archived from on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011. (in French). If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.Further reading.
The Clash – Combat Rock (1982/2013)FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz Time – 00:46:14 1,0 GB Genre: RockOfficial Digital Download – Source: Qobuz Front Cover © Sony Music UKOn the surface of things, Combat Rock appears to be a retreat from the sprawling stylistic explorations of London Calling and Sandinista! The pounding arena rock of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” makes the Clash sound like an arena rock band, and much of the album boasts a muscular, heavy sound courtesy of producer Glyn Johns. But things aren’t quite that simple. Combat Rock contains heavy flirtations with rap, funk, and reggae, and it even has a cameo by poet Allen Ginsberg — if this album is, as it has often been claimed, the Clash’s sellout effort, it’s a very strange way to sell out.
Even with the infectious, dance-inflected new wave pop of “Rock the Casbah” leading the way, there aren’t many overt attempts at crossover success, mainly because the group is tearing in two separate directions. Mick Jones wants the Clash to inherit the Who’s righteous arena rock stance, and Joe Strummer wants to forge ahead into black music. The result is an album that is nearly as inconsistent as Sandinista!, even though its finest moments — “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” “Rock the Casbah,” “Straight to Hell” — illustrate why the Clash were able to reach a larger audience than ever before with the record. In 2000 Columbia/Legacy reissued and remastered Combat Rock. Stephen Thomas ErlewineTracklist:1 Know Your Rights 3:402 Car Jamming 4:003 Should I Stay Or Should I Go 3:094 Rock The Casbah 3:435 Red Angel Dragnet 3:456 Straight To Hell 5:327 Overpowered By Funk 4:52 Keyboards – Poly Mandell8 Atom Tan 2:309 Sean Flynn 4:32 Saxophone – Gary Barnacle10 Ghetto Defendant 4:4411 Inoculated City 2:4112 Death Is A Star 3:13 Piano – Tymon DoggDownload.