musicinsight's Full Review: Black Market Clash by The Clash
Once upon a time, in 1980, the Clash went digging through their tape archives and their closets and came up with a half an album worth of good music. Luckily for Clash fans, the fad of the moment in music marketing was the EP. An EP was a ten-inch vinyl record which would hold about half as much music as an LP. Bands would release extended singles with remixes, covers, and other weird sonic experiments. One very successful example was the Clash's Black Market Clash.
Black Market Clash held a wide-ranging mixture of music dating all the way back to their punk roots. In the three years before its release, the band had started as a hard-rocking three-chord band, but had gradually widened their scope to explore R&B, rockabilly, reggae and dub. Capital Radio One, the EP's opener, is a lean, electric rocker that mocks the sad state of British radio in the late 70s. Recorded in 1977, it's heavy on the guitars, but is too mature and diverse to be labelled "punk". 1979's Pressure Drop is a cover of Toots and the Maytals' reggae smash. This tune gives the entire band a chance to shine, from Joe Strummer's raspily heart-felt vocals, to the loping bass line.
Cheat is pure punk satisfaction. It balances an all-out vocal with a dense, slashing guitar figure. It's short, lively and exhilarating. Time Is Tight is a faithful cover of Booker T and The MG's soul instrumental. It's a terrific song to begin with, and the Clash definitely do the song justice. And speaking of justice, Justice Tonight/Kick It Over is an extended dub version of Armagideon Time, an apocalyptic reggae excursion. Both versions appear here.
Bankrobber, is an unapologetic portrayal of a career criminal. It has some dub/reggae flourishes and eventually mutates into Robber Dub, which is an all-out dub version of Bankrobber.
Black Market Clash is a prime example of a band cleaning out the vaults and releasing a surprisingly diverse collection of forgotten gems. If you like a variety of musical styles, and are a Clash fan, then you'd better buy this one, pronto.
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