Ranked #151 in the Soul Strut 200

Essential release from "punk" darlings The Clash.  Yes, 1980's London Calling is another one of those Rolling Stone 500 staples that have crept into the countdown, but it is another masterpiece that appealed across the spectrum here on Soul Strut from hip hop crate diggers to reggae fanatics.  This is where the Clash went from rude, straight ahead politicized pop punk to stretching out into all kinds of genres (rockabilly, lounge jazz, no wave, and most importantly, reggae.)  It's an ambitious 20 song double album that works on all levels from song writing to timeliness. Sadly, their follow-up Sandinista! was even more ambitious and completely missed the mark.  The band redeemed themselves with the highly successful 80s pop album Combat Rock that yielded hits "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go."  Sadly, that would be the last real album released under the Clash brand with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones at the helm.

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