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<< Usually Joe would sit at a typewriter and I would sit across from him. Once he had written something, he passed me the paper and I would come up with a melody. When the first line was done, he would pass me another script.>> (Mick Jones)
What prompts me to write a few words about this record is simply a matter of affection combined with an appreciation for those less well-known works which nevertheless include tracks of certain value that, with the times being what they are, might have only seen the light of day in some celebratory box set of what was once a golden career. The career of The Clash, which began in the second half of the '70s, had already been marked by those first three chapters of a discography that in the years to come would continue to offer much both qualitatively and quantitatively.
The mini collection in question (remember we're talking about a 10" re-released the following year as a 12") presents us with b-sides and rare tracks, necessary outlets for a band great in its own way and deserving to be known not just for the headline albums on which its entire popularity depended. The dynamism of "Capital Radio One" and the urgency of "The Prisoner" forge ahead, following the impression of the debut, where tight rhythm and nervous lyrics sealed their winning combination. It is hard to remain indifferent to the purely underground reference of "City of the Dead" and to "Pressure Drop" from the repertoire of the Jamaican Toots and the Maytals (who recorded it in 1969), a reggae with rock features capable of saying much about the youthful musical influences of Strummer & Co.. Incorrigible teenagers inspirations also surface in a respectful if not indispensable version of "Time is Tight" by Booker T and the M.G.'s, showcasing considerable maturity with the biting irony of "Cheat" that takes us back to the English debut but was left out of the US version.
An irrepressible passion of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones for the state of liberation they found in Caribbean sounds, which led them to politically side with the Jamaican community settled in London. Meanwhile, the interest in these sounds led the two musicians to a proliferation of tracks with that magical offbeat rhythm, which are worthily represented here like the enchanting "Armagideon Time" also present in an instrumental version under the title "Justice Tonight/Kick It Over" or "Bankrobber/Robber Dub" edited here as a single track without penalizing the fluid continuity.
The vinyl in question is the first release of the '80s, positioning itself as a trait d'union between that manifesto named "London Calling" (December 1979) and the unmissable "Sandinista" (December 1980), not with the presumption of being considered indispensable but resulting more as a stimulating compendium of those tracks that over the years might have remained a treasure for a few aficionados. Tracks less raw but just as restless and edgy, capable of always keeping alive the flame of a burning legend in the making.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 The Prisoner (03:01)
The prisoner meets the muppet hi-fi
North of watford junction
We get in but we don't have fun
An' we leave before the truncheons
So it's back to watch the day to day
Saga of working people
Hanging out the washing and clipping coupons
And generally being decent
Johnny too bad meets johnny be good
In the charing cross road
That's the only thing that happened today
Says the west end jungle code
And all the germans and all the french
Jam themselves down the tube
And re-enact the second world war
While the rude boys get rude!
And i look to my left
And i look to my right
And i'm looking for a man
I'm looking for a sign
I don't wanna be the prisoner
The prisoner lives in camden town
Selling revolution
The prisoner loads his tracking arm up
With self-disillusion
Your mother does the washing up
Your old man digs the garden
You're only free to dodge the cops
An' bunk the train to stardom
03 Pressure Drop (03:30)
It is you, oh yeah
It is you, oh yeah
I said a pressure drop,
Oh pressure, oh yeah
Pressure's gonna drop on you
I said pressure drop
Oh pressure, oh yeah
Pressure's gonna drop on you
I said when it drops
Oh you gonna feel it
Oh that you were doin' it wrong, wrong, wrong
Now when it drops
Oh you gonna feel it
That you were doin' it wrong and how
I said when it drops
You gonna feel it
That you've been doin' it wrong
Now when it drops, drop
You gonna feel it
That you've been doin' wrong
Now when it drops, drop
Feel it
You make the wrong move
Now when it drops, drop
You gonna feel it
That you've been it doin' wrong
I said, pressure drop
Oh pressure, oh yeah
Pressure's gonna drop on you
Pressure drop
Oh pressure, oh yeah
Pressure's gonna drop on you
Now when it drops on your dirty little head
Where you gonna go?
It's you, you, you
When it drop on, oh you're gonna feel it
What you're doing is wrong, wrong, wrong
Pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure...
I said a pressure drop
04 Cheat (02:06)
I get violent when I'm fucked up
I get silent when I'm drugged up
Want excitement
[I] Don't get none
I go wild
I don't know
What can be done about
If you play the game
And you get nothing out of it
Find out for yourself
Screw being goody-goody
You better
Cheat cheat
No reason to play fair
Cheat cheat
Or don't get anywhere
Cheat cheat
If you can't win
Nobody knows
What they are doing
Beyond your control
Finding life's a ruin
If you want to survive
You better learn how to lie
You better
Cheat cheat
No reason to play fair
Cheat cheat
Or don't get anywhere
Cheat cheat
If you can't win
Don't use the rules
There not for you
There for the fools
And you're a fool
If you don't know that
Use the rules you stupid fools
08 Armagideon Time (03:52)
(W. Williams/J. Mitoo)
I stayed around don’t played around
This old town too long
Seems like I got to… travel on!
A lotta people won’t get no supper tonight
A lotta people won’t get no justice tonight
The battle is getting harder
In this iration, Armagieon time
A lotta people running and hiding tonight-ah!
A lotta people won’t get no justice tonight
Remember to kick it over
No one will guide you – Armagideon time
Oooh-oooh-ooh-ooh
Ooooh-oh-oh
Oh
This ol’ town!
Ivan and Fu-Manchu
They both are coming through, yeah
Yay
A lotta people &%*%*&*%*$&%*
A lotta people &^&^^&^*%&£^£*
Oh remember to kick to it over
No one will guide you, through Armagideon time
It’s Armagideon
It’s not Christmas time anymore it’s Armagideon
A lotta people
- All right, time’s up, let’s have you out of here –
Okay, okay, don’t push us when were hot!
A lotta people wont’ get not a-justice tonight
A lotta people sitting down, by the light – ah!
A lotta people a-wont get no a-supper tonight
A lotta people a-wont get no a-justice tonight
Remember, a-kick it over
No one will guide you through armagideon time
Armagideon
*Intentional gibberish features in some Clash ad-libs, including Complete Control and The Right Profile, this is a case of it*
09 Justice Tonight / Kick It Over (07:00)
Stay around don't play around
This old town and all
Seems like i got to travel on
A lot of people won't get no supper tonight
Justice tonight
Runnin and a hiding tonight
Justice tonight
Remember to kick it over
No one will guide you through armegideon time
It's armagideon
It's not christmas time
A lot of people
A lot of people use a calculator
A lot of people won't get no supper tonight
A lot of people sittin' down by the light
The battle is gettin hotter
Armagideon time
Armagideon
Remember to kick it over
Armagideon time
A lot of people ain't got no supper tonight
A lot of people got to stand out back
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By psychrockblues
The sound is bare, the arrangement is essential, there is nothing beyond the guitars, bass, and drums.
On one hand, we have the old Joe barking at the world, on the other, Mick offers us delicate/distorted melodies in late ‘70s style.
