The Clash
Combat Rock

THE REVIEW

The album is slightly distant from "London Calling" and "Sandinista!"), with somewhat more relaxed atmospheres and more reggae rhythms, yet it's still an album by the Clash. Even as they explore all the musical horizons offered by punk-rock, they never stray from their unmistakable style and their way of being, starting right from the first verses of Know Your Rights: murder is a crime, unless if it is done by a policeman or an aristocratic and forgive me if that's not much...
Car Jamming is a wonderful rock strumming with a captivating yet calm chorus... followed by the masterpiece Should I Stay Or Should I Go, an unforgettable song that made history... and on this one, I have nothing to say except: listen to it and you'll understand!
Followed by Rock The Casbah, which is also kept on reggae-like rhythms (note the bongos that really fit like heaven) but with a chorus that still hooks just like those we've been accustomed to by the Clash of London Calling.
Red Angel Dragnet is a song that isn't particularly significant in my humble opinion, but it perfectly introduces what might be the real masterpiece of the album: Straight To Hell. Five and a half minutes of fitting background music that, while very beautiful, gives space to the true protagonist of this piece, Joe Strummer, who with his sad, cynical, wrenching verses, brings tears to the eyes from the beginning to the end of the song... definitely my favorite of the album. Overpowered By Funk is a strange and unusual ballad that with its contagious cheerfulness helps the listener recover after the sorrows of Straight To Hell.
And with Atom Tan the old Clash is back, although the now beloved bongo in the background is not missing. And here we are at the most enigmatic track: Sean Flynn. Blues atmospheres and practically 2/3 of the song are instrumental. The song in itself isn't much, but still not bad, the rhythm sections are decent and in the (rare) sung parts there's a clear Clash imprint. Followed by Ghetto Defendant, also very reggae (possibly the most reggae of the whole album), the idea of the voice occasionally intervening and the harmonica are great, contributing to making this song very original and not at all predictable.
Inoculated City, another song that quite recalls the old Clash. Charming, but nothing special, the usual choruses and rhythms typical of the Clash, nice but nothing new.