The Clash - Super Black Market Clash

Digitally remastered from the original production master tapes, this a reissue of the 1993 retrospective for 'the only band that matters', England's best punk/ new wave group, The Clash. Contains tracks from their 1980 mini-album 'Black Market Clash', plus some other non-album A-sides & B-sides, as well as some rare tracks every true fan needs. 21 tracks in all. 1999 release. Album Description

Not the real thing, but...

This isn't you father's "Black Market Clash" but as long as you can pick up both, you might want to. All of the tracks that didn't make it onto this reissue (is it a reissue, or a whole new thing?)are easily available elsewhere but old timers (like me) kind of prefer not having our memories messed with. That said, this is still way cool and gathers up lots of odds and ends that you want if you're a fan. I used to have alot of these tracks on singles, but I don't pull out the singles that much anymore, so having them easily at hand is definitely worth it. Next to the first LP this is the one I seem to pull out and play most often. I have both versions, and I play both. Both deserve five stars in my view, but they are both completely different experiences. If you truly love the Clash, get'em both. You won't regret it. May 14, 2008

(3.5 stars) Some good stuff here

As everyone before me has said, this is not an expanded version of Black Market Clash, because it's missing a few songs: "Armagideon Time" (which is awesome), "Cheat", "Bankrobber", and "Capital Radio One". Three of these four songs can be found on The Essential Clash, but "Armagideon Time", the best of the four, is tough to come across in its studio version. So there's an immediate problem: it fails to collect a few important rarities. And I can't say I'm a huge fan of "The Prisoner", or the instrumental "Listen". Furthermore, far as I'm concerned there isn't loads of difference between this version of "Jail Guitar Doors" and the one found on the debut. Still, some of these outtakes are essential. "Groovy Times" is one of my favorite Clash songs. It's got one of Strummer's finest vocal performances, and the flamenco guitar break is beautiful. Not to mention the lyrics. Strummer's ability to write a great protest is undiminished. This would've fit in great with London Calling, why'd they leave it out? The cover of the reggae classic "Pressure Drop" is awesome as well. "1977" is a solid, powerful punk-rocker that's as good as the best of the first album. Those three songs are musts, and a few others are good ("Capital Radio Two"; "Gateway to the West"; "Stop the World"; "This Is Radio Clash"), and there's a fine dub version of "Armagideon Time", "Justice Tonight/Kick it Over", which at nine minutes is probably the longest Clash song. And a cool dub version of "Bankrobber". You know what? Dub reggae rules. Or at least dub from the Clash. I know nothing about it from anyone else, but I probably should investigate. But some of this is a bit much. I mean, do we really need instrumental versions of "The Call-Up" ("The Cool Out"), "The Magnificent Seven" ("The Magnificent Dance") and "Rock the Casbah" ("The Mustapha Dance")? Or reggae throwaways like "Cool Confusion", "First Night Back in London", and "Longtime Jerk"? So it's definitely not a top-flight purchase, but it's good for fans who have all the rest. April 26, 2008

You're not done without Super Black Market Clash!

The Clash is my favorite band, but even they aren't perfect. Just because their not perfect dosen't mean this B-side collection can't kick arse, and at times it does. This is Clash B-sides, so expect some songs that don't go anywhere or just flat out suck. Fortunatly, these songs are pretty decent, and some are just flat out amazing. Check it...

The first half of the album is from the earlier days, with two Clash instrumentals, Listen and Time Is Tight. Their worthy of mention for being instrumentals, but there kind of boring. 1977 and Capital Radio Two just blasts out of the speakers, Capital Radio Two sounds like the predessor for a Rancid song. Pressure Drop is a cover of a reggae song, but it still shows the Clash's punk sound.

The second half isn't as strong, though it includes some truely awesome songs. Justice Tonight/Kick it over is a 8:56 minute long song, you just have to hear the sample for that one. It follows the same pattern, but there's enough nooks and crannies, it will hook you in the whole song. Radio Clash is an explosive dance song. Long Term Jerk is a little weird at first, but I loved it anyway, it was a little humoruous. A couple of pointless instrumentals hamper this side (which are medicore versions of hit Clash Songs), and there are some songs that are flat out boring (First Night Back In London is an example).

It's not horrible at all, it's a great album if you are a Clash fan. In my opinion, not every song was a complete highlight (albeit my short, review, sorry!). I wouldn't reccomend the whole album if you aren't a Clash fan, but no Clash fan is complete without this. Clash fan? This one is a no-brainer!

8.0/10 September 10, 2007

"No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones!"

Clash Instrumentals...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

But, this also has some of Strummer & Company's greatest early-years vocal tracks - "Jail Guitar Doors" (amazing), "Gates Of The West," "Capital Radio Two" (better than the original by far), and "Groovy Times" to name a few. 1977 has to be my favorite song here, simply because it's my personal Clash anthem: the ending of the song has Strummer belting out, "1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 198-FAW!" I don't know exactly what he was talking about, or why he chose to end on 1984....but Joe Strummer counting out from the year of punk rock's birth to the year of my birth? That's awesome enough that I don't need to ask why.

Another standout track is the 8 minute+ "Justice Tonight/Kick It Over." This is an extended studio version of a dub song the Clash played live throughout almost their whole career, "Armaggideon Time," which can finally be found on CD (on the "Live: From Here To Eternity" disc). What an amazingly great song. The groove lulls you in so completely that the false stop halfway through the song is guaranteed to get you every time, even if you've heard it a thousand times like I have by now.

"Mustapha Dance," a dance remix of "Rock The Casbah" that is almost lyricless, as well as "The Cool Out," a completely lyric-free remix of the Sandinista track "The Call Up," really came as a revelation to me. You think of the Clash as being all about the lyrics, so it's weird to discover that they put out dance remixes for borgeouis (sp?) American white kids to dance to, but they did do it--twice. It makes more sense now that I've read the Strummer biography, "Joe Strummer and the Legend of The Clash," by Kris Needs. Kris Needs is a pretty cool guy who, it turns out, provided the howls and various other strange vocal parts ot certain Clash songs. Anyway, the dance remixes make sense for this reason: Strummer was the one behind the lyrics; and while Mick and the others were on board with his politics in the early days of the band, towards the end they just wanted to be rock stars. At the same time, Mick had been to New York City a few times and was becoming a huge fan of the emerging style called hip-hop. So it was natural for Mick to want to make beat-heavy (that is, rap-influenced) and feel-good (i.e., danceable) versions of Clash songs. And that's basically the reason that Joe fired him - he stopped caring about the politics.

I've probably given the wrong impression. You don't have to care about the band's history to enjoy this disc. If you want to own one of the best rarities albums ever released in the history of music, with a good mix of biting social commentary and feel-good party music, then get Super Black Market Clash ASAP. March 21, 2006

Eclectic

Super Black Market Clash is exactly what a B-sides album should be: a handful of gems ("1977," "Groovy Times," "Pressure Drop"), some experimentation ("Justice Tonight/Kick it Over," "Radio Clash"), but ultimately uneven. I have been put on the record as saying that a B-sides album isn't worth anything if it isn't uneven (well, on the record because I just wrote it now). If the band doesn't have some failures then they're really not trying, are they? They're just spending time lounging in the safe zone. There's nothing terribly wrong with the safe zone, it's nice, I'd visit, but I sure wouldn't want to live there. The two biggest critical darlings had some massive failures. Radiohead's first album was absolutely grating (and not in an avante garde sort of way) and in my personal opinion the Beatles were mediocre until Help!. That being said, some of the songs off the second half of the album fall a bit flat. Even so, they're all interesting to listen to and don't permanently scar the album. Most of them show The Clash trading in their gut level impact for some more experimental music.

Super Black Market Clash is just the fix for those of you who have already bought the first three CDs (which I recommend doing immediately if you haven't already). It's a great career spanning picture of the most eclectic punk band. February 17, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...