The Clash 'Combat Rock' and 'People's Hall'
In 1979 The Clash released one of the greatest rock albums ever, London Calling. In 1980 they followed with their most ambitious album, Sandinista. After incessant world tours and all the hype about being “The Only Band that Matters,” The Clash released Combat Rock in 1982. By that time, they sounded exhausted.
Combat Rock included one rock classic, “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” sounding like a lost side by The Standells or some other ‘60s garage band. The LP also netted a radio hit with “Rock the Casbah,” a catchy hook delivering an ineffectual slap at the rising tide of Islamist politics. Beyond that was an urgent anthem, “Know Your Rights,” and a mix of the intriguing and the dull. Worse things were ahead after Mick Jones was fired and the band soldiered on with a shaky lineup and uncertain inspiration.
That said, there is reason for Clash fans to hear the new reissue of Combat Rock. The second disc, The People’s Hall, consists mainly of demos recorded between Sandinista and Combat Rock. They crackle with electricity and the unadulterated sound of ideas knocked against the wall to see if they’ll hold. Also included is a fascinating booklet about the seedy part of London where The Clash rehearsed at the time, the Passport to Pimlico-like “Republic of Freestonia” home to squatting bands, artists and fanzines. According to the notes by London writer Tom Vague, Freestonia was “part William Blake Albion Free State and part Marx brothers ‘Freedonia,’ with some Chestertonesque whimsy and Orwellian nightmare thrown in.”
