Sandinista! was my first exposure to the Clash. As a teenager, I was blown away by the variety of music on this triple (!!!) album: punk, pop, jazz, rockabilly, reggae, gospel, psychedelia, calypso, new wave, blues, rap, military marches, show tunes, cutsie kiddie choruses, and some things that defy description. It's truly an amazing album; a tour de force, full of contradictions and challenges; at once a thought-provoking piece of political commentary and a musical schmorgasboard of styles and textures.
Due to the instrumental reprises that comprise much of side six; the entire album often gets dismissed. It's unfair to say that it could've made an amazing single album when the first five sides all have vibrant and exciting music. Despite the serious, politically-charged lyrical content, (they named the album after the Nicaraguan rebels at a time when Iran-contra was still a big secret) the music throughout is exuberant.
Of course, some of the songs are more fulfilling than others; but there is something for everyone here in the vast musical palate. Who would have thought that your Mom could enjoy the Clash? The lyrics throughout are food for thought: tales of corrupt secret police, inner city blues, third world violence, wartorn desolation and poverty, and everywhere the dirty hand of politics. It's a bit of a mindfuck. They hook you with the joyous worldbeat groove and the dark lyrical visions sneak up on you. There is nothing like the experience of Sandinista! . It's a great way to spend two and a half hours.
http://www.theclash.com/
Sandinista!
full album:
All tracks written by the Clash, except where noted. Lead vocalist listed.
Side one
1. "The Magnificent Seven" Joe Strummer 5:28
2. "Hitsville UK" Mick Jones, Ellen Foley 4:20
3. "Junco Partner" ("writer, at present, unknown" on liner notes) Joe Strummer 4:53
4. "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" Topper Headon 3:05
5. "The Leader" Joe Strummer 1:41
6. "Something About England" Mick Jones, Joe Strummer 3:42
Side two
1. "Rebel Waltz" Joe Strummer 3:25
2. "Look Here" (written by Mose Allison) Joe Strummer 2:44
3. "The Crooked Beat" Paul Simonon 5:29
4. "Somebody Got Murdered" Mick Jones 3:34
5. "One More Time" (written by the Clash and Mikey Dread) Joe Strummer 3:32
6. "One More Dub" (dub version of "One More Time"; written by the Clash and Dread) Instrumental 3:34
Side three
1. "Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)" Joe Strummer 4:51
2. "Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)" Mick Jones 4:31
3. "Corner Soul" Joe Strummer 2:43
4. "Let's Go Crazy" Joe Strummer 4:25
5. "If Music Could Talk" (written by the Clash and Dread) Joe Strummer 4:36
6. "The Sound of Sinners" Joe Strummer 4:00
Side four
1. "Police on My Back" (written by Eddy Grant; originally performed by the Equals) Mick Jones 3:15
2. "Midnight Log" Joe Strummer 2:11
3. "The Equaliser" Joe Strummer 5:47
4. "The Call Up" Joe Strummer 5:25
5. "Washington Bullets" Joe Strummer 3:51
6. "Broadway" (features an epilogue of "The Guns of Brixton" sung by Maria Gallagher) Joe Strummer 5:45
Side five
1. "Lose This Skin" (written by Tymon Dogg) Tymon Dogg 5:07
2. "Charlie Don't Surf" Joe Strummer, Mick Jones 4:55
3. "Mensforth Hill" ("Something About England" backwards with overdubs) Instrumental 3:42
4. "Junkie Slip" Joe Strummer 2:48
5. "Kingston Advice" Joe Strummer, Mick Jones 2:36
6. "The Street Parade" Joe Strummer 3:26
Side six
1. "Version City" Joe Strummer 4:23
2. "Living in Fame" (dub version of "If Music Could Talk"; written by the Clash and Dread) Mikey Dread 4:36
3. "Silicone on Sapphire" (dub version of "Washington Bullets") Joe Strummer 4:32
4. "Version Pardner" (dub version of "Junco Partner") Joe Strummer 5:22
6. "Shepherds Delight" (dub version of "Police & Thieves") Instrumental 3:25
Total length: (144:09)
sandinista! was my first exposure to the clash. as a teenager, i was blown away by the variety of music on this triple (!!!) album: punk, pop, jazz, rockabilly, reggae, gospel, psychedelia, calypso, new wave, blues, rap, military marches, show tunes, cutsie kiddie choruses, and some things that defy description. it's truly an amazing album; a tour de force, full of contradictions and challenges; at once a thought-provoking piece of political commentary and a musical schmorgasboard of styles and textures.
ReplyDelete'the magnificent seven' opens this magnum opus with an unforgetable bassline that carries you through a hip-hop inspired verbal assault about the trials of the working man. you can't help but move: "you lot! what? don't stop! give it all you got!" 'hitsville u.k.' sounds even less like the punk rock of the clash with its chorus and organ. it's pure pop about a music industry shaken to its core by raw do-it-yourself talent: "no slimy deal with smarmy eels." the happy reggae of 'junco partner' meanders "all over the street" like a drunken soldier. 'ivan meets g.i. joe' is a dance hall rave up that turns the mutually assured destruction of the cold war into a boogie contest complete with laser sound effects. 'the leader' is a short skiffle stomp with scandelous images of the distracted decadence of the aristocracy: "the feeling of power, and the thought of sex." 'something about england' is an awkward tale connecting the wartime remembrances of an old man with the drunken immigrant gang violence: "they say that it would be wine and roses if england were for englishmen again."
'rebel waltz' takes a dreamy guitar riff to start off side two, adds synthesizers and horns and turns it into a wacky march, "danc[ing] with a rifle to the rhythm of the gun." the cover of mose allison's 'look here' is a toe-tapping (and convincing) excursion into swing and jazz. the bubbling bass of 'the crooked beat' is "seeking out a rhythm that can take the pressure off." it catapults into 'somebody got murdered' with its punk power chord spine, adding layers of new wave synthesizer sound effects that will leave you with a touch. the dub excursions of 'one more time' are the best reggae rhythms yet. "you don't need no silicone to calculate poverty."
the vocal stylings of 'the magnificent seven' are rehashed with less funky results to start off side three with the old new york tales of 'lightning strikes (not once but twice)': "it takes a special hustle to make a roll." it segues into 'up in heaven (not only here)', another new waved punker describing the crumbling towers of london: "fear is just another commodity here." the sensuous chorus of 'corner soul' asks the troubling question "is the music calling for a river of blood?" and decides "that total war must burn on the grove." the steel drum rhythms of 'let's go crazy' turn this mother out with riots in the streets "drum[ming] away 400 years of dread." the slow-dance reggae pulses of 'if music could talk' features separate left and right channel spoken word: "take cover in the bunker tonight." the "judgement day" gospel chorus stylings of 'sound of the sinners' sound pious enough; but it is more of a hangover without redemption. it ends the side with a call for donations to the offering plate.
side four kicks off with the only straightforward punk rocker on the album, a cover of eddie grant's 'police on my back'. 'midnight log' is a rollicking rockabilly groove about "cooking up the books, a respected occupation, the anchor and foundation of multi-corporations." the tripped out reggae of 'the equalizer' calls for solidarity against the imperialist "gangboss". 'the call up' is a stirring anti-war anthem speaking to the youth that would be doing the fighting and dying: "who knows the plans or why they were drawn up?" 'washington bullets' attempts to answer that question, describing over latin rhythms the struggle of latin revolutionaries against the influence of american interests, and giving the album its title. the show sounds of 'broadway' depict the despair of the street, ending the side with little maria gallaher singing a bar of 'guns of brixton'.
ReplyDeleteside five begins with the squaredancey fiddle and bagpipe extemporations of 'lose this skin', featuring the vocals of street musician timon dogg. with a wink to apocalypse now, 'charlie don't surf' evokes the despair of the southeast asian quagmire with cascading waves of synthesizer: "these one way people gonna mow us down." 'junkie slip' is a skat shuffle that describes the perils of addiction: "you're pawning everything in your mother's home." what follows is the wacked out punk of 'kingston advice': "don't beg for your life." the side ends with the passing carnival of 'the street parade', giving hope to the broken hearted in the throng of the people.
side six begins with the blues harmonica rhythm train of 'version city'. 'living in fame' takes the identical musical track from 'if music could talk' and replaces joe's vocals with a rasta dub from mickey dread: "it's a game of life, we don't wan't no strife." both versions are well worth inclusion.
due to the instrumental reprises that comprise much of side six; the entire album often gets dismissed. it's unfair to say that it could've made an amazing single album when the first five sides all have vibrant and exciting music. the children (luke 'n' ben gallagher) singing 'career opportunities' is a lot of fun. it points to the obvious joy that went into the making of sandinista!. despite the serious, politically-charged lyrical content, (they named the album after the nicaraguan rebels at a time when iran-contra was still a big secret) the music throughout is exuberant.
there are only five tracks (out of thirty six!) that could be construed as filler:
ReplyDelete1) 'one more dub' extends 'one more time' to double its length, and you might not even notice as you get your groove on.
2)'mensforth hill' reprises 'something about england' overlayed with swirling synthisized backward tracks in a 'revolution 9' styled mishmash.
3)'silicone on sapphire' reworks 'washington bullets' with background vocals echoing like a barely audible radio transmission.
4)likewise, 'version pardner' regurgitates 'junco partner' with mumbles and whistles over what sounds like a demo track.
5)'shepherds delight' gives us yet another interpretation of 'if music could talk'. this is the most questionable addition to the album with its strange bleeting sounds. it certainly ends this sprawling album in a sleepy fashion, lulling you into a false sense of security before one last bomb blast sneaks up on you.
of course, some of the songs are more fulfilling than others; but there is something for everyone here in the vast musical palate. who would have thought that your mom could enjoy the clash? the lyrics throughout are food for thought: tales of corrupt secret police, inner city blues, third world violence, wartorn desolation and poverty, and everywhere the dirty hand of politics. it's a bit of a mindfuck. they hook you with the joyous worldbeat groove and the dark lyrical visions sneak up on you. there is nothing like the experience of sandanista!. it's a great way to spend two and a half hours.