If Music Could Talk

It doesn't matter- the point of art is to capture magic, which is by definition ephemeral. And Keith Levene's baffling sonic wizardry will linger on, drifting the electronic highways and by-ways like a phantasm . I think you really nailed it right there. In some ways, I don't think he fulfilled his...

I actually first heard that song on a bootleg tape that a friend of mine brought back from a UK trip -- so hearing that insane middle part was definitely a mindblowing experience! But it clicked with me right away. It's catchy and direct, one of Mick's best post-Clash moments, for sure. That one was...

I definitely agree that Top 10-20 would help fill a lot of those gaps. The band played upward of 300 to 400 concerts, so condensing them into a top 5 is very tricky. My top 5 would consist of: 1) Mont de Marsan, 1977-08-05. I think their longest '77 concert, with some fantastic performances, includ...

I think Cleveland 79 has my favorite Joe rants even if they are generally nonsensical as opposed to belligerent. Not to be too obnoxious, but I think we've concluded that the bass smash occurred the night before. Still, the greater point stands that the 9/21 show is tremendous. Hey, I'll take eithe...

Yeah I always loved Joe's rants. They were present through all the years thankfully, one of my favorite boots is the 1977 St. Albans recording. Right after Pressure Drop, Mick's guitar was having some problems so Joe was having some very enlightening conversation with the audience, consisting of "i...

Thank you mate, but i would Like to Know if Joe or Nick Sheppard left one or more interviews about the recording of Cut The Crap...no one of them have talked about it? Nick, Vince and Pete have all addressed the topic, at various intervals -- starting with my efforts, back in '93-'94, long before t...

They seem to be having fun. Though Joe's dancing leaves a lot to be desired. As JohnS says definitely got the Vince Taylor and the Playboys feel. Yeah, Joe would never leave James Brown worrying about his day job, in that department -- but it's wonderful to see him, so unselfconscious, just feeding...

Yeah, I think it is a great track, I always liked it. It would have a made a great 12", with a couple of different versions. Some of the live version are really good as already pointed out. I think my personal favorite is from Shibuya Kokaido, Tokyo, Japan – 24th January 1982 I always liked the ver...

Definitely a tongue in cheek comment. ABC are a favourite of mine (and I like Pleasuredome era FGTH too) but I wouldn't want the Clash to have sounded like them. I only saw that Bands Reunited ABC show for the first time last week. A shame they didn't all join in but it was good fun. No worries the...

Ha! that's the old English tongue in cheek humour. Both Laxman and I are fans of ABC but obviously when it comes to The Clash then their sound is and should be miles apart. But with "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" you are pretty spot on. I can imagine Bernie thinking they were creating edgy pop music a...

You say that like it is a bad thing! Not at all! I meant it rhetorically. I'd hardly have spent five years working on a book about that whole era if I didn't like it. Especially when you consider how time goes into a project like that. The MSU gig will always stand in my Top 10, 20 or 30, regardles...

Agree on everything there, though perhaps we should regard it as a blessing those songs didn't actually get the full Bernie studio treatment for whatever reason! I see I've given Pouring Rain some heady praise in this thread and I stand by it still. I just love the mood of the track. In the context...

Yeah I'm not declaring it to be a masterpiece but there was promise enough (with work) for it to become a fine track. Depends how you define the term, doesn't it? Or how Bernie defined it -- after all, he was the mastermind who held back Pouring Rain in favor of such "masterpieces" as Play To Win, ...

I'm not big on the outtakes but the LP tracks are solid. Baby the Trans is a flat-out classic. I can imagine both The 101ers and The Clash playing it. I couldn't find Dum Dum Club on Spotify for some reason. I've always liked the two car-themed ones, Louisiana Turnpike, and Plymouth Roadrunner -- J...

They also played Fingernails, in San Antonio (5/22/83), during that run of pre-US Fest warmup shows, as our friends at Black Market Clash have documented:

http://www.blackmarketclash.co.uk/