Yeah, Joe's rants always struck me as an essential ingredient of any great show -- whenever I got a new tape, I'd mark those, actually, on the J-card ("Campaign Speech," "Joe Rants," etc.), so I could go right to them, or play them for the uninitiated. That alone guaranteed no shortage of amusement.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 "if you want a riot, go outside and bash the fuzz at the entrance. Suppose you think we'll do it for you, so you can go home to bed."
And now, here's my list, though -- given the tightness of the proposition -- I'll stick with boots that I played a lot, or made me feel, "Wow, sure would have been great to be there":
1) The Palladium (9-21-79): The infamous bass smashing show, and the one that broke them in this country, IMHO, and it sounds great, too. Why isn't this out in some form, already? Beats me.
2) Hammersmith Palais (6-17-80): Epic, 31-song set that surges from one energy level to the next. Great sound, vibe, and performance. The peak of the 16 Tons experience, in my book.
3) Hong Kong University (2-5-82): Hate to edge out Shibuya Kokhaido, which definitely belongs on any all-time list, but I've always liked this one, too -- you can feel the energy building, from the crowd's noisy anticipation, to the boys hitting the stage, and cutting loose, of which Washington Bullets is just one great example!
4) Brixton Fair Deal (7-11-82): Terry Tour it may be, but it yielded Down At The Casbah Club, which was the first boot (Clash, or otherwise) that I ever bought, so I've always had a soft spot for it. Raw and urgent, not high on finesse, but the crowd seems well up for it, all so there you go, then.
5) The Isstadion, Stockholm (2-17-84): As co-author of We Are The Clash, I have to pick one from this era, and this is another tape that got a lot of airtime/drivetime. For those who wondered what the post-Mick era might bring, this night makes a great case for the defense.
I see some interesting omissions here, too -- no '76 stuff? No White Riot shows? No '77 Out Of Control shows, where they really start to coalesce as a unit? No summer/fall '82 shows, like Kent State and Akron, which also rank among my faves? No busking shows? But I'm guessing that another go-round -- Top 10, 20 or 30, whatever -- might fill some of those gaps.