Give them some more rope

[Mark^Bastard]

I started a discussion in the Acetate thread about GEER being a little compromised in my opinion, now that Combat Rock has been 'solved' by the Acetate rips to have the proper Clash album 'Rat Patrol'.

Then I noticed some tweaks to GEER were being discussed in the abservations thread, so thought I'd open the discussion to see what people think about 'What could have been' for GEER. I'll kick off by using the studio logs information to list all the songs that were recorded between the release date of the self titled album (UK version) and the release of London Calling. Because surely only tracks in that window are 'allowed' to be on GEER.

Tier 1 - Songs already on the album (zero controversy in including these)
1. "Safe European Home" 3:50
2. "English Civil War" 2:35
3. "Tommy Gun" 3:17
4. "Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad" 3:03
5. "Last Gang in Town" 5:14
1. "Guns on the Roof" 3:15
2. "Drug-Stabbing Time" 3:43
3. "Stay Free" 3:40
4. "Cheapskates" 3:25
5. "All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)" 4:55
Total length: 36:57

Tier 2 - Songs recorded at more or less the same time that didn't make the album
- Groovy Times
- Gates of the West
- One Emotion

Tier 3 - Songs recorded a few months before GEER
- White Man in Hammersmith Palais
- The Prisoner
- Pressure Drop
- 1-2 Crush on You
- Time is Tight

Tier 4 - Really stretching it, but still feasible
- Complete Control
- City of the dead
- Jail Guitar Doors
- Clash City Rockers

My first observation is that there is enough songs (quantity and quality) to make another album and it's probably stronger than GEER and also negates the need for The Clash US version.

So it could be a double album if we wanted, or pick the best songs for a single LP.

I would say that adding White man in Hammersmith Palais and Pressure Drop makes the most sense. Maybe reducing the length of the needlessly long songs on GEER (5th song of both sides) then makes sense too.

Thoughts?

[white man]

No IFTL ??

[Mark^Bastard]

No IFTL ??

Recorded January 1979, after GEER was already released. Otherwise for sure. It definitely adds to those 'in between' songs being rock solid.

[drowninghere]

Don't really see much of a stylistic fit with most of the tracks mentioned, to be honest. I like the idea of lightening it a bit (like the acoustic release at the end of Stay Free), and the idea discussed of dividing up SEH and Tommy Gun a bit more. So, something like this might work for me:

SEH
English Civil War
Stay Free
Guns on the Roof
All the Young Punks

Tommy Gun
Drug Stabbing Time
Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad
Groovy Times
Last Gang in Town

[Olaf]

Don't really see much of a stylistic fit with most of the tracks mentioned, to be honest. I like the idea of lightening it a bit (like the acoustic release at the end of Stay Free), and the idea discussed of dividing up SEH and Tommy Gun a bit more. So, something like this might work for me:

SEH
English Civil War
Stay Free
Guns on the Roof
All the Young Punks

Tommy Gun
Drug Stabbing Time
Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad
Groovy Times
Last Gang in Town

That looks... great, actually.

[Marky Dread]

Side One:
Tommy Gun
Drug Stabbing Time
Stay Free
Cheapskates
Groovy Times
All The Young Punks (New Boots & Contracts)

Side Two:
Safe European Home
English Civil War
Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad
Guns on the Roof
Pressure Drop
Last Gang in Town

[Kory]

Side One:
Tommy Gun
Drug Stabbing Time
Stay Free
Cheapskates
Groovy Times
All The Young Punks (New Boots & Contracts)

Side Two:
Safe European Home
English Civil War
Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad
Guns on the Roof
Pressure Drop
Last Gang in Town

Removing SEH as the album opener is a bold move

[Marky Dread]

Side One:
Tommy Gun
Drug Stabbing Time
Stay Free
Cheapskates
Groovy Times
All The Young Punks (New Boots & Contracts)

Side Two:
Safe European Home
English Civil War
Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad
Guns on the Roof
Pressure Drop
Last Gang in Town

Removing SEH as the album opener is a bold move

I'm a bold guy!

Still works for me.

[Mark^Bastard]

Im liking these subtle tweaks. May use Sound System as a way to create a few playlists as hopefully the songs are mastered similarly then. Still think paying for the high res FLAC of that was the best thing I ever did