My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Clash clash clash. ¡VIVAN LOS NORTEAMERICANOS DEL IMCT Y LAS BRIGADAS DEL CADILLAC NUEVO!
KCportland
User avatar
Bang Ice Geezer
Posts: 169
Joined: 23 May 2015, 12:49am
Location: Seattle

My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by KCportland »

I do this every few years on this board hoping the powers that be will hear this, so here comes another edition of me begging for Mick and co to release the Rat Patrol mix! (with some, mostly, new observations)

I've been hoping for that ever-elusive Mick mix of Rat Patrol to surface one of these days. It may be a long shot, but I really think he needs to release it as a standalone set, filed as a compilation (ala the Beach Boy's 2011 Smile release).

Here's why I believe this is so important (I'm about to get long winded here but bear with me, I swear I'm getting around to a point!):

I am 30 years old, I discovered the Clash when I was 13 and soon discovered this here message board in 2003, where my interest in the band became a full blown obsession. As I got older, the "rock"-era Clash became less and less interesting to me, as I developed a liking for other genres (electronic/IDM, 60s/70s obscure psych, canterbury scene, afro-beat, kraut rock, shoegaze). However, I found that my interest in '81/'82 era studio Clash greatly accelerated, largely because after years of not listening to the Clash I happened to hear a clerk playing the Rat Patrol boot in a record store I was in, and it suddenly hit me like a freight train what a marvel that recording is. Hearing it out of context like that really was a revelation. Mick and Topper were exploring territory no band at that point had trod. As I've said before, it was not a pastiche of genres like London Calling or Sandinsta, but Mick + Topper had managed to actually hybridize the rock/reggae/dance/electronic/soundscape tones they had been tinkering with into a singular beast. Rat Patrol has more in common with a Can record than it does with Combat Rock.

One thing that I think may be uncomfortable for those who were involved in it's recording, is that it is unmistakably a heroin record. I realize that only Topper was using, but his out-sized presence on this record rubbed off on the others. Joe's lyrics were at their bleakest and even the warble on the Roland Space Echo tape unit that Mick is running his guitar through sounds like an auditory representation of "nodding", going in and out of consciousness. I am not trying to glorify or condemn drug usage, but I have known several users in my life and know that these drugs affect not only the user, but it also affects closest to them in a very particular way that is hard to describe. A feeling of doom, would maybe be the closest I can get.

But back to my point, I think Mick needs to release this and do a good sized PR run on it too, because I think the Clash are increasingly being looked at as an irrelevant band by the "new guard" of music media. Does this matter to us Clash fans? Of course not, we all know perfectly well how important this music is. But I think Rat Patrol's otherworldly-ness and sonic adventurism would revive interest in the group and help younger audiences understand that this band really was on the bleeding edge. I mentioned the 2011 Smile release the Beach Boys did at the beginning for this reason, of course most die hards already had a version of it, but it helped introduced a completely new audience to an avant-garde side to a band so many had written off as "oldies".

I'm still hopeful we'll someday be able to hear Rat Patrol in all it's glory.

matedog
User avatar
Purveyor of Hoyistic Thought
Posts: 25797
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: 1995

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by matedog »

Does anyone have a summary of what we have and what we need? I know we have some stuff in great quality, bad quality, and some stuff with private collectors that is not in general circulation, but I can't remember for the life of me what's what.

For example:
Great quality - Straight to Hell (extended), Sean Flynn (extended), Kill Time, Beautiful People (whatever the real names are)
Bad quality - Should I Stay (can't remember if this was in good condition)
Not in circulation - Long Time Jerk? One of the b-sides had an extended mix that I know is floating around among a few people but not open for general sharing.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

KCportland
User avatar
Bang Ice Geezer
Posts: 169
Joined: 23 May 2015, 12:49am
Location: Seattle

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by KCportland »

matedog wrote:
24 Jun 2020, 6:50pm
Does anyone have a summary of what we have and what we need? I know we have some stuff in great quality, bad quality, and some stuff with private collectors that is not in general circulation, but I can't remember for the life of me what's what.

For example:
Great quality - Straight to Hell (extended), Sean Flynn (extended), Kill Time, Beautiful People (whatever the real names are)
Bad quality - Should I Stay (can't remember if this was in good condition)
Not in circulation - Long Time Jerk? One of the b-sides had an extended mix that I know is floating around among a few people but not open for general sharing.
My white whale is a high fidelity issue of the extended version of Inoculated City. Might be my favorite RP track, even in the degraded version that is circulating. Also, a more complete/hifi version of the extended mix of OPBF that is found on the Rat Patrol from Hell W10 boot, if such a thing exists. (I know OPBF was not intended to be on Rat Patrol, but it would be cool to have)

Heston
User avatar
God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
Posts: 38356
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: North of Watford Junction

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Heston »

KCportland wrote:
24 Jun 2020, 7:36pm
matedog wrote:
24 Jun 2020, 6:50pm
Does anyone have a summary of what we have and what we need? I know we have some stuff in great quality, bad quality, and some stuff with private collectors that is not in general circulation, but I can't remember for the life of me what's what.

For example:
Great quality - Straight to Hell (extended), Sean Flynn (extended), Kill Time, Beautiful People (whatever the real names are)
Bad quality - Should I Stay (can't remember if this was in good condition)
Not in circulation - Long Time Jerk? One of the b-sides had an extended mix that I know is floating around among a few people but not open for general sharing.
My white whale is a high fidelity issue of the extended version of Inoculated City. Might be my favorite RP track, even in the degraded version that is circulating. Also, a more complete/hifi version of the extended mix of OPBF that is found on the Rat Patrol from Hell W10 boot, if such a thing exists. (I know OPBF was not intended to be on Rat Patrol, but it would be cool to have)
A pristine sounding Inoculated City would be the main draw for me. Love that coda.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

chocolatejesus
Dirty Punk
Posts: 101
Joined: 23 Sep 2017, 1:50am

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by chocolatejesus »

Did Joe reject the Mix because he didnt like it or was it bernies Input?

Kory
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 17319
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 1:42pm
Location: In the Discosphere

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Kory »

chocolatejesus wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 12:24pm
Did Joe reject the Mix because he didnt like it or was it bernies Input?
LIkely both.

In any case, the OP could have been written by me. I'm all for this, but I know Mick feels icky about releasing it without Joe's approval.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

topperville
Dirty Punk
Posts: 123
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 12:01pm

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by topperville »

KCportland wrote:
24 Jun 2020, 5:35pm
I do this every few years on this board hoping the powers that be will hear this, so here comes another edition of me begging for Mick and co to release the Rat Patrol mix! (with some, mostly, new observations)

I've been hoping for that ever-elusive Mick mix of Rat Patrol to surface one of these days. It may be a long shot, but I really think he needs to release it as a standalone set, filed as a compilation (ala the Beach Boy's 2011 Smile release).

Here's why I believe this is so important (I'm about to get long winded here but bear with me, I swear I'm getting around to a point!):

I am 30 years old, I discovered the Clash when I was 13 and soon discovered this here message board in 2003, where my interest in the band became a full blown obsession. As I got older, the "rock"-era Clash became less and less interesting to me, as I developed a liking for other genres (electronic/IDM, 60s/70s obscure psych, canterbury scene, afro-beat, kraut rock, shoegaze). However, I found that my interest in '81/'82 era studio Clash greatly accelerated, largely because after years of not listening to the Clash I happened to hear a clerk playing the Rat Patrol boot in a record store I was in, and it suddenly hit me like a freight train what a marvel that recording is. Hearing it out of context like that really was a revelation. Mick and Topper were exploring territory no band at that point had trod. As I've said before, it was not a pastiche of genres like London Calling or Sandinsta, but Mick + Topper had managed to actually hybridize the rock/reggae/dance/electronic/soundscape tones they had been tinkering with into a singular beast. Rat Patrol has more in common with a Can record than it does with Combat Rock.

One thing that I think may be uncomfortable for those who were involved in it's recording, is that it is unmistakably a heroin record. I realize that only Topper was using, but his out-sized presence on this record rubbed off on the others. Joe's lyrics were at their bleakest and even the warble on the Roland Space Echo tape unit that Mick is running his guitar through sounds like an auditory representation of "nodding", going in and out of consciousness. I am not trying to glorify or condemn drug usage, but I have known several users in my life and know that these drugs affect not only the user, but it also affects closest to them in a very particular way that is hard to describe. A feeling of doom, would maybe be the closest I can get.

But back to my point, I think Mick needs to release this and do a good sized PR run on it too, because I think the Clash are increasingly being looked at as an irrelevant band by the "new guard" of music media. Does this matter to us Clash fans? Of course not, we all know perfectly well how important this music is. But I think Rat Patrol's otherworldly-ness and sonic adventurism would revive interest in the group and help younger audiences understand that this band really was on the bleeding edge. I mentioned the 2011 Smile release the Beach Boys did at the beginning for this reason, of course most die hards already had a version of it, but it helped introduced a completely new audience to an avant-garde side to a band so many had written off as "oldies".

I'm still hopeful we'll someday be able to hear Rat Patrol in all it's glory.
You’re 30 years old! You’ve got to wait a couple of more decades then - like I have. And I’m still waiting... I’ll be dead before I get to hear it... It’s like my holy grail!

Heston
User avatar
God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
Posts: 38356
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: North of Watford Junction

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Heston »

Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 4:04pm
chocolatejesus wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 12:24pm
Did Joe reject the Mix because he didnt like it or was it bernies Input?
LIkely both.

In any case, the OP could have been written by me. I'm all for this, but I know Mick feels icky about releasing it without Joe's approval.
The thing is, it's out there anyway, just in varying quality. A few tracks have even seen an official release on Sound System. I just can't see what harm there would be in doing a deluxe version of CR with those mixes as a bonus disc.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

Kory
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 17319
Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 1:42pm
Location: In the Discosphere

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Kory »

Heston wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 4:50pm
Kory wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 4:04pm
chocolatejesus wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 12:24pm
Did Joe reject the Mix because he didnt like it or was it bernies Input?
LIkely both.

In any case, the OP could have been written by me. I'm all for this, but I know Mick feels icky about releasing it without Joe's approval.
The thing is, it's out there anyway, just in varying quality. A few tracks have even seen an official release on Sound System. I just can't see what harm there would be in doing a deluxe version of CR with those mixes as a bonus disc.
Super-agree. They wouldn't even have to call the second disc "Rat Patrol Mixes" or whatever, if Mick is reluctant. They'll just be alternate mixes, but WE'LL know, oh yes...
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Low Down Low
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 4921
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 9:08am

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Low Down Low »

Maybe mick thinks if there was an official release it would dredge up a lot of interest in a particularly fractious period of the bands history and questions he'd probably rather not have to address. Pure speculation mind, but i could certainly understand such a perspective. I respect his reasons regardless and echo the posts about inoculated city. Would be near top of my list for any new clash related release, it is really damn good.

101Walterton
User avatar
The Best
Posts: 21973
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by 101Walterton »

I think the last time this discussion came up TeddyB put it to bed. Mick won’t release it without Joe’s permission so end of story. That was my understanding anyway.

matedog
User avatar
Purveyor of Hoyistic Thought
Posts: 25797
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: 1995

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by matedog »

To repeat my earlier question, what is not available (in regular trading circles) in great quality? Other than Inoculated City.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Heston
User avatar
God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
Posts: 38356
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: North of Watford Junction

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Heston »

matedog wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 6:35pm
To repeat my earlier question, what is not available (in regular trading circles) in great quality? Other than Inoculated City.
As far as I can tell, the only tracks in near to full fidelity are these...

SISOSIG
Straight To Hell
Kill Time
The Beautiful People
Ghetto Defendant
Sean Flynn
Walk Evil Talk
First Night Back In London
Cool Confusion
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

101Walterton
User avatar
The Best
Posts: 21973
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by 101Walterton »

Heston wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 6:42pm
matedog wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 6:35pm
To repeat my earlier question, what is not available (in regular trading circles) in great quality? Other than Inoculated City.
As far as I can tell, the only tracks in near to full fidelity are these...

SISOSIG
Straight To Hell
Kill Time
The Beautiful People
Ghetto Defendant
Sean Flynn
Walk Evil Talk
First Night Back In London
Cool Confusion
Does Walk Evil Talk count?

Heston
User avatar
God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
Posts: 38356
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: North of Watford Junction

Re: My semi-annual plea for Rat Patrol, part 27

Post by Heston »

101Walterton wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 7:55pm
Heston wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 6:42pm
matedog wrote:
25 Jun 2020, 6:35pm
To repeat my earlier question, what is not available (in regular trading circles) in great quality? Other than Inoculated City.
As far as I can tell, the only tracks in near to full fidelity are these...

SISOSIG
Straight To Hell
Kill Time
The Beautiful People
Ghetto Defendant
Sean Flynn
Walk Evil Talk
First Night Back In London
Cool Confusion
Does Walk Evil Talk count?
Not sure. Was the tracklisting ever set in stone?
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

Post Reply