The Singles

Of all the bands that helped define my youth, The Clash is the only one I can still listen to and be amazed at just how incredible they were. Try listening to the radio for a few hours and then listen to 'I Fought the Law' or '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais' and you'll see exactly what I mean - and you'll wish you'd never got rid of that 7-inch Tommy Gun, even though you could only play the B-side because a piece of Sellotape was the only thing holding it together.This box set is extremely impractical, as most of the 19 discs are only 4-5 minutes long (don't worry - a couple of them approach the 30-minute mark) but that misses the point entirely.What you get here is some of the most vital, passionate, brilliant music ever released by any band. I mean it - how can the songs sound so fresh some 30 years after they were first released?You can see the track/disc listing above, but that's not what makes this box set so special - you'll simply transfer it to your MP3 player and listen to it all in one go. No, the real joy here is that each disc has been printed (?) to look like vinyl (with track divisions and the central label), comes in its own white sleeve (with a round window in the centre) and is then inside a perfect reproduction of the original cover.For Clash fans it's essential and you'll love it. For everyone else, it's essential and you'll love it.And Amazon delivered it within 10 hours.

Emerging from the unpromising beginnings of the south West London pub rock circuit in the mid 70's the Clash went on to become the definitive punk group. If punk was a movement largely defined by the medium of the single rather than the album then no other group can claim a legacy as rich as this. From the raw explosive power of White Riot and the howling, rampant, rage of Complete Control this collection chronicles their development into musicians able to deliver their message with skill and verve whilst Joe Strummer proved himself to be a song-writer without compare.More than 35 years later the lyrics to timeless classics like White Man In Hammersmith Palais still pack a powerful punch: "If Adolf Hitler flew in today, they'd send a limousine anyway". This is a track which not only displays Strummer's prodigious lyrical talent but also highlights the fluency which they were able to fuse the energy and urgency of punk with the rhythms of reggae.On London Calling the thundering clatter of drum and guitar and haunting vocal howl of Joe Strummer perfectly capture the apocalyptic anxiety of the early eighties "the ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in", whilst the sombre march of The Call Up makes a plaintiff stand against the jingoism that prevailed around the time of the Falklands war.This is all killer, no filler. I would give 10/5 if I could.

The weren't punk, we all know that. Joe and his mates knew what they wanted and that was to be a great rock band. They started very well in the shadow of Punk Rock but they could play and Joe could sing in an Americanish accent almost as good as Jagger. Then came 'London's Calling' and for a few years The Clash ruled the planet. Next was The Clash's 'White Album', 'Sandinista', sounded F.A. like the WA but you know what I mean. It was The Clash's masterpiece IMHO. These 19 singles take you through that journey by a great band fronted by a great man. This box set is like one of those Russian eggs, lift one lid off to reveal another. The box is anything but flimsy, a beautiful thing, all the CDs in an inner-sleeve which slots in replica sleeves of the original singles. Keep a watch on the price, it drops below £30 every now and then. 5 stars? - a bloody galaxy of stars more like!

A quick warning before I begin. At the time of writing Amazon have screwed up one of their listings for this title and included a tracklist from a later "Singles" album. The correct tracklist is shown at the bottom of this review.This review is for the original 1991 CD of "The Singles", which features a front cover with Joe Strummer throwing a guitar into the air. The mastering of this disc is good with the tracks being transferred from decent tapes without additional tampering, pretty much the same fidelity as the initial run of Clash albums on CD. There was a reissue in 1999 which used remastered tracks which had undergone additonal digital compression and peak limiting. So if you're not a "loudness wars" fan, you may want to avoid the latter.What about the music? As Clash compilations go this one is almost faultless. It's a straightforward collection of the band's UK singles from 1977 to 1982, flowing in chronological order from White Riot (the version used on the original single, a completely different recording to that which appeared on the band's debut LP) and concluding with Should I Stay Or Should I Go.My sole complaint is the inclusion of Hitsville UK, a track which sounds like a 1980's Phil Collins B-side. Ccompletely out of keeping with the solidly classic nature of the surrounding material, it would have been very easy for the record company to quietly exclude this track. I doubt anyone would have noticed, certainly not casual listeners. It was such a low-key and low-charting release that I even know of Clash fans who are unaware it was a single. Certainly a more worthy alternative for inclusion would have been Capitol Radio, which being released on a free EP still manages to count as a single.That gripe aside, 'The Singles' is the only greatest hits compilation of The Clash which anyone really needs to own. If you're a Clash-beginner it has all the tracks you'll know from the radio and some adverts on TV. If you're already a fan it's nice way to get the singles in one place and in the correct order.4 stars.Tracklist; White Riot, Remote Control, Complete Control, Clash City Rockers, Whiteman In Hammersmith Palais, Tommy Gun, English Civil War, I Fought The Law, London Calling, Train In Vain, Bankrobber, The Call Up, Hitsville UK, The Magnificent Seven, This Is Radio Clash, Know Your Rights, Rock The Casbah, Should I Stay Or Should I Go.