Even the name of The Clash was aggressive. With their 1977 debut album, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Terry Chimes (soon to depart the band) made a fast and furious attack on rock complacency. Punk, after all, was the music heard ‘round the world when it re-lit a fire in the belly of rock-and-roll that had lain dormant in an era of increasingly complex, often progressive rock (sans the roll) in the 1970s. And at the vanguard of that initial wave of English punk was, inevitably, The Clash. Yet the punk band’s sound was musically diverse, incorporating reggae, ska, funk, rap and even “traditional” rock-and-roll and rockabilly into its heady stylistic brew. Though the band broke up in 1986 after suffering a series of personnel changes, the music of The Clash reverberates, and come September 10, its small catalogue and significant legacy will be celebrated by Sony with a variety of releases. The crown jewel is Sound System, a boom box-shaped box set collecting remastered editions of The Clash’s studio albums on eight CDs plus three CDs of demos, non-LP singles, B -sides and rarities and a DVD with music videos and previously unseen footage. Joining Sound System will be a new 2-CD or 3-LP compilation The Clash Hits Back, and an 8-CD or 8-LP box set with only the studio albums, simply titled The Clash 5-Studio Album Set.
Sound System contains the following studio albums, all in remastered editions overseen by The Clash with engineer Tim Young:
1.The Clash (1977)
2.Give ‘Em Enough Rope (1978)
3.London Calling (1979, 2 CDs)
4.Sandinista! (1980, 3 CDs)
5.Combat Rock (1982)
These eight discs are joined by:
•Three more CDs featuring rare tracks, demos, non-album singles, B-sides and previously unreleased music;
•DVD including unseen Julien Temple footage, early Super 8 film shot by Don Letts, all the band’s promotional videos and previously unseen live footage;
•“Owner’s Manual” booklet;
•Folder containing reprints of Armagideon Times 1 & 2 and Armagideon Times 3 (new edition of fanzine compiled and designed by Paul Simonon);
•Merchandise including dog tags, badges, stickers, a replica cigarette (!) and a Future Is Unwritten note book designed by Harland Miller; and
•An exclusive photo poster.
The bonus discs in Sound System offer 14 never-before-released tracks out of 52 total on the three CDs from Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Nicky “Topper” Headon. (Headon joined the band in time for the reshuffled U.S. release of The Clash and remained a member until just prior to the release of Combat Rock). The first bonus disc concentrates on non-LP material from various singles and EPs. The second disc includes more non-LP singles as well as unreleased material like Bob Clearmountain’s 12-inch mix of “Rock the Casbah,” extended versions of “Sean Flynn” and “Ghetto Defendant,” and outtakes “The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too” and “Idle in Kangaroo Court.” The third disc offers the largest bounty of previously unissued material, boasting never-before-released Polydor demos of “London’s Burning,” “1977” and “White Riot,” and live tracks from London’s Lyceum Theatre recorded in December 1978. The DVD showcases more rare material such as a Sussex University performance from 1977, Don Letts’ Super 8 Medley, and a number of promo videos and Clash on Broadway footage. (Unsurprisingly absent from the box set is 1985’s studio album Cut the Crap, which only featured Strummer and Simonon from the classic line-up. This LP has been excised from the official Clash story as documented via numerous compilations, books and films by request of the band.)
Joining the Sound System box is The Clash Hits Back, a new 2-CD or 3-LP anthology with a most intriguing conceit: it’s been sequenced by surviving members Simonon, Jones and Headon to reflect the band’s Brixton Fairdeal performance from July 10, 1982. The Clash writes, “Every show was different. Joe would spend a lot of time composing the running order, considering dynamics, emotional impact and the key the songs were in.” And so the first disc begins with “London Calling,” and the second disc concludes the set list with “Garageland.” Eight additional tracks selected by the band round out the package.
Lastly, Sony is releasing an optimal Clash primer. The Clash 5-Studio Album Set will be available as both 8-vinyl LP and 8-CD sets, containing just the core remastered studio albums from Sound System: The Clash, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandinista!, Combat Rock.
When Joe Strummer died on December 22, 2002, any chance for a true reunion of The Clash came to an end. In March, 2003, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and since then, further reunions between Headon, Simonon and Jones have been rare. Jones and Headon recorded together with Billy Bragg in 2009, and Simonon and Jones joined with Gorillaz in 2010 in the studio and on tour. Sound System and its accompanying releases afford another chance to celebrate Strummer’s legacy and that of The Clash.
Quelle: SecondDisc
http://www.amazon.de/Sound-System-Clash/dp/B008U3NU38/ref=wl_mb_hu_c_1_dp
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