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Clash Calling

All tracks recorded live at the US Festival, San Bernadino, California, 28th May, 1983.

Track listing

  1. London Calling [Edited]
  2. This Is Radio Clash [Edited]
  3. Somebody Got Murdered
  4. Rock The Casbah
  5. The Guns Of Brixton
  6. Know Your Rights
  7. Koka Kola
  8. Hate & War
  9. Armagideon Time
  10. The Sound Of The Sinners
  11. Safe European Home
  12. Police On My Back
  13. Brand New Cadillac
  14. I Fought The Law
  15. I'm So Bored With The U.S.A.
  16. Train In Vain
  17. The Magnificent Seven
  18. Straight To Hell
  19. Should I Stay Or Should I Go
  20. Clampdown

Review

This is a great one to have. It never fails to amuse me the sheer contempt Joe has for American capitalism and consumerism. It's good just to put this CD on listen to his almost non-stop ranting and piss-taking. The band are also red hot, and it was in fact the very last gig that Mick Jones did with the Clash. London Calling is performed well, and you're just starting to get into it when it cuts off and track 2 kicks in halfway through. Not even a fadeout - not very professional is it? Luckily the rest of the set is complete, and it's just as well because this is a great show. Very enjoyable.

As the band were going along, they kept altering the setlist. You can even hear them muttering in the background before one song. The Sound Of The Sinners is probably the clearest and best live version available, and I particularly like Koka Kola (hmm, wonder why they picked that one). At the end of Somebody Got Murdered Joe makes a bit of a fool of himself I think. He starts going on about kissing the microchip circuit and suchlike. It's an honourable stance he has, but the people just paid to see the band perform, not get slagged off for something that really has nothing to do with them. He also causes a bit of a stir when he casually says "Still there huh?" to a sombre crowd. That's actually a good one :-)

Amid the tensions this is a great gig. Armagideon Time has some very interesting lyrical alterations, and all songs are performed with lots of energy. A very enjoyable CD that's well recommended.

Rated: 9 / 10

Extra

This also exists as a bootleg called 'Mick's Last Gig'. I've seen it for sale in Manchester with artwork and that name. Also, I just want to know why the first two tracks on this CD are cut short. Why? Anyone?

My query above was very kindly answered in an e-mail I received from Tim Walker. For the benefit of anyone else who doesn't know here it is:

I know the answer to your question about why the first two tracks of the "Clash Calling" boot are cut (London Calling cuts halfway into the last half of Radio Clash).
The source for the audio boot is the video of the show. This video also has the cut. So whoever dubbed the first video off of the master videotape somehow screwed up and put that glitch in the first two songs. Every circulating bootleg video of the show has the glitch, although someone, somewhere, must have a complete version. Perhaps a complete version sits on a shelf in Steve Wozniak's library. After all, he paid out mega bucks to put on the show, so maybe he has a copy.
Anyway, as Graham Jones points out, there is another boot of this show that exists. This one is an audience recording that is of lesser quality, but the first two songs are complete.