Demos, Outtakes, Alternates
Double disc collection of rare Clash material. 54 unreleased songs.
Track listing
Disc 1 |
Disc 2 |
|---|---|
Polydor Demos:
01 - Career Opportunities Micky Foote Demos:
06 - Preamble Film Soundtrack Demos:
14 - Heartbreak Hotel [take 1] Promo Video Shoot:
16 - 1977 Elisabethan Suite Outtake:21 - What's My Name Rude Boy Rehearsal:22 - Garageland Rock Against Racism track:23 - (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais Alternate Mixes:
24 - Clash City Rockers B-Side Outtakes:
26 - 1-2 Crush On You British TV Outtakes:
29 - Clash City Rockers |
'Rope Demos:
01 - All The Young Punks 'Rope Outtakes:
10 - All The Young Punks London Calling era soundcheck:
12 - Baby Please Don't Go London Calling rehearsal:
14 - Mona London Calling Outtake:16 - Revolution Rock [instrumental] Sandinista! Outtakes:
17 - King Of The Road Combat Rock Outtakes:
20 - Know Your Rights Combat Rock Alternate Mix:22 - Cool Confusion Janie Jones Demo:23 - House Of The Ju Ju Queen Joe Strummer Unreleased Song:24 - In The Pouring Rain |
Review
Perhaps the ultimate collection of Clash rarities. Taking you right through their career. From the first sessions for Polydor in late 1976, right up to the outtake for the Janie Jones single in 1982. Along with Clash On Broadway Outtakes and The Rat Patrol you almost have all The Clash demos, outtakes and alternates. The Polydor demos have been discussed elsewhere on the site. The versions here are the excellent quality ones, probably taken straight from the master tapes that now reside in the vaults of Polydor. The Micky Foote demos are another set of first album songs, along with the interesting Janie Jones instrumental and the studio chatter in the background. The highlights of this double disc set for me are the alternate studio mixes of White Man, Clash City Rockers (which I believe is superior to the official version), The Prisoner, 1-2 Crush On You and Pressure Drop. The promo video shoot tracks are also excellent, and are the best alternate versions of White Riot and 1977 (1977 is simply amazing.) The band are on fire for those tracks.
You'll notice this compilation serves as a very handy substitute for London's Burning and For All The Young Punks. The 'Rope demos here are of much better quality. In fact, we almost have all the album. Then of course the interesting soundcheck rarities. Muddy Water's Baby Please Don't Go is a great one, very rocking, and there are also a couple of London Calling era songs that are also on Pier Pressure. The Sandinista! outtakes are nothing new, though it is thought that it's Norman Watt-Roy on bass for King Of The Road, as he replaced Paul (who was off shooting a film in Canada) for much of the Sandinista! sessions. The Revolution Rock instrumental is a good song to have, and pretty rare also. A song I heard here first of all was the Cool Confusion alternate mix, which is actually pretty good. The addition of drums in the mix makes a big difference.
So all in all, this richly deserves a 10. I've sort of glossed over the details a lot but the songs speak for themselves really. Adam Headland has done a good job gathering together all the loose ends of Clash studio rarities. These all seem to be the best quality sources as well. I'll also mention the What's My Name live track. Not strictly a demo or anything, but just included for fun I think. It's the same song as the famous video where Joe turns to the camera: "Here we are on TV, what does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? ... Fuck Off!" A nice addition to the compilation. Highly recommended, all Clash fans must have this.
Rated: 10 / 10
Extra
Thanks to Jim Chattin for the copy of this.