The Clash might be the purest punk band there ever was, just because they did whatever they wanted to musically and didn’t really care about sticking to a certain template. So if you subscribe to the idea that punk means absolute freedom, then The Clash might be the ultimate punk band. If you associate a certain sound with punk, then The Clash might not be for you. In my book London Calling is easily one of the greatest punk records of all time.
The follow up LP, Sandinista, released in 1980, is a really hard listen though. Not that the songs aren’t good (ok, some of them really aren’t), there’s just too much music here. Dear bands, if you think about releasing a double LP, you might want to keep thinking. If you consider releasing a triple LP, please don’t. Just don’t. I’m sure there are people who appreciate so much material for one release, but others, like myself, are just overwhelmed. It doesn’t really flow as a release and at one point sooner than later, I just lose interest. The Armagideon Times No. 3 is not an actual zine, the first two ‘issues’ of which were published by a friend of the band and features contributions by band members, but it’s a pretty cool lyric sheet.
