Clash69
endsng | sunny south florida | 04/20/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a decent album. It's a chaotic mix, Simonon doesn't actually play on the album, it's an attempt to revive something primordial;to recapture the spirit of 1976- but it still has about 7 really good songs. The repeated use of terrace chants throughout gives it a Sham69 kind of feel. It's kind of a sad footnote to an otherwise brilliant career. Punk hadn't actually died at that point- There was some great stuff coming out from Husker Du in particular, but this feels like a death call for the original punk movement."
Cut the crap--it's worth it
Tom Benton | North Springfield, VT USA | 09/20/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Is "Cut the Crap" a Clash album? Is "Cut the Crap" a good album? For that matter, does it even matter if it is a good album, since everyone hates it and the band's disowned it? I say "Not really" to the first, "Yes" to the second, and "Oh yes" to the third. At first listen, it sounds overproduced and untimely. By the second listen, I was over the overproduction (in fact, I like it), and the sense of time had dissipated. "We Are the Clash" works better as a socialist piece than a decrepit band's reaffirmation, but check out "This is England"--that's potent--and "North and South"--there's some atmosphere. Some days, I might even venture that it's better than "Combat Rock." Any day I'd venture that it's better than anyone thinks it is."