I can still remember the expectation and noise when The Clash released a single, and I vividly remember the excitement about this particular purchase. These were the days when bands released singles that were not on ANY album - The Buzzcocks, The Jam et al all did it, and The Clash were no exception, this single fitting that generous strategy.
To hear The Clash in all their raw, powerful glory - before the edges were rounded off for commercial singalong succcess ('Should I Stay' 'Rock The Casbah') - this is essential listening. A powerful mix of punk and reggae, elevated to the next level by the venom of Strummer's vocal delivery of his own lyrical commentary on the factionalised and racist state of the UK in 1978. It contains the memorable line:
"If Adolf Hitler flew in today, they'd send a limousine anyway"
The production - unusually by The Clash themselves - is muddy and indistinct - and the record is all the better for it. As a stand alone piece of social commentary it is up there with the best. No fuss, no picture cover (unusual at the time), Strummer wanted you to listen up and listen carefully.
As a 16 year-old I remember buying it, rushing home, slapping it on the turntable in my bedroom and playing it over and over, gradually deciphering Strummer's lyrics. His delivery doesn't make it easy, but that's the point, you had to listen carefully, over and over till you got it - in every sense. In those days there was no internet to look up the words.
The B side is no slouch either; a Mick Jones rocker sung by him and just another quality Clash tune. Not on any album either.
A truly memorable record that stands the test of time, and is probably just as relevant today.
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