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The Clash - the clash (bear's box) (1977)

Track listing:
  1. White Riot - Single Version
  2. 1977 - Single 1:40
  3. Janie Jones - The Clash (uk) 2:05
  4. Remote Control - The Clash (uk)
  5. I'm So Bored With The USA
  6. Hate & War - The Clash (uk)
  7. White Riot 1:56
  8. What's My Name - The Clash (uk) 1:41
  9. Deny - Ripped By Electrelite 3:02
  10. London's Burning - The Clash (uk)
  11. Career Opportunities - The Clash (uk)
  12. Cheat - Tagged By K-mp3
  13. Protex Blue - The Clash (uk) 1:45
  14. Police & Thieves - The Clash (uk) 5:59
  15. 48 Hours - The Clash (uk) 1:37
  16. Garageland - The Clash (uk)
  17. Capital Radio One - Single
  18. Listen - Single 2:44
  19. Complete Control - Single
  20. City Of The Dead - Single 2:25
  21. Clash City Rocker (Original Ve
  22. Clash City Rockers - Speeded Up Single Version 3:48
  23. Jail Guitar Doors - Single the clash 3:05
  24. White Man In Hammersmith Palais - Single
  25. The Prisoner - Single 3:01
  26. heartbreak hotel 2:09

Notes

The Clash's self-titled U.K. debut sees the band in their most primal, punk form. Despite Mickey Foote's low-key, lo-fi production, Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Chimes mesh and unite with a snarling ferocity and energy. Raw, bouncy edginess pours out of each song, with new hooks popping out at odd angles by the second. The band isn't satisfied lingering in any one genre. "Remote Control" mixes Kinks-style fractured pop with pace changes lifted straight from Chuck Berry. "Cheat" sounds like the Ramones' "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" given a rockabilly makeover. "Police & Thieves" is a massively catchy take on the Junior Murvin/Lee "Scratch" Perry song and an early signpost for the future dub/rock fusions to come on Sandinista!. "White Riot" and "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A." reflect the somewhat youthful, early quasi-political leanings of the band. Though they would come across as slightly amateurish years later, it's hard to deny their punchy charm. The U.S. edition of The Clash, released in 1979, removed "Cheat," the funky singalong "Protex Blue," the dark and revealing paranoia of "Deny," and the short but utterly delightful "48 Hours." In their place were the more polished and thus somewhat jarring U.K. singles/B-sides "Complete Control," "White Man in Hammersmith Palais," "Clash City Rockers," "I Fought the Law," and "Jail-Guitar Doors." The U.S. edition might have the original beat in shine and catchiness, but it's a distillation of the band's original ferocity, and some might say an unwelcome tinkering with history. In a way, the U.S. edition served as an extremely early best-of. Purists will most likely swear on the sonic cohesion of this U.K. edition. Columbia remastered the album and restored its original artwork in 1999, making it a barebones but perfect throwback and the easiest way to turn back the clock and discover the Clash at their origins.