The Clash

The Clash - Live At Shea Stadium (1982) {Sony BMG Limited Deluxe Edition 88697353662 rel 2008}
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© 1982, 2008 Epic / Sony BMG | 8869735366
Rock / Punk Rock / British Punk

In Clash lore, the band's stint as the opening act for the Who's farewell tour in 1982 is where the band had stardom in its hand and dropped it on the floor. That's how Joe Strummer phrased it in retrospect, but in 1982 the pairing was seen as a rock cultural clash, with the Who's audience bristling at the punks, and the punks not quite being comfortable operating on a larger scale – a suspicion somewhat proven by the band's implosion within months of the Shea Stadium gig.

Sandinista! is a stylistic and topical potpourri that anticipates the "world music" trend of the late '80s and early '90s. The rock music world hailed Sandinista! as a masterpiece. John Piccarella, in a review headlined "The Clash Drop The Big One" and giving the album the highest possible rating of five stars, argues that in effect, the band said "to hell with Clash style, there's a world out there."

The Clash were the only first-generation punk band capable of (or perhaps interested in) tailoring their up-from-the-gutter firepower to suit arena-size audiences. Here, at last–a decade and a half after their demise–is proof of their substantial stage skills. –by Steven Stolder, amazon.com.

The Clash - Hits Back [2CD] (2013) {Columbia}
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© 2013 Columbia / Sony Music | 88725442362
Rock / Punk Rock

A tie-in to the exhaustive 2013 box set Sound System, the 2013 compilation The Clash Hits Back is a novel approach to a career retrospective: it mirrors the 24-song set list for the band's July 19, 1982 concert at Brixton Fairdeal, then adds eight bonus hits at the end. The Clash Hits Back slightly tweaks the running order of the original set – "Bankrobber" arrived five songs into the concert but appears eighth here – but that doesn't matter much, as this swap doesn't alter the impact of the original set.