Clash Comp. Critique

I picked up a used copy of the Clash tribute album London Burning, and although it is certainly not as good as the Black Flag Tribute Rise Above, but what is really? Oh yeah, that great Sublime Tribute Forever Free. But I'll get into that next blog.

There are a few hidden gems on this album, a few great choices for songs, and a few songs that would count as disappointments if I wasn't sure the track was going to suck when I saw the artist playing the music. Moby.

I shouldn't rag on Moby too much, but I will for a bit. First of all I don't know how much it ads to the tune to just get someone with an Irish accent. Why slow the song down that much, it totally loses the reggae bop that makes this song one of the better of an Clash era that I'm not much a fan of.



I do have to thank Moby because this is one of the songs that I thought even though it is of Combat Rock, it is a pretty great choice for a song.

The song that pisses me off, and I think sucks the most is the Ice Cube and Mack 10 song they rip off and wrote. Who the love goes on a tribute album, rips the beat and raps over it with some of the stupidest, least relevant to the song lyrics possibly ever? Ice Cube, but from the way he used to rap, and talk, and the way he acts now I don' think he ever got. oh yeah it's Should I Stay or Should I Go. I bet Ice Cob had no idea what the original is even about - whatta gup.

Enough of the negativity here are the great tunes. The first of which is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones cover of Rudy Can't fail. Great choice, and great version. True to the original with a Bosstones style skank added.

No Doubt who I think were pretty cool until they went insane do a great cover of Hateful, and the Urge come in with a wicked Radio Clash rendition.

Cracker's White Riot is kind of the way I have always heard that tune. They do such a great job of covering this tune. I gotta figure out what Cracker is all about. Is that Uncle Cracker? I hope not, but I'll deal with it if it is.

A lot of the other tunes are great, but some of the bands I'm not sure translate the feel of the Clash to the album. Silver Chair however does one heck of a job on London's Burning. I can't help but think if they had a couple more years to mature as artists they would have done something great.

I feel the same way about this album.