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The Sandinista! Project - Side 1
Posted at 6:06 PM on August 30, 2007
by Mac Wilson
(4 Comments)
While the Current is broadcasting from the Minnesota State Fair, they've called me in to operate the boards back at the studio (it's nice that they were able to find something for the overnighter to do). I have about a half-hour drive to work each day, so I've decided to take on a project for the remainder of this week. In the car for each of these commutes, I'm going to listen to one "side" of the Clash's epic 1980 triple album Sandinista!. It's always been a bit too sprawling for me to enjoy in a single sitting, so why not break it up into digestive portions? Mark Wheat has also challenged me to do what pundits have been trying to do for 27 years: condense the best of the 36 tracks into a single (not double, not triple) album. So let's get crackin'!
"The Magnificent Seven" -- What a way to kick things off! I’m always amazed at the sheer number of words Joe Strummer is able to cram into the song…and there’s still 35 songs to go.
"Hitsville U.K." -- One of the general ideas of the album was apparently for the band to try their hand at whatever genres they hadn’t tackled yet. This is their crack at soul. The band deserves credit for elevating the song above 'failure' status, and the song actually winds up being a pretty good emulation of the Supremes, et al. Although the lyrics are a unique slant on music industry cynicism, I still feel the song doesn’t quite have the gravity for it to be a classic.
"Junco Partner" -- Not terrible, but the Clash seemed more ambitous with Junior Murvin’s “Police & Thieves”. This one feels a tad phoned-in.
"Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" -- When I was 20, I thought the lyrical distillation of the Cold War into a Studio 54 dance-off made for a brilliant song. Now, I look back and realize that while the concept is cool, the chorus is underwhelming and a bit of a letdown. I think the band perfected what they were trying to get at here with “Rock the Casbah” two years later.
"The Leader" -- Pleasant little rockabilly number. I think it tends to get swallowed up among the weightier material, much the same way “Koka Kola” did on London Calling. The lyrics about a government scandal (Larry Craig, anyone?) are a riot.
"Something About England" -- In which Mick Jones meets a (phantom?) wino (played by Strummer) who reminds the young bloke that there is a long legacy of British unrest, and not everything can be blamed on the immigrants and the youth. Great, prescient stuff, driven by a “Death or Glory”esque beat.
Check in later tonight, when I take on Side 2!
Comments (4)
I disagree slightly on Hitsville UK. I think it's a great song and took second place for a reason. Also, if you mash it together with the last 1:33 of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" you get a really cool Motown / soul vibe. It happens to me whenever i start to catch just the last half of Wake Up; I IMMEDIATELY think it's Hitsville. Mac - give that song more of a listen.... it might grow on you and you can see an angle of it you hadn't considered before.
Hello Mac,
I will never forget when my siblings and I picked up the new Clash (I had started with Give Em Enough Rope while at U of T in Toronto, Canada). We were agog at the title-- Sandinista, since 2/3 of us were Political Science/International Relations types. I had studied Latin American politics, and so was all over the support the Clash gave to the Sandinista movement when it was not particularly well-known. It was regarded very poorly in the US, as I recall back in the day. (early 80's). Fortunately, I studied Political Science in Canada and had an Argentinian professor for this class.
Hope that wasn't too political a take on the album. We loved it somewhat unconditionally, so what if it was a bit sprawling! There were enough great songs to carry us from side to side. Now, not so much. (do not have the CD) Still love The Magnificent Seven! I liked Hitsville UK a lot too and still do.
Best wishes -- looking forward to Side 2.
Monica
Hey, your Sandinista Project isn't the only one. See sandinista.guterman.com for info on a just-released tribute to that big, fat, wonderful mess of a record.
They've been working on that for the last 5 years or something! I'm intrigued that it's finally seeing a release. Hmmmm, maybe I should change the title of the blog posts....
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