The Current Music Blog: September 3, 2007 Archive

The Sandinista! "Project" - Side 5

Posted at 1:24 AM on September 3, 2007 by Mac Wilson

"Lose This Skin" -- Written and sung by Strummer's pal Tymon Dogg, "Lose This Skin" is the point where I think Sandinista! veers into a universe of its own. I also happen to think it's an utterly fantastic song. Everyone has their favorite oddball track on the album -- this is mine.
"Charlie Don't Surf" -- It may be a critique of American interventionism, but it kind of sounds like warped '60s bubblegum.
"Mensforth Hill" -- I think this is the song that had always killed Side 5 for me. Every epic album needs its "Revolution 9", but the band surely could have done better than just playing "Something About England" backward (I guess they still had Side 6 to work with). What did everyone think when the album was first released -- did you stop playing the album during "Mensforth Hill"?
"Junkie Slip" -- Actually sounds more like a studio jam that Strummer cobbled together some words for, and it got stuck on the record. Next.
"Kingston Advice" -- You can probably guess the primary lyrical focus by now, but the song actually features a pretty compelling vocal refrain and a nice beat. A textbook example of a Sandinista! hidden treasure.
"The Street Parade" -- I've never heard steel drums as menacing as those at the beginning of the song. It explores the conflict at the heart of punk -- if everyone is rebelling, then aren't they all falling into a new order of conformity? Is it worth it? The Clash let us contemplate this as the sax and steel drums fade away at side's end.

There was a later episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where Mike and the bots lampooned a promo film for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. At one point, strange violin and accordion music starts playing, and Mike says, "Sounds like something from Side 5 of Sandinista!" It was would be years before I was able to appreciate the joke. Subconsciously, I was ready to write off Side 5 as a failed experiment; I suppose "Mensforth Hill" had made enough of a negative impression on me. But as with the preceding sides, there's plenty of genuinely great music to be found. I'm going to have a tough time winnowing this down to a single album. Be sure to check back for the big finish, and catch the recaps for Side 1, Side 2, Side 3, or Side 4 if you haven't already.