The original London Calling LP is undoubtedly one of history's greatest albums.
Not only is it The Clash at their very best, but also because the album is absolutely unique in my ears. The album crosses so many different genres and styles it is a real beauty to listen to for the first time, as you never know exactly what the next song is going to be like, quite unlike other punk bands like The Ramones, who (though also brilliant) can become a tad monotonous.
Personal favourites include London Calling, I'm Not Down, Guns of Brixton and Clampdown.
And the Vanilla Tapes really complete the album. Though a lot of the songs are the same, some of the songs that didn't make the cut are IMO very, very good.
The documentary is also well worth checking out. It tells the story of The Clash and this album like no other documentary about the band thus far. Excellent stuff.
This is the greastes album of the greatest punk band of all time. It blends so many types of music, including ska (Rudie Can't Fail - one of my favorite songs).
London Calling is undeniably a classic album, so it is nice to see it reissued. The bonus stuff is okay:
The Vanilla Tapes are interesting but you wont listen to them more than once or twice. Of the five new songs on there only Hearts and Minds is really any good (and even that deviates into a 101ers cover at the end). The rest include a cover of Dylan's The Man In Me, a pointless blues instrumental, A Don Gibson country song called Lonesome Me. The only otheroriginal Clash composition here is a by-the-numbers quasi-reggae tune called Where You Gonna Go, which is pretty boring. Other than that it is London Calling demos and a run through of Remote Control.
Most of the docmentary is bits from Westway To The World about the making of London Calling interspersed with a new Kosmo Vinyl interview. This is a bit disappointing, as you will probably have already seen it. Also included is the London Calling video, plus two awesome live vids of Clampdown and Train In Vain. However, all three are included on The Essential Clash DVD anyway. Not essential stuff by any means.
