On the surface of things, Combat Rock appears to be a retreat from the sprawling stylistic explorations of London Calling and Sandinista! The pounding arena rock of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" makes the Clash sound like an arena rock band, and much of the album boasts a muscular, heavy sound courtesy of producer Glyn Johns.
But things aren't quite that simple.
Combat Rock contains heavy flirtations with rap, funk, and reggae, and it even has a cameo by poet Allen Ginsberg -- if this album is, as it has often been claimed, the Clash's sellout effort, it's a very strange way to sell out.
Even with the infectious, dance-inflected new wave pop of "Rock the Casbah" leading the way, there aren't many overt attempts at crossover success, mainly because the group is tearing in two separate directions.
Mick Jones wants the Clash to inherit the Who's righteous arena rock stance, and Joe Strummer wants to forge ahead into black music.
The result is an album that is nearly as inconsistent as Sandinista!, even though its finest moments -- "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "Rock the Casbah," "Straight to Hell" -- illustrate why the Clash were able to reach a larger audience than ever before with the record.
[In 2000 Columbia/Legacy reissued and remastered Combat Rock.].
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Know Your RightsMick Jones, Joe Strummer | The Clash | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Car JammingThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Should I Stay or Should I GoThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Rock the CasbahThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Red Angel DragnetThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | Straight to HellThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 7 | Overpowered by FunkThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | Atom TanThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 16 MB |
| 9 | Sean FlynnThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 04:31 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | Ghetto DefendantThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | Inoculated CityThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 12 | Death Is a StarThe Clash | The Clash | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 42 mins | 268 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Barnacle | Saxophone |
| 2 | Joe Blaney | Engineer |
| 3 | The Clash | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 4 | Tymon Dogg | Piano, Vocals |
| 5 | Joe Ely | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Ellen Foley | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Allen Ginsberg | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Jerry Green | Engineer |
| 9 | Glyn Johns | Mixing |
| 10 | Glyn Jones | Mixing |
| 11 | Mick Jones | Composer, Guitar, Vocals |
| 12 | Poly Mandell | Keyboards |
| 13 | Paul Simonon | Bass |
| 14 | Pennie Smith | Photography, Sleeve Photo |
| 15 | Ray Staff | Remastering |
| 16 | Joe Strummer | Composer, Guitar, Vocals |
| 17 | Bob Whitney | Remastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |