Clash combat rock

Press, 30 January 1986, Page 18

Clash combat rock

THE CLASH “Cut The Crap” (CBS EPC4477). Happy birthday, Clashl Ten years after forming punk’s angriest band release their seventh long player, three years after the success of their previous record, “Combat Rock,” in America seemed to assure the band of an ongoing niche in 1980 s rock music. But after the drummer, Nicky Headon, and the founder member, Mick Jones left the band in 1984, leaving only Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of the original line-up, it looked as if their time was up.

This came after The Clash had established punk credibility par excellence, their first LP defining all the social conscience cliches that

typified early “new wave” music (and later, steered the genre into its present rut). Throughout the following five albums, the band further refined their feel for the roots of popular music, probably reaching a peak in their most enduring disc, “London Calling,” in 1980. They received much criticism for their lyrics, however, which varied between naive and banal for much of the time (refer much of “Sandinista,” the bloated triple LP from 1982). Now, in 1986, Strummer and Simonon (a superb bassist), with the aid of three largely anonymous new members, and a few months of busking round Britain behind them, return to vinyl with the succinctlytitled “Cut The Crap.” Strummer apparently wanted to get back to good old rock ’n’ roll, after some excursions into funk and reggae on the last few records, but this one is really quite slick, the crisp production job credited to one Jose Unidos.

Lyrically, the band are sticking with what they know best — stirring exhortations to “cut the crap and get out there” — but musically, this is weird stuff, typified by the mess of drums, electro, punky guitar and snippets of radio that is the opening cut, “Dictator.”

What really grates is the awful footbail-chant chorus that turns up on most of “Cut The Crap,”

especially the anthem (read “slogan”) “We Are The Cash” — real Boys Own stuff.

“Dirty Punk” has some great Ramones guitar to see it through the obvious subject matter, and the single “This Is England” is reminiscent of an earlier, excellent single, “The Call Up,” but beyond this, it’s only pieces of songs that impress.

The main problem with “Cut The Crap” is its predictability — Strummer is obviously sincere, but how many times has something like “North And South” or “This Is England” appeared on their other records?

In places, this record rises above the mundane like The Clash of old, as on the first half of “Movers And Shakers” and the chorus of “Play To Win,” but getting through the whole album is a chore.

— TONY GREEN.