What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

THE CLASH  "cut the crap"  cd/vinyl  1986

a revisit
their sixth and final album, i own all six
more of a Strummer solo set than a true Clash album
"topper" Headon, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon had already left the titanic in a lifeboat prior to this
Joe Strummer relying on previously sacked original drummer Pete Howard and a couple of blow-in guitarists to fulfill their roles
some synth-drums on here, samples and sound effects, no different to their previous album "combat rock" and while the music press praised that one they derided this one.
first half of the album is abysmal but the second half actually picks up in  potential to becoming listenable.
songs still seem half baked to me but at least they sound like The Clash
the glaring reality of the album to me is that Joe Strummer really struggled to write cohesive material without the input/support of Mick Jones and Paul Simonon in a way that parallels how McCartney stuggled without Lennon at times
second best track is the single "this is england", best track for me is the cd bonus track "do it now" which was issued originally as the non-album b-side of the single.
was actually surprised i enjoyed half of the album for the first time in 39 years since its release
album scores 1.69 which is just shy of the 1.7 required to technically say i like it so therefore....
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

fave: Do It Now - The Clash

single: