REVIEW: The Clash, From Here To Eternity Live (Epic)
- Tim Kennedy
From Here To Eternity Live is a collection of live versions of Clash songs ranging from very early songs such as "London's Burning" and "What's My Name" through to later classics like "Straight To Hell" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go".
The logo and design of the cover is reminiscent of the last couple of Manics albums and this must be no accident as the Manics borrowed heavily from the Clash. No doubt the label has their eye on the wallets of young Manics fans who may not be aware of their heroes nascent influences. Scenes of the Westway flyover feature on the cover in a reference to the area of London where the band squatted early on and held their early rehearsals.
The performances are from 1978 and 1982. Clash fans familiar with their bootlegs from 1977 will note the quality of playing shows much improvement over that era. However the greatness of the early Clash was in the very chaos of those performances - punk was all about spontaneity.
Moreover in the new documentary 'Westway To The World' guitarist Mick Jones even extols the virtues of the first album over all the others because of its very rawness. That the early tapes - of which there are many - are left out, likely points to the commercial nature of this release. Whilst punks at the time celebrated their heroes' amateurishness, the buying public today would probably not be impressed by what is in essence a cacophonous tuneless racket.
By late 1978 when the earliest of these versions were recorded, punk was dead, and to the bands who had taken part their prowess posed a dilemma. The Clash released a punk/reggae single - "White Man In Hammersmith Palais", the Kinks-riffing "Clash City Rockers" and another innovative song represented here which was the b-side of that track - "City Of The Dead", which featured an unusual sax riff and other soul influences.
Then in 1979 the band reissued the legendary "Capital Radio" (their first record which was given away free with NME in 1976) this time with a joke ending, backed with a cover of Bobby Fuller's "I Fought The Law". Both are here from the '78 London shows, and both are good versions - "Capitol Radio" featuring a different adlib ending.
Later in 1979 they released "London Calling", this time clad in suits and hats like 1930s gangsters, deliberately affronting their punk audience and challenging them to recognise that they must accept change. The music was rock, pop, ska, reggae and rockabilly, a kaleidoscope of styles more truly reflecting the band's personal musical tastes. A hard rocking rendering of the title track appears here as does their superb cover of Willi Williams' "Armagideon Time", their finest reggae song which was on the b-side of "London Calling" the single. What makes this version stand out is the wonderful toasting of dub reggae dj legend Mikey Dread who accompanied the band on their 1979 UK tour. Another reggae/punk track from that album "Guns Of Brixton" is also here, a song written by Paul Simenon which was of course borrowed more recently by Beats International aka Norman Cook.
1980 saw their three LP set Sandinista which covered most musical styles and eras and caused total consternation amongst their audience. What was also punk about the Clash was their musical adventurism. Featured here from that album is "The Magnificent Seven" which was loosely based on The Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers' Delight" - a lively version containing more ad-libbing from Strummer.
The final (i.e. with Topper and Mick) Clash album Combat Rock (1982) is represented here by "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Straight To Hell". The latter doesn't quite work as a live track, missing the atmospheric strings and the backmasking which is such a striking feature of the album track but the former is just as you would expect - one of the great 'good time' rock songs of the 80s.
Live, the Clash always remained a hot raunchy rock and roll band. In their day they created an atmosphere which left audiences stunned and ecstatic but what they were like live bears little comparison with any band since then - except possibly the early Manics. They were in the true tradition of their mentors the Rolling Stones except they went so much further than Jagger and company with basic rhythm and blues and totally transcended the punk indeed any genre. The crucial early element of chaos is not here though, and will always be elusive to us now, in an age where music is defined by 'pure' digital sound.
