10# The Only Band That Ever Mattered... The Clash

"The Clash are the only band that ever mattered" recited more then a few famous music critics. This incredulous statement is very true in many ways. The Clash were Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion).While the Sex Pistols may have been the first Punk Rock group in the UK, it was The Clash that dominated the genre. If you are a serious punk rock fan, then you usually end up in one of the camps of the three godfathers of Punk Rock: The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and the Ramones. Honorable mention goes to groups like Iggy and the Stooges and Patty Smith. Why were the Clash so good?

The Clash Exploded onto the scene in 1976 with one of the greatest albums of all time. The self titled 'The Clash' is absolute Punk Rock Genius. The pure essence of the speed freak brain of punk with the tinniest most frantic guitars ever trapped on vinyl. When this album was released, lives were changed beyond recognition by it. Aside from being the 'Beatles of Punk Rock', they also showed their clear mastery of other genres as well. Their cover of 'Police and Thieves' showed that they could rock to the Reggae groove better then most bands. If you listen to the track, it is an amazingly good track. Simonon's bass line that pounds through the song like lightning bolts is by far the funkiest and most addictive bass line I have ever heard. The drum intro instantly affects you and makes you start air drumming uncontrollably. Mick Jones' guitar licks are as sticky as glue and reverberate and distort with that pure garage band style punk that we know and love.

It is so rare in music that a group of people this talented get together to make music. It's like if Beethoven had decided to write music with Mozart, with Chopin hanging out on the session for laughs. The Clash attack you from every angle, leaving you so musically stunned you are not even sure what has just happened to you. Joe Strummer, often referred to as Punk's poet laureate spits out his lyrics with such venom and energy that you become hypnotized as if you were staring into the cobra eyes of the punk gods themselves. Strummer's phenomenal lyrics were matched perfectly by Mick Jones' talent for instrumentation and his ability with a guitar. They were quite a legendary team and are definitely up there with Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards. In fact they are so talented that you often forget the other guys. Headon is quite simply one of the greatest drummers I have ever heard. You can hear his awesome beats and rhythm rocking the song along at every turn, he anticipates the grooves being shot out from the machine gun of Simonon's Bass guitar and the two of them together form one of the greatest rhythm sections in Rock.

Lyrically, the band's music was often charged by a quite left leaning ideology. Joe Strummer, in particular, was a committed leftist. The Clash are credited with pioneering the advocacy of radical politics in punk rock. Like many early punk bands, The Clash protested against monarchy and aristocracy. However, unlike many of their peers, The Clash rejected the nihilism apparent in most of the other groups. Instead, they found solidarity with a number of contemporary liberation movements and were involved with such groups as the Anti-Nazi League which struck a chord within Strummer in particular (his brother who had always sided with Neo-Nazi groups in the UK, became estranged from the rest of the family and eventually committed suicide in 1970). In April 1978, The Clash headlined the Rock Against Racism concert in London's Victoria Park for an estimated 80,000 people.


The Facts:

- In the ten years they were together (1976-1986) they released six albums containing some of the greatest Punk Rock that has ever been.
- The first album (The Clash) is often regarded as the blueprint of all Punk Rock that would come after.
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
- Having disbanded nearly six years earlier, The Clash scored their first #1 U.K. single with a reissued “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”


Fave Album:

-This might not come as a surprise if you have read the rest of this article. I am going to have to admit that their first album 'The Clash' is my fave. This explosive record was cut in three weekends and released in the UK in April 1977. It included such punk-rock anthems as “White Riot,” (which is one of the most amazing punk songs I've ever heard), “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.” and “London’s Burning.” Their reworking of Junior Murvin’s reggae classic “Police & Thieves” is the historic signpost between the punk and reggae communities. The Clash has been called “archetypal, resplendent punk,” and it was one of those paradigm-shifting albums that forever altered the course of rock. Ironically, it was not initially released by the band’s American label, Epic, which deemed it “too crude.” (As a further irony, the label would later sticker Clash releases with the praise that started this article: “The Only Band That Matters.”) Word of mouth and favorable press made The Clash one of the best-selling imports in history and Epic released a bastardized version of the album in 1979.



Enjoy this little medley that took place in Manchester, UK in 1977. This is some fantastic stuff. The prime example of why these guys were the greatest Punk Rock band in history. The fiery intensity is a sight to see. Strummer in particular appears about to explode in parts... ENJOY!

Feel free to leave any comments.

#9 The Rasta Renegade.... Bob Marley

Bob Marley was and still is the undisputed king of Reggae music. He was a revolutionary with the soul of a prophet and the heart of a poet. His message and his music has had and continues to have a massive impact on people of all races throughout the entire world. He grew up in total poverty in one of the poorest areas of Jamaica and went on to become the first ever third world super star. He personally made sure that hundreds if not thousands of his fellow Jamaicans were fed each day, setting up a large free soup kitchen near his home. To many in his home country, he was the archetypal hero figure. To the world he was a musical legend and so much more. His untimely departure from this world at the age of 36, came at a time when his vision of 'One World, One Love' that was inspired by his belief in Rastafari, was beginning to be heard and felt. The last Bob Marley and the Wailers tour in 1980 attracted the largest audiences at that time for any musical act in Europe. Today, some 30 years later, his audience continues to widen: to most of us westerners, Bob's apocalyptic truths prove inspirational and often life-changing; in the Third World his impact goes much further. Not just among Jamaicans, but also the Hopi Indians of New Mexico and the Maoris of New Zealand, in Indonesia and India, and especially in those parts of West Africa from which slaves were kidnapped and taken to the New World, Bob is seen as a redeemer figure returning from the mists with each song to reclaim their honor, dignity and freedom. He is the ultimate symbol of racial tolerance (being born half white and half black) and though his timeless message of unity and peace and love.

To me, his music was pure rock, in the sense that it was a publicly voiced expression of his private truth. Reggae music and Bob's music in particular reach down to the deepest parts of my soul and affect me on an intense level. Reggae has always been a part of my life. My parents played it almost continuously the entire time my mom was pregnant with me. They named me after Peter Tosh (Bob's band mate in the reggae supergroup 'The Wailers') and they named my younger sister Marly (after Bob although they took out the 'e'). The sounds of albums 'Catch A Fire' and 'Burnin' reach back to my most primal and early memories. Those were the two albums I was rocked to sleep to almost every night for the first year of my life. For me, I feel that purity and joy of being an infant every time I hear Bob's music and it makes me feel like all will be right in the world. Others find the music affecting them for all kinds of reasons just as valid. With minimal effort you can pick out the component parts of which the myth of Bob Marley is comprised: the sadness, the love, the understanding, the God given talent. Those are facts, although it is sometimes said that there are no facts in Jamaica (Bob was quoted saying "Facts an' facts, an' t'ings an' t'ings: Dem's all a lotta fockin' Bullshit. Hear Me! Dere is no truth but de one truth, an' that is de truth of Jah Rastafari"). There is one more thing of which we can be certain: Bob Marley never wrote a bad song. He left behind the most remarkable body of recorded work. "The reservoir of music he has left behind is like an encyclopedia," says Judy Mowatt of the I-Threes. "When you need to refer to a certain situation or crisis, there will always be a Bob Marley song that will relate to it. Bob was a musical prophet."

To really tell the story of Bob I would have to write a book, so I suggest if you want to know more, check out the biography 'CATCH A FIRE: THE LIFE OF BOB MARLEY' by Timothy White. Tim had the opportunity to interview Bob many times and had a lot of access to him and his world throughout the years. It is a terrific biography and also contains a lot on Jamaican culture and history as well as the history of the Rastafarian religion. I highly recommend it if you want a thorough history on the whole story. The book is the size of a dictionary and aside from the story has included awesome info on discographies and brief bios of some of the other major players.

Aside from the lyrics, Bob's songs are musically as amazing as their message. The sticky accenting of the off beat, the heavy bass tones , the rhythmic drumming that melts in your ears like honey, and the kinky, punchy guitars merge together with the vocal harmonies beautifully in a way no other genre of music had done before. The music just flows out of the speakers at you and moves your soul until the body follows. Bob put it well in the song 'Trench Town Rock' "One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain".

Bob Marley is recognized by Time magazine as being the most influential artist of the last century. His posthumous compilation album 'Legend' has sold over 20 million copies worldwide (lets face it pretty much everyone on earth owns a copy at this point). He also pretty much created his own musical legacy in the form of his eleven children (the majority of whom have gone on to have successful musical careers). His sons Stephen Marley and Ziggy Marley recently won grammies for their respective albums at the start of 2010.


The Facts:

- 11 kids (although I have heard that number could be around 23 in actuality)
- Bob's views on peace and equality so scared his Jamaican government that they tried to assassinate him in 1976.
- The heirs of Halle Selassie believed in Bob so much that they gave him the emperor's ring which was fabled to be the biblical 'Ring of Solomon'. That ring is now entombed with Bob in his tomb/shrine in Jamaica.
- The last words of Bob were to his son Ziggy. They were "Money can't buy you life"
- The lyrics 'Every man got a right to decide his own destiny' rang so true. Bob decided against amputation of his toe when it became cancerous due to his belief in Rastafaria which is strictly against amputation. Unfortunatley for us, that decision cost him his life.

My Fave Album:

Everyone already owns a copy of Legend so I'm gonna go into something more obscure.

Catch A Fire is a dynamite album by the ultimate reggae super group of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. For me, the three of them could never top the music they made together. It is very similar to the way the Beatles members never created the kind of work they did as a team. While I love Bob, he was at times a little soft and I love to describe the dynamic as 'Bob was the Paul McCartney to Peter's John Lennon'. The sound of this album is so amazing you just have to experience it. One of the greatest records of all time, and one that always reaches right down into my soul every time I listen to it. I would recommend this album to anyone who has already heard a bit of Bob but wants to get at the stuff beyond the super hits on Legend. They holy trinity of Bob, Peter and Bunny can't be beat here. They are so amazing together it's a shame they only released this album and 'Burnin', before splitting up to got their separate ways.



Dig this early video, it has all the original Wailers in it ( you can see Peter in the tuque and Bunny in the crazy hat). This video shows exactly what I mean about perfect vocal harmonies. I only wish that the video didn't cut off like it does, it loses the last few seconds and I couldnt find a better one but the video is still awesome. This song contains my fave guitar solo of all time, it is so funky sunglasses will appear on your face and dreads will sprout from your head. This is the good stuff my friends.

#8 His Holiness..... Eric Clapton

"Clapton is God!" That legendary phrase originated from a scrawled graffiti, spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington subway station in the late autumn of 1967. At the time, it left the young 22 year old guitarist feeling quite embarrassed but it was a fairly accurate statement even then, in regards to Clapton's ability with the guitar. The man plays with such passion and complexity at a speed most guitarists only dream of. It is arguably said that Clapton is the greatest guitarist of all time (though some argue that Hendrix deserves that title). Although he has greatly varied his musical style over the years, it has always remained grounded in the Blues. Yet, in spite of this focus, he is credited as an innovator in a wide variety of genres including Blues-Rock and Psychedelic Rock. After Leaving John Mayall's band, he formed one of the worlds first super-groups 'Cream' and established his legendary skills with the high-volume blues jamming and extended solos of their live shows. In 1974 on his '461 Ocean Boulevard' album, he scored his first solo number one with the cover of Bob Marley's reggae hit 'I Shot The Sheriff' and is largely credited with helping reggae music break through to North American and European audiences.

One of the most interesting things about Eric is that he has always been as troubled in his life as he was gifted. This is a man who knows what pain and suffering is. When ever some one makes the blanket statement that 'No white guy can ever do the blues justice' I have to throw out the rebut "Umm, what about Clapton?".

Why does Eric sing the blues? Well for starters, he was born to a 16 year old mother who was impregnated by a Canadian soldier at the end of the war. His father then promptly left, returning to Canada and never knowing he had fathered a child. Eric was raised by his grandparents believing they were his parents and his mother was his older sister. Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier, moved to Canada and left young Eric with his grandparents. At age 17 he was kicked out of art college and lived for a time as a busker before being able to get into a band that would have paying gigs. Around this time he began to indulge in alcohol and drugs, a past time that would turn to full blown substance abuse for the better part of the next twenty years. His drug taking and the fanatical devotion of his fans would cause him many personal problems over the years. Just after starting the super-group 'Derek and the Dominoes' with guitarist Duane Allman, he was devastated to learn of the accidental drug overdoes and death of Jimi Hendrix. Soon after this, when drugs and their clashing egos caused Duane Allman to leave 'Derek and the Dominoes' Clapton was devastated yet again when he heard of Allman's death in a motor cycle accident just a short time after exiting the group.

Clapton tried to keep busy for the next few years but began to decline due to the immense amount of heroin and other drugs and alcohol. With the help of Pete Townshend, Clapton underwent a controversial Electro-Acupuncture treatment which successfully rehabilitated him. This rehab was also due in part to Clapton finding God and converting to Christianity. It appeared that things were beginning to go better for Clapton and he eventually married his long time lover Pattie (who was George Harrison's wife... long story). Although clean from drugs, Clapton was beginning to become a serious alcoholic which plagued him for years to come. A few years later he had a daughter with his then mistress and was notorious for his womanizing. He finally admitted he was an alcoholic in early 1982 and on the flight to the treatment center, he helped himself to a great amount of drinks, for fear he may never be able to drink again. Clapton is quoted as saying from his autobiography, "In the lowest moments of my life, the only reason I didn't commit suicide was that I knew I wouldn't be able to drink anymore if I was dead. It was the only thing I thought was worth living for, and the idea that people were about to try and remove me from alcohol was so terrible that I drank and drank and drank, and they had to practically carry me into the clinic."

The drinking rehab was successful and things started to gradually improve for Clapton. He was clean from the years of substance abuse and had new love in his life (in 1986 his new girlfriend gave birth to his first son, Connor Clapton) and he was enjoying himself and his music again. Then in 1990 tragedy struck again, his new friend Stevie Ray Vaughan who was touring with Clapton, died in a helicopter crash between shows. The very next year, Clapton lost his son Connor when the child died after he fell out of a 53rd story window of a friends apartment building. If anyone has the rights to play the blues, it is Eric Clapton.


The Facts:

- Clapton is the only person ever to be inducted three times into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (for the Yardbirds, Cream, and as a solo performer).

- 19 solo albums, 5 with the 'Yardbirds', 1 with John Mayall, 4 with 'Cream', 1 with 'Derek and the Dominoes', and a ton of other albums with many different artists over the years. For the full discography check out (Eric Clapton discography).

-Has played live with pretty much every huge musical figure of the last 50 years.

-Clapton is currently working on an album with former 'The Band' guitarist Robbie Robertson


Fave Album:

How do you pick a fave album from a guy who has had a career this gigantic? I love so much of it that I would have a hard time narrowing it down. I really enjoy his late 60's early 70's period (Cream and Derek and the Dominoes). I would have to say I probably enjoy Derek and the Dominoes' album 'Layla and other Assorted Love Songs' the most.

Layla is a fantastic album in my opinion. Most of the album's material is prompted from Clapton's unrequited affections for his close friend George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd. This album also contains the song 'Layla' which is one of the greatest Rock and Roll tracks of all time. The song is inspired by Pattie and also from a persian story 'The story of Layla and Majnun' which is the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful, unavailable woman and who went crazy because he could not marry her which was pretty much the story for Clapton and his love for Pattie... or at least at the start (he eventually married her, and George had no hard feelings, he even played at their wedding). This album is so full of rich sounds you will wonder how you have lived so long without hearing it. The participation of Duane Allman on this record gave Clapton the chance to really bring some power to the record without unnecessarily calling attention to it. These two power houses of Rock battle neck to neck on this record (sometimes its hard to keep track of who is who) and the sessions bring out the best in them both, with Clapton's rumbling leads perfectly segueing into Allman's Lightning runs. The guitar battles on 'Why does love got to be so sad' alone make this one of the premiere guitar albums in all of rock. Dig this album my friends, it is a treat for your ears.