The Optical Files #87: The Clash - Super Black Market Clash (Compilation) (1993)

As I indicated when I wrote about From Here To Eternity, reissues of Clash material outside the canonical studio albums tend to be a bit of a mess. For instance, this disc claims to be a replacement for the previous B-sides & rarities collection, Black Market Clash (published as a 10" in 1980). However, it leaves out 3 songs from the compilation it's supposed to replace: there's no "Capital Radio One," no "Armagideon Time," no "Bankrobber." It could be argued that these songs were already available on The Clash on Broadway--but so is almost everything else included here, so why bother with an additional compilation at all, unless the goal is to make us spend more money? Yes, record companies are greedy, what else is new, right? But if you're already going to spread everything across multiple releases, why not sequence them a little more mindfully? Like pretty much any single-disc Clash compilation that covers their whole career up until Combat Rock (the complete ignoring of the Cut the Crap era is a topic for another day), this one is frontloaded with punk rock & backloaded with dance remixes & dub versions. Why not leave the original Black Market Clash alone & instead assemble a 2-disc rarities collection--1 covering up to the Cost of Living EP, & 1 starting with "Bankrobber."

Speaking of the Cost of Living EP, a major reason to get this CD was the inclusion of that record's 2 key songs: "Groovy Times" & "Gates of the West." The former with its Dylanesque harmonica & the latter with its exuberant ode to New York City, are pivotal in the band's transition from the Give 'Em Enough Rope sound to the London Calling sound. Important early songs like "1977" & "The City of the Dead" are represented here as well, along with more minor tracks like the bouncy instrumental "Listen" & "The Prisoner," with its odd, atonal guitar solo. Later in the album we get cool stuff like "First Night Back in London," which together with the expected dub elements has clattering industrial touches that make it not quite like anything else the band ever recorded.

It's the Clash, so obviously this CD is full of good shit & it's not a waste of time. Personally, I'd like a Clash disc I can pop in when I'm in the mood for dub versions not found on Sandinista!, & another for when I'm in the mood for Clash rockers not found on any of the studio albums. Just because a CD like this is a good listen doesn't mean it's necessary.