View Poll Results: Will you buy the 2-disc set?
HELL YES!
26
60.47%
Bought it once, but not again
10
23.26%
Undecided
3
6.98%
Don't care for the band/disc
4
9.30%
Voters: 43. You may not vote on this poll
BUY IT AGAIN! Clash "London Calling" with demos
09-12-04, 09:46 AM
#1
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
BUY IT AGAIN! Clash "London Calling" with demos
I bought the original disc and then burned a copy of the remaster from a friend. I came close to just buying it again but they didn't get me! HA!
I'll have to get this one.
the only deluxe edition that matters:
Some albums evolve into classics. But The Clash’s London Calling was born that way.
At least that’s the evidence offered by 21 recently unearthed demos that Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon and the late Joe Strummer recorded on a Teac four-track in spring 1979 at Vanilla, a makeshift rehearsal space housed in the back room of a Pimlico, London car-repair shop. These raw, previously unreleased performances are the bonus-track bonanza of Epic/Legacy’s expanded two-CD London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition, due September 21.
The original 19-track album, a double-LP punk landmark that Rolling Stone proclaimed the best album of the ’80s, will be presented on Disc One (a Legacy spokesman tells ICE that the disc has been mastered from the same upgraded source used for the 2000 reissue). "The Vanilla Tapes" — which include work-in-progress snapshots of 15 of the final album’s tunes and five songs that never resurfaced — fill Disc Two. A bonus DVD then features the videos for "Train in Vain," "London Calling" and "Clampdown," plus a new 40-minute "making of" documentary created by director Don Letts.
Bubbling under the tape hiss, distortion and other analog anomalies is riveting proof that The Clash’s melding of British punk and reggae with vintage American rockabilly and blues was an organic creation rather than a shotgun marriage. Instrumental rough drafts like "Paul’s Tune" (the rock-steady blueprint for "The Guns of Brixton"), "Working and Waiting" (aka "Clampdown") and "Up-Toon" (which would materialize into the horn-fueled "The Right Profile") sound fully formed.
Rounding out "The Vanilla Tapes" are unissued performances that Jones says he barely remembers attempting: the raging "Heart and Mind," about the inner conflict of right and wrong ("We didn’t like it much," Jones recalls, "but it sounds better now than it did back then"); a reggae number called "Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)" ("Funny that one — we don’t know who wrote it," Jones says. "We might have"); a tongue-in-cheek country weeper called "Lonesome Me"; a loping cover of Bob Dylan’s "The Man in Me" ("That’s from New Morning, my favorite Dylan album"), modeled after an arrangement by British reggae heroes Matumbi; a warm-up romp through 1977’s "Remote Control," which the group had ceased performing in concert; and a blues instrumental titled "Walkin’ the Slidewalk."
The bonus DVD’s documentary, titled The Last Testament — The Making of London Calling, features interviews with all four band members. But the most revelatory material is previously unseen black-and-white footage of the eccentric Stevens (best known for his work with Mott the Hoople and Spooky Tooth) running amok in the studio, throwing chairs and taunting the band while tape is rolling.
"We’ve talked about that before, and nobody believed us," Jones says. "They thought we were over exaggerating, but now they’ll know we were under exaggerating. We were going so fast, things like that could happen without you even noticing. But it got us fired up really. Much of what we learned from London Calling was about recording in the moment. Guy instilled in us that feeling that every time you walked in the studio, you could be putting the thing down that would be the one."
–David Okamoto
I'll have to get this one.
the only deluxe edition that matters:
Some albums evolve into classics. But The Clash’s London Calling was born that way.
At least that’s the evidence offered by 21 recently unearthed demos that Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon and the late Joe Strummer recorded on a Teac four-track in spring 1979 at Vanilla, a makeshift rehearsal space housed in the back room of a Pimlico, London car-repair shop. These raw, previously unreleased performances are the bonus-track bonanza of Epic/Legacy’s expanded two-CD London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition, due September 21.
The original 19-track album, a double-LP punk landmark that Rolling Stone proclaimed the best album of the ’80s, will be presented on Disc One (a Legacy spokesman tells ICE that the disc has been mastered from the same upgraded source used for the 2000 reissue). "The Vanilla Tapes" — which include work-in-progress snapshots of 15 of the final album’s tunes and five songs that never resurfaced — fill Disc Two. A bonus DVD then features the videos for "Train in Vain," "London Calling" and "Clampdown," plus a new 40-minute "making of" documentary created by director Don Letts.
Bubbling under the tape hiss, distortion and other analog anomalies is riveting proof that The Clash’s melding of British punk and reggae with vintage American rockabilly and blues was an organic creation rather than a shotgun marriage. Instrumental rough drafts like "Paul’s Tune" (the rock-steady blueprint for "The Guns of Brixton"), "Working and Waiting" (aka "Clampdown") and "Up-Toon" (which would materialize into the horn-fueled "The Right Profile") sound fully formed.
Rounding out "The Vanilla Tapes" are unissued performances that Jones says he barely remembers attempting: the raging "Heart and Mind," about the inner conflict of right and wrong ("We didn’t like it much," Jones recalls, "but it sounds better now than it did back then"); a reggae number called "Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)" ("Funny that one — we don’t know who wrote it," Jones says. "We might have"); a tongue-in-cheek country weeper called "Lonesome Me"; a loping cover of Bob Dylan’s "The Man in Me" ("That’s from New Morning, my favorite Dylan album"), modeled after an arrangement by British reggae heroes Matumbi; a warm-up romp through 1977’s "Remote Control," which the group had ceased performing in concert; and a blues instrumental titled "Walkin’ the Slidewalk."
The bonus DVD’s documentary, titled The Last Testament — The Making of London Calling, features interviews with all four band members. But the most revelatory material is previously unseen black-and-white footage of the eccentric Stevens (best known for his work with Mott the Hoople and Spooky Tooth) running amok in the studio, throwing chairs and taunting the band while tape is rolling.
"We’ve talked about that before, and nobody believed us," Jones says. "They thought we were over exaggerating, but now they’ll know we were under exaggerating. We were going so fast, things like that could happen without you even noticing. But it got us fired up really. Much of what we learned from London Calling was about recording in the moment. Guy instilled in us that feeling that every time you walked in the studio, you could be putting the thing down that would be the one."
–David Okamoto
09-12-04, 11:10 AM
#2
DVD Talk Hero
Fuck this.
Why not just release the "Vanilla Tapes" and DVD seperately instead of instead of including the prevously-released "London Calling" album to pump up the disc count -- and price.
Thirty fucking dollars for an album we already own with a second disc of demo material, and a 40 minute "bonus DVD."
If you need any proof that "punk" is dead and co-opted by the establishment, BUY THIS.
Why not just release the "Vanilla Tapes" and DVD seperately instead of instead of including the prevously-released "London Calling" album to pump up the disc count -- and price.
Thirty fucking dollars for an album we already own with a second disc of demo material, and a 40 minute "bonus DVD."
If you need any proof that "punk" is dead and co-opted by the establishment, BUY THIS.
09-12-04, 01:06 PM
#4
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Originally posted by TomOpus
Not sure why you buy CDs for list price but I've seen it for $19
So, Fuck Yeah, I'm all over this.
Not sure why you buy CDs for list price but I've seen it for $19
So, Fuck Yeah, I'm all over this.
09-12-04, 01:37 PM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
Originally posted by TomOpus
Not sure why you buy CDs for list price but I've seen it for $19
So, Fuck Yeah, I'm all over this.
Not sure why you buy CDs for list price but I've seen it for $19
So, Fuck Yeah, I'm all over this.
Please to show the place with this price.
$19.97 at DeepDiscountCD.com
Last edited by Buford T Pusser; 09-12-04 at 01:46 PM.
09-12-04, 05:35 PM
#11
DVD Talk Hero
Originally posted by Buford T Pusser
Please to show the place with this price.
$19.97 at DeepDiscountCD.com
Please to show the place with this price.
$19.97 at DeepDiscountCD.com
But I'll be looking around at different places and if I find a lower price I'll post it.
"But I believe in this, and it's been tested by research
He who fucks nuns, will later join the church...." --- Death or Glory
09-12-04, 09:21 PM
#12
Moderator
I have three different copies of this album. I am currently undecided about whether I want a fourth.
And, as per usual, this thread is worthless without pics...
And, as per usual, this thread is worthless without pics...
Last edited by wendersfan; 09-12-04 at 09:24 PM.
09-13-04, 11:53 AM
#13
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I'm a big Clash fan, but I will pass. It's really getting ridiculous with all of this "recently discovered" material these bands are amazingly finding out of nowhere. Why don't they just say "we (or our record label more precisely) are trying to repackage our catalog as many times as po$$ible 
09-13-04, 12:56 PM
#14
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
I'm so there. This is one my favorite albums (if not my #1). Luckily, I held out on getting the last remaster. And I received the CD as a gift about 11 or so years ago, so technically I'm not double-dipping (with my own money)*.
*Though, I did pick up a vinyl copy from a thrift store for $1, but that was just to get the sleeve so I could frame it.
*Though, I did pick up a vinyl copy from a thrift store for $1, but that was just to get the sleeve so I could frame it.
Last edited by DJLinus; 09-13-04 at 12:59 PM.
09-21-04, 10:00 PM
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I "caved in" and bought one at Best Buy tonight. I guess my single disc one can join Television's 'Marquee Moon' & John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' as albums I have a second "Car" copy due to better reissues. London Calling is usually with me anytime I travel more than a half hour from here anyways...
I listened to a handful of the second disc's demos; just album track stuff, not any of the "new" songs. It's pretty cool hearing the rough-sketch versions of some of the songs, as well as hearing them in such a laid back sounding way. "Paul's Song" is espescially neat since it (rather obviously) became the fantastic "Guns of Brixton."
I thought the DVD was pretty good. The half-hour documentry is well done; although I imagine that an album of this stature could probably get a 2 hour doc. and still feel incomplete. It's amazing that they managed to even finish an album having that producer around them acting like that, let alone one of the all time classics! The 14 minutes of studio footage is about half "producer throwing chairs/ladders/etc around" and half "band jamming" ...while the producer runs around being crazy.
The packaging design and art is pretty nice. Once folded out there are pictures of each member underneath the disc trays (well, one member's pic is on the leftmost flap since there's "only" 3 discs), and the original fold-out lyric sheet is included. There's also a nice looking book that I haven't really gone through yet. It's got Joe Strummer's "notes" for each song scrawled in it, much like his final album "Streetcore" did.
All around it makes for a pretty ace set. Few albums truly deserve their recent 2 or 3 disc Deluxe/Legacy Editions, but I'd have to say that this is one of the ones that does. If you already own the album, just keep the old one in the car or at work, etc. Or just have it to loan out to people who've never heard it. Or just give it to some kid you think has the potential to like really great music but just needs a little nudge in the right direction. Chances are this album has given you much more than what you paid for it, even if you've payed for it 3 or 4 times already.
I listened to a handful of the second disc's demos; just album track stuff, not any of the "new" songs. It's pretty cool hearing the rough-sketch versions of some of the songs, as well as hearing them in such a laid back sounding way. "Paul's Song" is espescially neat since it (rather obviously) became the fantastic "Guns of Brixton."
I thought the DVD was pretty good. The half-hour documentry is well done; although I imagine that an album of this stature could probably get a 2 hour doc. and still feel incomplete. It's amazing that they managed to even finish an album having that producer around them acting like that, let alone one of the all time classics! The 14 minutes of studio footage is about half "producer throwing chairs/ladders/etc around" and half "band jamming" ...while the producer runs around being crazy.
The packaging design and art is pretty nice. Once folded out there are pictures of each member underneath the disc trays (well, one member's pic is on the leftmost flap since there's "only" 3 discs), and the original fold-out lyric sheet is included. There's also a nice looking book that I haven't really gone through yet. It's got Joe Strummer's "notes" for each song scrawled in it, much like his final album "Streetcore" did.
All around it makes for a pretty ace set. Few albums truly deserve their recent 2 or 3 disc Deluxe/Legacy Editions, but I'd have to say that this is one of the ones that does. If you already own the album, just keep the old one in the car or at work, etc. Or just have it to loan out to people who've never heard it. Or just give it to some kid you think has the potential to like really great music but just needs a little nudge in the right direction. Chances are this album has given you much more than what you paid for it, even if you've payed for it 3 or 4 times already.
09-22-04, 02:06 PM
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Originally posted by Poink
Chances are this album has given you much more than what you paid for it, even if you've payed for it 3 or 4 times already.
Chances are this album has given you much more than what you paid for it, even if you've payed for it 3 or 4 times already.
09-22-04, 03:11 PM
#23
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
London Calling is in my personal top ten (as it probably is for everyone), but I see no reason to buy this. How many times will I actually play the demo stuff before getting annoyed and just putting on the studio version?
Besides, there are too many other terrific albums that I don't own any version of yet. Example:
Besides, there are too many other terrific albums that I don't own any version of yet. Example:
09-22-04, 07:15 PM
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I actually have that Super Furry Animals album.
You do make a pretty good point about the Demos disc. I mean, there's not gonna be THAT many times when you're gonna want to hear "I'm Not Down" as a boombox recording instead of the LP version. Once I get a chance to listen to the non-album & unreleased demos I'll be able to decide the true merit of the disc, I suppose.
It's just the overall package and presentation that made it so desireable to me. The extras work well to commemorate the album as intended, whereas I feel that just having a stand alone disc with the "Vanilla Tapes" would seem a bit detached somehow. It seems that a lot of you (DVDtalkers/consumers in general) have no qualms about buying a 2 disc Special Edition of a movie you already own. If the "bonus" disc for a classic film that's getting a re-release were being sold seperate, it wouldn't elicit the same reaction that having the definitive edition does. Sure, it's all marketing in the end, but you've gotta admit; we're dirty, dirty collectors at heart.
I'd consider London Calling one of the few albums that I'll be listening to for the rest of my life (or until I can no longer stand the sound of guitars), so it's always going to be one of the albums that I'll want the best available version of.
You do make a pretty good point about the Demos disc. I mean, there's not gonna be THAT many times when you're gonna want to hear "I'm Not Down" as a boombox recording instead of the LP version. Once I get a chance to listen to the non-album & unreleased demos I'll be able to decide the true merit of the disc, I suppose.
It's just the overall package and presentation that made it so desireable to me. The extras work well to commemorate the album as intended, whereas I feel that just having a stand alone disc with the "Vanilla Tapes" would seem a bit detached somehow. It seems that a lot of you (DVDtalkers/consumers in general) have no qualms about buying a 2 disc Special Edition of a movie you already own. If the "bonus" disc for a classic film that's getting a re-release were being sold seperate, it wouldn't elicit the same reaction that having the definitive edition does. Sure, it's all marketing in the end, but you've gotta admit; we're dirty, dirty collectors at heart.
I'd consider London Calling one of the few albums that I'll be listening to for the rest of my life (or until I can no longer stand the sound of guitars), so it's always going to be one of the albums that I'll want the best available version of.