Tracks:
1. London Calling: 10/10 a masterful apocalypse filled with musical pyrotechnics, brilliant lyrics and furious energy, this has to be one of the best album openers ever.
2. Brand New Cadillac: 7/10 a comedown from the opener, but a perfectly entertaining bit of filler.
3. Jimmy Jazz: 8/10 a bit confusing at times, but it reaffirms what brilliant songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones are although they never seem to get enough credit for that and features a brilliant impersonation of a saxophone with a guitar.
4. Hateful: 9/10 a brilliant song on drugs which rings with believability.
5. Rudie Can't Fail: 9/10 repetitive at times, but still very interesting and boasting a great chorus.
6. Spanish Bombs: 9/10 this really is poetry, and although singing in Spanish doesn't really add anything to the song it's one of the most catchy on the album.
7. The Right Profile: 7/10 this one's intriguing and well played, but ultimately a bit tedious.
8. Lost in the Supermarket: 10/10 this feels like the most sobering and mature song that The Clash have ever done and here the anger is toned down a bit for a more melancholy and resigned meditation on isolation and consumerism. It's mesmerising.
9. Clampdown: 9/10 brilliantly written and enormously entertaining, this is so delightfully rebellious and full of attitude it'll have you punching the air.
10. The Guns of Brixton: 8/10 it doesn't quite manage to hit a real peak, but it provokes thought and is another artful rant from The Clash.
11. Wrong 'Em Boyo: 7/10 aside from provide a typically good baseline and a great intro this song doesn't do a lot. Often in the second half of an album it goes downhill a bit. Can London Calling avoid this?
12. Death or Glory: 8/10 typical Clash stuff which still packs plenty of punch and has a great chorus.
13. Koka Kola: 8/10 a bit difficult to understand, but it packs a lot of compelling material into under 2 minutes in a very impressive manner.
14. The Card Cheat: 8/10 skilfully mixing entertainment with downbeat lyrics, this one is a highlight of the second half of the album.
15. Lover's Rock: 5/10 a thoroughly mediocre sex song.
16. Four Horsemen: 8/10 although it's less subtle than some of the other songs on the album, it's still highly intelligent and very enjoyable.
17. I'm Not Down: 8/10 this song is full of spirit and triumph, and it's also nice to see a Clash song which isn't a rant.
18. Revolution Rock: 8/10 an overlong but thoroughly entertaining cover song.
19. Train in Vain: 9/10 an awesome and pleasingly restrained break-up song, it's clear why this is one of The Clash's most popular songs.
Best song: Lost in the Supermarket
Worst song: Lover's Rock
Summary: A mind blowing, scorching, swaggering atom bomb of an album filled with musical diversity, amazing lyrics and endlessly entertaining tunes, London Calling is one of the best albums of all time. Although it's more than an hour long, it remains hugely entertaining throughout and in terms of song-writing and instrumental skill, it's actually somewhat masterful. This album describes the apocalypse in London, and with its explosive music brilliance, smashing writing and overall epicness, it's a superb apocalypse that would make Roland Emmerich proud.
Final rating: 10/10
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