Give 'Em Enough Rope
| Give 'Em Enough Rope | ||||
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| Studio album by The Clash | ||||
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Publication |
November 10, 1978 |
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
36:57 |
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Studio (s) |
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Give 'Em Enough Rope is the second music album by The Clash . It was released on CBS Records in November 1978 in the United Kingdom and in April 1979 in the United States on Epic Records .
Emergence
The first recordings for the album were made in May 1978 at Marquee Studios in London. However, the results were discarded due to an illness within the band and dissatisfaction with the admission. In June, new recordings were made in three London recording studios (Basing Street, CBS and Utopia) which had to be briefly interrupted due to the On Parole UK tour. In September the recordings were finished and the album was ready for the final mix.
Originally the band wanted to hire Chris Thomas and Bill Price, who were enthusiastic about their work on the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols , as producers, but they were already fully booked. Finally, Sandy Pearlman was hired as a producer. It is still a matter of dispute to this day whether Pearlman was hired under pressure from CBS or whether it was actually a free choice of the band.
On Pearlman's instructions, The Clash flew to the United States to record final improvements and finally mix the album. To do this, they went to the Automatt Studio in San Francisco (829 Folsom Street, no longer available today) and also to New York to Record Plant and Electric Lady.
While recording in San Francisco, The Clash discovered a postcard titled "End Of The Trail" in a shop near the studios showing a dead cowboy being devoured by vultures. The card became the cover of the album after it had been given a few color changes in the Warhol style . Gene Greif was the designer in charge.
reception
The album sold well, reaching number 2 on the UK charts. The record was the first available recording by The Clash in the USA and reached number 128 on the charts.
The Rolling Stone , the Time Magazine and the well-known British music magazine Sounds chose the album for the album of the year 1978. Sounds had previously showered with praise, David Mculloch described the style as "sloshing, crooked heavy metal" and declared it the " best LP since The Clash LP , both of which, I claim, surpass everything that has come before. "
Rolling Stone (USA): "'Give'em Enough Rope' is a sovereign piece of music. The storm breaks loose with the first note and only subsides occasionally (...) What you get out of the guitar rattle (The Yardbirds adds Captain Beefheart, Reggae and Mott The Hoople, all anchored in a powerful beat) is the need for drama and passion: The Clash want to capture the most dangerous moods and fantasies of their time, not take a position themselves. "
The Village Voice (USA): "Like many other Clash fans, I found it disappointing at first, but disappointment is relative. Compared to 'The Clash', one of the greatest rock LPs of all time, or a tape of its singles, sounds overloaded it. [...] It's not among the greatest rock albums of all time, but among the best of the year. "
Sounds (Germany): "'Rope' is a fantastic rock album because the Clash is living the roots of rock, which for them are mainly in the beat of the 60s, with the Stones and Who, is living for itself. 'Rope' fatal, because it seems as if Rock'n'Roll can not only interpret, but change. "
Song info
For the American market, the song “All The Young Punks” was renamed “That's No Way To Waste Your Youth” because the possible misinterpretation of punk was considered too offensive for the American market.
In late 1978 / early 1979 the songs "Tommy Gun" and "English Civil War" were released as singles. They reached positions 19 and 25 in the British charts. "English Civil War" is a textually modified version of the American Civil War song " When Johnny Comes Marching Home ".
"Guns on the Roof", the first song on the B-side, alludes to an event in the band's history: an armed anti-terrorist squad from the Metropolitan Police stormed the band's headquarters at Camden Market after Paul Simonon and Topper Headon fell from the roof of the building had shot at valuable carrier pigeons with an air rifle. They were sued for property damage and fined £ 750.
Track list
All songs were written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer .
- Safe European Home - 3:50
- English Civil War - 2:35
- Tommy Gun - 3:17
- Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad - 3:03
- Last Gang in Town - 5:14 am
- Guns on the Roof - 3:16
- Drug-Stabbing Time - 3:43
- Stay Free - 3:40
- Cheapskates - 3:25
- All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts) - 4:55
The first copies of the GB edition also contained a poster that showed The Clash on one side and a map with terrorist targets on the other.
Individual evidence
- ↑ release date
- ^ [1] Greil Marcus , " Rolling Stone " magazine (January 25, 1979)
- ^ [2] Robert Christgau, " The Village Voice " magazine (December 25, 1978)
- ^ Alfred Hilsberg , " Sounds " magazine (12/1978)