Clash’s self-titled debut established Strummer’s legend

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Dec. 26, 2003 | 8:42 a.m.

Living legend. It's a term thrown around far too often in rock 'n' roll circles.

But one year ago this week, the rock world lost an individual who actually merited that lofty description: one-time Clash frontman Joe Strummer.

Four months after celebrating his 50th birthday, Strummer died of a heart attack in his Sommerset, England, home last Dec. 22. His passing came just weeks before the Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

During the late 1970s and early '80s, Strummer and his Clash mates changed the face of rock music, unofficially ushering in a modern era with a brash new sound.

The Clash were true punk rockers, and not just because they came from working-class backgrounds and were self-taught musicians. Over the course of a handful of classic albums, the band demonstrated a unique willingness to blend styles as diverse as reggae, rockabilly and R&B with their own hard-edged approach to rock.

The Clash's third album, 1979's "London Calling," is consistently hailed as one of the century's top musical achievements, so we won't focus on that here.

Rather, today's Pick takes a look back at the British outfit's self-titled debut effort, a CD just as essential to any first-rate rock collection.

The album exists in two forms, both reissued by Epic Records in 1999. Purists fawn over the U.K. version, originally released in 1977, but I'm partial to the U.S. rendition, issued a full two years later here in the States.

Sequencing is improved on the U.S. disc, which opens with the appropriate "Clash City Rockers" and continues to generate momentum with "I'm so Bored with the U.S.A.," "Remote Control" and the brilliant twosome "Complete Control" and "White Riot."

The U.S. version also includes five early British singles not featured on the U.K. disc. Among them, the bouncy "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais," perhaps the greatest Clash cut of all.

At first glance, the album may appear frontloaded. But its second half is filled with memorable gems as well: "Career Opportunities," "Police & Thieves," Mick Jones' "Hate & War" and the anthemic closer, "Garageland," among them.

Best of all, the disc retails for around $10. Pick up a copy and spend the New Year celebrating the revolutionary spirit of Joe Strummer, a truly deserving rock 'n' roll icon.

Artist: The Clash.

Title: "The Clash" (U.S. Version).

Year of release: 1979 (Epic Records) (U.K. version released in 1977).

Tracklisting: "Clash City Rockers," "I'm so Bored With the U.S.A.," "Remote Control," "Complete Control," "White Riot," "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais," "London's Burning," "I Fought the Law," "Janie Jones," "Career Opportunities," "What's My Name," "Hate & War," "Police & Thieves," "Jail Guitar Doors," "Garageland."