The Clash: Managua Calling

We polled the Dadrock 101 editorial board as to why they don't listen to Sandinista as much as other Clash albums.

"Too long."
"I used too...guess it didn't stick."
"It sucks."
"Bullsh!t, it's great...the Mose Allison tune is a gem."

It's not an easy album. How do you follow up on a specially priced, meisterwerk double album? The Clash issued a stopgap compilation of odds and sods and then put out a triple.

Why a triple? The story goes that they were peeved at the fact that while they had to fight with their record company to put out London Calling as a double.

Did they have six sides of music? Yes, six shortish sides, but then they padded it. Five of the songs are doubled up with dub versions of some sort...one of them a backward tape with effects. Vital and riveting, to be sure. Mickey Dread, a girlfriend (on hiatus from Meatloaf gigs), an old friend, and the keyboard player's kids all contribute some guest vocals.

There is some goofy stuff on there too...and they didn't slap it all on the third disc-like, say, Apple Jams at the end of All Things Must Pass. Nope. Not the Clash. They mixed it throughout the whole album.

While I appreciate the attitude, it gets in the way of giving the album a good listen. My mixtape - 45 minutes - went something like this....
...whereas Epic sent a single-disc promo, Sandinista Now!, to radio stations.
I guess that one is less of a London Calling rehash than mine, incorporating more of their rap and funk explorations, but how would it sound as a double or a triple, with a running time of less than 2.5 hours? We can cut the crap and ditch the "dubbles" and some of the experiments, consigning them (along with the Mose cover) to the spliff bunker from "whence they was borned"...on their own playlist at the end of the post.

Let's also toss "Bankrobber" back into the mix, as it came from the same sessions.

That gives us Managua Calling. With over 90 minutes of solid Clash, it would have been enough for a double, maybe the triple with little filler.
Lastly, as promised, or threatened:
If you'd like to learn more about the album and its sessions, Chuck D covers it here.
Your comments, opinions, and complaints can be directed to dadrockblog@gmail.com until we get the comment post function sorted out.

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