release date: Nov. 1980
format: vinyl (12EXP-304) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,07]
producer: Mickey Foote; The Clash; Mickey Dread
label: Epic Records - nationality: England, UK
Tracklist: A) 1. "Capital Radio One" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Prisoner" (4 / 5) - 3. "Pressure Drop" (5 / 5) (alt. version) - 4. "Cheat" (4 / 5) - 5. "City of the Dead" (5 / 5) - 6. "Time Is Tight" (3 / 5) - - B) 1. "Bankrobber / Robber Dub" (4 / 5) - 2. "Armagideon Time" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Justice Tonight / Kick It Over" (4 / 5)
Compilation album by The Clash only for the North American market issued by Epic Records (sub-label of CBS Records). Most of the tracks had been issued as B-sides to single releases for the UK and European market only. The decision to release it only one month before the band's third studio album, the triple lp Sandinista!, may seem a bit strange, but that release was postponed until Jan. 1981 on the American continent, and Black Market Clash wasn't released in Europe until 1991. I found the 12'' vinyl at my local record store (the first US issues were 10'' vinyl), as an import item back in 1983 or '84. At first, I thought of it as a non-official release, as no-one really new of it. Back then, The Clash was huge, although Sandinista! was a bit of a peculiar experience / development in sound. I remember that I was quite fond of this one, and primarily saw it as an album that linked the epic London Calling (1979) and Sandinista! rather nicely.
Over the years, I have come to appreciate it even more. In the early '80s, I had some difficulty in getting along with reggae and many punk rock and ska revival artists' honouring and trying out the genre. A lot of punk and new wave artists had to do some reggae track sooner or later, and often with little success. But The Clash didn't just try it, they combined, mixed, and altered the original Jamaican style into a new blend. Actually, many of the new ska revival bands played a British version that was close to rocksteady and Jamaican ska, but The Clash was more reggae-minded in a more experimental way using dub in nearly all their reggae inspired tracks. "Pressure Drop" is originally by Toots & The Maytals but The Clash completely changed the track into a more energetic punk rock AND reggae song, which is amazing. The original song IS really great, and it's only a mystery how Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert never was hailed as much as Bob Marley. Joe Strummer's vocal is characteristically crisp as ever, and the harmonic Strummer / Jones backing vocals are just top-notch together with tight but also reggae styled guitar, bass and drums. Half of the tracks are in the reggae dub category, and the other half is punk rock as in 'Best The Clash way possible'. The album was reissued as "Super Black Market Clash" (1993) with 21 tracks but that issue seems way to uneven, and some of the best tracks from the original release are strangely omitted.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]
[ collectors' item ]
