Give 'Em Enough Rope
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| Give 'Em Enough Rope | |||||
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| Studio album by The Clash | |||||
| Released | November 10, 1978 | ||||
| Recorded | Basing Street Studios, London, May–June 1978; The Automatt, San Francisco, August–September 1978 | ||||
| Genre | Punk rock | ||||
| Length | 36:57 | ||||
| Label | CBS, Epic | ||||
| Producer | Sandy Pearlman | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| The Clash chronology | |||||
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Give 'Em Enough Rope was The Clash's second album. In the US it was their official debut, preceding the U.S. version of The Clash. The album was well received by critics and fans, peaking at number 2 in the UK chart,[1] and number 128 in the U.S.[2]
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[edit] Album information
It was voted album of the year for 1978 by Rolling Stone and Time magazines, as well as the popular UK music weekly, Sounds. The latter gave it a glowing review upon release, with writer David Mculloch calling it "swash-buckled heavy-metal" and claiming it to be "The best LP since the last Clash LP, both, I personally feel, transcending anything ever recorded". The cover was designed by Gene Greif, using a postcard, "End of the Trail", photographed by Adrian Atwater, featuring Wallace Irving Robertson.
The cover of the first US pressings showed the band's name written in block capital letters. Subsequent US pressings used a faux-oriental style font, which was then replaced with the more ornate faux-oriental style font used on the UK release.
The original American issue of the album also retitled "All the Young Punks" as "That's No Way to Spend Your Youth". This was revised on later editions.
"Tommy Gun" and "English Civil War" were released as the album's singles, either side of Christmas 1978. They entered the UK charts at #19 and #25 respectively.
Though the opening track of the album's B-side, "Guns On The Roof" is ostensibly a rant about global terrorism, war and corruption, it was partly inspired by an incident that resulted in the Metropolitan Police's armed anti-terrorist squad raiding The Clash's Camden Market base. Paul Simonon and Topper Headon were arrested and charged with criminal damage (and later and fined £750) for shooting racing pigeons with an air-gun from the roof of their rehearsal building. The main riff of the song is lifted from 'I Can't Explain' by The Who.
The album's title comes from the expression "give them enough rope and they'll hang themselves".
[edit] Reception
Although Give em Enough Rope got brilliant receptions by the stats it was not well received at the time as it was considered too commercial.
- Q (12/99, pp.152-3) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...no more punk than Blondie...[it] shined of quality....their drumming problems were over with the arrival of jazz-trained [Topper] Headon."
- Q (5/02 SE, p.135) - Included in Q's "100 Best Punk Albums."
- NME (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #87 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.'
[edit] Track listing
All songs were written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, except where noted. All songs were arranged by The Clash. All lead vocals were by Strummer, except "Stay Free" by Jones.
[edit] Side one
- "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
[edit] Side two
- "Guns on the Roof" (Strummer, Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon) – 3:15
- "Drug-Stabbing Time" – 3:43
- "Stay Free" – 3:40
- "Cheapskates" – 3:25
- "All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)" – 4:55
[edit] Personnel
The following people contributed to Give 'Em Enough Rope:[3]
- Joe Strummer - vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones - guitar, vocals
- Paul Simonon - bass guitar
- Topper Headon – drums
- Sandy Pearlman - producer
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Albums Chart[4] | 36 |
| UK Albums Chart[5] | 2 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Marcus, Greil (1979-01-25). The Clash: Give 'Em Enough Rope. Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
- ^ Letts Don; Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, Rick Elgood, The Clash. (2001). The Clash, Westway to the World [Documentary]. New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. Retrieved on 2007-11-26. Event occurs at 41:00–45:00. ISBN 0738900826. OCLC 49798077.
- ^ Give 'Em Enough Rope (Album liner notes). CBS Records. November 1978.
- ^ "Discography The Clash". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
- ^ "UK Chart Archive". everyHit.co.uk. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
[edit] References
- Gilbert, Pat [2004] (2005). Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash, 4th edition, London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
- Gray, Marcus [1995] (2005). The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town, 5th revised edition, London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
- Green, Johnny; Garry Barker [1997] (2003). A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
- Gruen, Bob; Chris Salewicz [2001] (2004). The Clash, 3rd edition, London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
- Needs, Kris (2005-01-25). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
- Topping, Keith [2003] (2004). The Complete Clash, 2nd edition, Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
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