7 keepers
keeper avg .194
The ambitious follow-up to London Calling respectably increases the band's palette of influences, and while in step the band's and the culture's direction at the time it's nowhere near as focused as its impressive but relatively concise double-album predecessor. The album version of "Magnificent Seven" that kicks off Sandinista sounds more like the Rolling Stones doing disco on "Miss You" than punk; though my assessment may be tainted by hearing energetic live versions it's still no "London Calling." The Motown-styled "Hitsville UK", which follows, (featuring vocals by Ellen Foley, then Mick Jones's girlfriend and later on Night Court) is especially simplistic and dull however on the mark lyrically, and if I didn't listen to this album on shuffle I'd be severely disappointed by now. The best disc (LP) one has to offer are the silly but peppy and timely "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe"**** (sung by drummer Topper Headon), the rockabilly "The Leader"****, and the frantic swing of "Look Here." Side 3 begins with the slightly funky "Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)" and Mick Jones's bleak tale of estate/project living "Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)"****; Jones adds a memorable riff to this brisk rocker similar to "Spanish Bombs," and also sings the spirited cover of The Equals' "Police On My Back"****, which begins side 4. "Let's Go Crazy"**** is the first calypso song by a punk band I can remember, with Joe Strummer embracing the jubilation with "Bricks and bottles, corrugated iron, Shields and helmets, carnival time." Obviously reggae is a significant influence at this time and style manifests in a couple different ways. "One More Time" has the reggae pulse played rock n roll like Police; some more purely reggae tracks such as "Junco Partner" and "The Crooked Beat" are bogged down by cartoon-y bleeps and studio effects. My favorite track in the style is "Living In Fame"**** (billed as a dub version of the boring "If Music Could Talk"), with a little 80's guitar, no silly noises, and exuberant vocal by Jamaican singer Mikey Dread ("Aaaaaaaaaay!"). To kick off side 5 The Clash backs Tymon Dogg on "Lose This Skin"****, a bizarre but powerful rock-jig about escape, driven by Dogg's androgynous vocal and insistent fiddle (probably based on some Irish Folk song I'm not familiar with). The fiddle also makes a strange but effective appearance in the reggae context in "The Equaliser", and less prominently on "Junco Partner." Other memorable tracks include "The Call Up," another one resembling "Miss You," the Clampdown-like rocker "Kingston Advice" (these days you bet your life), the deep gospel "The Sound Of The Sinners," and the 50's doo-wop "Charlie Don't Surf." But an album totaling 36 songs is bound to have lots of filler. "Rebel Waltz," "Washington Bullets" (which gives the album its name), "Broadway," and "The Street Parade" are especially weak or reliant on studio doodling, 6 songs are lesser dub versions of other songs on the album, and 2 are songs previous Clash albums sung by children. With an LP's worth of omissions Sandinista would be an idiosyncratic but worthy follow-up to London Calling, but with side 6 being a near total throwaway and several other annoyingly weak tracks it's too frustratingly inconsistent.
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