The Clash - The Singles

iTunes Review

Having reached a pinnacle of commercial success before breaking up in 1986, it’s easy to forget that The Clash’s music was first thought too aggressive for the U.S. airwaves. Listening now to the radio friendly “Rock the Casbah,” their faithful cover of the 1950s classic, “I Fought the Law,” or the (now) easy listening punk of “Remote Control,” one almost wonders what all the fuss was about. But for every soft-focus “Train in Vain,” there was a fiery “White Riot” or a “Clash City Rockers,” their aggressive, four-chord punk contextualized by the band’s use of numerous touchstones of pop culture (the Elvis homage on the cover of London Calling; the liberal borrowing of rockabilly, dub and reggae rhythms; their unabashed fondness for soul and pop in the middle of the safety-pin revolution, etc.). Comprised of the band’s U.K. single A-sides (actually, there were 19 of them; “Train in Vain” is included here as an honorary U.K. single when in truth it was a hit single in the U.S.), this collection will do fine for the true fan who needs an easy, single-disc size collection of some of the band’s greatest work; it will also serve the casual fan in showcasing all facets of The Clash sound.