Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Clash Available Now
What sets this album apart sonically is The Clash’s use of reggae and dub influences. You can really hear it when you tune in to the bottom end. Your average late-70s punk record won’t have this kind of rich and meaty bass, that’s for sure.
Drop the needle on The Guns Of Brixton (last track on side two) to hear exactly what I’m talking about. On a Hot Stamper copy played at the correct levels (read: loud) the effect is positively hypnotic.
Nobody in 1979 would have accused The Clash of being an audiophile-friendly band, but the best pressings will make you think twice about that.
Bill Price engineered and, as we never tire of saying about recordings with the potential to sound as good as this one does, he knocked it out of the park. The best sounding record from 1979? Probably not, but one of the best for sure.
1979
1979 sure was an interesting year for pop/rock music.
The Wall, Breakfast in America, London Calling, Off the Wall, Get the Knack, Damn the Torpedoes, Armed Forces, Spirits Having Flown, Reggatta de Blanc, Fear of Music, Tusk, The B-52s, Lodger, Rust Never Sleeps, Rickie Lee Jones, Candy-O — the variety is remarkable.
Even more remarkable is the number of albums recorded in 79 that sound fresh and engaging to this day, more than 40 years after they were released. I could sit down in front of my speakers today and play any one of them all the way through. Try that with your ten favorite albums from 1989, 1999, 2009 or 2019 (assuming you can find ten. I sure couldn’t).
Side One
London Calling
Brand New Cadillac
Jimmy Jazz
Hateful
Rudie Can’t Fail
Side Two
Spanish Bombs
Right Profile
Lost in the Supermarket
Clampdown
Guns of Brixton
Side Three
Wrong ‘Em Boyo
Death or Glory
Koka Kola
The Card Cheat
Side Four
Lover’s Rock
Four Horsemen
I’m Not Down
Revolution Rock
Want to find your own killer copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that have been winning our Hot Stamper shootouts for years. London Calling can only really come alive:
Of course it needs to be played loud. What Clash album doesn’t?
Furthermore, the best sounding copies can only be found:
Further Reading