Formed in London in 1976 by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon at the outset of that citys punk rock boom, The Clash went on to outlast their peers and create some of the most influential albums in rock n roll--not just punk--even breaching the mainstream in 1982 and earning the title "The Only Band That Matters" along the way. In their eight-year career, The Clash offered six CBS Records studio releases, including one double and one triple LP, and increasingly melded influences ranging from rockabilly to ska, reggae, and even hip-hop into their sound. Veteran music journalist Martin Popoff dissects each of the 91 tracks, including the circumstances that led to their creation, the recording processes, the historical contexts, and more. In addition, an introductory essay sets the scene for each album, while sidebar features explore influences on the band, album art, non-LP singles, the bands staunch political stance, and song details, such as running time, instruments played, engineers, and studios.
Author Biography
Martin Popoff has been described as the worlds most famous heavy-metal journalist, though he has covered plenty of Punk and New Wave albums in his career of 7,000-plus album reviews. He has penned many books on various bands, genres of rock, and record collecting, including Voyageur Press Rush: The Illustrated History; Metallica: The Complete Illustrated History; The Art of Metal; and The Big Book of Hair Metal. He has also worked on film documentaries about Rush and ZZ Top. He lives in Toronto with his wife and son.At approximately 7,900 (with more than 7,000 appearing in his books), Martin Popoff has unofficially written more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned fifty-six books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock, and record collecting, including 2017s Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs. He was editor-in-chief of the now-retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles for fourteen years, and has also contributed to Revolver, Guitar World, Goldmine, and Record Collector. Martin has been a regular contractor to Banger Films, having worked on the award-wining documentaries about Rush and ZZ Top. Martin resides in Toronto with his wife and son.
