Super Black Market Clash
	Compilation produced by Kosmo Vinyl
	Released on November 1993
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
EK 53191 cover [high resolution scan]

T he original Black Market Clash EP was released as a nifty 10-inch record in 1980 for five bucks, if memory serves. At the time, ten-inchers were a novelty (we didn’t remember the 78-rpm records) and a cheap way to sample six or seven songs. The Clash used the medium to fill in the gaps for US audiences who had missed all of the terrific UK singles and the B sides they contained. So, in a sense, it was the UK phenomenon condensed from snack-size into one surprisingly satisfying meal. I say surprising because few bands released B sides of any real merit. In the case of The Clash, a true “singles” band, the B sides had just as much sting as the A’s. But that’s all a history lesson now; when Super Black Market Clash was released in 1993, it included some but not all of the original nine tracks, added over a dozen more and re-sequenced everything. The result is a 21-song compilation of rarities that ranks with any of their original releases. (In fact, I prefer this to Give ‘Em Enough Rope.) About halfway through, The Clash go from being a punk band to dub experimentalists; if you start looking at the clock around “The Magnificent Dance,” you’re not alone. But a lot of the later work is groundbreaking stuff: “Stop The World” (which reminds me of Happy Mondays), “The Cool Out,” “Long Time Jerk” (which would have felt at home on the first BAD album). It’s not what you came here for, though. You came here for “Capital Radio Two” (a re-recording of the original), “1977,” “City of the Dead,” “The Prisoner,” etc. Those tracks (as others have pointed out) cover the price of admission alone. The rest of it’s gravy, and a far meatier gravy than you’ll find on similar exercises like XTC’s Rag & Bone Buffet.

TRACK LISTING

1. 1977    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    1:39
2. LISTEN    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    2:45
3. JAIL GUITAR DOORS    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)   3:03
4. CITY OF THE DEAD    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    2:23
5. THE PRISONER    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    3:01
6. PRESSURE DROP    (Frederick Hibbert)    3:36
7. 1-2 CRUSH ON YOU    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    2:57
8. GROOVY TIMES    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    3:30
9. GATES OF THE WEST    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    3:26
10. CAPITAL RADIO TWO    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)    3:20
11. TIME IS TIGHT    (Booker T. Jones)    4:05
12. JUSTICE TONIGHT/KICK IT OVER    (Willi Williams)    8:53
13. ROBBER DUB    (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones/Michael Campbell)    4:41
14. THE COOL OUT    (The Clash)    3:54
15. STOP THE WORLD    (The Clash)    2:33
16. THE MAGNIFICENT DANCE    (The Clash)    5:37
17. RADIO CLASH    (The Clash)    4:11
18. FIRST NIGHT BACK IN LONDON    (The Clash)    3:00
19. LONG TIME JERK    (The Clash)    2:57
20. COOL CONFUSION    (The Clash)    3:15
21. MUSTAPHA DANCE    (The Clash)    4:25

CREDITS

TOPPER HEADON -- drums & percussionist
MICK JONES -- guitar & vocals
PAUL SIMONON -- bass & vocals
JOE STRUMMER -- vocals & guitar
Gary Pacheco -- project director
Rocco Redondo -- cover photo
Pennie Smith -- Clash photo
Paul & Jules -- original design
Josh & Jules -- additional design

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