Clash 2: Give ‘Em Enough Rope

The highly anticipated second album by the Clash was the first to be officially released in the United States, and it does seem to take a more American approach. While still recorded in London, the producer of choice was Sandy Pearlman, best known then for masterminding Blue Oyster Cult. His approach on Give ‘Em Enough Rope was to bury the vocals, which dilutes whatever message the band was trying to express, but also results in an album best played and enjoyed loud.

Indeed, “Safe European Home” leaps from the speakers, and seamlessly segues from rock to reggae for the foreshadowing at the end, as Joe Strummer intones variations on the phrase “Rudie can’t fail.” “English Civil War” tries a little hard to be militant, based as it is around “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”, but “Tommy Gun” sports a terrific arrangement, with the guitars all power chords and new drummer Topper Headon imitating the bursts of ammunition. “Julie’s In The Drug Squad” is a goof on pub rock, with BOC’s Allen Lanier dancing around the piano. Paul Simonon had been practicing the bass, which is to the fore of the mix on “Last Gang In Town”.

“Guns On The Roof” cops the “I Can’t Explain” riff but throws enough harmonics and dynamics behind it for you to forget the steal. On “Drug-Stabbing Time” you really are hearing a saxophone, contributed by Stan Bronstein of Elephant’s Memory. Mick Jones doesn’t get a lead vocal until “Stay Free”, but it’s a good one, a wistful message to a missed childhood friend, wherever he or she may be now. “Cheapskates” is a little sludgy, more interesting for Mick’s lead lines weaving throughout. “That’s No Way To Spend Your Youth” was the American title given to “All The Young Punks (New Boots And Contracts)”, and the mix doesn’t do it any favors except for stamping your feet along.

While not as bold a statement as their debut—whichever one you heard first—Give ‘Em Enough Rope still delivers, satisfying the fans they’d started piling up. They were already proving they weren’t a bunch of tone-deaf punks, and were already evolving.

The Clash Give ‘Em Enough Rope (1978)—3