“Sandinista!”, the “White Album” by the Clash
On December 12, 1980, 363 days after a legendary double album, i Clash released another historic album, “Sandinista!”moreover triple. “London Calling” (read the review here) was in fact released on 14 December 1979. And it remains not only the masterpiece of Clashbut a true watershed album, between decades and musical eras. The album with which punk became adult. The English band recovers rock ‘n’ roll, reggae, without losing the iconoclasm. “Sandinista!” carries out this choice in an even more decisive and courageous manner. Below is the review of the album written by Andrea Valentini.
“The only band that matters”, said the late and venerated (perhaps too much by those who don’t understand him) Lester Bangs about them. And, whether you like the Clash’s music or not, it is undeniable that they have left a mark – a scar, which is more punk come on – in the history of rock of the last 40 years. An important disfigurement, indeed.
It’s December 12, 1980, so you can breathe the Christmas air, when this triple album hits the market. The fans are taken aback by the ambitiousness of the operation, but the disorientation does not last long: the 36 pieces spread over six sides, sold at a special and very low price (thanks to the band’s idea of giving up part of the royalties to keep the price down sales – otherwise CBS would not have given in and given approval to the operation), show a group in the throes of a sort of creative fury that includes, reworks and shapes everything. The result is one that leaves you speechless.
To quote another legend dealing with “Sandinista!”, we turn to Robert Christgau (at the time the writer of the “Village Voice”) who, reviewing it, wrote: “If this is their worst work – and, in fact, I think that it is – the Clash must be the best rock’n’roll band in the world.” Ipse dixit. And who are we to argue otherwise?
If in the previous, very successful and exhilarating, “London Calling” Strummer and his band had reconnected with that rock’n’roll of the roots (a bit Ammeregano and roots) that they said they wanted to avoid in their early days, with “Sandinista!” they let go of the brake – or rather they tear it off the pedal and throw it out the window. Punk and rock’n’roll remain attitudinal suggestions, while the impetus and the underlying idea seem to be guided by the discovery of the fact that there is a vast Babel of sounds out there. It’s as if Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Headon were saying: screw the Clash style, now there’s a world to discover.
And then the floodgates open: gospel, calypso, reggae, dub, dance, rhythm & blues, rock, jazz, disco… after the recovery of rock’n’roll the band wants more. Much more: he wants to carve out a sort of super partes position including all or almost all the musical/cultural traditions of the globe. The production of Mickey Dread (i.e. the late Michael George Campbell, a true guru and innovator in the reggae field, who passed away in 2008) is the classic ace in the hole, not to mention the experimentation with unusual instruments for a typically rock band like the Clash. The lyrics also demonstrate a desire for openness, with very clear references that transcend the Anglo-American dimension, to cross the borders of the Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean.
There are those who called “Sandinista!” The Clash’s “White Album”. For many it is a manifesto of politicized music and activism. For others an excellent single album with two free bonus discs: whatever the case may be, it is impossible to ignore it. And finding it again on vinyl is a bit like meeting an old friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. A beautiful feeling, which transcends definitions, labels and pigeonholing.
