Combat Rock

On the surface of things, Combat Rock appears to be a retreat from the sprawling stylistic explorations of London Calling and Sandinista! The pounding arena rock of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" makes the Clash sound like an arena rock band, and much of the album boasts a muscular, heavy sound courtesy of producer Glyn Johns . But things aren't quite that simple. Combat Rock contains heavy flirtations with rap, funk, and reggae, and it even has a cameo by poet Allen Ginsberg. You can hear that the band is tearing apart in two separate directions - Mick Jones wants the Clash to inherit the Who 's righteous arena rock stance, and Joe Strummer wants to forge ahead into black music. The result is an album that is nearly as inconsistent as Sandinista! , even though its finest moments - "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "Rock the Casbah," "Straight to Hell" - illustrate why the Clash were able to reach a larger audience than ever before with the record.