Try as I might I could never get into The Clash’s London Calling. The double album of theirs that was released in 1979 that is, and not its title track which is the subject of this post. I think the song is one of the greatest album openers you could have. Though I understand why it’s held in such acclaim. For their previous two albums the band had been delivering meat and potatoes three chord social observation punk rock. With London Calling the band decided they could make any type of music they wanted to: reggae, ska, pop, lounge jazz – it’s all on there. The album has its classics: ‘Lost in the Supermarket’, ‘The Guns of Brixton’, ‘Clampdown’. All signatures tunes from there. But as a whole, I could never vibe with it. It really doesn’t matter in the great scheme of things.

I’ve always enjoyed the title track though. Its stomping introduction with its minor key and thick bass give off this sense of some impending doom, and this is only further emphasised by singer and guitarist Joe Strummer’s vocal about police brutality, casual drug usage, and the city of London drowning because of a flood in the River Thames. Closer listening to this track has always brought out new things in the mix that I never noticed before. Like how much guitar feedback there is throughout. Or the panning of Mick Jone’s yelp just before the strange reverse double guitar solo. And the Morse code that spells out ‘S-O-S’ in the fade out. There’s plenty of small audio tricks and snippets in the production that make the song that more engaging to hear each time you listen.

This song’s been one that’s always just been there for me. I definitely came to know the song through its music video which shows the band performing the track on a boat on the Thames in the rain with huge floodlights shining on them. Made an impression on me as a younger person, however old I was when I first encountered it.