The Clash - Black Market Clash (repost)

Black Market Clash is a compilation album released by The Clash in 1980 between the releases of London Calling and Sandinista!. It compiled rare and unreleased recordings which were unavailable in the United States.


It contains the political themes and punk energy found on the earlier albums along with a healthy dose of reggae grooves and dub riddims. This album is way OOP (out-of-print) and has been replaced with Super Black Market Clash which ironically is missing the tracks "Capital Radio One", "Cheat", "Bankrobber/Robber Dub" and "Armagideon Time". The reason behind this, is that these tracks had already found their way on to the CD compilations The Story of The Clash Vol.1 and The Clash on Broadway. It didn't make much sense to release these tracks again so only 5 of the original tracks were used along with an additional 16 to make up what is now Super Black Market Clash - fine with me, the more the better. The original 10" EP has since become something of a rarity, but you can now enjoy it in it's originally sequenced glory, the way it was intended to be heard.

Side One, which is comprised of tracks 1-6, features "The Prisoner," a cover of Toots & the Maytals' "Pressure Drop (Bill Price Remix)," and "City of the Dead," which were b-sides from their early 1977-79 period. "Cheat" from their debut album had been left off the US version. At the time of release Black Market Clash was the only record that featured a cover of Booker T & the MGs' instrumental "Time Is Tight". "Capital Radio One" was extremely rare in the UK, so much so that the group had recorded a new version, "Capital Radio Two", which was originally released on The Cost of Living [EP], and ended up on Super Black Market Clash disc.

Side Two, tracks 7-9, begins with the A-side version of "Bankrobber." This segues into "Robber Dub," which was originally intended for the B-side of an unreleased "Bankrobber" 12" single and appeared here for the first time. Both of these tracks are edited and combined to create a version which is unique to this collection. The next track is a cover of Willie Williams' "Armagideon Time". It is followed by the dub version of the same song which is titled, "Justice Tonight/Kick It Over." This track was previously available only as the B-side to the 12-inch import "London Calling" single. This version of the song is also unique to this compilation as it is the edited 7:00 minute version.

01. Capital Radio One
02. The Prisoner
03. Pressure Drop (Bill Price Remix) (Toots & the Maytals)
04. Cheat
05. The City of the Dead
06. Time Is Tight (Booker T & the MGs)
07. Bankrobber/Robber Dub
08. Armagideon Time (Willie Williams)
09. Justice Tonight/Kick It Over (edit)

The Clash - Black Market Clash