Obscure in its view and presentation where it's hard to tell if The Clash is perfoming on a pier or some anchored boat, still the makers of such
video managed to create a classic video for an incredible group at the peak of their success with the title track for the successful 1979 album. "London
Calling" is the quintessential punk rock song and the album is an unsurpassed masterpiece and one of the greatest albums of all time. Visually speaking,
this clip and the one for "Rock the Casbah" were my introduction to the group and both were unforgettable ever since, some decades ago.
It's a really quite obscure video, with diminished colors that gives the appearance of seeing everything in a monochromatic way, shot at night. Struemer, Jones and Simonon make a trio lineup in front of this set with all of them basically singing, playing their instruments and moving at the same time in a very synchonized manner. Drummer Topper Headon appears very little in the background, so our full attention to the three other men performances. It's a basic performance but in this particular case, somehow, it worked.
Way better than creating some concept or telling some story. It's cool in this simple manner, plus the song sells itself very easily. 9/10.
It's a really quite obscure video, with diminished colors that gives the appearance of seeing everything in a monochromatic way, shot at night. Struemer, Jones and Simonon make a trio lineup in front of this set with all of them basically singing, playing their instruments and moving at the same time in a very synchonized manner. Drummer Topper Headon appears very little in the background, so our full attention to the three other men performances. It's a basic performance but in this particular case, somehow, it worked.
Way better than creating some concept or telling some story. It's cool in this simple manner, plus the song sells itself very easily. 9/10.
