Combat Rock + The People's HallCheapest atstore.acousticsounds.com
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4.1
Average of 46 reviews
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The packaging for this item is quite disappointing. The booklet that came with "The People's Hall" doesn't have any recording details for the tracks whatsoever. It would have been great to have some information included.
Lately, I've been exploring my collection with the Discogs app's shuffle feature since upgrading my turntable and cartridge. My setup is pretty level and not too noisy, but I'm curious if this record has a somewhat muted mix—it's not muffled, just a tad dull. I don't have many vinyl copies to compare it to, aside from a CD, but when I put it up against some of The Clash's reissues I own, it just doesn't sound quite right to me.
The record I got is pretty bent, has some hissing, and the sound quality is weak and harsh. But hey, I only spent $10 on it sealed, so I guess I can't complain.
Great quality pressing, sound is clear and sharp. The vinyl has a cool green tint to it!
I've frequently pondered how many album covers showcase a band on some deserted railroad tracks, and what the appeal is, or what emotions they aim to evoke, particularly since few people use the railroads these days, except for transporting goods, and now it appears, for creating evocative images from a bygone era ... yet here we have The Clash, on the tracks, possibly seeing themselves at some metaphorical crossroads. Combat Rock found The Clash at their peak, following a sequence of albums that were progressively improving, yet still heavily relied on a hit single to carry them. If somewhat unconventional, Combat Rock was undoubtedly their most cohesive album to date, blending a variety of genres that shouldn't have worked together, yet in The Clash's hands, managed to do so seamlessly, even effortlessly. Binding all this music together were some excellent, if often cryptic lyrics, boldly criticizing America and its foreign and political policies as had never been done before. Though with that in mind, I sincerely doubt that those lyrics impacted those listening to this masterpiece in 1982 as much as, say, the lyrics of The Jefferson Airplane did as they stepped into a new decade, ready to challenge the status quo. My point here is that even with the critical acclaim of the album and the journey the band were on, most of the members were on their own emotional rollercoaster, having entered a drug culture that was more isolating, and not as unifying as it had been in the mid 60’s, with drummer Topper Headon being asked to leave the band (it was a year of great Cocaine and bad Heroin), which was followed by a series of infighting and directional disagreements that were beginning to surface, signaling with all its glory that Combat was more about the internal strife within the band than with the changes they professed to support, or the culture they wished to change. There are others who will insist just as strongly, that this is a very weak and disjointed album, that it is only the high energy of the delivery that makes it feel important, that Combat Rock engaged in dysfunctional forms of artistic expression laid down by a group of morons who actually didn’t know how to play their instruments, was clearly geared to an American market of punk fashion that offered a bit more sophistication and presentation … basically anything to get the band as far away from the Queen of England as possible, and that Combat Rock, a massive album was not The Clash’s finest hour. Nearly all of the songs are heavily riff-driven with a catchy blues progression delivered in 4/4 time, often seemingly filled with improvisational vocals, creating a surreal atmosphere that changes from track to track, yet keeps the band in check. With the first side of the album delivering more conventional material and sporting two radio hits, side two becomes more introspective and less accessible, as if Frank Zappa had been pressed into service. From there the album goes in all directions at once, though in the end dovetails back in on itself, of course with others saying that rather than dovetailing, the experience rained back down on itself and exploded. When all is said and done, I found the sonic energy to be impossible to ignore, I also found that with this much energy, I could not listen to more than a single side of the album at once, quickly finding the side that rode best in my back pocket for future plays, nearly ignoring the other, where weak songs are overshadowed by great ones, where The Clash seemed to be a serious band during a time of new-wave fluff. *** The Fun Facts: The album was initially envisioned as a double outing, to be titled Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg.
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| Date | Lowest price | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2025 | $62.98 | €62.98 |
| Apr 27, 2025 | $62.98 | €62.98 |
| Aug 30, 2025 | $59.98 | €61.65 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | $59.98 | €61.65 |
| Oct 31, 2025 | $59.98 | €61.65 |
| Nov 30, 2025 | $59.98 | €61.65 |
| Dec 31, 2025 | $59.99 | €62.49 |
| Jan 31, 2026 | $59.98 | €62.48 |
| Feb 28, 2026 | $59.98 | €62.48 |
| Mar 7, 2026 | $59.98 | €62.48 |