| Issue
#87
July ‘06
“Charlie
don’t surf and we think he should /
Charlie don’t surf and you know that ain’t no good.”
In 1980, The Clash
released Sandinista!
– a self-indulgent, over-blown, bloated mess of a 6 sided
triple LP. Following
1979’s London Calling,
arguably the best
Rock record ever made, only crippled the reception Sandinista!
received from both fans and critics alike. Toss out the dub and studio
experiments, pare
down the filler, and this could have been the single LP that put
“The Only Band That Matters”
squarely in the
forefront of Rock history. But, it seems that contractual obligations
had handcuffed The Clash to produce
an inordinate amount of
platters before they could fulfill what they now deemed an unfair
arrangement. By
releasing a double LP followed by a triple LP, they were hard at work
on a legal loophole.
Needless to say it was one more, 1982’s Combat
Rock, and done, due more to internal disparagement than
Record Co. greed.
24 years after the release of Sandinista!, Rickshaw Records gathered
18 underground instro-surf bands from around the world and proclaimed:
Charlie
Does Surf.
And then proved it. While Sandinista!
only
provides the opener, Charlie
Don’t Surf, to represent it, 13
of the 18 tracks here come from the
1977’s self-titled debut The Clash
(6) and
the afore mentioned greatest rock record of all time, London
Calling (7). While 2 more cuts are taken
from the 2nd LP, 1978’s Give
‘Em Enough Rope (which also provides the
inspiration for the excellent front and
back cover art work), it is the 2 cuts off The
Clash’s final LP, Combat
Rock, that
showcase the intensity and dedication these surf bands exhibit in their
desire to do The Clash right. You
won’t find the 2 smash
hits Rock
The Casbah and Should I Stay Or Should I Go,
here, no. What we
do have is the band CHUM from LA,
CA doing the
minor hit Straight
To Hell with an intense low groove smolder that
simply smokes! Then from Helsinki,
Finland,
The Silver Hawks
cover Atom Tan,
turning an obscure gem into a beach and surf statement – one
which gives more
credibility (what subliminal mastery at work here!) to this compilation
than anyone could
have ever consciously planned, and that includes the band
they’re paying tribute to
as well.
San Diego’s Rickshaw Records took advantage
of the
internet and The Cowabunga discussion group at YahooGroups and managed
to bring together
surf bands from Brazil, Russia, England, Canada, The Netherlands,
Finland, and all over
the USA, for a compilation that is just as satisfying, dynamic,
intense, edgy,
groove-laden, genre-bouncing, and experimental as any and all of the
songs on each of The Clash’s
8 platters that made up their 5
album career and does it all with a passion that, like The
Clash, can not be ignored.
When you put Charlie Does Surf into your
record collection,
it should (and will) easily fit in right along side your Clash
collection.
“Charlie
does surf and we know he should /
Charlie does surf and you know that is good.”
(with apologies to The Clash).
Charlie Does Surf -
A
Tribute To The Clash
is available now for: $12.98 + s/h*
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