Sandanista! In Good Album Review Shock!

Much maligned triple album is actually pretty good...

Bar one or two tracks, I hadn't listened to Sandinista! by The Clash for a very long time until earlier this year.

OK, so maybe it doesn't work well in a digital or CD format - there's too much to listen to in one sitting, so I can understand why it is viewed as a patchy mess of an album. Well you try staying focussed on anything for almost two and a half hours!


However, in it's original format - triple vinyl - it's actually a much more focussed listening experience than some people would have you believe, allowing you the benefit of a pause every 20 odd minutes to turn the record over. Reviews frequently look at the negatives - yes, there are some things that don't work - but neglect to mention the album's main strength, which is a lot of classic tunes: The Magnificent 7, Hits ville UK, The Call Up, Charlie Don't Surf, Washington Bullets, their cover of Lightning Strikes (not Once But Twice) etc. Instead of there being "a great single album" (another comment from the reviewer's book of clichés) somewhere in here, I reckon there's three hugely enjoyable, adventurous, and wonderfully diverse post-punk-dub-rap-pop albums screaming to get out. There's something for everyone here.

It takes an open mind to love this album - The UK press slated it, but their American counterparts, perhaps not so hung up on the bands punk credentials, loved it. I've listened to Sandinista! more in the last 12 months than I ever have before. If you haven't listened to it for a while then, go on, give it a second chance. Just take it one disc at a time...