When punk rock emerged from the bowels of New York in the mid-1970s, it was a gut-level reaction to the commercial fluff that seemed to dominate rock at the time, particularly the kind heard on FM radio. Punk burst forth with a fresh garage-band ethos, reinvigorating the bloated genre and bringing an essential rawness and simplicity back to rock.

Punk then moved to Britain, fueled by the nihilism and gimmicky marketing of Malcolm McLaren's Sex Pistols. Londoners Mick Jones and Joe Strummer soon saw punk as more than just loud guitars, leathery fashion statements and cynical attitudes. The pair envisioned punk as the perfect medium for political expression, and in this spirit they formed The Clash.

Upon release of their first album in 1977, it was apparent The Clash was unlike others in the British punk movement. While the Sex Pistols professed a showy anarchism, The Clash members were politically astute songwriters influenced by a broad range of musical styles. Their strong leftist bent was steeped in a knowledge of history and an understanding of their times. They weren't just tossing off three-chord rock ditties -- they were reacting to the political climate of the Cold War, Britain's waning influence on the global stage and rough economic times. They espoused these views in a series of passionate, powerful songs.

The Clash released a handful of LPs between 1977 and 1982 that have been reissued by Columbia/Epic under the band's direct supervision. Included in this haul are both the British and American versions of The Clash (their debut album), Give 'em Enough Rope (1978), London Calling (1979), Super Black Market Clash (1994), Sandinista!(1980) and Combat Rock (1982), along with three compilation sets. The remastered sound is markedly superior to previous editions. (At the band's insistence, however, these versions do not offer additional songs or expanded liner notes.)

What made The Clash members different was their ability to absorb influences and recast them within the punk ethos while constantly using their music as a platform for profound political statements. They infused their music with a raw and spirited energy reminiscent of the earliest days of rock 'n' roll.

They often paid homage to American music, tributes that ranged from their version of the Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought the Law" to the cover art of London Calling, with a design lifted directly from the cover of Elvis Presley's first album.

The Clash were nothing if not political, as scores of their tunes attested. As such, the band embodied much of the soul and spirit of the American folk revival and its protest song idealism, where music became a vehicle for political expression. As the band blatantly proclaimed in "Know Your Rights," its songs were often "public service announcements with guitar." At their best, these messages were so firmly enmeshed in the music that they rarely seemed preachy or pedantic. They were just great songs.

The Clash helped bring Jamaican reggae music to a wider audience when they covered the reggae tune "Police and Thieves" on their first LP.
They lived in London's Notting Hill district, which at the time (long before the Hollywoodization and Hugh Grant invasion of the area) was a cultural mixing pot. Reggae, Latin music, rockabilly, ska and other musical forms poured into the streets, and the band eagerly incorporated all these diverse genres into its tunes. Through the blending of impassioned politics, punk's urgency and the incorporation of various world and American roots influences, Strummer and Jones became the most potent songwriters of the punk era.

The reissues begin with the first album The Clash. Originally issued only in Britain in 1977, an American version was released only after the band's second LP, Give 'em Enough Rope, enjoyed American success after its release here. The British set includes the band's first hit "White Riot," as well as "Career Opportunities," with its biting line, "the ones that never knock." The American version scrapped several tunes, and added "I Fought The Law" and "Clash City Rockers." Both versions include "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A." and the aforementioned reggae cover "Police and Thieves." The only major complaint with this reissue series is the band's failure to reissue both these LPs on a single disc.

With Give 'em Enough Rope the band became even more political, commenting on European ethnocentrism in "Safe European Home" and police informers on the bouncy "Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad." The members took the line "when Johnny comes marching home" and recast it as "English Civil War." Politically and musically, it expanded the territory they began to cover with their first recording.