Clash on Broadway
They were one the Only Band That Matters! Of course, that was when punk rock had to raise a ruckus to get noticed and restless youth turned to pop stars for political perspective. In retrospect, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon (the latter occasionally supplanted at the drum kit by Terry Chimes) didn't have all the answers. But they posed apt questions and had the grand sense of scale that their punk pathfinder rivals lacked--save accidental nihilists theSex Pistols.Clash on Broadwayencases 63 tracks on three discs and comes with an instructive booklet. From the charge-the-gates early sides ("Career Opportunities," "Hate and War," "White Riot") through their later more-textured efforts ("Straight to Hell"), with some nifty odds and ends thrown in for good measure ("1-2 Crush on You," a previously unreleased cover of "Every Little Bit Hurts" that shows the heart behind their dogma), this box puts the band in perspective.--Steven Stolder