Super Black Market Clash

iTunes Review

Black Market Clash was originally a 10” EP released in between London Calling and Sandinista. This expanded 1993 edition betters the original by bringing together almost every crucial b-side from the band’s 1977-1982 heyday. More than any of their studio albums, Super Black Market Clash captures the quartet’s trajectory, as they moved beyond the parameters of punk and explored their passion for reggae, soul, and hip-hop. While the snarling “1977” is as emblematic of early punk as “White Riot” or “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.,” the Clash really set themselves apart with covers of “Time Is Tight” (Booker T. and the MG’s) and “Pressure Drop” (Toots and the Maytals). They reformatted these classics with their own ingenious arrangements, thereby proving that they could absorb their influences without sacrificing their own style. Super Black Market Clash is buoyed by several of Mick Jones’ finest pure pop songs (“1-2 Crush On You,” “Gates of the West,” “The Prisoner”), but the second half of the collection shows the band at its boldest, delving into their own dark and deeply groovy excursions into dub and rap rhythms.