The Clash - Jaap Edenhal, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 5-10-1981

The Clash could be great playing live at times. But they've only released two live albums: "From Here to Eternity" and "Live at Shea Stadium." I find both of them strangely disappointing. The first one samples live performances from when they started out in clubs until when they ended in stadiums, and I don't think it holds together. For the latter one, I don't think they were at their best when they were playing a greatest hits type set list in front of 50,000 people.

I've searched for better live recordings, but it's been tough. One reason I post a lot of live solo acoustic material at this blog is that bootlegs of music in that format usually sound pretty good. It's hard to mess up a recording when all you have is a voice and a guitar. But when you have a full band, a recording can sound murky and bad if it isn't mixed right. That's the case for the vast majority of Clash bootlegs, from what I've heard. Luckily, there are a few exceptions. This is one of the very best.

This is a complete 57-minute long show from after the band's "Sandanista!" album. Only six of the songs come from that album though. There are songs from all parts of their career up until that point. In my opinion, the band plays with a lot of energy and often sounds even better than they did on record.

01 London Calling (Clash)
02 The Leader (Clash)
03 Somebody Got Murdered (Clash)
04 talk (Clash)
05 White Man in Hammersmith Palais (Clash)
06 talk (Clash)
07 The Guns of Brixton (Clash)
08 Lightning Strikes [Not Once but Twice] (Clash)
09 Ivan Meets G. I. Joe (Clash)
10 This Is Radio Clash (Clash)
11 Charlie Don't Surf (Clash)
12 The Magnificent Seven (Clash)
13 talk (Clash)
14 Bankrobber (Clash)
15 Train in Vain [Stand by Me] (Clash)
16 talk (Clash)
17 Career Opportunities (Clash)
18 Clampdown (Clash)
19 One More Time (Clash)
20 I Fought the Law (Clash)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15288235/TClas_1981a_JaapEdnhalAmsterdmNetherlnds__5-10-1981_atse.zip.html

For the cover art, I wanted to use a photo of the band in concert in 1981. I was surprised that I couldn't find any good ones. But I did find some from 1980, so I used that instead. I don't know where this photo is from other than the year.