Combat Rock
Encyclopedia
The album received positive reviews from critics, and reached the number two on the UK Albums Chart
, the number seven on the Billboard
Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries. The United States Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) certified
Combat Rock as a Gold album on November 1982, Platinum in January 1983, and Multi-Platinum in June 1995.
In 1999, Q magazine
rated Combat Rock three stars out of five, and described the album as "...their biggest seller, but the beginning of the end." In 2000, Alternative Press rated the album three stars out of five, and wrote that "The penultimate Clash album...employing lessons learned in the previous three years....their most commercially rewarded release....containing [their] most poignant song 'Straight To Hell'." The College Music Journal
ranked Combat Rock at number five on its 2004 list of the Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1982.
Combat Rock was apparently one of the all-time favorite albums of Nirvana
frontman Kurt Cobain
.
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, the number seven on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries. The United States Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) certified
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
Combat Rock as a Gold album on November 1982, Platinum in January 1983, and Multi-Platinum in June 1995.
In 1999, Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
rated Combat Rock three stars out of five, and described the album as "...their biggest seller, but the beginning of the end." In 2000, Alternative Press rated the album three stars out of five, and wrote that "The penultimate Clash album...employing lessons learned in the previous three years....their most commercially rewarded release....containing [their] most poignant song 'Straight To Hell'." The College Music Journal
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
ranked Combat Rock at number five on its 2004 list of the Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1982.
Combat Rock was apparently one of the all-time favorite albums of Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
frontman Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
.
Track listing
Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg track list
- "The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too" – 3:45
- "Kill Time" – 4:58
- "Should I Stay or Should I GoShould I Stay or Should I Go"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, a decade after it was originally released. In November...
" – 3:05 - "Rock the CasbahRock the Casbah"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash in 1982. It was released as the third single from their fifth album, Combat Rock. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. and, along with the track "Mustapha Dance," it also reached number eight on...
" – 3:47 - "Know Your Rights" (extended version) – 5:04
- "Red Angel Dragnet" – 6:12
- "Ghetto Defendant" – 6:17
- "Sean FlynnSean FlynnSean Leslie Flynn was an American actor and freelance photojournalist best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War. He started a news service in Saigon with John Steinbeck IV, son of the American author.Flynn was the only child of the marriage of Errol Flynn and Lili Damita...
" – 7:30 - "Car Jamming" – 3:53
- "Inoculated City" – 4:32
- "Death Is a Star" – 2:39
- "Walk Evil Talk" (instrumental) – 7:37
- "Atom Tan" – 2:45
- "Overpowered by Funk" (demo) – 1:59
- "Inoculated City" (unedited version) – 2:30
- "First Night Back in London" – 2:56
- "Cool Confusion" – 3:10
- "Straight to HellStraight to Hell (song)"Straight to Hell" is a song by The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was released as a double A-side single with "Should I Stay or Should I Go" on 17 September 1982 in 12" and 7" vinyl format format. A slow, mournful ballad, it is one of the most popular songs in the Clash canon due to its...
" (extended version) – 6:56
Personnel
- Joe StrummerJoe StrummerJohn Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, lead vocals - Mick JonesMick Jones (The Clash)Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, vocals, - Paul SimononPaul SimononPaul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. Recent work includes his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Topper HeadonTopper HeadonHeadon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal...
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, piano and bass on "Rock the Casbah"
Additional musicians
- Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
– guest vocals on "Ghetto Defendant" - Futura 2000Futura 2000Futura 2000 is a graffiti artist. He started to paint illegally on New York's subway in the early seventies, working with other artists such as ALI. In the early eighties he showed with Patti Astor at the Fun Gallery, along with Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Hambleton and Kenny Scharf...
– guest vocals on "Overpowered by Funk" - Ellen FoleyEllen FoleyEllen Foley is an American singer and actress, who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom Night Court. In music, she has released three solo albums but is best known for her collaborations with the singer Meat Loaf.- Early life and career :Foley was born in St....
– backing vocals on "Car Jamming" - Joe ElyJoe ElyJoe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....
– backing vocals on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" - Tymon DoggTymon DoggTymon Dogg is a highly idiosyncratic English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, violin, guitar, oud and a harp of his own invention...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on "Death Is a Star" - Poly Mandell – keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s on "Overpowered by Funk" (Really Tommy Mandel) - Gary BarnacleGary BarnacleGary Barnacle is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work Gary Barnacle (born 1959, Dover, England) is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on "Sean Flynn"
Production
- The Clash – producersRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Glyn JohnsGlyn JohnsGlyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
– chief engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Joe Blaney – engineer
- Jerry Green – engineer
- Eddie Garcia – engineer
- Pennie SmithPennie SmithPennie Smith is an English photographer, known for having photographed several rock musicians. She specialises in black-and-white photography.Smith attended Twickenham Art school in the late 1960s, studying graphics and fine art...
– photographer
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Norwegian Albums Chart. | 7 |
| 1982 | Swedish Albums Chart | 9 |
| 1982 | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| 1983 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop albums |
7 |
Certifications
| Certifier | Date | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... (U.S.) |
8 November 1982 | Gold | 500,000 |
| RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... (U.S.) |
10 January 1983 | Platinum | 1,000,000 |
| RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... (U.S.) |
6 June 1995 | 2x Platinum | 2,000,000 |