Editing London Calling (section)

==Critical reception==
''London Calling'' was met with widespread critical acclaim.<ref>{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Martin Charles|author-link=Martin C. Strong|year=2006|page=206|title=The Essential Rock Discography|publisher=[[Canongate Books|Canongate U.S.]]|isbn=1-84195-860-3}}</ref> Reviewing the album for ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 1980, [[John Rockwell]] said it finally validates the acclaim received by the Clash up to that point because of how their serious political themes and vital playing were retained in innovative music with a broad appeal. "This is an album that captures all the Clash's primal energy, combines it with a brilliant production job by Guy Stevens and reveals depths of invention and creativity barely suggested by the band's previous work", Rockwell said.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|page=C12|date=4 January 1980|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B04E0D9173BE732A25757C0A9679C94619FD6CF|title=The Pop Life; 'London Calling' helps the Clash live up to billing|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=4 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606204731/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B04E0D9173BE732A25757C0A9679C94619FD6CF|archive-date=6 June 2014|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{subscription required}}</ref> [[Charles Shaar Murray]] wrote in ''[[NME]]'' that it was the first record to be on-par with the band's hype, while ''[[Melody Maker]]'' critic James Truman said the Clash had "discovered themselves" by embracing American music styles.<ref name="Gray 2010, p. 412">Gray 2010, p. 412.</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's Tom Carson claimed the music celebrates "the romance of rock & roll rebellion", adding that it is vast, engaging, and enduring enough to leave listeners "not just exhilarated but exalted and triumphantly alive".<ref name=RSreview>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=314 |date=3 April 1980 |first=Tom |last=Carson |title=The Clash ''London Calling'' > Album Review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/london-calling-19800403 |access-date=22 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221093058/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/london-calling-19800403 |archive-date=21 December 2010 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In a five-star review, ''[[Down Beat]]'' journalist Michael Goldberg said the Clash had produced "a classic rock album which, literally, defines the state of rock and roll and against which the very best of [the 1980s] will have to be judged."<ref name="Goldberg">{{cite journal|journal=[[Down Beat]]|location=Chicago|pages=4, 32–35|last=Goldberg|first=Michael|year=1980|volume=47|title=The Clash}}</ref> Some reviewers expressed reservations, including DJ and critic [[Charlie Gillett]], who believed some of the songs sounded like poor imitations of [[Bob Dylan]] backed by a horn section. [[Garry Bushell]] was more critical in his review for ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'', giving the record two out of five stars while claiming the Clash had "retrogressed" to [[Rolling Stones]]-style "outlaw imagery" and "tired old rock clichés".<ref name="Gray 2010, p. 412"/>

At the end of 1980, ''London Calling'' was voted the best album of the year in the [[Pazz & Jop]], an annual poll of American critics published by ''[[The Village Voice]]''.<ref name=PazzJop>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |date=9 February 1981 |title=The 1980 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres80.php |access-date=21 March 2005 |ref=PazzJop |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308112003/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres80.php |archive-date=8 March 2005 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]], the poll's creator and supervisor, also named it 1980's best record in an accompanying essay and said, "it generated an urgency and vitality and ambition (that Elvis P. cover!) which overwhelmed the pessimism of its [[Left-wing politics|leftist]] world-view."<ref>{{cite news|date=9 February 1981|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj80.php|title=The Year of the Lollapalooza|last=Christgau|first=Robert|newspaper=The Village Voice|access-date=9 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815185537/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj80.php|archive-date=15 August 2013|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Reappraisal and legacy ===
{{Album ratings
| title = Retrospective professional ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/london-calling-mw0000189413|title=London Calling – The Clash|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606061423/http://www.allmusic.com/album/london-calling-mw0000189413|archive-date=6 June 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wolk|first=Douglas|author-link=Douglas Wolk|date=21 August 2007|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/54673/london-calling.html|title=The Clash: London Calling|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|location=New York|access-date=31 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702235137/http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/54673/london-calling.html|archive-date=2 July 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="McLeese">{{cite news|last=McLeese|first=Don|date=16 March 1987|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36D59A47BB5A5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Husker Du proves its wide range|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=9 July 2013|page=36|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104035616/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36D59A47BB5A5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev4score = A+<ref name="CG80s">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1990|chapter=The Clash: London Calling|chapter-url=http://robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=3540|access-date=21 September 2011|title=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|isbn=0-679-73015-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/christgausrecord00chri/page/92 92]}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|year=2011|chapter=Clash|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th concise|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Cromelin|first=Richard|date=7 April 1987|title='London Calling.' The Clash. Epic (AAD).|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Qmag">{{cite magazine|title=The Clash: London Calling|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|issue=159|date=December 1999|pages=152–3}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|year=2004|chapter=The Clash|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA167|access-date=24 September 2011|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=[[Fireside Books]]|location=London|edition=4th|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/167 167–8]}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''
| rev9score = 5/5<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Clash Reissues|magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]]|location=London|issue=114|date=December 1999|page=88}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev10score = 7/10<ref>{{cite book|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|year=1995|chapter=Clash|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=84–5}}</ref>
}}
''London Calling'' has since been considered by many critics to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time,<ref>{{cite web|last1=D'Angelo|first1=Joe|last2=Kaufman|first2=Gil|date=23 December 2002|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459257/joe-strummer-clash-dead-at-50.jhtml|title=Joe Strummer Of The Clash Dead At 50|publisher=[[MTV News]]|access-date=9 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224354/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459257/joe-strummer-clash-dead-at-50.jhtml|archive-date=4 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> including [[AllMusic]]'s [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]], who said that it sounded more purposeful than "most albums, let alone double albums".<ref name="Allmusic"/> "This epic double album, from its iconic sleeve to its wildly eclectic mash-up of styles, is surely the quintessential rock album", wrote ''[[BBC Music]]'' journalist Mark Sutherland.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sutherland|first=Mark|year=2004|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/c3cz/|title=Review of The Clash - London Calling - 25th Anniversary Edition|website=[[BBC Music]]|access-date=19 May 2021}}</ref> In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]'' (1990), Christgau called it the best double album since [[the Rolling Stones]]' ''[[Exile on Main St.]]'' (1972) and said it expanded upon, rather than compromised, the Clash's driving guitar sound in a "warm, angry, and thoughtful, confident, melodic, and hard-rocking" showcase of their musical abilities.<ref name="CG80s"/> According to the English music writer [[Dave Thompson (author)|Dave Thompson]], ''London Calling'' established the Clash as more than "a simple punk band" with a "potent" album of neurotic post-punk, despite its amalgam of disparate and occasionally disjointed musical influences.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Dave|author-link=Dave Thompson (author)|year=2000|title=Alternative Rock|publisher=[[Hal Leonard LLC|Hal Leonard Corporation]]|isbn=0-87930-607-6|page=271}}</ref> Don McLeese from the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' regarded it as their best album and "punk's finest hour", as it found the band broadening their artistry without compromising their original vigor and immediacy.<ref name="McLeese"/> ''[[PopMatters]]'' critic Sal Ciolfi called it a "big, loud, beautiful collection of hurt, anger, restless thought, and above all hope" that still sounds "relevant and vibrant".<ref name=PopMatters/> In a review of its 25th anniversary reissue, ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' wrote that the songs and characters in the lyrics cross-referenced each other because of the album's exceptional sequencing, adding that "The Vanilla Tapes" bonus disc enhanced what was already a "masterpiece".<ref name="Uncut">{{cite magazine|title=Capital Gains|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|location=London|issue=89|date=October 2004|page=122}}</ref>

{{quote box|quoted = 1|quote=''London Calling'' is honored for many excellent reasons, not least its audacity: a double album by the band that personified punk anti-'commercial' brevity and defiance going long and ranging far in both songwriting and instrumentation—the horn-fed 'The Card Cheat' features M. Jones on piano! It was where they announced that they wanted to play with the big boys and buried most of them forthwith.|source=—[[Robert Christgau]], ''[[El País]]'' (2019)<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=16 December 2019|url=https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/playing-with-and-burying-the-big|title=Playing With (and Burying) the Big Boys|website=And It Don't Stop|publisher=[[Substack]]|access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref>|width=20em|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}

In 1987, [[Robert Hilburn]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' named it the fourth-best album of the previous 10 years and said, while the Clash's debut was a punk masterpiece, ''London Calling'' marked the genre's "coming of age" as the band led the way into "fertile post-punk territory".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|date=17 May 1987|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-17-ca-396-story.html|title=10 Years Later: A Critic's List of the Best Albums of the Decade|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=26 October 2020}}</ref> In 1989, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the 1980 American release as the best album of the 1980s.<ref name=RS1989>{{cite magazine|last1=Azerrad|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Azerrad|last2=DeCurtis|first2=Anthony|author-link2=Anthony DeCurtis|date=16 November 1989|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-eighties-20110418/the-clash-london-calling-19691231|title=The 100 Best Albums of the Eighties: The Clash, 'London Calling'|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|issue=565|access-date=30 June 2008|page=53|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421081435/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-eighties-20110418/the-clash-london-calling-19691231|archive-date=21 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1994 ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'', [[Colin Larkin]] named it the second-greatest punk album;<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|year=1994|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|edition=1st|isbn=978-0-85112-786-6|page=234}}</ref> it was also voted number 37 in Larkin's ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|year=2000|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=52}}</ref> In 1999, ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine named ''London Calling'' the fourth-greatest British album of all time,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=100 Greatest British Albums|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|issue=159|date=December 1999|page=90}}</ref> and wrote that it is "the best Clash album and therefore among the very best albums ever recorded".<ref name="Qmag"/> The magazine later ranked it 20th on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The 100 Greatest Albums Ever!|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|issue=235|date=February 2006|page=66}}</ref> It has also been ranked as the sixth-greatest album of the 1970s by ''[[NME]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Greatest Albums of The '70s|magazine=[[NME]]|location=London|date=11 September 1993|page=18}}</ref> and the second-best in a similar list by ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/10/|title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=23 June 2004|access-date=17 February 2008|page=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326061143/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/10/|archive-date=26 March 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> whose reviewer [[Amanda Petrusich]] said that it was the Clash's "creative apex" as a "rock band" rather than as a punk band.<ref name=Pitchfork>{{cite web|last=Petrusich|first=Amanda|author-link=Amanda Petrusich|date=21 September 2004|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1490-london-calling-25th-anniversary-legacy-edition/|title=The Clash: London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628043541/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1490-london-calling-25th-anniversary-legacy-edition/|archive-date=28 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it eighth on their list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]],<ref name="500greatest">{{cite book|last=Levy|first=Joe|year=2006|orig-year=2005|chapter=London Calling – The Clash|chapter-url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/london-calling-the-clash-19691231|access-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219155621/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/london-calling-the-clash-19691231|archive-date=19 December 2010|url-status=dead|title=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|title-link=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|publisher=Turnaround|location=London|edition=3rd|isbn=1-932958-61-4|oclc=70672814|ref=RS500}}</ref> maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/the-clash-london-calling-2-52521/|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=31 May 2012|access-date=23 September 2019}}</ref> The rating dropped to 16 in ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s revised list in 2020.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/the-clash-london-calling-6-1063217/|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=22 September 2020|access-date=23 September 2020}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'}}s Tom Sinclair declared it the "Best Album of All Time" in his headline for a 2004 article on the album.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sinclair|first=Tom|date=24 September 2004|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,698325,00.html|title=The Best Album of All Time|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|location=New York|access-date=6 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614054943/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,698325,00.html|archive-date=14 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2007, it was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame]], a collection of recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/hall-of-fame|title=Grammy Hall Of Fame|date=18 October 2010 |publisher=[[The Recording Academy]]|access-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707235113/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame|archive-date=7 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, the album was profiled in the [[BBC Radio 1]] ''[[Zane Lowe#Masterpieces|Masterpieces]]'' series, denoting it as one of the most influential albums of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/masterpieces/2009/|title=Masterpieces|publisher=[[BBC Radio 1]]|date=2 December 2009|access-date=3 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113041006/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/masterpieces/2009/|archive-date=13 November 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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