"Punk 1982 was riven with factions and arguments as it was trying to define what this thing was. Despite rising above the squabbles The Clash were getting dragged back in by being the sole surviving key big band of the form after the Sex Pistols had imploded ... Over the years Combat Rock has been demoted in the Clash narrative but at the time it was looked upon as a serious comeback after the meanderings of the last few years".
"Original Combat Rock: 4.5 stars" - "When the Sony/Epic product managers' Outlook lit up with a reminder that 2022 was the 40th anniversary of Combat Rock, The Clash's bestselling release, they were prompted to devise a way to re-market it to newcomers that hadn't already bought the disc and Clash fans that had. This was a heavy lift because there wasn't much left in the vaults that hadn't already been mined for various Clash reissues over the past four decades since its May 1982 debut. The result is this poorly conceived, slapdash mish-mosh".
"Original Combat Rock: 4.5 stars" - "When the Sony/Epic product managers' Outlook lit up with a reminder that 2022 was the 40th anniversary of Combat Rock, The Clash's bestselling release, they were prompted to devise a way to re-market it to newcomers that hadn't already bought the disc and Clash fans that had. This was a heavy lift because there wasn't much left in the vaults that hadn't already been mined for various Clash reissues over the past four decades since its May 1982 debut. The result is this poorly conceived, slapdash mish-mosh".
"Punk 1982 was riven with factions and arguments as it was trying to define what this thing was. Despite rising above the squabbles The Clash were getting dragged back in by being the sole surviving key big band of the form after the Sex Pistols had imploded ... Over the years Combat Rock has been demoted in the Clash narrative but at the time it was looked upon as a serious comeback after the meanderings of the last few years".