I would take London Calling over The Wall without a second thought. But it's great that you listened to the album and have more appreciation for The Clash. There is a lot more to punk rock than people think.

Haven’t listened to London Calling all the way through in a long time (same is true of the White Album) but I had a cassette copy in my car’s tape deck for quite awhile after it came out. As writers Joe Strummer and Mick Jones had a pretty broad range. A really good but not well known album they were involved in not long after London Calling was Ellen Foley’s Spirit Of St. Louis. They wrote around half the songs, more art pop than anything else. Worth a listen!

I really like "London Calling". It's by far, my favorite Clash album. I have it on CD and LP. I think the album cover alone makes it worth keeping. ha! A play on the typography of Elvis Presley's first album. I think there's so many great songs on there. I give it an "A" rating, or a 9 out of 10. "London Calling" was once listed as Rolling Stone Magazine's #1 album of the '80's, out of 100. Definitely one of the better double albums. Their follow-up, "Sandinista!", is very similar to "London Calling", but they went with a triple album for that. And it's nowhere near as good. There's still many great tracks, though. I would have kept that album, but a 2 LP best of, would probably be a better selection for you. I have one called "The Story Of The Clash. Vol. 1".

You're sending back LONDON CALLING???!!! Maybe THE greatest punk album EVER???!!! WOW! Well, it IS your right, but........🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔......😲?!?!?!

I remember when London Calling came out, there was such a buzz about it that I could not find it in stores anywhere, It was sold out and I had to mail order it. Classic album. The Clash's self titled first album is more punk oriented, but they fairly quickly went beyond the genre. If you think this album is diverse, you should try the 3 LP followup Sandinista!

I had the same impression as you about The Clash. Because they were labeled as Punk Rock, they probably couldn't play that well & so on. But I was pleasantly surprised when I took the time to listen to it. It's one of my favorite double albums up there with The Wall & Sign o' The Times. I recently got it on vinyl & it's a must in my collection. I saw Paul Simonon's broken bass guitar at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame years ago. That was cool. I play bass too & London Calling is an awesome rocker for me to jam along with.

Thanks for the information on Amazon’s club. I’m surprised that you’re sending it back; you may even get some negative comments about that. But, like you said, we all have different taste and things that we love. I’ll bet a fiver, though, that within a decade you’ll own a copy of London Calling. (And I’ll have a copy of some long time classic record that, up to to this point, I’ve never heard and can’t imagine owning.) Keep up with the great videos.

OMG, you've never heard London Calling?? I've known this album for 40 years! And I knew when I heard it the first time they moved on from punk.

I feel the same way about London Calling - a number of great songs and, like many double albums, some filler. Regardless, based on your videos, I did sign up for the Amazon service and am excited to receive my copy. I’ll also be interested to see what other albums they come up with going forward: Innervisions? What’s Going On? Physical Graffiti?

TJ, you need to smell the packaging every unboxing video. I bet it smells like a new car hahah

Out of all of the albums, that I’ve ever heard in my lifetime .. I’ve got, London Calling by The Clash ranked as my #3 all time favorite! Love absolutely everything about it .. a shame that you’re returning it, but as you said we all have our favorites

Complete agree with your review,some great songs on the album but not enough to make it a classic,The Wall on the other hand is a stunning album would love to see an in depth review

Nice review. I had the same reaction 40 years ago. A lotta great tracks with some not so great tracks. Even if you don’t open it, I’d keep it. The original ‘79 album wasn’t on 180 gram vinyl in the US. Look into the London Calling recording sessions with Guy Stevens on youtube. (When that album came out in ‘79, The Clash insisted it by priced as a single album.)

the thing that i find weird about the amazon packaging is that when ever my friend orders a record off amazon he all ways gets a bent or warped vinyl and i never get them ones which is really odd in my opinion

We’re basically mirror images of one another. I’m very familiar with the major songs on The Wall, but never owned the album and have only listened to it once. I say this as someone who loves & owns ‘Meddle’, ‘Dark Side of the Moon, ‘Wish You Were Here’ & the Syd era singles. For some reason, I’ve never gotten into The Wall. But since you listened to London Calling, I think I should give The Wall a good listen! Regarding ‘London Calling’, it’s pretty high on my list (probably among my top 50 favorite LPs). I agree with most of your comments. I think The Clash were opportunistic punks, rather than true punks. Strummer had been a hippie and played in the 101ers, which was basically pub rock. And Mick Jones always had a pop sensibility (which you can hear in songs by Big Audio Dynamite). The early Clash were closer to real punk, but London Calling was, exactly as you said, diverse, and textured. I agree that not all of the songs are great, but there are many more great songs than the title track. I’ve always liked ‘Clampdown’, ‘Lost in a Supermarket’, ‘Hateful’, ‘The Guns of Braxton’ and even ‘Train in Vain’.

Only problem. ...if you can't return it unsealed, what if the vinyl is defective? Hell, I've experienced that in the 70s and was able to get it replaced. Agree with your review on London Calling, not a great album, but not bad either. I can take it or leave it.

I wonder if they’re going to let you return it after you downloaded the MP3s.

Great album. Good sounding re-issue too

Thanks for the review. Sorry the album did not do it for you. I think I'm about your age and this is one of the albums that got me to listen to "new" bands and music. The Clash and X got me to move beyond a prog rock diet. I still love and listen to "The Wall", "Fragile, Zappa etc.. My approach To this club is to re-enjoy any old favorites like this months selection or open my ears to new sounds from my youth that maybe just maybe I was to young and arrogant to listen to back in the day. I'm planning on only sending back albums that I have already repurchased on new vinyl. Let's see just how long this old coot can maintain his new world view.

One of greatest album ever

Hope you get The Wall! The pressing is great. Great packaging

I believe you mentioned it in your initial video but forgot the detail here. Apart from the MP3 auto-rip, they clearly show you what album is coming in your orders. I believe the delay in shipping is to give you the opportunity to cancel in that way. In fact, I, surprisingly, was not given an option to download the album, although I have Prime and I usually receive the option. But I did not get an email and it does not show in my "purchases" in Amazon Music. So, hearing that the Wall and London Calling were the ones coming through... I signed up. either would be fine. I did not get either. I almost did cancel it, because I own a copy. But an older print... Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. But, though it's still a good listen, it is beat up and does have some surface noise. SO I didn't cancel. Glad I kept it, the quality is fantastic, great remaster. -- But its regular price is basically the same as the monthly price.

One thing I don't understand is...if you send it back, do you get another record instead of it?

One of the greatest albums of all time from one of the greatest bands of all time.

Why do you stream the album instead of actually listening to the record? The record will have a different sound and you can review the pressing of the albums

TJR ... you have to keep it .... and put in on your shelf next to Elvis's debut album .. they are both great records and look great on a shelf side by side.. Great Videos .....

wow you came way late to London Calling and The Wall if you didn’t get them on vinyl when they were first released which was several years before CDs came out. I thought of the Clash as more New Wave than punk in the vein of the Sex Pistols. would have liked to hear which specific songs on the Clash album you liked since I know the whole album back and forth.

Be careful with the AutoRip, if you ever decide to return the physical record for any reason you will be charged for the download. I hold off on downloading the album until I'm confident that I'm keeping the physical copy.

Great album. I have the deluxe edition

One of my biggest concerns about ordering LPs from Amazon is that they often pack them in their gray plastic mailer bags with absolutely no protection. The LP covers arrive creased/bent/damaged. I let Amazon know about their flimsy packaging and ask for a replacement and to have it pack in an LP cardboard mailer. Guess what? The replacement arrives in another plastic mailer bag and damaged. Amazon either packs them in an LP mailer inside a larger box as you have mentioned or in the plastic bag! The Clash 'London Calling' is an awesome album! One of my favorites rock albums from the late 70s!

I have never been able to get into this album

Oh just keep it!

It's funny how 30 years ago you very rarely got a bad album ,skinnging ,bad cover, I never remember mark's on the vinyl itself.i did buy albums from record clubs.Maybe that was 40 years ago,lol

Jimmy jazz 👌

Punk rock's White Album.

I was heavily into Post-Punk music in the late 70's - early 80's but was never all that enthused with its originator (Punk). Like you I have never owned 'London Calling' and was never a fan of The Clash. For some reason their music never appealed and I never dug their penchant for Reggae. The more progressive and melodic elements in Post-Punk were more my scene. Cheers.

You lost me on the review. London Calling's a 10.