Covers for Sunday - The Clash Edition

I knew that I hadn't done a band edition of Covers for Sunday for September, but I hadn't realised that I'd missed August as well. So here, belatedly, is Covers for Sunday - The Clash edition.

The Clash were the natural choice for the next installment of this series. They were punks who drew influences from all over the world, notably reggae, and brought it back to England, made it relevant to where they were from. Some times punk bands have a tendency to be insular, shouting rhetoric about changing the world while giving the impression they've never been more than three or four stops away on a bus. The Clash were never like that. Sure they were punk, but they were musicians as well. That is, in my opinion, why they are so influential even now while a lot of their contemporaries saw their influence fade away with time or stay within the punk scene.



As usual, first up here are the covers of songs by The Clash that have been featured before. I think the artists here are a nice little microcosm of what I was saying before, covers by Edwyn Collins, The Strokes, No Doubt, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springstreen, that's a pretty diverse range of musicians.

London Calling by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt and Dave Grohl

Clampdown by The Strokes

1977 by Edwyn Collins

Hateful by No Doubt

Now for a few covers by The Clash, with the same thing in evidence. A cover of a very early rock and roll hit, a song by Buddy Holly's ex-backing band, BoB Dylan and, of course, a reggae cover:

Brand New Cadillac originally by Vince Taylor

I Fought The Law originally by The Crickets

The Man In Me originally by Bob Dylan

Pressure Drop originally by Toots & Maytals

Now for a few covers of covers by The Clash. I accept that The Dead Kennedy's may be paying tribute to The Crickets here, but I think it's more likely a cover of The Clash.

I Fought The Law by The Dead Kennedy's

Brand New Cadillac by The Brian Setzer Orchestra, although this is more a cover of Vince Taylor's original.

I Fought The Law by Bell X1



Now onto the rest of the covers. I've tried to avoid putting all the usual things here. There'll be plenty of covers you've heard before, but I've left out most of the hundred's of The Guns Of Brixton covers.

Lost In The Supermarket by Ben Folds

I'm So Bored With The USA by Arcade Fire

Clampdown by Indigo Girls

The Guns Of Brixton by Nouvelle Vague

Lost In The Supermarket by Petty Booka, described as Tokyo Bluegrass, this is as bizarre as you'd think.

Spanish Bombs by Brady Harris

Guns Of Brixton by Arcade Fire

Rudie Can't Fail by The Cocktail Preachers

Four Horseman by Creation Rockers

Train In Vain by Dwight Yoakam

Wrong Em Boyo by Buck-O-Nine

The Card Cheat by James Dean Bradfield

Koka Kola by La Furia, Spanish cover

Revolution Rock by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Lover's Rock by Mauri

Clampdown by The National

Jimmy Jazz by Skarabazoo

Death Or Glory by Social Distortion

The Right Profile by Southern Arts Society

I'm Not Down by Thea Gilmore

Straight To Hell by Josh Rouse

Bank Robber by Hot Tuna

Straight To Hell by Phil Cody

White Riot by Angelic Upstarts

The Guns Of Brixton by Calexico

Rock El Casbah by Rachid Taha

Let's Go Crazy by Storybox

I Fought The Law by Green Day

The Guns Of Brixton by Die Toten Hosen. My brother-in-law's favourite band, this is the first time I've heard them sing in English.

Police On My Back by Asian Dub Foundation & Zebda

White Riot by Dropkick Murphy's

Kingston Advice by Camper Van Beethoven

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais by 311

Clash City Rockers by Anti-Flag, live at The Ramones' museum

English Civil War by The Levellers



Finally, because it's one of the greatest songs ever written, even if it isn't a cover: