NEW YORK (Sony Legacy) - In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of The Clash's landmark third album, "London Calling" (December 14, 1979 in the U.S.), Epic Records has announced plans to issue a deluxe Legacy Edition version. "London Calling: The 25th Anniversary Edition" will feature 2 full CDs of music plus a newly-created DVD component.
The package will arrive in stores on
September 21st.
The Clash and "London Calling" are constantly cited as influential by the media, music industry, and the band's immense fan base, and recent accolades have included the band's induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and "London Calling" being named the No 1 Album of the '80s by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the Top 5 British Albums Of All Time by Q Magazine.
"London Calling: The 25th Anniversary Edition," will include 2 CDs of music and a DVD housed in a lavish digipack. The original packaging will be expanded with full lyrics, a new historical essay, and rare photos by band photographer Pennie Smith. Disc 1 will feature the complete classic album.
Disc 2 is entitled "The Vanilla Tapes" and features previously unheard demos for the album which were recently discovered in vocalist/guitarist Mick Jones' storage house. Among the demos that will feature on "The Vanilla Tapes" are a number of tracks that never made the final cut of the album.
Finally, the DVD will represent a time capsule of The Clash at the time of "London Calling's" release, and one of its features will be a newly-created 45-minute documentary by the band's longtime biographer and collaborator, Don Letts.
The documentary includes newly discovered footage of the band in the recording studio with producer Guy Stevens, as well as previously unseen live performance footage, interviews with band members Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon, and for the first time ever band manager Kosmo Vinyl telling his side of the story.
Incorporating elements of rockabilly, funk, blues and reggae into The Clash's amphetamine rush of sound, and spread out over four sides of LP vinyl, the 1979 release of "London Calling" was closer to a manifesto than an album release. The album's influence is immeasurable and reaches from the ska-punk of latter day bands such as The Offspring and No Doubt, to the political pronouncements of Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down.