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Pier Pressure

Tracks 1 - 10 recorded on 4th June, 1981 at Bonds International Casino, New York, USA. Tracks 11 - 15 are unreleased demos and outtakes (except for One Emotion which has been released). Track 16 was performed live on the 'Tom Snyder Tomorrow Show', 5th June 1981. Tracks 17 - 21 are live at the Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan on 1st February, 1982.

Track listing

  1. London Calling
  2. Safe European Home
  3. The Leader
  4. Train In Vain
  5. This Is Radio Clash
  6. The Guns Of Brixton
  7. The Call Up
  8. Bankrobber
  9. Charlie Don't Surf
  10. The Magnificent Seven
  11. Mona
  12. Kill Time
  13. Ooh Baby Ooh
  14. One Emotion
  15. You Can't Judge A Woman
  16. The Magnificent Seven
  17. Washington Bullets
  18. Ivan Meets G.I. Joe
  19. Career Opportunities
  20. Janie Jones
  21. Clash City Rockers

Review

Pier Pressure was the first bootleg I ever bought, and copies of it are in regular supply from where I got it from in Manchester. It's pretty good as a start, because it has material from four different sources, some of them being unreleased studio outtakes. The Bonds tracks are just the same as the first 10 on the Bonds 1981 bootleg, except the sound is just a bit flatter and quieter. There's also touches of interference every so often, especially at the start of Bankrobber. It's still very good quality though. Then follow the five outtakes, which all have good sound quality. Kill Time is a track off Combat Out Rock (though it is cut slightly short here), One Emotion and Ooh Baby Ooh from the 'Rope sessions (1978) and Mona and You Can't Judge A Woman are outtakes from the London Calling sessions from 1979. You'll notice that Ooh Baby Ooh is an early version of Gates Of The West, with basically the same music, but different lyrics. These outtakes are also from a vinyl source, the Demos & Outtakes EP, and you can hear the surface noise at times.

Track 16 is a great live version of Mag 7, when the band were on the Tomorrow Show during the time of the shows at Bonds in 1981. Apparently they performed Radio Clash as well. The sound is a bit quiet, flat and muffled but the band blast out the song with lots of energy. An excellent rendition of the song.

The Tokyo tracks are the same ones that appear on Give 'Em Enough Dope, except two of them are missing. The quality on these is very good also. All in all, a good CD with a wide range of material, some of which is unique.

Rated: 8 / 10

Extra

It is well known that the Pier Pressure bootleg wrongly states that the Bonds tracks were performed at Pier 57, New York City, November 1981. This is incorrect, and the name Pier Pressure obviously refers to that.