Yellow Riot

All tracks recorded live at the Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan, on 1st February, 1982. This is an edit of the full gig.

Track listing

London Calling
Safe European Home
(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
Brand New Cadillac
Charlie Don't Surf
Clampdown
This Is Radio Clash
Armagideon Time
Jimmy Jazz
Tommy Gun
Police On My Back
White Riot

Review

12 tracks from the much-booted gig at the Sun Plaza Hall. Seven different ones can be found on Give 'Em Enough Dope amongst others, and the sound quality is very good. There's not much to pick out from the tracks here, though the best one is Charlie Don't Surf. The band, as mentioned in the 'Dope review, is a bit energyless and flat. The drumming especially being weak, and for the faster paced songs Topper seems to be finding it hard to keep up the pace. During Charlie Don't Surf Joe adds more lyrics, extending the song. It's played at a slower pace than normal. This made me think that they perhaps took advantage of this to give Topper a break with an easy song for him. Maybe not, but once Clampdown starts it's plainly obvious that the drumming is not up to scratch. It's hardly audible at times.

The sound quality is good though, despite sounding a tad distant. I've read that the venue didn't help the sound, and Joe apparently remarked "It sounds so empty up here." There's not much else to point out really. Jimmy Jazz is quite enjoyable, and has a nice build up, with handclaps from the crowd. Overall, the performances are reasonable at best, and it's not a good CD at all to sample a live performance from The Clash.

Rated: 6 / 10

Extra

Interestingly enough, White Riot ends the set. This is a rarity as Mick refused to play this song for a while. Maybe he relented for this gig. Also see Tokyo Riot, which is a similar boot with a few more tracks.

Thanks to Anders Thörnqvist for the copy of this.