Sandinista!

Sandinista!
Studio album by
Released12 December 1980 (1980-12-12)
Recorded
  • February–May 1980
  • August 1980
Studio
Genre
Length144:09
Label
ProducerThe Clash
The Clash chronology
London Calling
(1979)
Sandinista!
(1980)
Combat Rock
(1982)
Singles from Sandinista!
  1. "The Call Up"
    Released: 28 November 1980
  2. "Hitsville UK"
    Released: 16 January 1981
  3. "The Magnificent Seven"
    Released: 10 April 1981

Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side.[7][8] It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, gospel, rockabilly, folk, dub, rhythm and blues, calypso, disco, and rap.[7][8][9] For the first time, the band's songs were credited to the Clash as a group, rather than to Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.[8] The band agreed to a decrease in album royalties in order to release the 3-LP at a low price.[10][11]

The title refers to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and its catalogue number, 'FSLN1', refers to the abbreviation of the party's Spanish name, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional.[9][10][12]

Sandinista! was mostly well received, though there was criticism towards the large size of the triple album. Sandinista! is the lowest charting album for the Clash in their native United Kingdom. However, the album was influential in the punk rock movement with its experimental sound and was voted best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop critics poll in The Village Voice. In 2020 it was ranked number 323 on the Rolling Stone list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and Slant Magazine listed the album at number 85 on its "Best Albums of the 1980s" list.[13]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference rollingstone1981 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Hegarty, Paul; Halliwell, Martin (2011). Beyond and Before: Progressive Rock since the 1960s. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 171. Metal Box, like the Clash's triple album Sandinista ! (1980), is an attempt at post-punk fusion.
  3. ^ Rowley, Scott (15 September 2016). "The 48-minute long classic album hidden inside The Clash's Sandinista!". TeamRock. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  4. ^ Roffman, Michael (11 July 2008). "Rock History 101: The Clash's "Washington Bullets"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Erlewine AllMusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Pitchfork Staff (10 September 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 April 2023. On their fourth album, the Clash combined their passion for global politics with an embrace of world music...turning Sandinista! into an experimental, triple-album behemoth that melded punk's urgency with reggae's bent...
  7. ^ a b Letts Don; Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, Rick Elgood, the Clash (2001). The Clash, Westway to the World (Documentary). New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment, Dorismo, Uptown Films. Event occurs at 55:00–63:00. ISBN 0-7389-0082-6. OCLC 49798077.
  8. ^ a b c Gilbert, Pat (2005) [2004]. "8–13, Epilogue, Discography, Bibliography". Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash (4th ed.). London: Aurum Press. pp. 321, 332, 362, 367, 373–388. ISBN 1-84513-113-4. OCLC 61177239.
  9. ^ a b Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814.
    Related news articles:
  10. ^ a b Interviewer: Unknown; Presenter: Kurt Loder. "MTV Rockumentary". MTV Rockumentary. London, England. MTV.
    Related news articles:
  11. ^ Deeth, John. "Turning Rebellion into Money: The Story of the Clash". jdeeth.home.mchsi.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  12. ^ Jaffee, Larry. "The Politics of Rock". Popular Music and Society, Winter 1987, pp. 19–30.
  13. ^ "Best Albums of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 13 August 2012.