Joe Strummer's got the lyrics and Mick Jones has the arrangements. Their albums, especially the first three are well made, and there is significant evolution in songwriting throughout their career. The range of their output gives a glimpse into a world that would have been possible of rock looked outwards and exploded with creativity rather than imploding into hair metal.
Their first two albums, while classics, are more stereotypical punk. London Calling is not so easily categorized and is their defining album. The vocal interplay on songs like "Spanish Bombs" is great. The albums become a bit problematic after London Calling. Sandanista!, which has my favorite string of Clash tracks ("The Equaliser" to "Washington Bullets"), is almost 2.5 hours long and almost impossible to listen to in a sitting. I find Combat Rock, which was tellingly made during the days that the band was falling apart, much less cohesive than their other albums. Non-album tracks such are worth listening to as well.
Media
- Live in NJ (1980) - Quality live footage from this period is surprisingly hard to find. This is one of the best concerts that I have seen online by them. Check out "Bankrobber" at the end.
- Live in 1977 - footage from the legendary year of punk. The break right before Garageland at especially cool.
Interviews
Strummer was an interesting speaker and there are several interviews with him littered around YouTube.