The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town - 2nd Edition (Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Return of the Last Gang in Town" is a tell-all biography about the Clash, considered by many to be the greatest rock and roll band in the post-Beatles and Rolling Stones era. Author Marcus Gray states his intention up front to cut through the mythology and present all of the facts about the band so that fans can appreciate it for what it was. In considering the band's extraordinary legacy, he wants readers to keep in mind that the band members were real people who made real mistakes and, at times, failed to live up to the high expectations that came with being such groundbreaking artists. Gray seeks to counter other authors' tendency to exaggerate certain accomplishments while playing down lapses in judgment.

In theory, this is an excellent idea. Many books about extraordinary bands are written by critics who liked them. One would expect selective use of facts, and some revisionist history, to be employed at times to present certain artists in the best possible light. There is something to be said for ensuring that fans understand that their heroes are ordinary people, that every musician's career involves making difficult and unpopular decisions, and that sometimes even the best artists refuse to allow anyone to tell them that certain songs should remain on the cutting room floor.

One would think that such a book would be particularly insightful about the Clash. For those unfamiliar with the band, the Clash emerged from the early London punk rock scene to become the social conscious of rock. They wrote extraordinary songs about the plight of the world's downtrodden, fighting major record labels for creative control, and bringing the do-it-yourself ethic back into rock music. They spent much of their career playing in small- to mid-sized venues with low ticket prices, and let many fans who could not afford tickets in for free. More than any other punk band, the Clash changed how people view music and how it can inspire positive change in their lives.

Unfortunately, the book suffers from two fatal flaws. First, it exhibits a powerful anti-American bias throughout. Gray is simply unable to come to grips with the fact that the American audience was more passionate about the band than was the British audience. He mentions that early in their career, American record executives were concerned that Americans would not understand the band's raw debut album and message. They insisted that a big-name American producer be hired for the band's second album to smoothen their approach to better appeal to Americans. What Gray neglects to mention is that the Clash and their initial album were already extremely popular with American fans. Those fans cared little about what the industry executives thought. At no point does Gray give the American public credit for embracing the band and its message in a way that the British public did not.

Second, the book presents far too many opinions of the popular British music press as though they accurately reflect public sentiment. Almost every single paragraph contains quotes or summaries from either the "NME" or the "Melody Maker." Rarely does Gray suggest that the reader take the journalists' opinions with a grain of salt. Most fans understand that rock critics who write for the popular press need to sell copy, which requires some sensationalizing to get people's attention. The mainstream media does not hesitate to tar well-liked and well-respected public figures, and musicians are no exception. Many, many fans strongly dislike the popular music magazines, and Gray does readers a great disservice by overstating their importance throughout the book.

Overall, "Return of the Last Gang in Town" does contain a lot of factual background about the Clash that will interest serious fans. But it has been filtered through too much anti-American sentiment and media hostility to make for a rewarding read. The members of the Clash weren't always perfect at upholding their ideals, but they did a much better job than Gray's ranting would lead fans to believe. Perhaps this is what led Pat Gilbert to attach the subtitle "The Real Story of the Clash" to his book about the band. Fans who want to learn why people feel such a strong attachment to the Clash, and their music, would do well to purchase Gilbert's book instead.

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Product Description:
Revised and updated to cover the Clash's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the band members' post-Clash careers, The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town now includes the first full account of Joe Strummer's "Wilderness Years," his triumphant comeback with the Mescaleros, and his sudden and tragic early death. Extensively revised and updated from both its 1995 and 2001 incarnations, The Clash traces the band members' progress from dispiriting rehearsals in damp London basements to packed American stadiums. A fascinatingly detailed account of the first band to take punk's radical politics to the masses and survive for a decade against all the odds, it also offers an intriguing investigation into the gap between rock mythology and rock reality.

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