The Clash — Live At Shea Stadium

This album was recorded at New York City's Shea Stadium on Oct. 13, 1982, shortly before Mick Jones was ousted and 17 days after I saw them on the same tour opening for The Who at Buffalo, N.Y.'s Rich Stadium. I can't recall the exact set list from that show, but definitely remember many of the songs on this disc being included. Luckily, not only is this is a great memory-jogger, it's also a great album. Since The Clash may be my favourite band, it might have been nice to hear some deeper album cuts and some more older songs instead of the more familiar tunes found here, but the band were trying to win over Who fans and figured they should go out with their big guns blazing. Who can argue with "London Calling," "The Guns Of Brixton," "Rock The Casbah," "Train In Vain" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," among others? The performance of "Spanish Bombs" isn't the best I've heard, and the guitars are a bit thin on the set-closing "I Fought The Law," but the band seem in fine form throughout the rest of this 49-minute record. Legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen contributes pictures and notes on his recollections of the show, which makes the already excellent package even better.

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