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  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.78:1
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish
  Extras
  • Featurette - Clash on Broadway
  • Photo gallery
  • Animated menus
  • Interviews
  • Web access
  • Discography
The Clash - Westway to the World
Sony Music Video/Sony BMG . R4 . COLOR . 80 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Many may disagree, but it’s always struck me as rather peculiar that The Clash were labelled as a punk band. It seems no mention of the movement can go by without the obligatory namedropping of the (utterly brilliant) Sex Pistols – so here it is – but whereas they and contemporaries such as The Buzzcocks seemed to plunder traditional rock’n’roll as their main inspiration, The Clash looked more to blues and the sounds of their native Brixton – which in turn were predominantly the sounds of Jamaica. Oh, and they definitely knew more than three chords...

It almost seemed to be more a matter of timing, for they certainly hit in that period of the late ‘70s when a much needed reaction against the pompous wank that was clogging up record stores finally arrived. Taking a firmly political agenda seemingly more from actual belief rather than a desire for sensationalism, the whole punk thing certainly gave them the wherewithal to get to the ears of music lovers after something with a bit more substance – and it also allowed them to grow and prove a decent longevity compared to most of their contemporaries. After all, despite numerous re-packagings, the Pistols only ever recorded one proper album, that which no collection is complete without, Never Mind the Bollocks. But enough about them already!

Westway to the World, a documentary on the rise and fall of The Clash by renowned part of the British punk scene Don Letts, makes its way to DVD in what is described as a “director’s cut” – so presumably it’s longer than the original version, or something. At any rate, the main feature serves up 80 minutes covering the seven years that The Clash existed in their near-as-dammit original form (Topper Headon was ousted when his love for drugs became too much). Fairly chronological, it’s a melange of archival footage of stage and TV appearances, old interviews etc, combined with recently recorded chats of refreshing frankness with the main four members - Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon – as well as original drummer Terry Chimes and a selection of journos, photographers and others from the band’s heyday orbit.

From the common knowledge stuff to the obscure – supporting Shakin’ Stevens, seeing Top of the Pops’ Pan’s People gyrating to the strains of Bank Robber, through releases such as the awesome double album assault of London Calling to the somewhat extreme triple-LP Sandinista (they were supposed to be rebelling against such musical knobheadedness, after all), through to American breakthrough with the more traditional rock-inspired Combat Rock, this is a thorough look at an incredibly influential, entertaining and vital band. It’s just a shame that no complete songs made it in...

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

The good news is that Westway to the World is presented in a ratio of 1.78:1, the bad is that for some reason it has not been 16:9 enhanced. As is the expectation from such releases, visual quality runs a remarkably varied gamut between looking quite lovely to utterly appalling. The modern interview stuff is pretty good, with decent enough colour and detail and really nothing worth whining about, however some of the older stuff offers up every gremlin you can imagine – speckles, grain, dropouts – still, we should be thankful that some of it exists at all, and if a few visual nasties put you off then how punk aren’t you? Not to class The Clash as a punk band per se as mentioned earlier, of course...

Sonics come to us via a perfectly serviceable Dolby Digital stereo track. It’s all we really expect from documentaries, and serves its task well, accompanying the interview footage with perfectly lucid sound, and doing the best it can with sometimes appallingly badly recorded archival stuff.

A pleasingly healthy array of extras have been gathered for this release, including quite the treat in Clash on Broadway (22:30, full frame), Don Letts’ mini-feature on the band’s incredible 17 gig assault on New York back in the early '80s. Thought to have been destroyed, this has been taken from a salvaged cutting copy, and as such looks and sounds pretty horrific more often than not, but it's better that than nothing at all. Sadly once again we’re denied any full-length performances.

Almost 45 minutes of interviews (full frame) are also included, elongations of those with the four main members as featured in the main attraction. There’s also a thorough discography, which not only gives track listings, covers etc, but also includes 12 complete songs, mostly more well-known ones, by The Clash in audio-only form. Next up is a photo gallery which includes 50 snaps (and features a few other famous faces). It plays through for 2:30, to the strains of the rather icky 12” single version of Rock the Casbah. Oh, there’s also a web link, hopefully it won’t spoil everybody’s fun by divulging that it’s www.westwaytotheworld.com.

The Clash was, and always will be, an important part of rock history, and this is a fitting summation of much that they gave to the world through their passion and artistry. Any fan of the band, or indeed the scene at the time, should find much to revel in with Westway to the World.

R.I.P. Joe Strummer.


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  •   And I quote...
    "A fitting summation of much that The Clash gave to the world through their passion and artistry..."
    - Amy Flower
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Pioneer DV-535
    • TV:
          Sony 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS494
    • Speakers:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse RBS662
    • Centre Speaker:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse ECC442
    • Surrounds:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse ECR042
    • Subwoofer:
          DTX Digital 4.8
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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