The Clash
Rude Boy (Epic/Legacy)
Like Jean-Luc Godard’s One Plus One – now commonly known as Sympathy for the Devil – the propagandist agenda of Rude Boy can neither dampen nor dilute the real cry preserved. Instead of the Rolling Stones birthing their Mephistophelean samba at London’s Olympic Studios in the French New Waver’s otherwise laughable 1970 footnote, the Clash rampage in and around the exhausted UK capital a decade later in total punk vérité even as the film itself bogs down in sociopolitical improvisation. The 1980 rock drama’s debut on DVD accounts for this with a “Just Play the Clash” option, but the legendary band swipes scenes even when they’re not plugged in, so Rude Boy plays better as a whole. Tracing non-actor Ray Gange’s enlightened path from the sex shops of an economically mired London to roadie for the 1978 Clash on Patrol tour, this prehistoric period piece mines thick rich veins of beyond-priceless rock & roll history. Joe Strummer’s bad teeth, Mick Jones’ bad hair, Nicky Headon’s bad complexion, and Paul Simonon’s just plain badass self meet in the perfect storm of musical combustion. Searing live footage of “Safe European Home,” “What’s My Name,” and “I Fought the Law” top off the controlled ragga of “Police and Thieves” and “White Man in Hammersmith Palais.” Studio footage like Strummer’s “All the Young Punks,” plus a pair of bonus BBC performances, and comtemporary interviews with Gange and the filmmakers make Rude Boy a mouthwatering must for Clashistas. “Dem a-loot, dem a shoot, dem a wail.”
This article appears in August 18 • 2006.
