THE CLASH - OAKLAND 1982
April 17, 2023 – 6:44 am
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THE CLASH
Oakland 1982 [JEMS Master Tape, 1CD]
Live at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA; October 23, 1982. Very good audience recording.
Thanks to Jared Houser, JEMS and slipkid68 for sharing the show at Dime.
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This file set features Jared Houser’s fabulous 1982 recording of The Clash, performing in Oakland, California, one of eight shows opening for The Who. Transferred to digital from his master cassette tape for the first time, the music reminds me of a highly anticipated Saturday afternoon and everything that happened afterward.
It was, in a word, the beginning: the day I met Jared and AMorg, heard The Clash and The Who perform live for the first time, and first saw someone make a field recording.
Standing beside Jared in shallow left-center field, I watched as he set up. I was instantly curious about how it all worked, impressed in particular by his brand-new Sony D6: this was the age of the Walkman, and that deck was tops. Naturally, my mind wandered to how I might get a copy of Jared’s tape.
I was a newly-minted collector, having gotten my first tape a few months prior - a 2nd or 3rd gen. from Persic’s capture of Bruce Springsteen, performing on October 27, 1980, across the way at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
In a stroke of luck, my copy of The Clash tape came from AMorg. Nevermind that it was 2nd gen. - I didn’t know much about all that anyway. It sounded great and added to my growing collection.
Not long after, she suggested that I get in touch with a fellow she knew who was also into live tapes, and, in early ’83, BK and I began to correspond. When the stars aligned, JEMS took shape, and here we are today. (Full disclosure: I am not an official member. Rather, I am JEMS-adjacent, a watchful ally who recalls being in the same room with all of them on many occasions.)
To mark the 40th anniversary of the music and a moment where a key piece of the puzzle fell into place, we reached for Jared’s master - stored, perhaps fittingly, with his master Who tapes. This was, after all, the tour where Pete Townshend was passing the torch to the young punks.
The Clash was enjoying commercial and pop culture success: the LP “Combat Rock” had spawned three singles, and its videos were all over MTV. Adolescents mimicked Joe Strummer’s mohawk. But tension within the band saw Terry Chimes replacing Topper Headon (Chimes left after the band’s final 1982 date); by early ’83, Mick Jones would be out, too. Which still makes no sense.
It was a farewell tour, alright. For The Clash.
Whatever the turmoil, the music played and recorded in Oakland sounds great, with a set list designed to get the job done in just under 50 minutes. Gears shift as the band slips seamlessly into a reggae beat for “Armagideon Time,” then back into “Magnificent Seven”; otherwise, the band plays a whistle-stop through upbeat numbers, whether hits of the day or rockers from previous LPs.
Though I came to appreciate The Clash a great deal, I didn’t know much about the band at the time. Its set was straightforward and got the blood pumping. Did its well-earned cred exceed its capabilities as a live band? Maybe. Was the playing solid? No question. Exciting? For sure. But punk is an ethos, and I have always favored studio recordings (like its 1977 debut) over ones of its stage shows.
Preparing Jared’s tape has caused me to reconsider that. What I hear now, like guitar interplay between Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, and Terry Chimes’s drumming, is first-rate and original. If The Clash had gotten better as a live act, Oakland really was the place to be on this day.
Jared’s recording is excellent: after exuberant cheering during the opening remarks, the ambiance settles nicely, contributing to a super-fine capture. That’s advantageous, as the other seven Clash appearances with The Who were a mixed bag sonically, due to relatively poor acoustics of places like the Pontiac Silverdome or the Kingdome. Jared’s mono capture in Oakland gains from BK’s studious transfer and mastering, making it sound more like stereo.
Today, with the focus on tape conservation and file sharing, I’m motivated by two things: first, the idea that from the time you began to read this note, the music in this file set will have traveled to multiple countries* around the world. Before that? Perhaps its only place was on Jared’s master.
Second, I am mindful of some 14-year-old kid out there somewhere, much like myself in 1982. I hope this recording reaches them, and others, too, for a long time to come.
Thanks to my friends at JEMS, AMorg, Dr. Billy, and fellow enthusiasts. Here’s to 40 years of friendship, road trips, countless trades, many good memes (Mr. Slate!), an enduring commitment to taping, and to Jared and Stan, wherever the music reaches them.
Share it freely, and for free!
slipkid68
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Lineage:
Teac M-100 mic > Sony WM-D6
JEMS 2022 Transfer: Master cassette > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.2.1 (24/96 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX7 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT+ resample to 16/44 > FLAC > Finishing via Audacity 3.2.1 and TLH
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Track 01. Kosmo Vinyl introduction 0:56
Track 02. Joe Strummer remarks 0:18
Track 03. London Calling 3:15
Track 04. Police on My Back 3:02
Track 05. The Guns of Brixton 3:56
Track 06. Janie Jones 2:07
Track 07. Spanish Bombs 3:18
Track 08. The Magnificent Seven 2:56
Track 09. Armagideon Time 2:26
Track 10. The Magnificent Seven conclusion 2:11
Track 11. Rock the Casbah 3:27
Track 12. Train in Vain 4:39
Track 13. Tommy Gun 3:11
Track 14. English Civil War 2:40
Track 15. Clampdown 3:41
Track 16. Brand New Cadillac 1:58
Track 17. Should I Stay or Should I Go 2:40
Track 18. I Fought the Law 2:49
50 mins
Lineup:
Joe Strummer - guitar, vocals
Mick Jones - guitar, vocals
Paul Simonon - bass, vocals
Terry Chimes - drums
Click here to order Clash releases.
18 Responses to “THE CLASH - OAKLAND 1982”
Joe Penisstrummer is my punk rock name
Fuck Off Asshole is what most people call me
By U L E on Apr 17, 2023
By this time the young gentleman had changed her posture from lying breadth to length-wise on the coach: but her thighs were still spread, and the mark lay fair for him, who now kneeling between them, displayed to us a side view of that fierce erect machine of his, which threatened no less than splitting the tender victim, who lay smiling at the uplifted stroke, nor seemed to decline it. He looked upon his weapon himself with some pleasure, and guiding it with his hand to the inviting; slit, drew aside the lips, and lodged it (after some thrusts, which Polly seemed even to assist) about half way; but there it stuck, I suppose from its growing thickness: he draws it again, and just wetting it with spittle, re-enters, and with ease sheathed it now up to the hilt, at which Polly gave a deep sigh, which was quite another tone than one of pain; he thrusts, she heaves, at first gently, and in a regular cadence; but presently the transport began to be too violent to observe any order or measure; their motions were too rapid, their kisses too fierce’ and fervent for nature to support such fury long: both seemed to me out of themselves: their eyes darted fires: “Oh! oh! I can’t bear it. It is too much.”
By Derrick on Apr 17, 2023
That is definitely not you Derrick !!
By HHH on Apr 17, 2023
Sounds like this has been recorded through a coupla tin cans. What dross.
By Confederate Bob on Apr 17, 2023
Sounds like I suck coc k through the glory hole in my outhouse
By Cumfederate Boob on Apr 17, 2023
If you say so Cumfederate Boob. Cuming from you I can quite believe it.
By HHH on Apr 17, 2023
Hardly anyone but stinking pervos posts comments here anymore.
By Marius on Apr 18, 2023
Υeah isn’t it shame.
By Θήο on Apr 18, 2023
i blow you real good marius and ill h\give you a reach around
By Θήο on Apr 18, 2023
Here goes another “θηο” impostor, stinking as expected. The stench is very characteristic of his kind.
By Θήο on Apr 18, 2023
Yeah. Pestering foul-mouthed idiots.
By Marius on Apr 18, 2023
lets jihad marius
By Θήο on Apr 18, 2023
after we jihad, put your coc k in my ass marius
By Θήο on Apr 18, 2023
Ιmpostors are easily detected by their abominant stench. They simply stink. They just can’t help it.
By Marius on Apr 19, 2023
Yeah disgusting poor excuses of human beings, aren’t they. Miserable creatures. How can they stand themselves.
By Θήο on Apr 19, 2023
learn to spell coсk .
By Derrick on Apr 19, 2023
Marius & Θήο. The new “John & Yoko” !! LOL
By Derrick on Apr 19, 2023
Everyone is prejudiced. Including you! Prejudices are useful, because they help you keep things simple. But they can also influence the way we behave towards certain people, and that can be dangerous. Fortunately, there is something you can do. Below, we describe the three steps you can take.
The first and most important step in the fight against everyday prejudices is to recognize them, and to acknowledge that we are all affected by them. Everyone has definite ideas about certain groups of people that never apply to all members of that group. If you are, and remain, aware of this fact, you have already taken the biggest step.
The second step is to try to make sure that your own prejudices do not determine your behavior. Prejudice should never lead to exclusion or discrimination against others. Also, make sure that you do not spread your own prejudices.
Step three: react! If someone around you hurts other people, insults entire groups, or uses prejudice to define them, react. Oppose them! React in your own circle of friends and acquaintances, respond on social media.
By Leonard on Apr 21, 2023