Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXX--The Clash: Train in Vain

In 1980, WLS-AM out of Chicago began playing a single from an English punk band and upon hearing it I ran to the nearest music store, picked up a copy of their latest LP with a big sticker proclaiming that said single was on it, and took it home for a listen.  When I got home I noticed that the track wasn't listed on the back cover, but since the big sticker said it was on the LP, I began methodically listening to each side.  Side one...nope.  Side two...still nope.  Side three...nope, starting to get a wee bit nervous.  Side four...down to the last song...and there it was.  Little did I know at the time, but the hit single--this week's tune--had been added at the last minute and the cover art had already been completed, so it was added to the last side of the vinyl without a listing.

The Clash (truly one of the greatest band names in the history of rock and roll) formed in London, England in 1976 and like a number of bands featured here on FNJ had a career that is hard to recap in a paragraph.  Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon began their journey and were joined shortly thereafter by drummer Topper Headon which became the band's classic line-up.  Buoyed by the punk movement, The Clash exploded in their native U.K. in 1977 with the release of their debut album.  While starting out as a punk band, they eventually branched out embracing not only punk, but rock, ska, jazz, rap, reggae, country and western, and a host of other musical styles.  While their career was relatively short, the band appears on numerous best bands of all time lists, and has several albums that are ranked likewise.  Exceedingly political, the band made a name for itself as a socially conscious band (at one time they were proclaimed as "the only band that matters").  The Clash released six albums (all six of which were top 20 on the charts in the U.K. including two which reached #2, three made the top thirty thirty in the U.S. with one cracking the top ten), numerous singles (with a top ten in the States, though none so high in the U.K.), and continue the line of bands who have more compilations than studio albums (near as I can tell, including box sets, it's fourteen).  They were also known for being an explosive live band.  Topper Headon was fired from the band in 1982 for excessive drug use (heroin), and Mick Jones was fired in 1985 for wanting to enjoy a little too much of the good life and by 1986, The Clash were no more.  The band members discussed reuniting several times, but Strummer's death in 2002 from congenital heart failure ended any hopes for a reunion.  The remaining band members have played together on occasion, mostly for charitable causes through the years. Their legacy, however, will live on.

"Train in Vain" was released in 1980 on The Clash's seminal LP London Calling (one of the best albums ever made, from beginning to end, and on a side note, also one of the best album covers).  Surprisingly, the song was not released as a single in their native U.K., but went on to reach #23 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fun Fact:  Though Jones denies it, it's believed the song's title (words which are never sung in the song) refers to how he used to take a train to see his girlfriend who would stand him up repeatedly.  He therefore, took the train..in vain.

One of the comments I read while doing my half-assed research for this week's song said that "Train in Vain" sounded the least like The Clash of any song they ever recorded.  I'm not so sure about that--much like the Ramones, for a punk band The Clash had excellent pop sensibilities, and those sensibilities really came to the fore in "Train in Vain."  Jones sang lead vocals (somewhat of a rarity as he usually only took lead on one song per album) and sings them in such a way as to reflect the protagonists anger and hurt at being betrayed by his lover, without being either vicious or maudlin.  Headon's drumming shines throughout, though I forgot how great his lead in to the song was.  Jones and Strummer have some great guitar work (the plucking sound from the intro is killer), and the entire band pulls it altogether with their backing vocals.  Bonus:  we have an emaycee fave--harmonica!  It's a nice little solo that somehow manages to capture the spirit of the whole song while it breezes along.  I tell you what--I was twenty years old when this song came out and I'll be sixty in a few days, but I'm here to tell you the song sounds even better forty years down the road and I absolutely marveled over the past few days as I listened to it again and again at what a true pop masterpiece it was and still is. A truly great song from a truly great band.

Lyric Sheet:  "Now I got a job/But it don't pay/I need new clothes/ I need somewhere to stay/But without all these things I can do/But without your love I won't make it through..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee