The Clash's second studio album Give 'Em Enough Rope was released in 1978. In the US, it was the band's first LP available as their debut wouldn't be available until 1979 with an altered track-list. It was also the first album to feature Topper Headon as the band's full time drummer after replacing Terry Chimes. Once again, the album was well-received by critics and continues to have positive retrospective reviews. Commercially, it went to number two in the UK but only peaked at 128 in the US.
After finding commercial success in the UK, the Clash trade the cardboard box they recorded their debut in for a real studio and a real producer Sandy Pearlman, who gives them a crisp, hard rock, and guitar-crunching sound. Fittingly, the band have become more versatile, precise players--very impressive technically for a punk band--which coincides with the addition of skilled jazz drummer Topper Headon. Despite the production and proficient instrumentation, they still wear their working-class roots on their sleeve, exemplified by "All the Young Punks" and "Stay Free." Strummer, however, isn't writing about politics with the same fervor, which I'm slightly disappointed by. Beside the "Guns on the Roof," the album's political commentary is either indirect (i.e. not a song's primary theme) or, in the case of "Tommy Gun," written from a character's point of view, which Strummer has proven to be less adept at. Still, I love every song, none more than "Safe European Home," where the musical pilgrimage of two starry-eyed punks doesn't go as smoothly as they hoped. A
