Friday

THE 100 SINGLES YOU MUST OWN

22. THE CLASH: (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais/ The Prisoner (1978)
Between their first two albums, The Clash were deeply into reggae, at one point recording with Lee Perry when he was staying in London. This rough-skanking tune came about at a reggae gig,where Joe Strummer entered into a searing meditation on the point of it all-- cultural exchange, political purpose, punk in the face of their contemporaries who were, as Joe put it, "turning rebellion into money"-- all with the awesomely humane bottom-line that he was, "only looking for fun." The finest legacy of a brilliant, searching mind.
Availability: The Clash On Broadway EPIC/LEGACY BOX SET
21. ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA: Mr Blue Sky/ One Summer Dream (1978)
Before Jeff Lynne produced the real Beatles on Free As A Bird, he had to content himself with his own Fab soundalikes, the Electric Light Orchestra. Cloned from the middle section of A Day In The Life, Mr Blue Sky's joy de vivre sparkles through the passages-- the breathless intro, the heavy harmonies on the chorus, the operatic vocals and the orchestral coda. There's also a Vocoder in there to remind you that ELO live in a flying saucer. The flip is a more pastoral take on life. 
Availability:Out Of The Blue SONY CD 

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