Consumer Guide Album

The Clash: The Story of the Clash [Epic, 1988]
For as long as they hung in there, their compromises, false moves, and fuck-ups were their own. The U.S.-only shuffle of the incomparable U.K. debut, the ridiculous ten-inch compilation, the vagaries of Sandinista!, the disco remixes--all listened tough and made sense because all engaged the outside world the band never forgot was there. Though a few mediocrities are eliminated and there's a vague chronological rationale (start with the pop stuff kinda and then backtrack kinda), this two-disc repackage could have been programmed by a random-play button. It tells only one "story"--they fought the corporation and the corporation won. C+