Give ’Em Enough Rope

Released on November 10th, 1978, The Clash’s second studio album Give ‘Em Enough Rope was met with a generally warm reception from critics and listeners, though the band’s substantial retinue of hardcore-inclined fans were somewhat disappointed with the more refined sound and clearer mastering, courtesy of Sandy Pearlman.

Retrospectively, Give ‘Em Enough Rope is often overlooked in The Clash’s catalogue, being released between their landmark self-title and the almost mythically popular and influential London Calling. However, Give 'Em Enough Rope is an important foundational record in the history of The Clash, and its songwriting style reflects the changes the band was going through that would lead them to the legendary sound of London Calling and future titles.

The album’s songs in particular showed a shift away from writing generally about angst and discomfort and into a more poetic or literary style that allowed the band to harness the impact of current events. Take “English Civil War”, for example, which utilizes a punk-inspired rendition of the war song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” to paint a deeply bleak picture of a Britain taken by fascism, or “Julie’s Been Working For the Drug Squad”, a boisterous romp through one of the most notorious police actions of the time. The new songwriting direction and more unified sound did not, however, prevent the band from taking a few trips down memory lane, notably with “All The Young Punks” and “Cheapskates” both detailing the personal experiences of the band and its members in a new way.

The album’s title, along with its cover art, takes a clear stance for socialism and against capitalism, something not at all uncommon for the time or the band. Although they would become more crafty with their ideology in later records, The Clash have always been marked by a clear leftist direction, which persists in the album’s criticism of government and police activities. The album’s title also makes a sly reference to the leftist adage “The capitalist will sell you the rope used to hang him,” used to illustrate the belief that capitalism has no moral or ideological purpose beyond the creation and perpetuation of wealth.