Watch carefully, because in the next sentence, I’m going to make all of my punk credibility disappear. This is the only Clash record I know. I know, right? I tried listening to Sandanista, but what do you even DO with Sandanista? I tried listening to London Calling, but (whispers) I found it really boring.

But, when I stole my dad’s Combat Rock cassette and popped it into my car stereo, my world was turned upside down.

While most Clash records find them pouring different genres into the punk rock test tube, Combat Rock mostly sticks with a sort of rage-funk. Guitars pound chords hard and Joe Strummer spits his venom as the rhythm section keeps the people dancing. Songs like Know Your Rights and Straight to Hell (sampled in MIA’s Paper Planes) find the group at their most politically volatile, while jammers like Rock the Casbah, Should I Stay or Should I Go, and Overpowerd by Funk are some of the most fun songs punk has ever given us.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that throughout the record, the Clash utilize guitar effects, synthesizers, horns, and even Alan Ginsberg, all while remaining distinctly punk rock. I hear that people call this their sell out record? Psht. Yeah right. This record rules.