‘ ‘ ‘ Very few albums are worth waiting more than two decades for. The Clash’s Live at Shea… ‘ ‘ ‘ Very few albums are worth waiting more than two decades for. The Clash’s Live at Shea Stadium is not one of them, but is enjoyable nonetheless. ‘ ‘ ‘ The most recent release from the highly influential English punk band is a recording of a show it played in October of 1982. The concert was hailed by some as one among The Clash’s last true performances before internal tensions caused the band’s disintegration. ‘ ‘ ‘ The lineup at the time consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones, bass guitarist Paul Simonon and drummer Terry Chimes. ‘ ‘ ‘ The energy of a live performance comes across in the recording, as does the 50,000-person audience’s clearly audible enthusiasm. Shea Stadium was among the largest shows the band ever played, creating a double-edged sword effect of bringing the band greater fame while preventing the kind of personal interaction with its fans the band is so fond of. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Clash is widely and justifiably viewed as among the vanguards of the era’s English punk scene, but it is also known for its musical experimentation with genres from reggae to ska and funk, making it appealing to listeners across the board. As Strummer says at the end of the track ‘Tommy Gun,’ ‘We’d like to take you to New York, to Jamaica and back.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The set list on the album is a fair representation of the band’s considerable breadth of styles, featuring many of The Clash’s best known songs, including ‘London Calling,’ ‘Rock the Casbah’ and ‘Train in Vain,’ and a total of six of the band’s eight U.S. singles.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ No dissention can be brooked with the quality of the songs themselves, which stand out as classics. The combination of creative song composition with provocative lyrics ranging from leftist politics to classic relationship angst made for timeless anthems of rebellion and youthful exuberance, from ‘I fought the law / And the law won’ to ‘London is drowning and I / Live by the river.’ ‘Rock the Casbah’ and many other songs that have become integrated into pop culture live up to their hype and are well worth listening to. ‘ ‘ ‘ However, while Clash aficionados may enjoy adding an additional recording to their collections ‘mdash; as every rendition of even the same song will naturally have slight differences in pacing and vocal inflection ‘mdash; no track is so significantly different from others available that it justifies the purchase. Joe Strummer’s stage banter is not particularly entertaining and could be done without. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Essential Clash, a two disc compilation album of studio recordings released in 2003, is a better choice for those looking for the definitive Clash album. ‘ ‘ ‘ Once a musical group has transitioned into legend, it becomes superfluous to release a ‘new’ album every year or so. Twenty-five years later, The Clash is no longer pushing the edge of the punk movement, and while its music is and will remain as good as it ever was, the show at Shea Stadium is not necessary to prove that.