The Clash, ‘Sandinista!’ – Albums That Almost Killed a Band’s Career

No record better encapsulates the Clash's story than 'Sandinista!' Brilliant, infuriating, bursting with ambition yet bogged down with bad ideas, this 36-track triple LP perplexed fans and angered execs at CBS, who were strong-armed by the band into selling it for the price of a single album.

'Sandinista!' may have been a bargain, but it hardly flew off shelves. At a time when Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon might have become punk's Fab Four, they went 'White Album' times 10, experimenting with soul, hip-hop, funk, disco, dub and even gospel, virtually ensuring there'd be no hits.

The Clash were already starting to splinter, and sessions for the follow-up, 'Combat Rock' (1982), proved extremely contentious. Remarkably, that album proved the band's commercial breakthrough, and thanks to the singles 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?' and 'Rock the Casbah,' the "Only Band That Matters" found itself on the pop charts, if only briefly.