The Clash – Sandinista! (1980)
When I first heard Sandinista! as a schoolboy, I was baffled by the way this supposed “punk band” careered between genres or combined them, several at a time. Today, now that revolutions such as the iPod and streaming have changed the way we listen to music, the 36-track triple album sounds like the ultimate mixtape. It’s a two-hour long hurtle through rock, pop, funk, soul, Motown, dub, jazz, calypso, R&B and swing. The Magnificent Seven – which I always loved, along with the anti-military The Call Up – is even thought to be the first UK rap track.
