For their second album,
the Clash
worked with the American
hard rock
producer
Sandy Pearlman
, best-known for his work with
Blue Oeyster Cult
and
the Dictators
. The teaming was quite controversial within the
punk
community, and the sound of
Give 'Em Enough Rope
is considerably cleaner, yet the more direct sound hardly tamed
. While the record doesn't burn with the same intense, amateurish energy of
The Clash
, it does have a big, forceful sound that is nearly as powerful. What keeps
from being a classic is its slightly inconsistent material. Many of the songs are outright classics, particularly the first half of the record (
"Safe European Home,"
"English Civil War,"
"Tommy Gun,"
"Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad"
) and
"Stay Free,"
but the group loses some momentum toward the end of the record. Even with such flaws,
ranks as one of the strongest albums of the
era. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine