Mick Jones' original Combat Rock mix, plus remixes and outtakes.

Notes from a bootleg catalogue

Experience Combat Rock as Mick Jones recorded it originally. Under the working title Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg the Clash recorded what was to be Combat Rock.

Dissatisfied with Mick's mixes the band went back into the studio and re-recorded, remixed considerably or ditched completely those original recordings. Here on this 2CD set you can relive the Combat Rock as Mick originally intended it, including the previously unheard tracks.

The sound quality is very good and the gatefold artwork with all the lyrics from the songs you've heard and those you haven't makes this a great collectors' item. This is a must-have for any Clash fan.

Disc 2 contains bonus material - instrumental versions, remixed instrumentals and demos - and is a completely different way of listening to the Combat Rock/Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg tracks.

And a slightly more balanced view, from my own listening:

The first disc is comprised pretty much of the Rat Patrol bootleg which began circulating amongst collectors recently. It's been filled out with the Cool Confusion demo (an instrumental, also found on Adam's D.O.A.) and the extended version of Straight To Hell from the Clash On Broadway box set - thank goodness, as any version of Combat Rock without this track (hands down the best thing on the album) must suffer as a result.

The second disc is a combination of instrumentals (again, some of which are on D.O.A., although the sound quality may be marginally higher here), tracks pirated from official releases (including Super Black Market Clash, the Essential Clash DVD and others) and some that are new to me. This is genuinely essential, and probably the definitive release of the Combat Rock outtakes.

I've removed the fan-created single-disc version from my list, as this really does supplant it.