Former MOJO editor's book about The Clash is hit-and-miss

Few rock 'n roll bands have sustained such a degree of musical originality and a refusal to sell out at the price of their fan base as The Clash.

And then again, how many bands have fired their drummer and lead guitarist only after scoring one of their biggest commercial hits?

Pat Gilbert's "Passion is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash," which was published in 2004, takes the reader through a chronological account of the band's career, beginning with the turbulent childhoods of guitarist and singer Joe Strummer, guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Paul Simonon, and ending with The Clash's drawn-out dissolution, which, according to several observers, was anything but pretty.

The accounts given in the book are recollected through a series of interviews with the band members and nearly every person who came into contact with them throughout their lives. Nor surprisingly, Gilbert, the former editor of MOJO magazine, uses a journalistic approach to his narrative style.

Many of the people interviewed for the book have conflicting opinions about the band members' working relationships and how each member interacted with their managers, the road crew and record company officials. By using this approach, Gilbert provides a balanced account of nearly every argument or anecdote, as well as providing a unique insight into the lives of four men who seldom shared their personal lives with the public.

Despite that seemingly balanced approach, Gilbert's shortcoming throughout the book is not giving Mick Jones enough of a voice. Throughout "Passion is a Fashion," the guitarist is portrayed as the creative genius of the group, and is often seen as being moody and selfish.

Fair enough.

Jones' own voice is often overshadowed by perceptions of his personality, mostly told by The Clash's ever-changing entourage. Most of them couldn't stand him, or so it would seem if Gilbert's accounts are to be believed.

Perhaps they felt slighted, or perhaps Jones truly was and still is a difficult person. By that same token, Strummer is championed as being more likable and amiable by the people who knew him.

The musical limitations of both Simonon and Strummer are lauded as being the backbone of The Clash's musical aesthetic.

Again, fair enough, but the band members themselves rarely discuss in detail the events as they unfolded. In a sense, a bunch of roadies are spilling the direct about the band members. The band members themselves are given less say than a barrage of hangers on.

It's as if Gilbert allows his sources to play favorites.

The journalistic approach also has its shortcomings in the multitude of voices. People are introduced early in the book, and each individual relationship with the band is described in full.

A little too full, for this reader's liking.

It is difficult to keep up with each name, and when one of Joe Strummer's old childhood friends is reintroduced 200 pages later, the reader is expected to pull that name out of a bag containing God knows how many."Passion is a Fashion" is undoubtedly a masterpiece when it comes to the zeitgeist of late 1970s/early 1980s Britain. The time period, London and the underlying attitudes of a generation are painted vividly.

When the band members are given a say, the reader gets a sense of what emotions or thoughts were behind the musical decisions that defined their aesthetic. That say is minimalized far too often. The music itself is underplayed by too many "insider" perceptions.

At the end of the day, would we rather read about some drunken incident recounted by a roadie nearly 20 years after the facts, or would it perhaps be more prudent to describe in more detail the writing and recording processes of a handful of seminal punk albums?