[kj] OT: The Damned

jpwhkj at aol.com jpwhkj at aol.com
Sat Apr 24 09:50:40 EDT 2010



Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of Damned Damned Damned, and bits of MFP. But are they great albums? Personally, I don't think so. (And yes, I'm aware of period, etc etc.)

Conversely, the breadth of songs and talent on display in MGE, TBA, and Straweberries (and the Friday the 13th EP, and the many singles, b-sides, etc) was a game-changer for punk. And as somebody else has just said, the first Lords album is an absolute blinder as well (albeit nothing like as original as MGE etc). So for me the departure of James was fantastic news: the Damned were a different - and much better - band without him, and I enjoyed him more in the Lords than in the Damned.

Jamie






-----Original Message-----
From: B. Oliver Sheppard <bigblackhair at sbcglobal.net>
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!) <gathering at misera.net>
Sent: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 2:49
Subject: Re: [kj] OT: The Damned


Jamie had the audacity to write:

"The Damned were a fairly average early punk band for DDD and MFP, and then James fucked off and did great things with the Lords, and the Damned came into their own as one of the most original, talented, and adventurous punk bands. Now that's what I call win-win."



Me:

Dude. (Yes, I am an American, so I can say that.)

Bryan James or not, pretty much everything The Damned did until 1982 is flawless. Flawless. This includes 1978's _Music for Pleasure_, as far as I am concerned, as well as, yes, their near-perfect, post-Bryan James masterpiece, _Machingeun Etiquette_, probably their greatest overall LP. (I first heard MG on cassette with the "Lemmy on bass" 'bonus tracks' put on, but they were NOT as listed bonus tracks, so that always made me think Lemmy had been in The Damned briefly!)

Whether Bryan James was in the mix or not, I think The Damned were pretty much flawless up until _Strawberries_. Especially when you consider the time period/musical historica context/sociological blah blah blah, etc. :)

-0liver


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