The Damned - Damned Damned Damned (1977)

Never as political as the Sex Pistols or the Clash, the Damned were the original cartoon punks, merrily ripping through such cheerful songs as "Born to Kill", "Stab Your Back", and "Fish" with reckless abandon, playing punk rock for the simple joy of making loud, aggressive music. The album blasts off with the searing "Neat Neat Neat", a raging slab of buzzsaw guitars, crashing drums, and the sneering vocals of Dave Vanian that ranks among the 20 best punk songs of the era. Other highlights include the group's anthemic hit single, "New Rose", a pounding track that's powered by a monster riff from guitarist Brian James, and a swell rendition of the Stooges' "I Feel Alright". Produced by Nick Lowe (who allegedly sped up the original tapes to give the Damned a "punkier" sound), Damned Damned Damned is essential for any fan of UK or West Coast punk.

While the Sex Pistols will always have a prominent place in the story of U.K. punk, the Damned did nearly everything first, including the first single, the smoking "New Rose", and the first album, namely this stone classic of rock & roll fire. At just half an hour long, Damned Damned Damned is a permanent testimony to original guitarist Brian James' songwriting (ten of the 12 tracks are his) and the band's take-no-prisoners aesthetic. Starting with Captain Sensible's sharp bassline for "Neat Neat Neat", which rapidly explodes into a full band thrash, the Damned left rhetoric for the theoreticians and political posing for the Clash. All the foursome wanted to do was rock, and that they do here. Dave Vanian already has his spooky-voiced theatrics down cold; "Feel the Pain" indulges his Alice Cooper fascination while the band creates some creepy fun behind him. Most of the time, he's yelping with the best of them, but with considerably more control than most of the era's shouters. Scabies' considerable reputation as a drummer starts here; comparisons flew thick and fast to Keith Moon, and not just for on-stage antics (of which there were plenty). His sense of stop-start rhythm and fills is simply astounding, whether on "So Messed Up" or in his own one-minute goof, "Stab Yer Back". Though the Captain doesn't get his full chance to shine on bass, he's more than adequate, while James just cranks the amps and lets fly. Concluding with a version of the Stooges' "I Feel Alright" that sounds hollower than the original but no less energetic, Damned Damned Damned is and remains rock at its messy, wonderful best.

~ Ned Raggett, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Neat Neat Neat
02. Fan Club
03. I Fall
04. Born To Kill
05. Stab Your Back
06. Feel The Pain
07. New Rose
08. Fish
09. See Her Tonite
10. 1 Of The 2
11. So Messed Up
12. I Feel Alright

all songs written by Brian James except "5" by Rat Scabies & "12" by The Stooges
Produced by Nick Lowe. Engineered by Bazza
Recorded at Pathway Studio, London, September 1976 / December 1976 - January 1977.

• Dave Vanian – vocals
• Brian James – guitar, vocals
• Captain Sensible – bass, vocals
• Rat Scabies – drums, vocals

Original Release Date: February 18, 1977
Release Date: 1997 (Juny 1989)
Label: Frontier Records