Dear Friends,
Yesterday went pretty well. I was tired, but I made it through. The meeting/training wasn’t bad, either. Made the day go by pretty fast, actually. Got my work cut out for me the rest of the week, though.
Today I’m taking the car in to get serviced and then will be doing more running around and such after work. I have to get some writing done tonight for New Times, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s good to have a little extra work these days.
As a firm believer in the universe’s plan, whatever it is, I am just riding the waves right now. Some are huge, but so far, I haven’t been dumped in the drink just yet. I’m a good swimmer and very glad to be sober. I would not be doing well at all if alcohol and weed were playing a role right now.
Sunday night I was talking to my friend, Susie, about how grateful I am to have quieted the ugly voice of the daily drinker. That voice sucks and it can fuck off. There is never a reason to go back to it.
*****
Some albums are a revelation.
For me, hearing Strawberries by The Damned for the first time was a complete and utter revelation into how a punk rock band could evolve. I was familiar with their more straight up punk rock stuff, but when Bill G played it for me in 1985, I was awe struck.
Over the next several years, the album would cement itself into the soundtrack of my life alongside several other records from their catalog. I bet Markus and I listened to Strawberries two hundred times together if we listened to it once. It was the Damned record that you could throw and hear your favorites along with multiple styles of playing.
The variety of the music on Strawberries still amazes me to this day. Over the years I have heard quite a few of these songs played live by the band, but I would pay good money to hear them play the record in its entirety. Having been to a couple of those types of shows, this one would rule.
“I wanna see you burn.”
“Ignite” kicks things off and it is a kick in the teeth. Pure punk fury by one of the bands that helped create the genre, “Ignite” has great guitar work from Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian attacks the words with aplomb. Paul Gray’s bass lines are fucking fantastic on the whole record, but he and Rat Scabies showed on this one why they were such a great rhythm section.
“Generals” is rad, too. Roman Jugg sets the tone on this one with the keyboards, but if you listen to Gray’s bass line, it’s stealing the show. Sensible is playing this very disco sounding guitar line that mixes in with some brass instruments. The sound is a departure from Black Album and Machine Gun Etiquette, which were the two preceding records, and fully sets the stage for the next two tracks.
As much as I love 20 or 30 of The Damned’s songs with all my heart, I don’t know if there is any back-to-back songs on any of their records that make me as happy (and sappy) as “Stranger on the Town” and “Dozen Girls.” It’s a combination of Gray’s bass lines on both of these and Vanian’s vocals that just rule. I sing along with them at the top of my lungs most of the time.
Jugg’s keyboard intro to “Dozen Girls” is fucking choice, too. The combination of he and Sensible starting the party is just perfect.
“Won’t you tell me the reason why he goes out almost every night? He never goes too far, he’s always the one who’s got it right. He’s got charm, he’s got style, he’s got a dozen girls.”
I was never the guy with a “Dozen Girls” but this song made it feel okay because the protagonist is wondering how “he” does it. You know, he’s singing about that guy with all the ladies. A lot of us could identify with it.
“The Dog” was such a great closer for side one. It was another departure from the Damned I knew and loved, but I dig it. The song is pretty at the outset and while I knew that Vanian could really sing, this one proved it. The band gets pretty psychedelic on “The Dog,” too, as the seven-plus minutes unfold. It’s totally righteous and worth listening to every second.
“Gun Fury (of Riot Forces)” is another one that just subtly kind of rules. I feel like Sensible really exerted his will on this one, as well as “The Dog,” but I could be wrong. The lead work is incredible, though. They do these little parts where they go back and forth between thick, heavier riffs, and these rad leads toward the end that makes me jealous of the Captain’s talent every time.
“Pleasure and the Pain” is a total glimpse into the future in a way. In a few years, they would do more songs like this one and remake themselves yet again, but here it’s just another song I would put on if I thought I might get to have a little make out session in the mid-80s. It flows right into “Life Goes On” and Jugg just killing it on the keyboards.
I love the guitar part that “Life Goes On” is built around. I have ripped it off a time or two when fiddling around with riffs of my own. Sensible’s lyrics are great here, too. His delivery of the lead vocal is spot on, too.
“But always remember this is the happiest day of your life.”
“Bad Time for Bonzo” is super fun. This one is a full-on rocker, and the fellas stretch out a bit and let it roar here. There are some great gang vocals that introduce each line of the first verse. “Bonzo’s always screaming.”
“Under the Floor Again” is a mid-tempo song that has a very Rolling Stones’ Satanic Majesty kind of feel to it. This song could easily have been on that record. I love that the Damned clearly had a lot of different influences in their sound and weren’t afraid to explore all kinds of different territory.
Again, though, I have to say that the bass lines on this record are extraordinary. I have to say that it makes me want to be a better bass player, that’s for sure. My hat is off to Paul Gray.
“Don’t Bother Me” is a bit of a daffy song but, again, Sensible is singing and it’s quite lovely. A fitting end, really, to a most wonderful record. It’s one of the records that I cherish above many, many others. I’m going on forty years of owning it.
*****
See you tomorrow.
The Damned is loved by AI.
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