Black Album [Import]

Damned | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 26, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B0009RJEJW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,483,070 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Following the pop-punk genius that is Machine Gun Etiquette proved not to be the easiest task for these British punk rock pioneers (not that this is a bad album, by any means). Released as a sprawling, eclectic, and head-scratching double LP in 1980, the nods to the Beatles' White Album are obvious, though not overt. This is a hodgepodge of an album that veers from some of the biggest mistakes the band ever made ("History fo the World, Pt. 1") to their most skeweringly delicious ("Lively Arts") and simply balls-out vicious ("Wait For The Blackout"). If you enjoy albums where you don't know what's going to come next, this one's for you. There's even a twelve minute tune from these three chord wonders, and it doesn't suck. Aside from being newly remastered, this double CD version of the album adds every 7" song the band released in 1980 as well. –Mike McGonigal

Product Description

Japanese edition of 1980 album packaged in a miniature LPsleeve. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the Best Damned Album, January 3, 2003

By 

James Lopez (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Album (Audio CD)

The Damned are one of the greatest bands in rock and roll history, and this album solidifies this reputation. With the Black Album, the Damned took their sound one step further; the darker, more psychedelic and melodic side explored on Machine Gun Etiquette, the previous record, was more fully realized with this album. The results are quite positive; the Damned display both their hellish side, represented by the punk energy present on the album, and their more sophisticated side, which is reflected on the quieter, more sinister moments on this release. The influence of the Doors is especially present on this album, a legacy that first made its appearance on Machine Gun Etiquette; in fact, I feel that the band's trademark sound (a sort of psychedelic-influenced death rock) displays more Doors influence than that of Echo and the Bunnymen, a band that is made out to be the most Doors-influenced of all the bands from the early post-punk period. The Black Album is also one of the albums that helped establish the early gothic rock movement in music. Although labeling both the Black Album and the Damned "goth" is extremely limiting, one would have to admit that this album has elements that are quintessentially gothic, such as the influences of classical music as well as the medieval and horrific imagery and mood captured in both the music and the lyrics. However, it is perhaps the overall dark feel to the album that forever links it to what most people consider to be gothic. The Black Album has many excellent tracks, including the classic "Wait For the Blackout," "Twisted Nerve," and "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde." It does, however, have a few weak moments. The song "Hit or Miss" is somewhat of a throw away, and "Therapy" has too much padding-- the faster part of the song is the only really appealing moment (and quite a moment it is, one must admit!). But the gothic anthem "Curtain Call" steals the show, as it is the culmination of the evolution of the Damned's sound at that point in history (1980); besides this, it is just an awesome song that displays the sophisticated song-writing that these "cartoon punks" were and still are capable of. All lovers of pop, punk, post-punk, psychedelic, alternative, goth, and especially death rock should be inclined to add this classic to their collection!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, January 7, 2003

By 

Joh Bridge (W.Sussex) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Album (Audio CD)

I cannot split Machine Gun Etiquette (1979), The Black album (1980) and Strawberries (1982) as they are all breathtakingly brilliant.

This album saw the darker side of The Damned blossom- but it is far from the doom and gloom normally associated with goth. The Damned always made even their darkest songs fun.

Their isn't a weak song on here- only that I find the production of History of The World a little at odds with the rest of the album. Wait For The Blackout is a great opener but Lively Arts is astounding. The real genious of the album lies in the final 3 tracks however. 13th Floor Vendetta is a dark, atmospheric slower paced song, whilst Therapy breaks all the rules of song arrangement. The final masterpiece is the 17 minute Curtain Call- from the mind of the vampiric Dave Vanian. It truly is a masterpiece, and does not bore despite its length. Are The Damned still a punk band? Yes, but they are making more than jst punk rock- and all the better for us. Drinking About My Baby, Hit & miss, Sick of This and That are great to pogo to- but it is the brilliance of stuff like Curtain Call that is most entertaining.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Ten Rock Album, February 14, 2002

By 

D. Sippel "Rocker" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Album (Audio CD)

I consider this to be one of the top ten rock albums of the last 25 years. This classic is chock full of some of the most energetic rock, punk, psychedelia, experimental pop stuff that you'll ever hear together on one album. Wait For The Blackout is one of the best rock songs of all time. This is the best Damned album, followed closely by Machine Gun Etiquette. The various greatest hits collections don't quite represent The Damned as well as they should. Get this instead, followed by MGE and then build your Damned collection accordingly.