Customer Reviews

Light at End of Tunnel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is probably all of the Damned that you will ever need. And what you'll find is that they were a surprisingly versatile group of lads, ranging from the genre-defining snarl of "New Rose" thorugh the goth-meets-art-rock of "Curtain Call" (in all its 16-minute glory) sideways through their pure pop interpretation of 60's psychadelic master Love's "Alone Again Or" (and a FINE cover it is, with some inspiring guitar riffing by Mr. Roman Jugg). The sequencing is all out of whack, which some purists may scoff at (they would rather program their own) but it provides surprises and bounty galore, and makes it easy to listen to, from goth-pop to pure punk ferociousness. There are a few interesting remixes and rarities, which will probably be lost on you if you are not a fan. Some critics have said the MCA years were over-represented here; probably about an 3/4 of one disc, split over the two CDs offered here , contains tracks from _Phantasmagoria_ and _Anything_ - it *is* an MCA release, after all; but I enjoy the later Damned, probably a bit more than the earlier stuff. Its charming and although slick is no less interesting than anything ex-Sex-Pistol Johnny Rotten was doing with PiL at the time. Taken as a whole, its a surprisingly entertaining and well-put-together box set, with some great liner notes. I have a bunch of box sets and this is certainly the one that gets the most play. Avoid the Cleopatra box sets, and numerous live albums, which are mostly tripe anyways, and nab this, you won't be sorry.

This album is one of my favorites. The songs Eloise and Is it a Dream bring back some fond memories of my youth. If you ever had any interest in the punk seen you should make this album one of the top ones on your list to listen to.

Are you curious,Damned? Do you need to "Feel Alright".Do you have a desire to "Ignite"? Or, could it be, that you just wanna... " Smash It Up"...
If you've ever wondered what the fuss is all about, or if you've heard their name and the usual high praise,ney... reverence...that the hushed tones imply.you'll want this CD/Tape/whatever,"The light at the end of the tunnel".
A compilation of the music that has made the "Damned" the
group that stands apart from the punk scene,while at the same time defining it.
Incredible instrumental arrangements highlighted by piano lead ins that will you leave you breathless. Brilliant razor sharp guitar riffs that crack through the ever impressive melodies and the wild raging ,yet chilling vocals of Dave Vanian combine to make a storm of musical mayhem.Put all together, the result is almost zen like. A perfect cracked cup. The imperfection that is flawless.
If youre a fan of punk,or music of any kind. You will find a friend in "The Damned".
This CD is a must have for the "Damned" fan. A perfect choice for the curious.The songs are all "Damned" classics. Songs that defined them and the music that they influenced.
Here in "The light at the end of the tunnel" is a cornerstone for any music collection.
Play it all the time and you'll still be surprised at the genius
of this incredible band.If you think all punk sounds the same, you haven't heard "The Damned".
So hurry up and grab a chunk of some of that "Lovely Money" and put it down for a copy of "The light at the end of the tunnel".
And just like the rest of us, you'll become an instant fan.
Then gather your friends around, put it on, and get "Damned" together.

What can you say about this?

Well, here goes! There are so many great songs on here that it's difficult to know where to start (or finish - although my girlfriend may have some say on that decision!)

I would have paid the full price of the album just for "Smash It Up Parts 1 and 2." That song just epitomises The Damned to me. A real slow builder that just grows and growls, then explodes. Vanian screaming that he's been crying now for much too long, and now he's going to dance to a different song. This was the Punk movement in a nutshell.

The excellent lyrics from Smash It Up (apart from it being a fantastic rock song) are perfect:

"People call me villain, oh it's such a shame,
Maybe it's my clothes must be to blame,
I don't even care if I look a mess,
Don't wanna be a sucker like all the rest"

And then the final assault on the established prog-rock garbage which we have come to know so well from the sort of crap music that we had to listen to in the late 60's/early 70's.

"You can keep your krishna burgers
And your Glastonbury hippies
You can keep your frothy lager
And your blow-wave hair-styles"

I know I am only going on about Smash It Up, but that is the one song that will forever be The Damned. There is much much more on here, some real excellent stuff.

Just buy it. And have a blast!

I'm not a fan of greatest hits records. Like Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall once said, "greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls." I can't really label this a greatest hits album anyway: the Damned didn't really have many "hits" per se... and they aren't a band that most housewives and little girls would really enjoy. Then again, as varied and as interesting as this compilation is, it's quite possible they'd find something they'd like. It's one of the few non-box set compilations in my collection that I actually still play regularly.

This collection spans what was, at the time, believed to be the whole of the Damned's career since they broke up shortly before this was released. It does an excellent job of covering most of their career, bouncing all over the map and including a good number of non-album tracks from singles, EPs, and remixes from dance/maxi-singles. The early work from their punk career in the 70s is well balanced with the more pop oriented 80s material. While some people complain that there's no logic to how the material is chosen and believe it would have been better to have it arranged chronologically, I feel that great care went into collecting and assembling the material and that, by shifting among the different styles shows that this band always had very technically skilled musicians and that the earlier, rougher songs aren't quite as simple as they may seem.

If you're only familiar with their punk material, you might not enjoy the later pop stuff since a lot of it verges on the edge of being progressive rock (including the full 17 minute version of "Curtain Call") or even adult contemporary soft rock (the instrumental "Trojans".) Likewise, those more acquainted with the gothic pop stuff may not appreciate "New Rose", "Neat Neat Neat", or "Problem Child" since they're more raw and unrefined. Honestly, I think all of it is worth hearing and that knowing that one band was capable of floating across so many genres so capably is both admirable and appealing.

In the end, all of this is great music and you're cheating yourself if you don't give it a shot. If you really like a certain period, you can always go out and pick up the complete albums, but this collection will still be worth listening to if only to bundle everything together in a well laid out collection.

Was absolutely thrilled with this purchase, as I couldnt get this CD new in N.Z. It was easy to find and order and arrived from the U.S. in two weeks, after Amazon quoted it to arrive in four weeks. Was packaged well as not to get damaged and couldnt ask for a more satisfied purchase!

The Damned were an amazing Punk band.. so talented... all their gems are on this... you will not be disappointed.

Light at the End of the Tunnel is my all-time favorite, and for good reason. It was the beginning of a new brand of music (Alternative), yet nothing has since equaled its tone and creativity. Truely unique.

For the most part Damned fans come in two flavors. We have your "punk" and "gothic" fans, both with great love for the group. This Cd tries to fuse both into a greatest hit package, but for the most part fails.

The actual compilation isn't bad, but the songs are scattered leaving no good transition in between songs. Having a classic like "Neat Neat Neat" followed by their most sophisticated (in my opinion) song in "Alone Again Or" is just plain weird. A personal beef I have are the new "mix" versions, they ruin the original sound I grew to appreciate. What should have been done was to split the compiliation into their early punk and goth era's. Disc One would cover the early work, while the second disc will feature their later more polished sound. The CD and it's songs earn a 4.5, but the actual compilation's arrangement erases a star or two.

There is no rhyme or reason to this collection. If it was in chronological order it would at least make more sense. I think I got mine when there still wasn't much out on CD yet, at least domestically by the cool underground groups, so having any Damned for my newfangled CD player (all us real punks still love our vinyl best!!!)was better than no Damned at all. Of course the early stuff is still the bomb and all the fans know Machine Gun Etiquette was their zenith. In fact, if you pick up the first 4 albums, that's really all The Damned you need. Their later cheesey attempt at goth yielded a few good numbers but pales (no pun intended) in comparison. There are too many weak later cuts on this collection. They should have stuck to the real meat and potatos.