Customer Reviews

Machine Gun Etiquette

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For any enthusiast who is exploring the roots of punk rock, get this album - now! While maintaining all of the raw energy that fueled the groundbreaking "Damned Damned Damned" and harnessing the vision that shaped "Music For Pleasure", Machine Gun Etiquette has so many different dimensions and textures to it that it's hard to believe this is the same band performing on every track. That's what makes The Damned one of the best and most unique punk bands of all time.

From the ghoulish "These Hands" to the hard charging "Plan 9 Channel 7" and "Looking At You" to the raucous "Noise Noise Noise" to the Punk Anthem "Smash It Up" (originally banned in the U.K. when it was released), I guarantee you will find at least one song on this album that you won't ever be able to let go. Play "Machine Gun Etiquette" at your sister - LOUD!

1979 started a new chapter in the history of the Damned. The release of the single 'Love Song' in April proved that they were back and better than ever! After disbanding in early 1978 it took them almost a year to wise up, put their differences aside and have a go at making music together. One difference though: Brian James wasn't in the picture this time around. A wise move was made in moving Captain Sensible to guitar and enlisting the help of former Saint's bassist Algy Ward.Could Vanian, Scabies and Sensible succeed minus their chief songwriter? The answer was a resounding YES! The result being the album 'Machine Gun Etiquette'. Released in November 1979, this record gave a middle finger response to all critics who had dismissed the group as a cartoonish caberet act. In my opinion it even rates up there with 'London Calling' and 'Unknown Pleasures' as one of the best post-punk albums of that era. The opener, the aforementioned 'Love Song' (a definitive Damned song, right up there with 'New Rose' and 'Neat Neat Neat'), grabs you by the throat and from there on in it only gets better: the full-speed-ahead thrash of the title track (complete with a breakdown strangely reminicent of Gary Glitter's 'Rock And Roll'), the poppy keyboard-driven 'I Just Can't Be Happy Today', straight-forward punk'n'roll numbers such as 'Noise Noise Noise', 'Liar', 'Melody Lee', and 'Antipope' (featuring a bongo jam in the middle!), the circus-like atmosphere of 'These Hands' and the quintesential live Damned song, a run through MC5's classic 'Looking At You'. 'Plan 9 Channel 7' is undoubtably a bonafide classic, as is 'Smash It Up', THE punk anthem of anthems. My words really can't do these tracks justice. This is so much more than a 'punk' album, with hints at psychedelia, goth, and even progressive rock. An added bonus is the extra tracks on the CD- covers of 'White Rabbit' and 'Ballroom Blitz' (featuring bass from none other than Lemmy from Mötorhead!), and two incredible b-sides, 'Rabid (Over You)', and 'Suicide'. My only complaint is that they left off 'Burglar' and 'The Turkey Song', but I digress. This is the Damned in top form, and they continued to be through two more albums, up until the unlikely departure of Captain Sensible. An album this great only comes along once in a great while.

This must be at least one of the 5 best punk albums ever. Back in 1970s, the Damned were one of the first bands to do punk. Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, all influenced by this great band. Get this album, now. Best song, definately Smash it Up. Plan 7, Channel 9 proves that Captain Sensible is the best punk guitarist ever. Really. Great bass from Ward, especially on Love Song.

Having survived losing their main riff-master Bryan James, the band reorganised themselves with Captain Sensible stepping up to handle the guitar parts. And how. This album has all the ingredients of a classic band in the making. In a similar vein as the Clash, the Damned on this album came clean with their influences - not just 60s garage rock but psychadelia, pop, and even a pastiche of stadium guitar megarock. The result is a bizarre cocktail that unveils more on each listen. Great production, top tunes - and riddled right through with the Damned's wicked sense of humor. Machine Gun Etiquette truely captures a band at their peak. It's definately in my top 10 albums of all time - and should be in yours. You won't be disappointed.

One of the best freaking albums of all time. This was the start of the Damned's second time around which most of their hard core fans preferred to their original 1977 line up. Besides the three English charting singles "Love Song", "Smash it Up" and "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" there is also Dave Vanian's epic tribute to Vampira "Plan 9, Channel 7", a cover of the MC5's "Looking at You", and the manic "Anti-Pope". A wonderfully produced album with lots of little surprises hidden between the grooves. The CD features several bonus tracks including the Love Song B-side "Suicide", a very psychadelic version of the Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and it's fantastic B-side "Rabid Over You" which came out inbetween "Machine Gun Etiquette" and its follow up "The Black Album". The core threesome of Dave Vanian (vocals), Captain Sensible (guitar), and Rat Scabies (drums) is joined by one time Saints bassist Aleister "Algy" Ward. The highlight from the highly destructive wild ride of England's greatest punk rock band.

"Looking At You" is going through my head right now, especially the part after the solo where it just rips in to the next verse like a batmobile outta hell!!! But ALL TRACKS are fab in their own way. THIS ALBUM IS A DRUG!!! If I sound a little manic it's because that's how the music makes you feel. PS-I just saw the Damned in concert in San Fangsicko and they were freakin' brilliant. Still life in the old boys yet 20 years on!!!

As the name implies, this album is like getting riddled full of bullet holes, but you don't really mind because the culprit does it with class and style and charms you to death first. The Damned had refined their punk onslaught on this platter, mixing bombastic rat-a-tat punk with sing-along melodies, psychedelic organ, and ambitious song structures. The Damned sound as nihilistic as any of their contemporaries on this album, but you have to give them the edge: whereas the Clash sounded like they want to take over the world with their political rhetoric, the Damned sound like the world's exploding, and they're the evil clowns hired to entertain at our last big shindig. This could be the single best punk album to come out of the 70's... absolutely smashing. Standout tracks include "I Just Can't Be Happy Today", "Love Song", "Machine Gun Etiquette".

Machine Gun Etiquette hasn't left my turntable since I bought it a week ago and is well on it's way to becoming an all-time favorite. It's a shame this masterpiece of the Damned's is all too often lost in their debut album's (Damned Damned Damned) shadow.
Their second full-length, Machine Gun Etiquette is the perfect marriage of garage rock, punk and pop. It is evident that after the departure of their founding guitarist- who's songwriting was heavily influenced by american garage rock- the remaining members were able to express their own diverse musical tastes and personalities with this album.
This is the Damned at their absolute peak. Along the lines of the Buzzcocks, the Saints, and American counterparts the Dead Boys and the Dictators, the Damned were one of the best power-pop/punk bands of their era. Machine Gun Etiquette is proof!

This is by far my favorite release by the Damned and is also considered by many to be thier best release. This is the album they recorded and released in 1979 after their first break up in early 1978 they reformed in late 1978 without original guitarist Brian James. With a sound that rival a machine gun and produced 12 tracks of non stop sound. The cd (which had a naff yellow and orange cover) issued in 1990 added four non album tracks that didn't appear on the original album release which are the following tracks

1.Ballroom blitz features Motorhead's Lemmy on bass

2.Suicide

3.Rabid (over you)

4.White Rabbit (extended version) released as a b side if I'm not mistaken it was a cover of the Jefferson airplane song

Here was the line up at the time of release

Dave Vanian vocals

Captain Sensible (Croydon's favorite son) guitar played bass on the previous albums Damned Damned Damned and Music for pleasure

Algy Ward Ex-saints bass player who later went to form his own band Tank

Rat Scabies Drums


I can't stress enough how essential this album would be in your music collection but then again I do own 4 versions/copies of this fantastic album. :)

After two great albums featuring the line up of Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible, and Brian James, The Damned broke up. Only to reunite shortly after with ex-Saints bassist Algy Ward replacing Brian James under the name of The Doomed. Shortly after, the new name was droped and The Damned (rightfully) became the band's name again. With out James the band was free to write thier own music, and that freedome led to the release of "Machine Gun Etiquette" which contains some of the band's all time best work, including "Love Song", "I Just Can't Be Happy Today", "Plan 9 Channel 7" and "Smash It Up" wich was covered (horribly) by The Offspring on the "Batman Forever" soundtrack. This CD also contains four great songs not included on the vinyl LP. Overall, this is the best Damned album out there, so if you want to see what this band can do, start with this CD.