Play It at Your Sister (Coll) [Box set, Collector's Edition]

Damned | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Collector's Edition
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Castle Us
• ASIN: B000BLI38Y
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,435 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. I Fall [Demo Version]

2. See Her Tonite [Demo Version]

3. Feel the Pain [Demo Version]

4. New Rose

5. Help

6. Stab Your Back [Peel Session]

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Fan Club [Peel Session]

2. Feel the Pain [Peel Session]

3. Stretcher Case Baby [Peel Session]

4. Sick of Being Sick [Peel Session][Version]

5. I Feel Alright [Live]

6. Born to Kill [Live]

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Introduction [Live][#]

2. One of the Two [Live][#]

3. New Rose [Live][#]

4. Equipment Failure [Live][#]

5. Help [Live][#]

6. Fan Club [Live][#]

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

·Deluxe Box Set containing all of the tracks The Damned recorded for the legendary British Stiff label

·The third disc contains the famous second gig of the band in 1976 at Mont De Marson

·Also includes every known radio session and In Concert sessions

·Featuring 3 rare Stiff demos

·The discs and booklet are housed in a very special box the size and shape of a 7’ inch 45 rpm single

·Includes a 130 page booklet loaded with rare photographs and memorabilia

·This is a landmark release for Britain’s first ever punk band and a must for all fans of punk rock

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Essential rock in an extremely shoddy release, November 21, 2005

By 

Dan Plankton (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Play It at Your Sister (Coll) (Audio CD)

First the good news. There is finally a release of the Damned's amazing BBC In Concert performance from May 1977, where the original quartet, at their musical peak, run through most of their debut album plus a few singles tracks. For those who've never heard the original Damned, they're generally described as a "punk" band, and they are. But this is primal, high-energy rock that belongs in the pantheon with the Stooges, MC5 and vintage Motorhead. And on this live set, they're faster and tighter than any of those bands. Simply incredible musicianship by what must have been, at the time, the fastest rock band ever. Kudos especially to drummer Rat Scabies--as wild as Keith Moon yet remarkably on the beat, always keeping the momentum up.

This package is worth the money just for that 24-minute live set. Unfortunately, it's a mess in every other way. The live set would make a perfect release on its own. There's also the (almost) complete Stiff Records studio recordings from 1976-77--one song is missing, a b-side version of Stretcher Case (but we get that song in three other versions on this set). The Damned Stiff recordings are a classic ouevre and would also be a great release on their own (fitting on one CD). The debut album is just as exciting as the live set I described above, with an even more powerful, amazingly raw studio sound.

Unfortunately this great music is watered down with already available BBC session recordings that repeat many titles in less exciting versions. And the BBC sessions are interspersed chronologically with the studio recordings, which means you get lots of repetition of songs, often very close to each other.

Finally, the mastering on the Stiff recordings is terrible. The drums come across better than ever, but the sound in some places is excessively bright. Yet in other places, there's distortion that sounds like nobody even did a quality-control check. "See Her Tonite", a highlight of the debut album, is unlistenable here, with "in the red" noise throughout and a horrible blast of static near the end.

There are also three unreleased demos from 1976. These sound terrible compared with the long available bootleg versions. The tape hiss is removed, but so is all the life in the guitar sound. And there's a live "bonus" disc from a 1976 concert that is probably the worst-sounding recording I've ever bought from a "legit" record company.

The package includes a seven-inch-size book with lots of nice photos and a long essay. I haven't read the essay, but just in scanning the basic track info and credits, I found countless typos and errors, more signs of a rush job with poor quality control.