The Black Album (The Damned album)

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The Black Album
live tracks by
Released3 November 1980 (1980-11-03)
RecordedMay–June and 26 July 1980
VenueShepperton Studios, Shepperton, 26 July 1980
StudioRockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales, May–June 1980
Genre
Length77:42
LabelChiswick
Producer
The Damned chronology
Machine Gun Etiquette
(1979)
The Black Album
(1980)
Strawberries
(1982)
Singles from The Black Album
  1. "The History of the World (Part 1)"
    Released: September 1980
  2. "Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde"
    Released: 13 February 1981
  3. "Wait for the Blackout"
    Released: 6 May 1982
  4. "Lively Arts"
    Released: 10 October 1982

The Black Album is the fourth studio album by English punk rock band the Damned, and the first to feature Paul Gray on bass guitar. It was released on 3 November 1980 by Chiswick as a double album, with "Curtain Call" filling the whole of side 3, and a selection of live tracks recorded at Shepperton Studios at a special concert for Damned fan club members on side 4. The song "13th Floor Vendetta" paid tribute to the film The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), opening with the lyrics "...the organ plays to midnight on Maldine Square tonight".[4]

Music

The Black Album represented a change in the career of the group and an expansion of their sound.

Dave Vanian's vocals were moving to a darker direction, and stated "It is goth; we didn't set out to do that but that is just the way it is. He did have a hearse, he was a gravedigger".[6]

Reissues

The Damned's Chiswick back catalogue was acquired by Big Beat in 1981, and The Black Album was reissued in August 1982 as a single album that omitted "Curtain Call" and the live tracks. The artwork for the reissue parodied the sleeve of the Beatles' The White Album, rendered in black with no details other than the group's name embossed in capitals. "It was said that the Beatles had their White Album, we had our Black Album", said Vanian. "The sleeve isn't related to the Beatles in any way". However, Scabies said: "Of course it was to do with the Beatles, I was so sick about the debates of what we should have on the front of it. I said: 'Put the thing in a plain black sleeve and we'll have a go at the Beatles and The White Album'". The live tracks were reissued in their own right, with four extra tracks, as Live Shepperton 1980.

The first subsequent reissue of The Black Album on CD reinstated "Curtain Call" and the original artwork, and the 2005 double-CD reissue also reinstated the live tracks.

Tour

The 28-date Black Album UK tour began in November 1980,[7] with reformed 1970s street punk band the Straps as support.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett called the album hit-or-miss, but added that "tracks of note are still thick on the ground" and that "it's still a surprisingly good blast, a tour de force for Vanian particularly".[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible, Paul Gray and Dave Vanian, except as noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wait for the Blackout"
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Gray
  • Vanian
  • Billy Karloff
3:51
2."Lively Arts" 2:59
3."Silly Kids Games" 2:35
4."Drinking About My Baby" 3:04
5."Twisted Nerve" 4:39
6."Hit or Miss" 2:37
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Gray
  • Vanian
  • The History of the World (Part 1)
    "
 3:45
10."13th Floor Vendetta" 5:05
11."Therapy"
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Gray
  • Vanian
  • Fay Hart
6:12
Side three
No.TitleLength
12."Curtain Call"17:13
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Love Song" (live)
2:10
14."Second Time Around" (live)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
  • Ward
1:46
15."Smash It Up (Parts 1 & 2)" (live)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
  • Ward
4:24
16."New Rose" (live)Brian James1:49
17."I Just Can't Be Happy Today" (live)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
  • Ward
  • Dadomo
3:55
18."Plan 9 Channel 7" (live)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
  • Ward
5:12
Note
  • The song titled "Second Time Around" was also known as "Machine Gun Etiquette", the title track from the band's previous album.

2005 deluxe edition

Disc one

The first disc contains the 12 tracks from side one to side three of the original release.

Disc two

The second disc contains the 6 tracks from side four of the original release plus 9 bonus tracks.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."White Rabbit" (non-album single)Grace Slick3:00
8."Rabid (Over You)" (B-side)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
  • Andy Le Vien
3:44
9."Seagulls" (B-side)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
2:36
10."The History of the World (Part 1)" (single version) 3:48
11."I Believe the Impossible" (B-side) 2:54
12."Sugar and Spite" (B-side) 1:30
13."There Ain't No Sanity Clause" (non-album single)
  • Scabies
  • Sensible
  • Vanian
  • Dadomo
2:29
14."Looking at You" (live) (B-side)5:51
15."White Rabbit" (extended version; previously unreleased original mix)Slick5:24
Notes[8]
  • "White Rabbit" – produced by the Damned and Roger Armstrong at Wessex Studios, London, April 1980; engineered by Tony Taverner; mixing on "White Rabbit" extended version engineered by Robin Black; released as a single in France and Germany only but available in the UK on import in July 1980.
  • "Rabid (Over You)" and "Seagulls" – produced by the Damned at Wessex Studios, February 1980; recording and mixing on "Rabid (Over You)" engineered by Gary Edwards; "Seagulls" engineered by Alvin Clark; synthesizer on "Rabid (Over You)" by Anthony More; B-sides to "White Rabbit".
  • "The History of the World (Part 1)" single version – sound effects recorded at Nova Suite, London, August 1980; overdubs and mixing engineered by Steve Rance; released on 22 September 1980.
  • "I Believe the Impossible" and "Sugar and Spite" – recorded by Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies (lead vocals on "I Believe the Impossible" by Captain Sensible); recording date and location unknown; B-sides to "The History of the World (Part 1)".
  • "There Ain't No Sanity Clause" – produced by the Damned at Rockfield Studios, May–June 1980; released as a single on 24 November 1980.
  • "Looking at You" – recorded live at Shepperton Studios, 26 July 1980; B-side to "There Ain't No Sanity Clause".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the 2005 edition liner notes.[8]

The Damned
Additional musicians
Technical
  • The Damned – producer (all but 9)
  • Hanz Zimmer
     – producer (9)
  • Hugh Jones – engineer
  • Dave Vanian – artwork concept, design
  • Allan Ballard – photography
  • H. Leadbitter – design execution

References

  1. ^ https://post-punk.com/the-damned-the-black-album/ Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. ^ Stegall, Tim. "These 5 albums embody the Damned's punk-rock magnificence These 5 albums embody the Damned's punk-rock magnificence These 5 albums embody the Damned's punk-rock magnificence". Alternative Press. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. ^ The Damned: The Black Album. Classic Rock. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. ^ The Damned – the Chaos Years: An Unofficial Biography by Barry Hutchinson
  5. ^ a b c AllMusic review
  6. ^ Louie Bones. "Interview with captain sensible". "Bigwheelsmagazine.com". 11 November 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011
  7. ^ "The Damned: Live Performances". whiterabbitskgs.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  8. ^ a b The Black Album (CD liner notes). The Damned. Chiswick Records. 2005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links