The Damned Second Album

[Marylynn]

Musicfor Pleasure was produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.[3] The Damned originally sought out former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett, but were unsuccessful due to his reclusive lifestyle. In a brief interview for the documentary The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead (2015), Mason reported the band were accustomed to a much faster recording schedule than he was familiar with from Pink Floyd. The Damned hoped to record several songs on their first day in studio, when Nick Mason would still be fine-tuning the microphone set-up and tuning the drums.

The album was the last album-length studio release to feature James, who would rejoin the band in the late 1980s and early 1990s for a live album and studio single. It was also the group's final album release on Stiff. On this album, the band moved into more complex song structures, while maintaining the punk sound of their debut album.

At the time of its release, Music for Pleasure was dismissed by critics as a poor misstep.[1] In a contemporary review, Sounds writer Peter Silverton compared the album to the second albums by the Jam and the Stranglers, where the formula was to "repeat the first album with a few minor modifications, more considered production but almost inevitably with less freshness of impact."[6] He also noted that "mostly they have really extended on the four-piece Wall of Sound style of their first album. And it's not just that they've added a sax player on one track and a second guitarist in the form of the monosyllabic Lu".[6] Silverton responded to negative reception of the album, noting that "they've already been written off by many who should know better but like Mr. Vanian shouts on 'Don't Cry Wolf': 'Don't cry wolf, don't be a fool'".[6]

Trouser Press opined: "With added guitarist Lu Edmonds and no audible stylistic plan, the attack sounds blunted, and there aren't as many great songs as on the first LP. [...] Music for Pleasure doesn't live up to the title."[7] AllMusic's retrospective review was more enthusiastic, deeming the album "a respectable punk artifact", though also "more a historical document than a great LP".[1]

One of our guitarists is here, Sprits. Also, the guy who did the production. So, we recorded all the songs as a demo. I recorded the drums. Then Taneli did the bass in Finland. Then we did half the guitars here. And half the other guitars were done by Beelzeebubth in Brazil. And Hellbutcher came here to Cyprus, and we did the vocals last.

No, everything went quite smoothly. Doing the drums here and the first guitars was very helpful because then it was easier for the other guys to do the bass and the other guitar. And again, Hellbutcher flew here to Cyprus. We stayed together for two weeks, and we did all the vocals too.

In case you missed it, Dale Crover of the Melvins has released "I Quit," featuring guitars by Soundgarden's Kim Thayil. The track is the second single taken from his upcoming solo album, Glossolalia, which is scheduled to arrive on September 13 via Joyful Noise...

Despite the approval of another easier to handle vaccine today, the COVID-19 related news (is there any news that isn't COVID related these days?) has been very grim indeed. With a daily death toll of nearly 1000 people and 50,000 plus confirmed positive cases of infection it is quite clear that that pesky spikey ball of death still has the upper hand for some months to come. The inevitable consequence for us, the music fan, is that we are now increasingly in receipt of emails informing us that the tours that were rescheduled for the spring and summer of 2021 will not take place. This surely must be the case for the Damned reformation gigs planned for July.

This situation got me thinking. I did not buy tickets for these shows..... it wasn't the cost of the ticket, rather two other considerations. My prime reason for keeping my credit card in my wallet was the fact that I saw the original line up a few times when they came back in '88 but another reason was the fact that in my opinion, they have previously done 'Damned Damned Damned' to death. It always puzzled me that they partnered 'Damned Damned Damned' and 'The Black Album' on a tour when they have yet to showcase the full 'Strawberries' album. Now don't get me wrong I am fully appreciative of the fact that 'Damned Damned Damned' is a key album in the 1977 punk canon of work and moreover, the involvement of Brian James when playing those songs takes the occasion to another level, but 'my Damned' revolves around 'Machine Gun Etiquette', 'The Black Album' and 'Strawberries'.

Another frustration that I have with 1977 vintage Damned is their apparent shared contempt of their second album, 'Music For Pleasure'. Sure, it was a commendable attempt by the band to steer their sound in a different direction from the raw, breakneck tempo of the debut. One of the tensions felt within this fractious quartet of musicians was that 'Damned Damned Damned' was Brian's album since he was the one who penned the vast majority of it. That is one of the striking differences with 'MFP', the writing credits are significantly more varied. Some of the songs aren't that great but in my opinion others do work well, making the album a worthy follow up to 'Damned Damned Damned'.

I guess that some of the frustrations stemmed from bagging Pink Floyd's Nick Mason in to produce the album when it was Syd Barrett that they really wanted in the chair. The Pink Floyd drummers modus operandi in the studio was about as far removed from that of The Damned as could be. Like The Jam and The Stranglers, The Damned were following the industry standards for '60's bands who were expected to produce not one but two albums per year. For all three bands the pressure on them to produce that second album and one that would be as successful of their respective debuts was enormous. That pressure was compounded by weeks spent on the road during that whirlwind year. The Stranglers were saved by the fact that half of the material for a follow up was already written and well established in the band's live set. The Jam suffered as principal songwriter Weller succumbed to a period of writer's block. The Damned as I said made a valiant attempt to produce something different, an endeavor that in my opinion was largely successful.

Before stylus touched the vinyl, it was evident that The Damned were striving for something different. From the abstract Barney Bubbles cover art to the mysterious fifth member and second guitarist Lu on the reverse 'Music For Pleasure' was not to be a rehash of 'Damned Damned Damned', despite what the record company or fans wanted.

Released on 18th November 1977, the album failed to chart which was a blow to one of the premier league bands of punk. Contrast that with the performance of the competition's second albums of '77, 'This Is The Modern World' (also released on 18th November which peaked at #22) and 'No More Heroes' (which peaking at #2 even out performed 'Rattus'!). With these chart positions in mind, compare and contrast the critical reception of 'Music For Pleasure' and 'No More Heroes (reviews can be found here).

'No More Heroes' was pretty much slated by one and all, and by the same music journalists that has pored lavish praise upon 'Rattus' only six months previously. 'Music For Pleasure' got four star ratings in both Sounds (**** 'Good album, hear it if you can') and Record Mirror (**** 'Buy it'). Only the po-faced Melody Maker condemned it, but then again being Folk and Jazz orientated their critical view of punk was to be expected.

Is there a better punk rock name than Rat Scabies? When drummer Chris Millar picked that pseudonym and took up with the legendary Damned, he solidified his legacy in rock royalty. Along with his decades with the Damned, Rat has also always had several side projects going on. These days, one of his main focuses is The Sinclairs, his collaboration with guitarist Billy Shinbone. The sound is a beautiful blend of surf rock and hazy blues and psychedelia. They just released their second album, The Long Slow Death of a Cigarette. Here, Rat and I discuss how he manages his time with his many side-projects, the legacy of the Damned, including his thoughts on their excellent documentary, Don't You Wish That We Were Dead, their evolution of sound, and much more. Enjoy!

I'm really proud of the new album. I think the production, the songwriting and the performances by Tim (Owens, vocals) and Jason (Suecof, guitar) and Steve (DiGiorgio, bass) are just incredible. A lot of people have said, the people that have heard it so far have said that they think it's really catchy and really to the point. The songs are a little shorter and we've got those big choruses, I'm a big fan of 80s metal, so we wanted it to be really heavy and really modern sounding but also pay tribute to the songwriting of the 80s where you have a big chorus so you can sing along to it. I hope we achieved that.

Yeah, that goes back to Iced Earth. We met when Tim joined in 2004, maybe 2003 and we became really good friends. We had a lot of fun touring together and I've been a fan of Tim's singing since he sang with Judas Priest in the 90s. When he came out with Judas Priest everybody was just blown away because those are big shows to fill, to replace Rob Halford. He just kicked so much ass and I was such a huge fan of the albums that he sang on with Judas Priest (Jugulator and Demolition) and then when he joined Iced Earth I was super excited because I was a big fan, again, of his singing and we just became friends and stayed in touch. He's a really cool, down to earth, mid-west guy like I am and I was honored when he said he was willing to sing in our band.

He's a really cool guy and a lot of fun to be in the studio with and to tour with. That's a part of it for me too, at my age, it's mostly about just having fun because that's what music should be about and playing music with Tim and Steve and Jason is fun. There's no drama to it, it's just fun and that's a big part of it for me and I think it shows in the music that we're having fun and we're just making music together and we're just a bunch of metal heads, having a good time.

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