The Damned: Strawberries

The Damned: Strawberries

1982

Bronze Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Ignite  2. Generals  3. Stranger on the Town  4. Dozen Girls  5. The Dog  6. Gun Fury (Of Riot Forces)  7. Pleasure and the Pain  8. Life Goes On  9.Bad Time for Bonzo  10. Under the Floor Again  11. Don't Bother Me



Originally, this album smelled like strawberries or something...My version just smells like nicotine and mothballs, but it is on lovely, clear-red vinyl...

Like I said last post, I only have the odd-numbered Damned albums, but there was a double-album that preceded "Starberries" called "The Black Album," but I don't have it...







"Strawberries" is the band's fifth album and to me, marks the end of the classic period...The last time we'd have Dave Vanian,  Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies all playing on the same album...But they went out with a pretty big bang...There's some absolutely killer pop songs on here...

The disclaimer on the album sleeve that "This is a synth-free-album" and the whoah-oh-oh punk of the first track, "Ignite" gives the initial impression that this is going to be a stripped-down affair, but it turns out the production is very diverse, slick and lush...Lots of piano, organ, horns and harpsichord...The highlights include most of side one...I've never really fallen in love with the gothic-drama, "The Dog," but the rest of this side smokes...Best of all has to be the horn-driven "Stranger on the Town." Horn charts on 80's albums are always a dicey proposition, but these don't detract from the song at all, instead giving it a catchy R&B feel, and Dave's vocal melody in the verses immediately grabs you by the lapels...Just an ace-ass single...

...and "Dozen Girls" and "Generals" are just as good...The chorus on "Generals" is fuckin' epic...Like I said, the only song that's never grabbed me is "The Dog," but even that song is alright, I guess...I can see someone who has a higher tolerance for goth-rock absolutely loving it...


Side two of the album is a bit more of a grower than side one...Not as many immediate pop hooks, but at least there's lots of variety...A lot of this stuff has a more psychedelic feel, See "Gun Fury," "Pleasure and the Pain," and the sitar laden "Under the Floor Again," for good examples of this approach... Oh, yea, hearing "Life Goes On" for the first time was also fairly surprising,  since the track's watery riff sounds exactly like Nirvana's "Come As You Are." I remember back in the 90's there was some big brouhaha where Killing Joke accused Nirvana of stealing the riff from their track "Eighties," but that took some balls on Killing Joke's part since they obviously snagged the riff from the Damned...Later someone pointed that out to Killing Joke and they stated they had never heard the Damned track...Yea, right!

If anyone wants to do some side-by-side comparisons, go for it...

Here's  "Life Goes On" by the Damned...

Here's "Eighties" by Killing Joke...

Here's "Come as You Are" by Nirvana...

Whee! What fun! Spending the entire day listening to a bunch of songs with essentially the same riff played at different speeds!"Bad Time for Bonzo" is also pretty interesting, since it has the group tackling American politics...You couldn't really be a punk band in the 80's and not get your shots in at Reagan... The chimp movies he did just made it too hard to resist!

 Y'know, I've never seen these Bonzo movies, but just the title "Bedtime for Bonzo" sounds like a can't -miss premise...I mean, it's about a chimpanzee...and apparently he has to go to... (sit on the edge of your seat in suspense)...bed!!!

Wait! The sequel looks even better! It doesn't have Ronald Reagan in it, but it does have the chimp going to college!!! I hope you like ramen and bong rips, Bonzo! Whoa, look at him in his mortar-board in the bottom right-hand corner...Apparently he actually graduates! He did better than me then! Anyway, 80's punk had a long, proud tradition of Bonzo references...Also see "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg" by the Ramones and "Bedtime for Democracy" by the Dead Kennedys for further listening in this category...But I think even the Ol' Gipper would tap his toes during "Bad Time for Bonzo"...The  layered "Bad time for meeeeee....Bad time for youuuu" vocals are catchy as all hell...

To sum shit up, "Strawberries" is a fun, diverse album with a sublime pop side and an exotic, eclectic second side...Punk fans needn't worry...There's plenty of excitement and speed.  Power-pop fans will have a field day...Here's "Dozen Girls" by the Damned...Enjoy...