The Damned: Rare Tracks And Demos Volume Two 80-83
I Don't Know What Label This Was Released On. None Listed.
2008
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. Curtain Call (Short Version) - Demo 1980 2. Therapy - Demo 1980 (Captain's Vocals) 3. Instrumental One - Captain's Demo 1980 4. Wait For The Blackout (Instrumental) - Demo 1980 5. Chantilly Lace - Captains Demo 1980 6. Instrumental Two - Captain's Demo 1980 7. Twisted Nerve (Instrumental) - Captain's Demo 1980 8. Matilda Mother- Captain's Demo 1980 9. The Power Of Love - Capt. Sensible Radio Session, 1983 10. Happy Talk (Punk Version) - Capt. Sensible Radio Session, 1983 11. Martha The Mouth - Capt. Sensible Radio Session, 1983 12. Maggie - Capt. Sensible Radio Session, 1983
Some sort of bootleg of (mostly) Captain Sensible demos and radio performances. I believe I got this as a birthday gift last year, since it's pictured among the birthday loot photo from last year...
I can't really tell what this is "Part Two" of...Is it supposed to be the sequel to this album that I covered last year? Who knows? I can't find any evidence of an album called "The Damned: Rare Tracks And Demos Volume One 7X-79."
Alright. Bruce Willis alert...
This is shit is for diehards only. It's barely a Damned album, since minus a demo for "Curtain Call' and "Therapy" which have Dave Vanian singing, it's mostly Captain Sensible stuff. A more apt description might be "Captain Sensible: Rare Tracks and Demos Volume One 80-83." So if you're looking for some of the Damned's darkly raucous punk hammering you might be better served looking elsewhere, but if you're a Captain Sensible solo fanatic then you'll find this interesting. If you're both a Captain Sensible and a Damned fan then there's definitely some stuff on here that's going to make your day...
First off, I love sketchy bootlegs. They make me feel like I'm some hip 1970's in-the-know type of guy...Combing disreputable record stores for seedy vinyl contraband. Artists shaking their fists as me in a greedy rage as I ask them to sign the unauthorized release filled with stolen demo tapes.
Secondly, normally when you buy bootlegs you always look forward to the tracks that were recorded for the radio cos they're normally the only tracks that don't sound like they were recorded in a distant, ringing cavern. But here, the opposite holds true. The demos all boast good sound quality while the radio show is fuzzy, distorted and occasionally warped, which is odd because I've heard clean copies of this same radio performance online. Even with the subpar sonics, the radio show is the highlight of the album, with Sensible pounding out incredibly rocking takes of solo material that came off as overly soft on the studio versions. "The Power of Love" sounds like the greatest punk rock Bowie song ever written and "Happy Talk" is even more fun as a punk rock pummeling.
Other interesting material is a decent Pink Floyd cover ("Matilda Mother") and some instrumentals that recall "Smash It Up Part 1." All in all, this is a pretty fun little record. Again, I'm a huge fan of bootlegs and random recordings, so your tolerance for such a thing may vary from mine...
Alright, let's roll up our ears and listen to some music...Here's a nice sounding version of "The Power of Love." If you rush out and buy this record on the strength of this video remember that the actual vinyl sounds like it's been filtered through a layer of cotton and noise...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Skin o' My Teeth 2. Symphony of Destruction 3. Architecture of Aggression 4. Foreclosure of a Dream 5. Sweating Bullets 6. This Was My Life 7. Countdown to Extinction 8. High Speed Dirt 9. Psychotron 10. Captive Honour 11. Ashes in Your Mouth
I know this isn't the next album I should be discussing, but it's been so long since I talked about Megadeth, that I felt like it's time to roll up our sleeves and discuss some serious Mustaine...
Why do I enjoy talking about Megadeth so much? Because I cannot convey how important this band was to me when I was a kid. The kind of all-encompassing obsession that only occurs when just the right thing engages your teenage chemistry and gets it really swirling. Megadeth weren't just a bunch of dudes in a band. They were fucking rock n' roll deities.1990's "Rust in Peace" was the absolute peak of my Megadeth obsession. It was the greatest album ever made as far as I was concerned and I had spent 2 full years dissecting it and pouring over every nuance.
I was so busy obsessing over "Rust in Peace" that it had somehow never crossed my mind that they would ever actually put out another album...So imagine my surprise when my friend Josh called me up saying that he had heard a new Megadeth song. It somehow seemed so impossible that he had simply heard a new Megadeth song. Surely a new song by the band would be accompanied by the fanfare of trumpets and a host of angels proclaiming its glory...
How could I have missed such a thing. How could someone else had possibly heard it first? But sure enough, I eventually got around to hearing the album's first single, "Symphony of Destruction," and...gulp...I didn't know what to think...
"So Jamin. New Megadeth! Symphony of Destruction! Whaddaya think?"
"Uhhh...Yea. It's awesome. Megadeth. Still the greatest band of all time...Just like I've been loudly trumpeting for the last few years. Yup"
(turn around with a deeply troubled look on my face as I bite my fist)
I suddenly had a flashback to the previous summer...
1991.
Bryan Adam's "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" is at the top of the charts, "Terminator II" is dominating the box office, and young Jamin is in his cluttered bedroom and decides to take some time off from wanking to the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue to listen to the latest Metallica cassette. The infamous "Black Album"...
Another album I had deeply anticipated and when it finally came, I...didn't know what to think. I mean, it's a new Metallica album for chrissakes. It must be great, right? Still, why do I have this sinking feeling in the pit of my gut when I hear all these power ballads? And why is it so slow? And simple? "Uhh...The slowness is actually designed to make the album feel heavier. And yea, it's full of ballads but they're not like Nelson ballads.Except for like..."Nothing Else Matters" which I guess is a love ballad...But c'mon, Man...It's for his wife! No. They didn't sell out and get slow and write a bunch of ballads for something as crass as radio-play....Careerism? Perish the thought!"
(turn around with a deeply troubled look on my face as I bite my fist and look at the charts, jam-packed with slow Metallica songs and ballads).
Alright. Back to the Summer of '92...
I was going to stay for a few days at Josh's house in Tawas, to record Deranged Chimpmunks' 1992 masterwork "Gods of All Meat." While I was there, I stopped at the the local record store to pick up the long-awaited Megadeth "Countdown to Extinction" cassette...
What the lump?! No Vic Rattlehead on the cover? Just some old wrinkly man?! And the logo is silver?! Why isn't is gold? What's going on?
"I'm sorry I got eaten. You can see by the expression on my face that I'm genuinely sorry that I'm a skull on a plate...I'll try to do better in the future..."
To be fair, Vic was picture in the inside cover...This made me feel a little bit better...
There was no chance Megadeth could have went "Black Album" on us, right? The slowness of "Symphony of Destruction" was a fluke. They were stretching a bit. Fishing for a hit single, to give folks a false impression. Then when they went and bought the album, BAM! They would unexpectedly be slapped upside the head with the most complex, ass-kicking thrash album ever committed to high-bias cassette...That had to be the explanation.
Once the whirlwind weekend ended, I had a chance to return alone to my dank bedroom and listen to the tape. Over and over and over to unlock its secrets and perhaps make some sense out of it...It was summer. No school in sight. I had all the time in the world...
Here was my dark secret, and one that changed the course of my music listening life forever...I was in my bedroom cranking the album and "Sweating Bullets" came on. "Ah, sweating bullets. I should be able to relate to this," I thought to myself as I sweated profusely. Anyway, I had it cranked and was bopping along when suddenly I turned it down. I was actually embarrassed to be listening to this...Megadeth couldn't have done wrong! It was obviously me. I'll admit it. I was the problem. My God. What was I hearing? Mid tempo rockers!? Ballads?
"Yea, but they're not, like, Nelson ballads...They're not love songs...It's like, about saving animals and losing your farm and stuff..."
So what was the final verdict? Had Megadeth gone "Black Album" on us? Uhhh. Kinda. I have a feeling a lot of this was inspired by Metallica's recent mainstream move and I cannot discount that radio-play was a huge factor in recording this album. Still, I think Megadeth were able to hold onto their thrash roots a bit more successfully than Metallica who abandoned them altogether...It would take Megadeth exactly one more album until they fell into that trap...And the band was kind enough to leave us with one final thrash masterpiece with album closer, "Ashes in Your Mouth." Whenever I reached the end of the album, no matter how many powerballads and Cool Hand Luke quotes I had to sit through, that song and its glorious riff always left me with a misguided sense of goodwill towards the album...
The album did end up being their breakthrough commercial success...Back during the "Rust in Peace" era, Megadeth sightings on TV were extremely rare. Maybe on Midnight viewings of Headbanger's Ball. But that was about it. Suddenly, they were playing on Club MTV in broad daylight. They were on late night TV talk shows. And I remember me and my friends marveling at the the week where "Skin 'O My Teeth" was played on a Soap Opera everyday during some extended bar scene (I tried to find footage of it online, but to no avail. But trust me. It exists)...
Oh, yea! I saw the band twice on this tour! Once on November 21,1992 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, with Suicidal Tendencies as the opening band (which I was absurdly stoked for, being a longtime Suicidal fan)...
Here was the set-list for that show (courtesy of setlist.fm.com)
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Skin o' My Teeth
Wake Up Dead
Hangar 18
Countdown to Extinction
Foreclosure of a Dream
This Was My Life
Lucretia
Sweating Bullets
In My Darkest Hour
The Conjuring
Tornado of Souls
Ashes in Your Mouth
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Encore:
Anarchy in the U.K.
(I have some vague memory of someone throwing a rose onstage and Dave Mustaine eating it and saying it tasted like pussy or something...I think that occurred at this show)
Then I saw them a second time on July 1st, 1993 on a bright summer day at Pine Knob Music Theatre (now the DTE Energy Corporate Log Music Theatre) with Pantera and White Zombie.
Here are some recollections of the show between me and my good buddy Joe from a previous comments thread (edited for relevancy):
JoeApril 8, 2013 at 6:32 PM
You remember when we went to that concert at Pine Knob with (Megadeth),
White Zombie and Pantera? Remember we had grass seats and when Megadeth
played everybody started throwing grass and sod? Dave Mustaine got super pissed and stopped playing and threatened to leave if it kept up? Then
when Pantera played one of us were watching the big screen and saw Phil
hitting a joint? Man as I'm writing these things just keep coming back!
Didn't someone buy an iron cross and I can't remember if it was you or
Josh pressed it against someone's head and it instantly broke? I can't
stop laughing!
I'm
seriously laughing so hard I can't even stand it...It was worth
starting this blog just for your comment...I totally forgot about the
iron cross thing...I think Jim Sasser bought it and we were pressing it
against someone's forehead to do an indentation and it crumbled
apart...
So ultimately, I look back at "Countdown to Extinction" with some fondness, since I associate it with good times with great friends, although the album is kinda boring and dopey. I eventually learned to love it though. I can't deny playing "This Was My Life," "High Speed Dirt," and the aforementioned "Ashes in Your Mouth " to death...Still, this marks the moment where Megadeth stopped being my favorite band. They became increasingly fallible at an alarming rate since this dropped in the record store in that summer of '92...Oh, well. It couldn't last forever...
Here's the abso-fucking-lutely hilarious video for "Sweating Bullets." I used to have it on an old videotape and Joe and I used to bust up whenever it was on...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Frustration 2. Crime Wave 3. I Knew This Nurse 4. San Francisco's Doomed 5. Rock 'N' Roll Enemy No.1 6. Piss On Your Dog 7. Feel The Beat 8. I Stupid Anyway 9. Twisted 10. Murder By Guitar 11. Instrumental Instrumental 12. Flyeater 13. Rockabilly Drugstore 14. Dillinger's Brain 15. Flipout 16. Emergency Music Ward 17. Monkey On Your Back 18. Yakuza 19. Rockin' Weird 20. Samurai 21. Hot Wire My Heart (Alt. Take) 22. Baby, You're So Repulsive (Alt. Take)
Crime has the distinction of being one of (if not the) first west coast punk bands to release a record, with the "Hot Wire My Heart/Baby You're So Repulsive" single. The band only released a few singles before breaking up. In the 90's, a compilation of their recording sessions were compiled, titled "San Francisco's Doomed"...
"San Francisco's Still Doomed" is a reissue of that release along with alternate recordings of their first single. The recording is a bit rough (especially once you reach the '79 sessions starting with "Flyeater") but the bulk of it isn't of much worse quality than most other 70's California punk...And I'm not sure a super-clean recording would really suit these guys...
Although they clearly fall into the "rock n' roll" spectrum of the punk sound, with its flaming leads and early rock rhythms, the album almost feels like a hardcore record to me. It's characterized by a spartan efficiency. A big, blaring blur where one song bleeds seamlessly into the next. There aren't many memorable melodies so much as there are some memorable chants. For example, the track "San Francisco's Doomed" doesn't get stuck in your head because the melody is well-constructed, it gets stuck there because that phrase is a cool-as-fuck thing to shout. Hell, "Piss On Your Dog" sounds like one giant hardcore break...
It feels like their goal was to turn out the loudest, most-bludgeoning old-fashioned rock n' roll possible. Like if the New York Dolls were actually as sonically terrifying as people probably seemed to think they were at the time. Your grandparents will undoubtedly cover their ears in horror, yet they'll no doubt recognize the underlying Chuck Berry-ness of it all. Especially as you get deep into side two...The alternate takes of the classic first single still stand out from the rest of the material, due to a unique, wiry energy. Like the buzz of the New York Dolls album was still fresh in their heads. I can't say these versions are any better or worse than the officially released takes. I'm calling it a draw.
So yea...Really, really early punk. Probably only a few months removed from the Ramones, but they don't seem to be influenced by them at all...I'd guess they were concurrent bands with similar influences that evolved in isolation of each other with largely different outcomes. No buzzsaw guitar or bubblegum here...Just rock n' roll menace and ear-splitting volume...
Let's check out some Crime...Here's "San Francisco's Doomed." Enjoy...
