The Damnedest Thing.
Hello my friends and welcome to another outing with punk titans The Damned, we find them hunkered down at the most hallowed of recording sites, Rockfield Studios to record four little tunes that will send you crawling up the wall and across the ceiling in no time. Rewind back to 1980-81 (stop sniggering at the back), and our heroes were at this legendary place to record material that would eventually appear on The Black Album, Strawberries and Friday The 13th EP (which contains my favourite song ever – Limit Club). In 2019 they returned, and now bring us ‘The Rockfield Files’ EP, a brief but significant stroll with the band.
‘Manipulator’ is classic Damned, instantly recognisable with that tasty guitar in the chorus and we can really be happy again folks! Dave Vanian( sigh…) the voice that entraps and slaps, the Captain and Paul Gray giving it some welly on the strings, and mighty Monty on the keys and the deadliest of drums, this is well- versed, well-sussed and very welcome.
The single ‘Keep ‘em Alive’ is reviewed here
and closing track ‘Black Is The Night’ contains ‘that’ lift off moment at 3.00 and is swiftly followed by the most exquisite coda, can be found on their collection reviewed here
“Y’know the damnedest thing,” said the spider to the fly, whose web of intrigue, evermore elaborate and glistening in the sun, “I could reel you into my trap, my threads so magnetic and enigmatic, if it wasn’t for our special relationship, known the world over, that I am a threat to your kind” mused the arachnid “ I may just give into temptation and throw caution to the wind.”
Said the fly to the spider “ see you later, manipulator.”
The Damned – The Rockfield Files EP out now via Spinefarm Records.