Forgotten Songs of the '80s: The Damned
Forgotten Songs of the ‘80s: The Damned
By the time 1986 rolled around, The Damned were already punk forefathers but by this time, they were also able to make the jump to a major label, MCA. After 1985’s Phantasmagoria flopped, the band tried again and released Anything. While the record was a massive critical disappointment and in some ways, a step backwards for the band, it did give them one of the most notable songs of their career, a brilliant cover of Love’s classic “Alone Again Or.”
By kicking off with the song’s signature Spanish acoustic guitar riff, the band built on the song by making it a bit stronger and louder. Singer Dave Vanian’s vocals are at their powerful best especially when the song reaches its chorus where the whole band comes together at a maximally quiet crescendo.
Working with the original’s Spanish influence, the guitar solo is matched with Spanish horns that really don’t seem to work with the song’s strengths but manage to help push the guitar to the forefront. While the record was a flop, the song managed to find its way onto mainstream rock radio but the band split by the end of ’86. By the time 21st century rolled around, the song had gained a new life thanks to the music video which was reborn online and as a result, the song was treated differently than the rest of the record and its new reputation looks to be stable on solid ground for many years to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYVDN27CrOo
By the time 1986 rolled around, The Damned were already punk forefathers but by this time, they were also able to make the jump to a major label, MCA. After 1985’s Phantasmagoria flopped, the band tried again and released Anything. While the record was a massive critical disappointment and in some ways, a step backwards for the band, it did give them one of the most notable songs of their career, a brilliant cover of Love’s classic “Alone Again Or.”
By kicking off with the song’s signature Spanish acoustic guitar riff, the band built on the song by making it a bit stronger and louder. Singer Dave Vanian’s vocals are at their powerful best especially when the song reaches its chorus where the whole band comes together at a maximally quiet crescendo.
Working with the original’s Spanish influence, the guitar solo is matched with Spanish horns that really don’t seem to work with the song’s strengths but manage to help push the guitar to the forefront. While the record was a flop, the song managed to find its way onto mainstream rock radio but the band split by the end of ’86. By the time 21st century rolled around, the song had gained a new life thanks to the music video which was reborn online and as a result, the song was treated differently than the rest of the record and its new reputation looks to be stable on solid ground for many years to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYVDN27CrOo
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