The damned - music for pleasure (1978)
Why is there no review for this!? It speaks to exactly why this album is maligned in the first place, I guess. That can mostly be chalked up to lack of actual insight... This record is forever looked at as a scabby pockmark within The Damned's catalog, but it's so far from bad it's ludicrous. This album and "Damned Damned Damned"'make up a distinctive portion of their output, and neither can really stand on its own when looking at the band as a whole. The Damned are an easy target, I guess, for those who champion "Sex Pistols" nihilism as the true spirit of punk rock and just as easy of a target for those who align themselves with the politico-nonsense of "The Clash". Nevermind what was going on below ground, here we have the 3 biggest bands of London, 1977 and The Damned remain probably the least lauded and least noted in popular culture. They emphasized individuality, creativity and experimentalism, and that's exactly the side of punk rock essence that was quickly forgotten in favor of politics and fashion. Punk rock shocked people to gain footing, but few fail to revel in the diversity that originally made it what it was. The Damned were (and remain) a perfect example of exactly what made early punk rock great, and their second record is a perfect testament to that. No matter what the supposed fans or the band say, it isn't a failure and it isn't a misstep.
I guess they originally wanted Syd Barrett to produce the record. After a bunch of failed attempts, they settled on having Nick Mason do the job. Opposed to the whole Johnny Rotten "I hate Pink Floyd" deal, I guess. I mean, I'm sure everyone loved Syd and his influence, but in some ways The Damned always seemed more mature and less concerned with fitting into some fabricated punk rock ideal just to sell a few more records. That's probably why they're less likely to be looked at as the innovators they actually were than as just a footnote on the face of 77 London. Everybody thinks the pistols were important... But how important were they, really? There were plenty of bands with far more talent, intelligence and chops around at that time and place, a lot of which preceded the pistols in a lot of ways. The Damned are the quintessential example.
"Music For Pleasure" opens with a glam-heavy radio anthem called "Problem Child" and the similar "Don't Cry Wolf". It's worth noting their first record and its sped-up but Stooges-heavy sound and realizing right off the bat that, though this second album bows to a lot of the same conventions, it's much more "All The Young Dudes" than " Search and Destroy". I know Bowie's said many times that that song wasn't meant to be a hymn to the youth, but even with all things considered, what did it end up as? I'll be the first to admit these guys really wore their influences on their sleeves in the early days (tell me "Fan Club" wouldn't fit perfectly as an Alice Cooper song!), but they really make a jump from reveling in dirty, directionless teen-rock to trying to be the being the overseers of a dirty, directionless teen-rock revolution here. They probably would have succeeded if not for the senseless favoritism that plagues popular tunes. These songs are a call to arms more than anything else. "One Way Love" follows these two, and though its pretty aimless, it's not a bad song. This one prominently features new second-guitarist "Lu", and is pretty much the guy's shining point on the record (and with the band in general, considering this is the only album he would be featured on). Lu racks up points with some very interesting slide licks and cements his place in the history of The Damned here. Next is "Politics", and its another call to arms type number. The line "Give me fun - not anarchy!!" pretty much gives an idea of where these guys stood in the whole revolution of punk rock that was going on at that time. I still think it resonates more than anything else. The Damned embodied the real spirit of individuality that punk rock was supposed to represent. Not only on this record, but throughout their entire career. Lineup turmoil would plague them severely before the next album, but instead of self-destructing or becoming stagnant, they only branched out and became more creative. After that, it's hard to even call them a punk rock band most of the time, but they never released anything that wasn't done well or couldn't be respected.
Next comes two of the record's most well known songs, "Stretcher Case" and "Idiot Box". The former is much more of a punk rock tune, and concerns a whacked- out girlfriend, it would seem. Catchy, for sure, and much more indicative of punk rock standards than a lot of the band's output. The latter is basically a dissatisfied complaint letter to the band "Television". I don't know the whole story here and I don't really give a ***, but the Damned weren't too fond of Tom Verlaine and company. "You Take My Money" is an offbeat punk rock number about getting the run-around from someone cared about, and it's ok. After that The Damned really, and I mean REALLY, delve back into Stooges territory. "Alone", and "You Know" especially, play out like Funhouse out takes. "You Know" even has an annoying, honky saxophone join the jam towards the end! "Creep (You Can't Fool Me)" and "Your Eyes" are both choppy punk numbers a la "You Take My Money". "Your Eyes" is kinda disjointed pop, and "Creep" is a straight-up rock'n'roller. In the end, it is what it is. True to the legacy of the first Damned record, it isn't just a "punk rock" record. It's a greasy ***in' rock and roll record in the "punk rock" style, if that makes any sense. The Darned were beyond the trappings of the movement before it even started, and that's pretty much what makes them the better ilk of the first British wave. Music For Pleasure is a great listen if youre looking for some good tuneage. Im getting lazy now. It's good stuff and doesn't deserve the hate its received over the years at all.
And that's it.
Epilogue - Production-wise, the album is fine. Mason didn't do a bad job at all. It can easily be placed in a category with "Damned Damned Damned", and really isn't any worse than that album. It takes the same concepts and expands on them. Not even that much, really. It marks the end of the first chapter of The Damned's career pretty distinctively and it's pretty damn good. I'm still at a loss as to why people hate this record.
