Search - Damned :: Strawberries (Dlx)

The Damned best...

Rick Garcia | 01/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Strawberries saw a level of maturity that was actually kind of surprising, and something that they couldn't match after. Songs like "Dozen Girls" or "Bad Time for Bonzo" rock hard, and are among my favorite songs ever. They also showed that they could quiet down with "Don't Bother Me." The bonus tracks are okay, not great but not bad. I miss the strawberry scented lyric sheet of the original release, though."

The last good damned album with the Captain.

Elan Bodwick | las vegas | 03/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After this it was pretty much downhill for the damned with Captain Sensible leaving for a very brief successful solo career. But Strawberries remains a very good record that took the eperimentation of the black album abit further on tracks like Under the floor again and life goes on- both haunting and moody rock numbers with pronounced basslines ala New Order. Here the damned showed their love of 60's pyschedelia with very british backing vocals crisp guitar lines and the crooning of deepvoiced Vanian. There still was some of the old punk damned left- especially on the opener Ignite which sounds like something from Machine gun ettiquette. On Stranger on the town theres a motown beat and horn section and this showcased the damneds improved songwriting skills and search for something beyond punk. THeres energy and hooks there just less obvious. The songs are longer and have alot of backing instruments- especially the organ which the damned have always used to good effect. This is one of their more diverse records and sits well with the Black album in feel and style. For 1982 this a very good record from one of the more original bands of the past 30 years. I have the original cd without the bonus material which i prefer because the extra tracks take away the vibe of the original album. The bonus stuff is always interesting and sometimes very good but loses steam and drags it down. If you can find the original big beat releases or the reissues of the damned with just the original tracks i recommend you pick up DAMNED DAMNED DAMNED- MGE- BLACK ALBUM AND STRAWBERRIES."