The Damned - Phantasmagoria

1985 album for the British punk legend's. Nine tracks Including the classics 'Grimly Fiendish' and 'Is It a Dream'. Produced by the band with Bob Sargeant (Buzzcocks). Plus 2 Wicked Editions bonus tracks 'Grimly Fiendish (Bad Trip Mix)' & 'The Shadow Of Love (Ten Inches Of Hell Mix)'. 1985 release. Standard jewel case. Album Description

The Damned's best work

All I can say is that back in the day my Hard-core Punk-rocker friends tried several times to turn me on to The Damned. I resisted, as I was a Bauhaus / Joy Division style Goth Rocker and "had no need for their pound-it-out punk rock." One day about 5 of them jumped me, held me down, and put Phantasmagoria on the stereo. I was immediately impressed, and this album remains my favorite work of this '80s phenomenon known as The Damned. They are a band I always recommend, and this album in particular. Lastly, the woman on the cover, in her garb, and in that setting makes her one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. March 10, 2008

Goth-schmoth... it's the Damned

The Damned did not "abandon" punk for "goth" in 1985. They had already gone beyond traditional punk rock as early as 1979 when they released Machine Gun Etiquette. The Damned were the first on many levels: The first English punk band to release a single, the first to release an album, the first to tour America, the first to break up, the first to re-form, and ONE of the first to take punk beyond it's artistic limitations, and then to brand new uncharted territories.

The Damned had talent in spades. Had they been so inclined, they could have been a self-indulgent prog-rock band. However, they chose to channel their talents into having fun and reinventing themselves on each successive album release. Had the term "gothic" been used in the music industry in 1980, then I'm sure it would have been applied to that year's Black Album... even though that would have been unfair, as it was more influenced by psychedelia. I think it is also unfair to apply that term to Phantasmagoria. The fact that "gothic" music was the newest thing in 1985 has more to do with this categorization if you ask me. Most people were so quick to literally judge the album by it's cover rather than it's true nature, which to me was simply trademark Damned-pop (in other-words, uncategorizable).

Phantasmagoria signaled a new era for the Damned. It was the first proper album to be released without Captain Sensible's input, for one... and it was also the first Damned album to be released on a major mainstream record label. These 2 factors have more to do with the more slick, tame sound. There are other more punked-up recordings of some of these tunes on live albums and BBC showcases (see "The Radio One Sessions"). MCA wanted something a little more "radio-friendly" here. Phantasmagoria did attract a new audience to the band though. I remember the crowd on this tour sporting a lot more black eyeliner and black lace than previous tours. Times change.

Overall, this isn't a bad album... and it's just another chapter in the ever-evolving story of the Damned. The reason this band has remained my favorite band for almost a quarter of a century now is because they never let themselves get stale by making the same old albums over and over. Some albums may be better than others, but no 2 sound the same. I would say Phantasmagoria rates about a 5 on a scale of 1-10 where the Damned's catalog is concerned.

If you're a hardcore Damned fan like I am, then you already know this. If you are a fan of "goth", then you may like this. If you think that the only good album the Damned ever did was "Damned Damned Damned", then you should avoid this one at all costs. October 30, 2007

boy, did I misremember this one

All right, I admit that I was behind the caboose a bit on this one--I didn't get into The Damned at all until I saw them on Young Ones, performing "Nasty" on an appropriately Halloween-esque episode where Alexei Sayle is a vampire loose around the house. Then I went nuts for the soundtrack to one of the best zombie movies of all time--The Return of the Living Dead. Aside from The Cramps and The Flesheaters, there was a great track by The Damned on there--"Dead Beat Dance."

So I started looking for stuff by The Damned, but in my repressed area of existence, the only thing I was able to find was this album on cassette (makes sense now, considering that this was one of their best-selling albums of all time, and record stores in my area had little of what you might call imagination). I don't remember much in the way of details, but I knew in my fog of reminiscence that I liked the album and brought the tape along with my tapes of New York Thrash and Desperate Teenage Lovedolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to vomit parties. Maybe The Damned didn't get the kind of reaction I was hoping for, but hey, whatever. I do remember liking the first track a lot.

This was back in the area of 1985 or 1986. Flash forward to July, 2007, when I decide, for whatever reason, to pick up this album once again. Since then, I had educated myself a lot further on The Damned and gone back into their punk roots, picked up albums, played them loud in my car, etc. Getting this album just seemed to be a way to make my Damned experience come full-circle; come back to the place where I started so that I could fully appreciate this release, which really started my Damned career.

But what a disappointment to listen to. "Street of Dreams" (the first track) is still a pretty good one to listen to, though it is pretty heavily 80s-scarred. But unfortunately, this album does not pick up again until "Grimly Fiendish." "Shadow of Love" suffers from the spaghetti Western infection of goth, which got used pretty well by Fields of the Nephilim, but sounds pretty trite here. "Is It a Dream?" sounds like an attempt to get on a John Hughes soundtrack, and "Sanctum Sanctorum," which I thought was a heart-felt track back in my high school days, is pretty droll and painful for David Vanian's voice. My purchase was somewhat saved by a pretty good remix of "Grimly Fiendish," but on the whole this album reminded me that sometimes albums you let get away from you disappear for a good reason, and it might not be a good idea to hunt them down again, because sometimes reminiscence is better when you do it from afar and don't really revisit old favs.
August 5, 2007

Happy Damned Fan

I am vey happy now that I have aquired this c.d.after a long time looking elswhere. May 13, 2007

Like others have said

This is the damned go goth. It is not entirely successful. But, it is not entirely a waste. The damned had come full circle at this point. Captain sensible had his number 1 hit and the damned seemed to be less punk visionaries then fashion victims. Phantasmagoria is less a theme than an acurate description. Where do you go from punk? What do you rebel against when the world you protested against accepts you? You become what is feared at the moment. Goth was feared backin the 80's. By radio and MTV. It was a rejection of standards if you will. So the first punk band EVER rejected those standards. They quit one album after this (at least they did before the reunion tours and the sad reunion albums) This is the second to last REAL albums from punk gods trying to be realivant. Part of it is part of it isn't. We woulnd't have goth bands at all if they had remained silent. So piss off detractors. March 5, 2007

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