The Damned: Dave Vanian (vocals); Captain Sensible (guitar); Algy Ward (bass); Rat Scabies (drums).
Producers: Roger Armstrong, The Damned, Ed Hollis, All Sorts Of People.
Includes liner notes by Jack Rabid.
Digitally remastered by Adam Skeaping & Roger Armstrong.
Liner Note Authors: Kieron Tyler; Roger Armstrong.
Two years after their debut and a year after they'd split up, the Damned became the first punk band to make a comeback. Their timing was great; two years being a very long time on the UK music scene, a "second wave" of punk was getting underway. The Damned shocked critics and fans alike by releasing an album as good as their first, DAMNED DAMNED DAMNED.
Kicking off with the cynical "Love Song," MACHINE GUN ETIQUETTE is a reflection of the best that late '70s punk could offer. Driving Rat Scabies beats, a little guitar mastery, and some '60's flashbacks (witness the percussion on "Anti Pope"--surely there's a Stones classic in their somewhere?). Catch the pretty piano intro on "Melody Lee" which morphs into punk perfection, while in contrast "Noise Noise Noise" is reminiscent of Buzzcock's "Noise Annoys," with kicking drums. Covers include MC5's "Looking at You," The Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" (with Motorhead's Lemmy on bass), and a strange version of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit."
Professional Reviews
Q (p.116) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's the best distillation of the band's melodic thrashing..."
Q (5/02 SE, p.137) - 4 stars out of 5 - Included in Q's "100 Best Punk Albums" - "...Viscerally delightful..."
Uncut (p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]here was a taut pop sensibility amid MACHINE GUN ETIQUETTE's vociferous attack that belied a reputation as three-chord tricksters."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.76) - Ranked #16 in Mojo's "Top 50 Punk Albums".
Mojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "MACHINE GUN ETIQUETTE is up there with the best, most original, and meanest underground rock from the '70s..."
