The Black Album (The Damned album)

The Black Album represented a change in the career of the group and an expansion of their sound. AllMusic critic Ned Raggett noted that "some of the numbers show the band following their original punk vein, but by this point the four...were leaving straight, three-chord thrash to the cul-de-sac revivalists", and that it was "a chance for the band to try everything from straightforward rock to gentler atmospherics".[2] Raggett described "Wait for the Blackout" as a "dramatic psych/punk surge" with "overtly-serious goth affectations", and qualified "Drinking About My Baby" as "goofy but still enjoyable". Captain Sensible later said that Dave Vanian's vocals were moving to a darker direction, and stated "It is goth; we didn't set out to do that but that is just the way it is. He did have a hearse, he was a grave digger".[3]

The Damned's Chiswick back catalogue was acquired by Big Beat in 1981, and The Black Album was reissued in August 1982 as a single album that omitted "Curtain Call" and the live tracks. The artwork for the reissue parodied the sleeve of the Beatles' The White Album, rendered in black with no details other than the group's name embossed in capitals. "It was said that the Beatles had their White Album, we had our Black Album", said Vanian. "The sleeve isn't related to the Beatles in any way". However, Scabies said: "Of course it was to do with the Beatles, I was so sick about the debates of what we should have on the front of it. I said: 'Put the thing in a plain black sleeve and we'll have a go at the Beatles and The White Album'". The live tracks were reissued in their own right, with four extra tracks, as Live Shepperton 1980.

The first subsequent reissue of The Black Album on CD reinstated "Curtain Call" and the original artwork, and the 2005 double-CD reissue also reinstated the live tracks.

The 28-date Black Album UK tour began in November 1980,[4] with reformed 1970s streetpunk band the Straps as support.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic called the album hit-or-miss, but added that "tracks of note are still thick on the ground" and that "it's still a surprisingly good blast, a tour de force for Vanian particularly".[2]

All tracks are written by Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible, Paul Gray and Dave Vanian, except as noted.

Note

• The song titled "Second Time Around" was also known as "Machine Gun Etiquette", the title track from the band's previous album.

Credits adapted from deluxe edition liner notes.[5]

The Damned

• Dave Vanian – lead vocals (all but 3), backing vocals (10), harmonium (12)
• Captain Sensible – electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, backing and lead (3) vocals
• Paul Gray – bass
• Rat Scabies – drums, backing vocals and rhythm guitar (4)

Additional musicians

• Hanz Zimmer – synthesizer (2,9)
• Ray Martinez – trumpet (5,7)
• Hugh Jones – backing vocals (10)

Production

• The Damned – producer (all but 9)
• Hanz Zimmer – producer (9)
• Hugh Jones – engineer
• Dave Vanian – artwork concept, design
• A. Gallard – photography
• H. Leadbitter – design execution