Playlist 14 January
The Damned had a great knack for picking cover versions. Choosing a Beatles song wasn't the most obvious choice for a first generation punk band but they did 'Help' in a fast and furious style that might not have improved on the original but was the best Beatles cover of 1977. OK, not much competition but still. They also bravely recorded The Stooges' '1970' for their first LP. Renaming it 'I Feel Alright' was a wise move. Who wants to be reminded of the year of the birth of loons and cheesecloth when many BOFs were still wearing them at the beginning of 1977 ? Of course, the actual song itself is too long by about two minutes but I suspect The Damned were padding like mad. Sometimes I suspect the Stooges were doing the same for Fun House, of which '1970' is the first song, side two. Padded or not, Fun House is still brilliant. Recorded with Iggy using a hand held microphone through speakers, no headphones (they tried wearing them but it all sounded so restrained) and no attempt to keep the different instruments on separate tracks. Not the usual method of recording an LP, even today. My favourite fact , though, is that producer Don Gallucci was a member of the Kingsmen, and played organ on 'Louie, Louie'. Damned - I Feel Alright
Girls At Our Best! - Getting Nowhere Fast
Flipper - Get Away
The Replacements - I Will Dare
June Brides - Every Conversation
Generation X - Gimme Some Truth
Echo & The Bunnymen - All That Jazz
Alternative TV - Good Times
Vibrators - Bad Time
Au Pairs - You
Passengers - Face With No Name
Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard
XTC - Crowded Room
Disco Zombies - Drums Over London
Nick Lowe - I Don't Want The Night To End
Wire - Fragile
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