Black Is the Night: The Definitive Anthology

Black is the Night: The Definitive Anthology is a 2-CD, career-spanning compilation album by the British punk rock band the Damned,[4] released on 1 November 2019.[3][5] It collects tracks from most of the band's studio albums between 1977 and 2018, as well as selected non-album singles and B-sides. It also includes the new track "Black Is the Night". Of the band's eleven studio albums to date, Not of This Earth (1995) and So, Who's Paranoid? (2008) are not represented on the anthology.[6] All tracks were chosen by the band themselves,[7][8] and sequenced thematically instead of chronologically.[3]

Black is the Night: The Definitive Anthology
Compilation album by
Released1 November 2019 (2019-11-01)
Recorded1976–2019
Genre
Length2:35:28
LanguageEnglish
LabelBMG
The Damned chronology
Evil Spirits
(2018)
Black is the Night: The Definitive Anthology
(2019)
The Rockfield Files
(2020)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

Reception

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AllMusic felt that "the track listing does make sense of the often elusive through line of the Damned's history, as Dave Vanian's showman's vocals, Captain Sensible's clever melodies, and their smarter-than-you-think wit unites the music as they travel from punk to garage rock to hard rock to pop to goth to a few pit stops in between." AllMusic noted that the inclusion of some of the band's more recent material "shows they're still in touch with their various muses, and for all their sonic shape-shifting, this is a far more consistent listening experience than one would expect."[3]

With no tracks represented from Not Of This Earth and So, Who's Paranoid?, the Big Takeover wrote that the anthology was "not fully representative" and "omissions from these albums is questionable."[7]

Track listing

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Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Place of OriginLength
1."Love Song"Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, Algy WardMachine Gun Etiquette, 19792:21
2."Wait for the Blackout"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Paul Gray, Billy KarloffThe Black Album, 19803:51
3."Generals"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, GrayStrawberries, 19823:23
4."I Just Can't Be Happy Today"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Ward, Giovanni DadomoMachine Gun Etiquette3:43
5."Bad Time for Bonzo"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, GrayStrawberries3:48
6."Democracy?"SensibleGrave Disorder, 20013:21
7."White Rabbit"Grace SlickNon-album single, 19803:17
8."Anti-Pope"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Ward, Phillip BurnsMachine Gun Etiquette3:21
9."Ignite"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, GrayStrawberries4:52
10."Melody Lee"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, WardMachine Gun Etiquette2:07
11."Smash It Up Pt 1 & 2"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, WardMachine Gun Etiquette5:13
12."New Rose"Brian JamesDamned Damned Damned, 19772:42
13."Neat Neat Neat"JamesDamned Damned Damned2:40
14."Stretcher Case Baby"James, ScabiesNon-album single, 19772:12
15."Sick of Being Sick"JamesB-side to "Stretcher Case Baby", 19772:29
16."Born to Kill"JamesDamned Damned Damned2:35
17."Rabid (Over You)"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, Andy Le VienB-side to "White Rabbit", 19803:41
18."Problem Child"James, ScabiesMusic for Pleasure, 19772:12
19."1 of the 2"JamesDamned Damned Damned3:06
20."So Messed Up"JamesDamned Damned Damned1:50
21."Machine Gun Etiquette"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, WardMachine Gun Etiquette1:48
22."Disco Man"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, GrayFriday 13th EP, 19813:19
23."Fan Club"JamesDamned Damned Damned2:55
24."Suicide"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, WardB-side to "Love Song", 19793:16
Total length:1:14:16
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Place of OriginLength
1."Eloise"Paul RyanNon-album single, 19865:08
2."Plan 9 Channel 7"Scabies, Sensible, Vanian, WardMachine Gun Etiquette5:08
3."Grimly Fiendish"Vanian, Scabies, Roman Jugg, Bryn Merrick, Clive JacksonPhantasmagoria, 19853:49
4."The Shadow of Love" (10 Inches of Hell Mix)Vanian, Scabies, Jugg, MerrickPhantasmagoria6:33
5."Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"Scabies, Sensible, Gray, Vanian, DadomoThe Black Album4:32
6."Street of Dreams"Vanian, Scabies, Jugg, MerrickPhantasmagoria5:36
7."The History of the World (Part 1)"Scabies, Sensible, Gray, VanianThe Black Album3:49
8."Curtain Call"Scabies, Sensible, Gray, VanianThe Black Album17:10
9."Alone Again Or"Bryan MacLeanAnything, 19863:28
10."Lively Arts"Scabies, Sensible, Gray, VanianThe Black Album2:55
11."Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow"VanianEvil Spirits, 20184:14
12."Stranger on the Town"Scabies, Sensible, Gray, VanianStrawberries5:13
13."Fun Factory"SensibleNon-album single, 1991; recorded 19824:21
14."Under the Floor Again"Scabies, Sensible, Gray, VanianStrawberries5:21
15."Black Is the Night"VanianNew track4:09
Total length:1:21:37

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of the original albums and singles, except where noted.[9]

The Damned
  • Dave Vanian – vocals, synthesizer (disc two: 15)[10]
  • Captain Sensible – bass, backing vocals (disc one: 12–16, 18–20, 23); guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (disc one: 1–11, 17, 21, 22, 24 / disc two: 2, 5, 7, 8, 10–15)
  • Rat Scabies – drums, backing vocals (disc one: 1–5, 7–24 / disc two: 1–10, 12–14)
  • Brian James – guitar, backing vocals (disc one: 12–16, 18–20, 23)
  • Lu Edmonds – guitar (disc one: 18)
  • Algy Ward – bass (disc one: 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 21, 24 / disc two: 2)
  • Paul Gray – bass (disc one: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 22 / disc two: 5, 7, 8, 10–15)
  • Roman Jugg – keyboard solos (disc one: 3, 5, 9 / disc two: 12, 14); guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (disc two: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9)
  • Bryn Merrick – bass, backing vocals (disc two: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9)
  • Monty Oxymoron – keyboards, backing vocals (disc one: 6 / disc two: 11, 15)
  • Patricia Morrison – bass, backing vocals (disc one: 6)
  • Pinch – drums, backing vocals (disc one: 6 / disc two: 11, 15)
Additional musicians
  • Simon Lloyd – brass (disc one: 3)
  • Anthony More – synthesizer (disc one: 17)
  • Gary Barnacle – saxophone, brass (disc two: 3, 6)
  • Ray Martinez – trumpet (disc two: 5)
  • Luís Jardim – percussion (disc two: 6)
  • Hanz Zimmer – synthesizer (disc two: 7, 10[11])
  • Kurt Holm – trumpet (disc two: 9)
  • Robert Fripp – guitar (disc two: 13)
Technical
  • Nick Lowe – producer (disc one: 12–16, 19, 20, 23)
  • Nick Mason – producer (disc one: 18)
  • Shel Talmy – producer (disc one: 14, 15)
  • The Damned – producer (disc one: 1–5, 7–11, 17, 21 / disc two: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14)
  • Roger Armstrong – producer (disc one: 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 21 / disc two: 2)
  • Ed Hollis – producer (disc one: 24)
  • Hanz Zimmer – producer (disc two: 7)
  • Tony Mansfield – producer (disc one: 22)
  • Hugh Jones – producer (disc one: 5, 9)
  • Jon Kelly – producer (disc two: 1, 4, 6, 9)
  • Bob Sargeant – producer (disc two: 3)
  • Captain Sensible – producer (disc two: 13)
  • David Bianco – producer (disc one: 6)
  • Tony Visconti – producer (disc two: 11)
  • Tom Dalgety – producer (disc two: 15)[10]
  • Phil Smee – cover, artwork
  • Ben Thomas – layout
  • Eugene Butcher – liner notes
  • Neil Brabiner – photography
  • Dod Morrison – photography

Charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 63

References

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  1. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  2. ^ Peter Buckley (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  3. ^ a b c d "Black is the Night: The Definitive Anthology". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Album Review: The Damned – Black Is The Night ( The Definitive Anthology)". Original Rock. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  5. ^ "The Damned - Black Is The Night". Facebook. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  6. ^ MARowe (26 August 2019). "The Damned To Release 2CD, 4LP Definitive Anthology, Black Is The Night". musictap.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b Burke, Kevin (30 August 2019). "The Damned - Black Is The Night: The Definitive Anthology (BMG)". The Big Takeover. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  8. ^ Yeske Taylor, Katherine (30 October 2019). "Happy Halloween From The Damned". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  9. ^ "The Damned Releases". Discogs. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Black Is The Night - Credits". Tidal. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  11. ^ Armstrong, Roger. "The Black Album". Ace Records. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2020.