I was catching up on some old Mojo's and saw a piece about the four original Damned members reuniting for a British tour. I was more interested in something else, a band called The Sensible Gray Cells led by Captain Sensible, who Mojo describes as being "driven by their love of classic pop and 60's garage psychedelia," while the Captain himself declares the songs "too melodic for the Damned."
Okay, I'm in.
"Get Back Into The World" is a great record. It is the second from The Sensible Gray Cells. It's hard to nail what it sounds like because it sounds like so many of my favorites all at the same time from 60’s nuggets like Paul Revere & The Raiders and The Yardbirds to 70’s punk and new wave like The Stranglers and XTC, and of course The Damned at their most melodic. There were more than a few moments where actual songs were being quoted, like a little bit of "Ticket To Ride" in "A Little Prick."
This album is full of earworms and after giving it another ride around the park, I'm going backward and picking up the debut, hoping for more of the same. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what song they copped for the melody in "Black Spider Memo Man," specifically from about the 0:36 mark to the 0:44 mark. That run is driving me mad.
12 comments:
Care of Cell 44?
I hear a bit of Big Star, something from "Third", and I think it's a snippet of "Nightime".
I hear a riff from Fireball by Ducks Deluxe.
“So you think you’re in love” by Robin Hitchcock?
After further review I also hear Don't Be Shy by Cat Stevens
Part of that sounds (to me) like part of the chorus
to Lou Reed's "Caroline Says II" -- i.e., the "All
of her friends call her Alaska" bit.
Thanks for all the suggestions. But what I am thinking is, it's not a "feels like" or "sounds like" thing. It's a direct cop of the melody. Like in "A Little Prick," he's actually singing the "Ticket To Ride" melody "I think it's todaaaaay, yeah!" He even sings the "yeah."
Thanks for the suggestion of this. I keep forgetting how much I like Captain Sensible albums until they roll up on some random shuffle and I've never heard this one.
The melody clip sounds familiar, but nothing on the tip-of-my-tongue (and I'm usually pretty good about catching flat-out rips from something else...)
Might sound crazy, but I hear a parallel with Galveston by Glen Campbell/Jimmy Webb in that odd chord change.
I loved A Postcard From England. I didn't know they made another. Thanks!!!!
"Wot" is the only post-Damned song I ever heard by the Captain, but this sounds quite cool. My wife doesn't understand why I like "Wot". I don't know anybody else who's probably even heard the song. But it cracks me up. Wot?
I love "Wot." You can dance to it!
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