Apologies if this reads like a love-letter to Brian James, people.
Brian James is a guy who’s probably enlivened my life more
than most. I absolutely adored “Damned Damned Damned” from the minute I first
heard it and still do. In particular, James’s searing guitar playing which
sounded to me, as a youth, like the end of the world, the beginning of a new
world and was to my teenage ears, a real statement of intent.
I spent weeks in the late 70’s trying to learn how to play
some of those songs (some of the parts still evade me!) and although there are
rumours that the album was vari-speeded up during post production, I somehow
doubt that.
The guitar playing on “See Her Tonight” is one of the most
breakneck, seat-of-the-pants things ever committed to vinyl and the
blood-dripping main riff on “Fan Club” is utterly spellbinding. The album is
chock-full of these moments.
Of course, James had been around before The Damned; some of
the songs on “DDD” have their roots in his earlier “biker rock” band Bastard
whom he’d toured Europe with and he was slightly older than his erstwhile
band-mates although punks Year Zero saw quite a few people dropping a year or
two as well as their “aitches” and their Genesis albums.
James was also, and I have no qualms about saying this, the
coolest motherfucker alive at that point; his jet black mop-top, his lanky
stick insect demeanour and his angular guitar hero poses, all jutting limbs and
curled lip insouciance, were simply jaw-dropping.
I doubt that anyone in the nascent punk scene wore a leather
jacket quite as well as Brian James, either. He had that whole Parisian
proto-punk look going on and he looked more like Patti Smith than she did at
times. And lets not forget that guitar playing; cherry red Gibson SG straight
into a cranked up Hi Watt stack- no pedals, no gimmicks, just sheer volume and
his hands peeling off those licks and fiery chords.
That first Damned record gets spoken about now as “the first
punk album blah blah blah” and any article on the group invariably mentions how
they were first to do this or do that.
What is always missing, however, is the recognition that
“DDD” is a classic rock record played REALLY REALLY fast. The songs aren’t
“punk” as it became; they’re indebted to 60’s girl groups and The Stooges and
The Dolls and show the depth of James’s song-writing in full effect. Bar “Stab
Yor Back” which is a Scabies write, the full album is James’s and it shows.
The follow-up, the critically mauled (but actually not that
bad) “Music For Pleasure” saw James pulling away from the amphetamine buzzbomb
of the debut and crafting a more textured, almost psychedelic-type album in
places. “Problem Child”, “Stretcher Case” and others retained the blitzkrieg of
old, however.
Produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd (they’d originally wanted
the reclusive Syd Barrett), the album basically signed the death warrant on the
original line up of the Damned.
James’s next venture was the short-lived Tanz Der Youth, who
released a couple of cracking psych-pop singles then disappeared. There were
another few collaborations and bands but the game seemed to be up as the
rejuvenated Damned headed off to mainstream chart acclaim with “Machine Gun
Etiquette”.
The next move was quite a surprise, however. Teaming up with
Dead Boy Stiv Bators, Sham’s Dave Treganna and The Barracudas drumming
powerhouse Nicky Turner as punk super-group Lords of the New Church
The Lords shook off the novelty tag almost immediately.
Supergroups are usually anything but; massive egos and fans desperate for their
favourite members back catalogue usually mean their life span is pretty brief.
The Lords quashed that notion and then some.
To be fair, they were a way better band live than they ever
were on record; the albums are good but they don’t come close to capturing the
raw tsunami of the band live.
James and Bators were an astonishing double act and it just
seemed so right to witness them
together.
Obviously both were heavily indebted to Iggy and The Dolls
in their previous bands but the two sparked off of each other and created sheer
bottled lightning on stage. That rhythm section weren’t too bad, either, with Turner’s energy (he
literally would bounce up and down on the drum stool) and Treganna anchoring it
in the low register.
Several albums and a few near-chart-hits later, it was all
over acrimoniously but I’ll always treasure those times I saw The Lords live.
They were, at times, truly unbeatable.
Following this, James released this self-titled album with
help from some musicians he’d played with in the past. It’s a mature record-
the frenetic soloing of DDD and The Lords is replaced by a more mannered,
blues-y style but the songs retain the spark of old. Originally released in
1990, this is a re-mastered and limited edition vinyl version of the album.
He’s a better guitarist than he is vocalist but don’t let
that put you off; his languid voice on “The Twist” or “Cut Throat” sits well
with the slithering, serpentine licks and the late-night feel of the rhythm
section. “Ain’t That A Shame” makes a reappearance- it was originally a single
with Stewart Copeland on drums- and a cover of R&R standard “Cut Across
Shorty” slots in well with the rest of the album.
There’s a depth to the songs that repeated listening
unearths; on the face of it, they are fairly standard garage rock fare but
several times around, there is clearly more to them than meets the ear.
Our esteemed Droog Brother Main put on a Scabies/James gig
some years back- that’s where I met Mainy for the first time as I recall- and
time had not blunted the attack.
James wielding, as always, his trusty Telecaster (he’d
switched to a Tele when The Lords started) straight into a stack of amplifiers
and it was loud.
VERY, VERY LOUD.
He doesn’t seem to be particularly bothered about the
mainstream these days; he appears to be happy doing the odd collaboration or
showcase gig and that’s a shame for us. He’s unlikely to ever rejoin The Damned
and a Lords reunion is a non-starter since the death of Stiv Bators.
I guess we should be happy with what he have. He’s a
national treasure (well, he is to me!) and that body of work is simply
magnificent.
All hail Brain James, or as he used to have painted on his
Lords amp;
“Brian Saves”.
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