A Captain Sensible LP is a rare event. Since his first two albums appeared in 1981 and 1982 while he was still in the Damned, only 1989's Revolution Now
and this new effort have been released. Not that it's completely his
fault; this new work was completed over two years ago -- it stinks when a
legend of this ability can't find someone willing to issue an already
recorded album. Nonetheless, the good Captain doesn't fail us and never has. While not as strong as Revolution Now,
all of his usual goofy, nostalgic neo-psychedelic guitar tricks and
surprisingly crafted pop tunes are in place and sound 1993 despite his
most retro prank yet: "Damned"
if this isn't a concept album about one Geoffrey Brown, whose sedate
corporate life is turned topsy-turvy when now-extinct aliens start
leaving warning messages on his computer screen about our similar
self-inflicted demise.
The concept is amusing, listening to Brown's
wife, co-workers, and friends abandon him as a crackpot only for the
government to recognize his value in the end. It combines two common Sensible
themes: our own self-destructive impulses and the ostracizing of folks
who go against accepted practices and actually dare to use their own
brains; can there be any other truly lasting positive message from the
supposedly (not really) nihilistic (actually really fun) punk days that
loony-tunes like Sensible
helped found? And such glitzy tunes as "Holiday in My Heart," "Street
of Shame," and the title track claw their way into your affections in a
few plays.
The man can write -- like his pal Robyn Hitchcock, only much more consistently and without the nonsense lyrics, Sensible
loves a pop song, knows one when he hears one or writes one, and has 30
years of great pop song riffs and styles stored in his brain to compose
his own. Ever since the Damned's masterful Strawberries
revealed his prowess, he's been loved by those in the know: He's
one-third ridiculous clown, one-third lovable English eccentric
incapable of growing old, and one-third (barely noticed as a result)
great artist. Sensible
has made some of the happiest, most enjoyable tunes around ever by a
musician so scoffed at, and this is another ambitious yet modest gem
from a true personality original.(allmusic.com)
To me this is my favourite album of the Capt'n. A lot power pop inside, psychedelic pop also. If you don't know this album try it. This is completely another kind of pop than e.g. ''Women And Children First''.
Later more
Frank
mp3@320
The man can write -- like his pal Robyn Hitchcock, only much more consistently and without the nonsense lyrics, Sensible
loves a pop song, knows one when he hears one or writes one, and has 30
years of great pop song riffs and styles stored in his brain to compose
his own. Ever since the Damned's masterful Strawberries
revealed his prowess, he's been loved by those in the know: He's
one-third ridiculous clown, one-third lovable English eccentric
incapable of growing old, and one-third (barely noticed as a result)
great artist. Sensible
has made some of the happiest, most enjoyable tunes around ever by a
musician so scoffed at, and this is another ambitious yet modest gem
from a true personality original.(allmusic.com)