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101 Damnations (album)

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101 Damnations
Studio album by
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
Released15 January 1990
Recorded1989
StudioImportant Notice Studios, Mitcham
Genre
Length55:17
LabelBig Cat UK
ProducerCarter USM and Simon Painter
Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine chronology
101 Damnations
(1990) 		30 Something
(1991)
Singles from 101 Damnations
  1. "Sheriff Fatman"
    Released: November 1989

101 Damnations is the debut album by Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine.[2] Its title is a pun upon 101 Dalmatians.

History

The pair wrote over half the album (6 songs) in one week during the summer of 1987 to fulfil an upcoming booked gig for their previous band, Jamie Wednesday, who had suddenly split up.[3][4] At least one song (Sheriff Fatman) had been written by the pair even prior to Jamie Wednesday forming, dating its origins to the early 80s.[5] The working title for the album was "The Brothels of Streatham to the Taking of Peckham", and later after signing a record deal they attempted to call it simply "Cunt".[6] The band initially wanted Jah Wobble to produce the album, however for reasons unknown this didn't happen.[7] Jim Bob cites Tom Waits and The Band of Holy Joy as being influences on his songwriting for parts of this album.[8]

Music and lyrics

101 Damnations establishes the band's style, musically fusing drum machines, samples and guitars, and lyrically concerned with poverty and misery based on real life events seen in the news,[9] and using extensive cultural references and puns.[1] Ned Raggett of Allmusic characterised the album's musical style as "brash, quick, punk/glam via rough early eighties technology pump-it-up pogoers" and described the heavy usage of puns as "Carter's calling card as much as anything".[1]

"Sheriff Fatman" was highlighted as displaying the album's characteristic sound; Raggett said "the song itself may be about a total rat-bastard of a slumlord, but the name of the game is energy and fun."[1] "Good Grief Charlie Brown" is a song about Jim Bob's parents splitting up,[10] and "An All-American National Sport" is a true story about a homeless person set on fire by two strangers.[11][1] "G. I. Blues" is an anti-war song inspired by John Savage’s character in The Deer Hunter, and closes the album.[12][1]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
NME8/10[14]
Record Collector[15]

The album was originally released in 1990, on Big Cat Records, then reissued on Chrysalis Records, peaking at number twenty-nine on the UK Albums Chart.[16]

The album was recorded on a shoestring budget,[citation needed] and was widely praised at the time of its release in the music press ("Staggering.." concluded the Melody Maker review for example) as a refreshing antidote to the drug-infused 'baggy' scene that was prevailing at the beginning of the 1990s. Whilst most of the chart contemporaries were extolling the virtues of ecstasy and hedonism, Carter USM offered a bleak worldview of social injustice, moral decay and urban violence. Their twin guitars, played over banks of keyboards, programmed sequencers and a drum-machine, drew comparisons in some critics' eyes to a 'punk Pet Shop Boys'.[citation needed]

One single was released from the album, "Sheriff Fatman", a commentary on unscrupulous private landlords, which became a major indie hit before being reissued again a couple of years later and finally peaking at number 23 in the UK singles charts. A 2011 reissue featured five bonus tracks including the single which followed the release of the album, "Rubbish", plus their cover version of Pet Shop Boys' "Rent".

Legacy

In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of Allmusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five, saying "in the duo's own unusual way, Carter were something of a unique and thrilling prospect at its best, which the highlights of Damnations show."[1] Trouser Press called it a "fully realised debut" and "mind-blowing in the most stimulating sense."[17]

At the end of 1990, NME ranked it at number 29 in their list of the top 50 "Albums of the Year",[18] whilst Sounds included it number 36 in their own list of the year's top 50 best albums.[19] In 1992, NME ranked the album at number 19 in their list of the top 20 "Near-As-Dam-It Perfect Initial Efforts!"[20]

The album achieved Silver certification, having sold in excess of 60,000 copies.[21]

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Morrison and Carter; except where indicated.

LP and Cassette

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Road to Domestos"0:46
2."Everytime a Churchbell Rings"4:13
3."Twenty-Four Minutes from Tulse Hill"3:26
4."An All American National Sport"3:55
5."Sheriff Fatman"4:43
6."The Taking of Peckham 123"4:22
Side Two
No.TitleLength
7."Crimestoppers A' Go Go"2:48
8."Good Grief Charlie Brown"3:39
9."Midnight on the Murder Mile"3:30
10."A Perfect Day to Drop the Bomb"5:42
11."G.I. Blues"3:57

CD

No.TitleLength
1."The Road to Domestos" / "Everytime a Churchbell Rings"5:00
2."Twenty-Four Minutes from Tulse Hill"3:26
3."An All American National Sport"3:55
4."Sheriff Fatman"4:43
5."The Taking of Peckham 123"4:22
6."Crimestoppers A' Go Go"2:48
7."Good Grief Charlie Brown"3:39
8."Midnight on the Murder Mile"3:30
9."A Perfect Day to Drop the Bomb"5:42
10."G.I. Blues"3:57
2011 bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."RSPCE" (B-side of "Sheriff Fatman") 3:05
12."Twintub with Guitar" (B-side of "Sheriff Fatman") 3:01
13."Rubbish" (A-side) 3:02
14."Rent" (B-side of "Rubbish")Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe4:37
15."Alternative Alf Garnett" (B-side of "Rubbish") 2:53

Personnel

  • Jim Bob - performer
  • Fruit Bat - performer
  • Sex Machine - producer
  • Simon Painter - producer, engineer
  • Rob Sheridan - piano solo ("G.I. Blues")
  • Carter - sleeve design
  • Dee Eff - sleeve design

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalog
Canada 1991 Chrysalis Records CD VK 41881
United Kingdom 1990 Big Cat UK Records Vinyl ABB 101
Big Cat UK Records Cassette ABB 101 C
Big Cat UK Records CD ABBCD101
1991 Chrysalis Records CD 321874 2
2004 Big Cat CD ABB1009892
2011 Big Cat CD (expanded) ABB101CDX
United States 1991 Chrysalis Records CD F2 21881

Charts

Chart (1991) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[16] 29

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "101 Damnations - Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic".
  2. ^ "Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine at official site". carterusm.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  3. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "We wrote 6 songs in a week for our first gig..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "We were booked as Jamie Wednesday but didn't tell the promoter we'd split up" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "Pre Carter and Jamie Wednesday me and Fruitbat wrote a number of acoustic based songs that we'd rewrite later as Carter songs. 'Chuckles And Smiles' became 'Sheriff Fatman'" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "The Brothels of Streatham to the taking of Peckham was the original title of the album. When we signed the record deal we told label boss Abbo we wanted to call it 'C***' (No asterisks)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "...We were supposed to be meeting Jah Wobble to talk about him producing the album. I have no memory of why that didn't happen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "Tom Waits & the Band of Holy Joy were a big influence on my songwriting. Most noticeable in this song [The Taking of Peckham 123]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "A lot of the lyrics on this, and on the album are based on real life events. Usually taken from the news" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "A song about my parents splitting up. My dad used to send me a ten shilling note every week" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "An All American National Sport. True story. Horrible story" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "I wrote this about John Savage's character in The Deer Hunter. That film had big impact on me" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Raggett, Ned. "101 Damnations – Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  14. ^ Lamacq, Steve (20 January 1990). "Carter USM – 101 Damnations". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  15. ^ Scott, Jonathan (Christmas 2011). "Carter USM – 101 Damnations". Record Collector. No. 396. p. 87. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  16. ^ a b "CARTER - THE UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE / Artist / Official Charts". The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  17. ^ "TrouserPress.com :: Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine".
  18. ^ "1990 - NME". 10 October 2016.
  19. ^ rocklistmusic.co.uk/sounds.html
  20. ^ rocklistmusic.co.uk/nme_d&d.html
  21. ^ James Morrison [@mrjimBob] (14 July 2020). "Thirty years and I still haven't got around to hanging this on the wall" (Tweet) – via Twitter.


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