Having reviewed the self titled debut album by British “supergroup” Damage Control last year, a release that remains in my Top 20 albums of 2007, I was delighted when I was told I’d be reviewing the new offering. Unfortunately that delight quickly turned to confusion and almost disbelief. The new offering – Raw – turns out to be a case of releasing something which sounds like the demos of the tracks from the debut, before Spike recorded his vocals. Supposedly this is how the songs were supposed to sound, but obviously still in a stripped back form. I am led to believe that these are not actually demos, but a genuine finished product. 

Personally I have no idea what on earth possessed them to release this as it’s not a patch on the debut Sure the songs are still great, because they are still essentially the same songs, but I cannot think of one single version on this release that is anywhere near as good as the version that ended up on the debut. From visiting their website, I gather that Spike has left the band, leaving behind what is essentially a power trio consisting of Pete Way, Robin George and Chris Slade and hence the fact that the band felt the need to essentially re-release the same album without their erstwhile singer. The vocals are handled jointly both  Way and George in place of their departed frontman but, in almost every aspect, totally lack the emotion that Spike brought to the songs. RAW is so disappointing that it's almost impossible to put into words.

Paul Williams