Cleveland, Ohio's Damnation of Adam Blessing scored only a few regional hits and barely dented the national charts, but artistically, they were far and away more original and innovative than any band from their hometown and could even make that case with plenty from outside Ohio. Damnation's focus was obviously on contemporary hard rock, but the arrangements were far more advanced.
While most heavy rock acts featured screaming or shouting vocalists, Damnation tested the waters with low-range, gospel-like harmonies and Adam Blessing's grinding yet melodic leads. Songs would quickly shift from simple rock arrangements into idiosyncratic middle-eights - sometimes over a pounding rhythm by drummer Bill Schwark and bassist Ray Benich, sometimes enhancing a ballad. And when it came to hooks, Damnation could lure in the listener almost every time. And yet, outside of their four albums and a brief appearance in a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit on Cleveland bands, little evidence remains.
As literally hundreds of inferior contemporaries have seen their albums reissued on CD, not a single note of Damnation music has entered the digital realm. It's a damned shame - or rather, shameful. A band that infused broad influences of the Beatles, Vanilla Fudge, John Mayall, and Stax/Motown into its own sound deserves, at the very least, some sort of tribute. In the inexcusable absence of a CD anthology, we present our own here.
Tracks
Damnation of Adam Blessing 1969
1. Cookbook - 3:55
2. Morning Dew - 5:15
3. Le' Voyage - 3:53
4. You Don't Love Me - 3:18
5. Strings and Things - 5:45
6. Last Train to Clarksville - 4:18
7. Dreams - 4:52
8. Hold On - 2:16
9. Lonely - 4:55
Second Damnation 1970
10.No Way - 3:17
11.Death of a Virgin - 3:40
12.Driver - 3:25
13.Everyone - 4:10
14.Back to the River - 5:20
15.Money Tree - 4:48
16.Ba-Dup - 3:20
17.New York City Woman 5:54
18.In the Morning - 6:13
19.Smile - 1:27
Damnation of Adam Blessing
*Adam Blessing (Bill Constable) - Lead Vocals
*Bob Kalamasz - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
*Jim Quinn - Rhythm Guitar, Percussion, Electric Pillow, Backing Vocals
*Ray Bench - Bass Guitar
*Bill Schwark - Drums
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Great Band&Album!Many Thanks Marios
ReplyDeletethe albums have been released haven`t they by akarma on cd.. or were they an lp re-issue?
ReplyDeleteΠολύ καλή για τα γούστα μου,σ'ευχαριστώ πολύ.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fantastic. Thankx for sharing.
ReplyDeletesounds pretty interesting...hard rock with "low-range gospel-like harmonies". I have to see how this was pulled off! thanks again Marios!
ReplyDeleteOh, this is really nice! Why weren't these guys huge?
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in NE Ohio I saw this band on many occasions and they were a great live band. Had all 4 of their vinyl offerings but could never find them on CD. Thanks for giving them the exposure they deserve.
ReplyDeleteExcellent band--a huge thank you Marios!!!
ReplyDeleteI was in Cleveland in '70 and still have the Damnation album. "Back to the River" was my fav. Amazon has a CD now of some of their work.
ReplyDeletePlease re-upload this album
ReplyDelete....Damnation is ..up...
ReplyDeletehey Marios. Greetings from Cleveland; and Thank You for posting this in flac!! I wasn't alive when their first LP came out, but I was an infant when the 2nd came out...My first exposure to this band was 'bitter-sweet'. local hack 'never-was' musician Michael Stanley was a featured DJ on a local classic-rock radio station in the late-1980's, and he would always talk about how amazing this band was, but would never play their records. a little bit later on, I was going through a stack of 45's at a local thrift shop and found the "Morning Dew" 45...WOW!!! I had only heard the version of that song that Einsturzende Neubauten had done before...eventually found the first 2 LPs at local 2nd-hand shops for myself. WOW!!! still, to this day, you can find well-worn but wonderfully enjoyable 2nd-hand copies of these 2 LPs in Cleveland for $8 or $10 every now & then.i now work as a sound tech at a local club, and I had burned a copy of these 2 lps to cd from my vinyl to play between bands. my CD got 'lost' a couple months ago, and I'm so grateful you posted this to save me the time to rip from my LPs again for another CD. actually, lots of older people coming to shows at the club I work at hear this, come back to me & ask "hey, what is this?? I recognize this, but I forget who it is??"...also, Damnation Of Adam Blessing did play another Cleveland show in 2007 at The Beachland Ballroom. I missed that, as well as the show at the R'N'R Hall Of Fame in 1998~9(exact date??). I was on tour in the bands I play drums in both times. but I know that more than a few friends of mine who saw 1 or both shows said they were Awesome. Thank You so much for this. this band deserves to be just more than a "regional legend"!!!
ReplyDeleteDamn...Damnation link gone bye bye...
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDelete"The Damnation Of Adam Blessing" ....repaired
It's now telling me I have to pay $10.95.
ReplyDelete