Search - Damage :: Forever

The U.K.'s best kept secret...

Knyte | New York, NY | 04/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was first introduced to Damage by a staff member at UCSB, who in my opinion is one of the biggest lovers of music I've ever known (Thanks to Mr. P.F...) Among the literally dozens of obscure and unknown CDs that he let me borrow last year, I found myself really enjoying the Damage album. 'Forever' was originally released in 1997 with little to no fanfare out here in the U.S, and in my humble opinion, it was wrongfully overlooked.This is true pop/R&B - they have the right mix of everything here: a smooth and silky voice here, a raw emotional voice there, danceable tracks, a guest rap vocal by Lil' Cease (from Junior M.A.F.I.A, the crew affiliated with the late Notorious B.I.G.), an extremely well done remake of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight", awesome falsettos...shall I go on? Let me tell you a story:I was a DJ at KCSB 91.9FM in Santa Barbara for a short spell. I eventually left because they considered my format too commercialized for a college station; but it was groups like Damage that I wanted to promote. Damage may eventually "blow up" soon, but right now they are virtual unknowns in the United States, and I wanted to be able to celebrate their music on my show. I guess they're music was so good, the program directors at KCSB thought there was no way that Damage could have been an underground R&B group. They obviously didn't know what they were talking about since this album wasn't even listed on Amazon until recently. I'm not bitter, can't you tell? (smile)Focusing on the music though, it is one of the most consistent albums that I have ever heard. It is great from start to finish, and every song fits in with the other, like a true concept album. The best way to describe their sound is like an update of New Edition, throw in a little Jordan Knight, a dash of Brian McKnight, and you get Damage. The best part about this group is that you can tell they possess a true love for music; they write their own songs.So, now I'm hearing more news about this group...One of them is dating Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls. Michael Jackson wants to include them on his upcoming album...so, it's only a matter of time. Join me in being one of the first people to know about Damage in case they really do take the world by storm. Get this CD. Especially if you like what I like - pop/R&B. Thanks for reading.Sincerely Yours,Andrew Knyte."