The Return of the Damnation Of Adam Blessing

Psychedelic rockers reunite.

By D.X. Ferris

Acid-rock legends the Damnation of Adam Blessing will reunite for two shows this weekend. Aside from a 2000 concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, these will be the Cleveland band's first gigs since 1973.

"Every time I see her, [Beachland owner] Cindy [Barber] bugs me, 'You oughta get the band back together,'" says rhythm guitarist Jim Quinn. "I saw her at the Alarm Clocks show at the Beachland, and she cornered me."

Between 1968 and 1971, the band recorded three albums for the major label United Artists. They regularly opened for the James Gang and played major festivals. And they toured as both a headliner and in support of Eric Clapton and Traffic. A hard-rock sensibility reigned in Damnation's psychedelic zeitgeist, and their late records would brush the roots of fusion and prog rock. The band cracked the Billboard album chart's upper strata, while the singles "Back to the River" and "Cookbook" reached No. 1 in some markets. A burly cover of the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" sounds like a Steppenwolf deep-album cut, pumped up with bluesy guitar jams and heavy Hammond B-3 organ.

When the record deal fell apart, lineup changes ensued. The group rebooted as Glory in 1972 and released a self-titled album before disbanding. And while members scattered across country, the music lived on. Beginning in 2000, the Italian label Akarma reissued the albums, including an elaborate boxed set of the first three records; the $60 import has sold over 20,000 copies.

Friday, April 27, the group will appear on the 98.5-FM WNCX morning show, followed by a show that night at the Beachland Ballroom (15711 Waterloo Rd.). Saturday, April 28, Damnation will make an in-store appearance at Time Traveler (2615 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls) at 3 p.m., followed by a show at the Tangier (532 West Market Street, Akron). Quinn says the band has nothing planned beyond these dates.

"We're really just doing it to have fun. We're getting older.      Who knows if we'll ever do this again?