That the Damned should still be around, still plugging the same level of 2-D technicolor bombast, should be no surprise. Cartoon characters don’t age, so why should the Archies of Punk? But these are grown men, all approaching 70 from one direction or another, and nobody lives forever. Which is sort of the point and the purpose of Not Like Everybody Else.
This is a true tribute album, a celebration both of the band’s influences and of their bandmate Brian James, who died last March. James was the catalyst who pulled this motley crew of reprobates together, back in the dim and distant 1970s, writing the vast bulk of songs on their first two albums, cementing their name and reputation as trailblazers in the emergent punk scene. With chaotic and rabid live performances their calling card, this first iteration of the band burned at both ends, lasting barely a couple of years.
In the fifty years since, there have been innumerable variations and versions of the band, stumbling from lineup to lineup, label to label, yet always guaranteed to kick up a skirmish live, with a slow and steady trickle of singles to keep them in the public eye. With, as always, Dave Vanian at the helm, on vocals and Dracula impersonations, there have been upward of 20 members, yet it is that earliest line up that is inked in most indelibly: Vanian, James, Rat Scabies on drums, and Captain Sensible on bass and then guitar. So much so that, in 2024, that lineup convened for a sellout tour. With James already ill, that was as much as anything a means to give him a financial leg up, but it was nonetheless triumphant.
Now, with his death, the band celebrate his life with this set of covers, the sort of songs that inspired them back in the day, and probably still do. Possibly a surprising selection, but then, they were never really hardwired for punk, with always a love of psychedelic garage rock coursing through their veins, and a good touch of goth for good measure. The omnipresent Vanian leads from the front, with Captain Sensible on guitar. Having patched up their differences on the re-union tour, Rat Scabies has stayed on behind the drum kit. Paul Gray, on and off bassist since 1980, makes up the quartet, abetted by Monty Oxymoron, a permanent fixture since 1986, if curiously always absent from publicity shots, on keyboards.
Not Like Everybody Else kicks off with maximum fizz, for an ebullient version of “Ghost In My House” by R. Dean Taylor. This is no ramalam punk thrash, sticking much in style and speed to the original, if infused with more spike and spunk than Taylor was ever allowed. It is better than the Fall and their endeavor to up-punk the Northern Soul classic. Vanian is in good voice, with Sensible teasing some psy-fi shapes out his guitar, and Scabies giving it some good old clatter in the basement. A good start.
Next is another (fairly) straight iteration, this time of “Summer in the City” by the Lovin’ Spoonful. Chunky, cheesy organ resounds through this one, and it is a faithful reminder, even down to the traffic noises in the middle. If garage band, think garage band with chops, with Gray’s bass mixed high and thin. In fact, it all sounds much as your highest expectations would hope for, especially as Oxymoron’s keys spin off into Doors-y extemporization, with Sensible peeling off all manner of ’60s shapes.
Those two well-known bangers out the bag, it is a couple of lesser known nuggets up next, “Making Time” and “Gimme Danger.” The first takes the song into near heavy metal territory, if leavened by the catchy choral chorus, which, especially with the bass and drums, comes over like the Who in their prime. Vanian channels peak Iggy Pop channeling Jim Morrison for the second, and this album is on a roll. Sensible then takes things right down on “See Emily Play,” the next track. It was always a cert that Syd-era Floyd would be part of this. It’s a beauty, again sticking close to the original template, perhaps a tad more brio and much more joy. This is fun!
“I’m Not Like Everybody Else” was way ahead of its time in 1966; rather than try and recapture the genie intact, Vanian and co. give the song a little more juice, making it more boast than statement. “Heart Full Of Soul” and “You Must Be a Witch” keep up the momentum, the realization that this is actually just a Damned album that happens to be written by different people; never is there any sense of mismatch, the songs all segueing together, as if by right and intention.
Someone’s still feeding this treasure trove of a jukebox, with “When I Was Young” to follow, a 1967 deep cut from the Animals. Eric Burdon was impossibly young at the time, then singing it about his childhood. Vanian makes it his own, singing it with the gravitas of age and (possibly) wisdom, without losing the original’s vital spark, casting the song a far longer shadow.
Fittingly, James himself gets to make an appearance from beyond the grave at the close. Culled from that reunion tour comes a carefully constructed recorded amalgam of the nightly encore, the prescient “Last Time.” I was at one of those shows, and there is no understating of the emotional impact of hearing the words “Well this could be the last time, maybe the last time, I don’t know“, knowing full well that for James, this would in fact be the case. Gloriously ragged, it is a most appropriate finale.
Not Like Everybody Else is so much better than I dared think. Should it be this much of a shock how well the band play? Probably not, given the 10,000 hours they have clearly put in, but somehow it still is. More fun than you could possibly imagine.
Not Like Everybody Else track listing:
1. Ghost In My House (R. Dean Taylor cover)
2. Summer In The City (The Lovin’ Spoonful cover)
3. Making Time (The Creation cover)
4. Gimme Danger (Iggy & the Stooges cover)
5. See Emily Play (Pink Floyd cover)
6. I’m Not Like Everybody Else (The Kinks cover)
7. Heart Full Of Soul (The Yardbirds cover)
8. You Must Be A Witch (The Lollipop Shoppe cover)
9. When I Was Young (The Animals cover)
10. The Last Time (The Rolling Stones cover)
