I am increasingly of the opinion that if you look up Glen Danzig in some dictionary it will say ‘singer, cat lover, alleged collector of bricks, marmite’. Yeah there is a definite love or hate about him sadly. Heck even amongst the love, there are those who feel the need to add ‘only his Misfits stuff, obviously’. So I’ll assume that you, like me, just love all periods of the guy’s music; Misfits, Samhain, Danzig, and think that our Evil Elvis is a true swampy-blues metal original. Everyone else fucked off? OK, good.
So why, after his last two excellent original studio albums, should you pay attention to a covers album? Mmm, well, Evil Elvis sings Elvis for one. That’s your entrance fee value right there. ‘Just Let Yourself Go’ is a gorgeous thumping Elvis-with-a-metal-riff riot and Danzig’s voice is excellent, that familiar phrasing perfectly in line with the required Elvis drawl.
It’s fair to say that half these tracks will probably be unknown to a large section, unless you happen to be a fan of the ’60 s or just a biker movie obsessive but they really do make sense when opening track ‘Devil’s Angels’ (originally by Dave Allen & The Arrows) blasts its little punk heart out and there, right there, is that Misfits sound intact after all these years. Clearly his last tour with Doyle left some good memories and this is a great, bouncing grin of a song. ‘Satan’s Sadists’ (was that a Russ Tamblyn film?) next is a slow croon that have Danzig fans swooning and haters running screaming from the room. The slow stomp of Sabbath’s N.I.B. following on is perhaps a predictable choice given Danzig’s style, but it is still up there with the best covers I have heard so well does it suit him.
I have to admit that finding an Aerosmith cover in here was a bit of a surprise and to me ‘Lord Of The Thighs’ is a bit of a messy bad fit; never liked the song, the lowest register doesn’t sit well with Danzig and thankfully it’s soon over and makes way for the brilliant ‘Action Woman’ (The Litter, anyone?) which again stamps on the gas. This is pure mic flex cracking, headbanging Danzig; macho, musclebound rocking that could have graced any Samhain or Danzig opus.
Being a big softy though Danzig then treats us to ZZ Top’s ‘Rough Boy’ which at least suits him unlike the Aerosmith song. S’ok I guess.
The Troggs ‘A Girl Like You’ drops us back to Misfits garage punk and is a lovely bit of psycho-pop. The Young Rascalls’ (?) ‘Find Somebody’ is musically fine but somehow the lack of any doom ‘n’ gloom make it unusual. Kinda fun thing though.
He closes with the Everly Brothers’ classic ‘Crying In The Rain’, a pure crooning ballad with an unusually understated vocal performance that really works.
Haters are gonna mock but Glen won’t care and neither should anyone who has liked any period of his music as there’s something for everyone here. Evil Elvis sounding like he’s enjoying himself? Who’d a thunk it? Well anyone who saw him on his last UK gigs, probably. For Americana punk metal this is a fun karaoke night out if you like Danzig’s music. If you don’t then I told you to leave at the top of the page.
(8/10 Gizmo)
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