The Damned – So, Who’s Paranoid?
The Damned release their new album, 'So, Who’s Paranoid?' after an 8 year gap, with a rare complete line-up of Captain Sensible, David Vanian, Monty Oxymoron, Stuart West and Pinch.
This is a surprising return and one that confirms the bands piss-take philosophy. Sadly, it doesn’t work quite as well as it did in the 70’s, and the residue left is one of shame.
The first track, ‘A Nation Fit for Heroes’ is the only Sensible-penned song that pays respect to The Damned of the 70s. The remainder of the album is uncompromisingly theatrical and Vanian-led (if you’ve ever had the unfortunate luck to see Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera you might know why) and wholly separate from ‘…Heroes’ hark back to Brit punk. The song is, though, more of a Libertines rip off than any reflection of the Smash It Up dream and is a sound of ageing rockers that, without sounding ‘ageist’, should have hung the guitar up already.
‘Under the Wheels’ and ‘Dr. Woofstein’, which we could predict as next singles, have pedestrian chord changes but are undeniably catchy. This doesn’t give it credibility though, which is something that a lot of listeners may confuse. When you go to a new Damned gig, the audience is made up of old rockers and punks that have become more accepting of versatile music. The Damned obviously know this and after their performance of Dr. Woofstein, Sensible shouted, ‘NME gave us our first good review since New Rose, who’d have thought it?’ Indeed.
‘With my music and synchronised drum I can take you higher, sex machine!’ says some unidentified voice on 'Maid For Pleasure'. ‘Maid for Pleasure, Maid, for discipline’ croons Vanian, in all its hilarity. After seeing Vanian cooling himself down on stage in front of a fan, looking like he was about to have a double stroke, the lyrics are slightly disturbing. He sounds and looks like a less camp Tony Hadley, and affirms the band are all about a bit of fun in these late days, as he vacantly questions, ‘What’s the big idea about Diamonds?’ in the aptly named ‘Diamonds’.
A highlight could be ‘Nature’s Dark Passion’, as Vanian’s supreme Spandau performance, like a bow for the final curtain with cello and saw.
So, Who’s Paranoid? is a predictable account of why old bands shouldn’t re-unite after the age of 50. It can’t really go right unless you’re Neil Young and produced respectable and constantly changing material throughout your career. Even Bob Dylan hasn’t been able to get away with it. The Damned are a great parody of themselves, a big piss take, a bit of fun, that should have been left to The Darkness - but look what happened to them.
Review by Alice White
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