At last, after a couple of setbacks, The Lost Tracks Of Danzig has been set free to the fans around the world on a 2CD set. Featuring unreleased tracks from Danzig’s self titled band, the collection spans from their first album from 1987, Danzig, all the way through 2004’s Circle Of Snakes. The songs were not necessarily cut from any of the albums according to Danzig; they just did not fit in at the time. In all, there are 26 theoretically brand new songs on this album that has been released under Evilive Records.
Just about any music lover out there has heard the name Glenn Danzig. He has been in the music business for about thirty years now and is going strong. Punk rockers adore him as one of the original members of the famed Halloween punk act The Misfits. Metal heads worship him in the departed Samhain and of course in the band Danzig. He has a voice like no other.
Glenn Danzig is admired by emo kids, metal heads, and punk rockers alike. He may be dark and mysterious and look like a metal Elvis, but Danzig is a popular guy. He’s not only written punk rock and metal songs but has composed classical music. To my astonishment he has even written music for Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. He is really more than most people see him as.
Numerous videos have been featured on the internet of his bad temper and mishaps. Not only is he a musician, but he is a comic book publisher, a photographer, and even a martial arts expert. He has even gone so far as to appearing on an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (“Where’s my eff’n ro-bit?”). Love him or hate him, he is an icon in the music world.
Starting off the collection is “Pain Is Like An Animal.” I do not understand why it took so long to release this song. It is Danzig all the way from the singing to the background vocals and is one of my favorites in the entire collection. I can even hear a little bit of the Misfits style on it.
On the other hand, “When Death Had No Name (1st Version)” was just not keeping my attention. The song reminded me of something I might hear at a high school rock off but with Danzig singing of course. A couple tracks later though is the 1992 version of “When Death Had No Name” and my opinion of the song changed completely. The ’92 version is amazing and may be one of the best tracks on this collection.
The acoustic “Come To Silver” was actually written for Johnny Cash to perform and after you finish listening to it you can agree that the song suited The Man In Black. I was unsure of the song at first thinking that Danzig should stick to metal, but the song sinks into your mind with ease. Danzig sang ever so clearly you are almost in shock!
The Germ’s cover “Caught In My Eye” was interesting. I much prefer the original of course, but I don’t see this as a butchering of a classic. The cover of David Bowie’s “Cat People,” though, was just awesome.
Closing track “Unspeakable (Shango Mix)” was just different. The song reminded me of something Pop Will Eat Itself might have done back in the 90’s. The song is a remix, and I know this, but really not the way the collection should have ended.
I am more engrossed towards Danzig in the Misfit years so overall I was not overly impressed with the collection but I did enjoy what was presented. The 2CD set is full of Danzig songs that are more hits than misses, more so on disc one over disc two. I can understand why some of the tracks were not put on any specific album but any Danzig fan out there is going to be able to find at least a few tracks on The Lost Tracks Of Danzig that will spark their interest.
Post a Comment