Danzig
The Lost Tracks of Danzig
Evillive
Why, devil, why?
Take note: Glenn Danzig is human after all. His first emotion other than anger is… regret! Collecting two decades worth of the evil Elvis’ shouldas, couldas and wouldas, The Lost Tracks of Danzig features some gems warranting reconsideration (“When Death Had No Name”) and others best left to the “black hand side” (er, “White Devil Rise”). With two discs, we’re lucky he sequenced the songs chronologically, starting with some bluesy Samhain leftovers (perhaps to justify breaking up that excellent band to fans) up through his latest work.
Naturally, this comp will only appeal to diehard Danzig fans. But with these, the songwriting is more important than the singer. For instance, the acoustic “Come to Silver” shimmers here and was written for Johnny Cash, giving depth to the soulless electro version used on Blackacidevil. Also, the bluesy, acoustic “Crawl Across Your Killing Floor” could have justified buying the otherwise forgettable Danzig 6:66 (maybe stick to acoustic music, Glenn?). And while he’s always gotten comparisons to the King, Danzig’s full-throated range on the Lucifuge-outtake “Cold, Cold Rain” is proof positive he could have left all this metal nonsense behind at any time in pursuit of suspicious minds.
And then there are the songs he really should regret. Why, after nearly 10 years, did he feel obligated to release “White Devil Rise,” a song about Caucasians rising up to start a race war? Maybe he should have given that one to the owners of his old label, Disney, to lock up with Song of the South. And his glammy, reverb-heavy cover of “Caught in My Eye” is unforgivable both as a testament to the Germs and as a Danzig performance. In the end, fans will delight at this collection (and the singer’s newfound humanity), which is mostly worth it… as long as you skip over the missteps. —Kory Grow
