Album Review: The Damned – Phantasmagoria (Reissue)

1985’s “Phantasmagoria” was the great major-label, post-punk reboot of pioneering UK favorites The Damned. Gone were the furious bursts of guitar attack that were “New Rose” and “Neat Neat Neat,” and gone, too, was leader Captain Sensible after disputes with band mates and other seemingly irreconcilable differences. A well-received stab at a wider, more commercial appeal from a broader audience, “Phantasmagoria” jettisoned three chords and the truth for a little sax, a little keyboards, a more than a little mood.

Such mood would be carried by the deep timbre of David Vanian’s proto-gothic crooning, an uncanny and unmistakable blend of Peter Murphy, Jim Morrison with a wee dash of Ian Astbury peppered in for flavor. In fact, the album works really well when it explores that hidden, darker terrain of the psyche, as in the Spanish guitar-flecked “Street of Dreams” and especially the hypnotic and mysterious “Shadow of Love.”

But to Vanian’s credit, the vocals never get melodramatic or cartoonish, and show a strong sense of versatility as well as restraint. Still, “Phantasmagoria” skirts the Goth line with its blend of Edgar Allan Poe and hookah-pipe psychedelia. To be sure, there’s a “Nursery Cryme“-era Genesis feel to numbers like “Edward the Bear” with its Tony Banks-ish intro, though pillars of prog-rock may have been the furthest from their conscious minds, and the jaunty “Grimly Fiendish” with its carnivalesque side-show organ-grinder by way of Madness feel. “The Eighth Day” is the closest the album comes to the heaviness of the past, its apocalyptic revelations recalling the atmosphere of songs like “Street of Dreams” as well as a final day of reckoning.

Closing with a cinematic instrumental “Trojans,” the original LP feels like a major step forward for what would become a fairly mercurial band in the annals of pop-punkdom. This new reissue collects multiple rare tracks, including B-sides, alternate takes and mixes, a couple of covers, live shots and radio appearances. The additional material is especially fine, casting some “Phantasmagoria” tracks in a starker, sparer light, capturing the essence of the songs without the fussiness of overproduction. This release is a highly recommended reissue for fans willing to explore The Damned catalog for hidden jewels.