Skip to main content

IN REVIEW: Danzig - "Danzig Sings Elvis"


If you haven't paid much attention to Glenn Danzig, or his formidable career as both a solo artist and onetime singer for highly influential horror/punk group The Misfits, there's a chance that the thing you know him best for is a picture that circulated around the internet about ten years ago. A true down-to-earth moment for the rock star, he was snapped coming out of a store carrying some groceries and a box of kitty litter, and people went wild for it in a cute, "he's just like us" sort of way.

A passion project and a tribute to his childhood idol that had been in the works for several years, Danzig Sings Elvis is the result of a lifetime of fandom; in pre-release interviews, he talked about his reverence for The King, and glowed about how influential Elvis was on his own career.

So, what do we get from this long-awaited project? A string of dull, uninspired sounding covers, performed and mixed so badly it's shocking to me that it was given the green light for release, as though no one involved with the making of the album had the common sense to listen to the playback and say no. I've heard better tributes at karaoke night, and they were performed by people who weren't getting paid a penny for it. That this was put out as a product expectant of financial gain is an insult to consumers.

Sure, this album will likely end up with its share of defenders, the same way there are people who revel in the "so bad it's good" mentality of really awful B-movies. Still, with its novice-level production and fundamentally flawed execution, this is about as bad as it gets; the only purpose this album serves is as an artifact for the morbidly curious, the audio equivalent of the thing we were told to Google and then immediately regretted when we discover that no, we should not have Googled that. So as to say, this album should not have happened.

Who is this for, anyway? Elvis fans will recoil in horror at the slash job Danzig does to the songs and legacy of a man whose legacy is, if we're being honest, more and more tenuous as the decades pass. Danzig fans will run for their well worn copy of How the Gods Kill and/or a barf bag as they listen to this lifeless, tone deaf offering that might make them question whether or not Danzig has done anything truly worthwhile in the last 25 years. It's a slap in the face to the involved artists and their fans alike, the promise of a heartfelt tribute that turned out to be a stinking heap of shit. No amount of kitty litter can cover its stench.

April 24, 2020 • Cleopatra
Highlights none

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Year in Rock 2025

  Alright, I've got some explaining to do.   By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but:   a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year in Rock 2013 Nominee: Arctic Monkeys

ARCTIC MONKEYS Do I Wanna Know? From: AM Released: September 10 That Year in Rock 2012's Single of the Year R U Mine? ended up on this album is pleasing, and it fits the motif well enough. But R U Mine? isn't what makes Arctic Monkeys' fifth album an Album of the Year contender. Sweaty, sultry and pulsing with sexual energy, AM is the kind of record that's just as effective whether you're chilling out after a long day, staring into a mirror prepping yourself for a late night clubbing session or setting the mood for some escapades in the boudoir.
Post a Comment
Read more

Year in Rock 2023: Album of the Year #10-1

Now we're getting somewhere; the top ten, where there are no duds or mids, only bangers. Also, no more teasing it out; let's wrap this up!  What I've learned this year from my ten faves this year is that it is indeed still possible for a dude approaching his fifties to more or less stay up to date on the new school. Of course, there are some listed here that got a boost from playing tribute to the old school, but there is an undercurrent happening in rock that points to the future. But, I'm getting ahead of myself; here come the champs. 10 MILITARIE GUN Life Under the Gun June 23, 2023 • Loma Vista Highlights Very High Will Logic Never Fucked Up Once Rising from the ranks of the still-potent L.A. hardcore scene, the debut record from Militarie Gun (following a trio of EPs) bears a dash of polish that's expected with backing from a larger label; the tension and energy remain, though, resulting in one of the catchiest hardcore albums I can think of in recent years. 9 ...
Post a Comment
Read more