Anything (The Damned album)

Anything
Studio album by the Damned
Released	1 December 1986
Recorded	June–August 1986
Studio	Puk Recording Studios, Denmark
Length	41:00
Label	MCA
Producer	Jon Kelly
The Damned chronology
Phantasmagoria (1985) Anything (1986) The Light at the End of the Tunnel (1987)
Singles from Anything
"Anything" Released: 10 November 1986[1] "Gigolo" Released: 19 January 1987[2] "Alone Again Or" Released: 13 April 1987[3] "In Dulce Decorum" Released: 16 November 1987
Alternative cover
1986 US and Canadian album cover

Anything is the seventh studio album by UK punk rock band the Damned, released by MCA Records in 1986. On the album's release, it charted in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 40, and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Four singles were released that all charted in the UK.

Production

Vocalist Dave Vanian in 1986.

The album began production in June 1986 in Puk Recording Studios in Denmark.^[4] The Damned's vocalist, Dave Vanian, later stated that the group were forced into the studio to record the album before they had prepared any new material for it.^[5] Drummer Rat Scabies mentioned that the group had demoed the song "In Dulce Decorum", but most of the songs were written in the studio.^[4]

In July, the group took a break from recording to perform a 10th anniversary performance in London at the Town and Country Club and two in Finsbury Park, where the group performed some songs that would appear on Anything, and were joined by Captain Sensible to perform "Smash It Up".^[4] On returning to Denmark, the group recorded a cover of "Alone Again Or" which Scabies originally thought was written by Roman Jugg.^[4] The album concluded production in August.^[4]

Release and tour

Following the recording sessions, the Damned toured Ireland and Britain in October and concluded the tour in Ireland in November.^[4] The group began having issues with technology on the tour (the brass parts of "Psychomania" crept in when the group were performing "In Dulce Decorum") and had to use an emulator to recreate some of their studio sound.^[4] Prior to the album's release, a single for "Anything" was released in November.^[6]

Anything was released on MCA Records on 1 December 1986 in the United Kingdom.^[7][8] In the UK, the album charted for two weeks, peaking at No. 40.^[9] It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry.^[8] After the release of the "Gigolo" single in January 1987, the Damned toured Europe until February.^[6][4] They toured in Australia in March and Japan in April.^[4] During a booking hiatus, the group returned to performing shows as the alter ego Naz Nomad and the Nightmares.^[4] "In Dulce Decorum" was released as the final single from the album in November 1987.^[4]

In the United States, MCA released "Anything", "In Dulce Decorum" and "Alone Again" as singles.^[10][11] MCA followed the release of Anything with a Damned compilation album titled Light at the End of the Tunnel in November 1987.^[4][12] MCA and The Damned parted ways the following year.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[14]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[15]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[16]

Contemporary reviews were mainly positive, The Ottawa Citizen gave the album a positive review, describing the album as "varied but not disjointed" and that the Damned had become a "superb pop band" that make a "better pop band of the '80s than it did a punk band of the '70s".^[17]

The Vancouver Sun also praised the album, stating that the Damned "have made the switch to mood music quite well, almost rising to the level of the mighty Stranglers". The review compared the album to music by Simple Minds, opining that the album was what they "want to sound like, moody and atmospheric without getting all doomy and gloomy".^[18]

Retrospective reception was far more negative, A retrospective review from AllMusic was negative, awarding the album 2 stars and calling it the worst album of the original group's catalogue.^[13] The review specifically pointed out "Restless" and "In Dulce Decorum" as meandering, and noted that the tracks "Psychomania" and "Anything" were the only tracks that "generate anything approximating the energy of the Damned's best music".^[13]

Trouser Press dismissed the album, observing, "Anything boasts a neat version of Love’s “Alone Again Or,” but otherwise falls well short of achieving anything memorable. Despite the Damned's proven ability to alternately rock gothic and play nice, there's no audible point to the music; it's hard to imagine who would find this LP pleasurable."^[19]

In an album ranking list Mörat of Louder put Anything second to worst on the list, praising only the cover of Alone Again Or "and the vaguely hummable Gigolo," saying "the rest is turgid at best, and plain boring at worst. Such was their lack of inspiration that they couldn’t even come up with a proper album title, so for want of a better idea... “Oh, call it anything.”"^[20]

When later asked about the Phantasmagoria and Anything albums, Vanian said that "some of the production in retrospect could have been done a little better, but it was the '80's. Some of those songs were just as heartfelt as anything that had gone before despite the frills and ruffles".^[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roman Jugg, Rat Scabies, Bryn Merrick and Dave Vanian, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Anything"		4:47
2.	"Alone Again Or"	Bryan MacLean	3:38
3.	"The Portrait"		3:50
4.	"Restless"		4:57
5.	"In Dulce Decorum"		4:47
6.	"Gigolo"		6:02
7.	"The Girl Goes Down"		4:35
8.	"Tightrope Walk"		4:21
9.	"Psychomania"		4:03

Personnel

The Damned Dave Vanian – lead vocals Roman Jugg – guitars, keyboards, vocals Bryn Merrick – bass, vocals Rat Scabies – drums Additional musicians Blue Weaver – keyboards Paul "Shirley" Shepley – keyboards Paul Wickens – keyboards Suzie O'List – backing vocals Kurt Holm – trumpet

Production Jon Kelly – production, engineering, mixing (2, 7, 9) Henrik Nilsson – additional engineering Lance Phillips – additional engineering Alan O'Duffy – additional engineering Ken Thomas – mixing (3, 6, 8) Nigel Walker – mixing (1, 4, 5) Howard Raybould – album cover carving Jef Hartley – album cover painting Booce – album cover painting The Leisure Process – design, art direction Nick Knight – photography

Charts

Song charts

Year	Song	Peak positions
		UK [9]
1986	"Anything"	32
1987	"Gigolo"	21
	"Alone Again Or"	27
	"In Dulce Decorum"	72

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Silver	60,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 12.
2. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 23.
3. "New Singles". Music Week. 11 April 1987. p. 36.
4. Tyler, Kieron (2009). Anything (Media notes). The Damned. Universal UMC. 5316215.
5. "David Vanian – Interview". Officialdamned.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2004.
6. "Singles". OfficialDamned.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2004. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
7. Raggett, Ned. "The Damned". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
8. "British album certifications – The Damned – Anything" Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. British Phonographic Industry. Enter Anything in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
9. "Damned". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
10. Popoff 2010, p. 312.
11. Popoff 2010, p. 311.
12. "Compilation Albums". OfficialDamned.com. Archived from the original on 29 February 2004. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
13. Deming, Mark. "Anything – The Damned". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
14. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 711.
15. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 306.
16. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 176.
17. Erskine, Evelyn (10 April 1987). "Rock". Ottawa Citizen. p. F5.
18. Mackie, John (7 March 1987). "Damned Go Moody but Without Getting Doomy". Vancouver Sun. p. E7.
19. "Damned". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
20. Mörat (2 December 2022). "Every The Damned album, from worst to best". louder. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
21. "British album certifications – The Damned – Anything". British Phonographic Industry.

References

• Popoff, Martin (2010). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-1440216213. Retrieved 26 April 2013.