RECORD REVIEWS, JULY-DECEMBER 2025.
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MONTY OXY MORON. The Piano Plays ‘til Midnight LP (Damaged Goods) Monty has been covering keyboard-duties for The Damned since the mid-Nineties and before that playing alongside Captain in his solo band, which makes him one of their longest serving members. Following the success of several solo gigs during the past couple of years, recording an album of Damned songs featuring just Monty on the piano seemed like an obvious step forward, Well, here it is! The thing is, The Damned have always involved intricate melodies within their music, even during their more frantic moments, so hearing the songs like this really brings those elements to the fore. Generally-speaking, I think most Damned-fans already appreciate this, so a collection of ‘punk’ songs played in such a manner really shouldn’t come as a surprise and I expect, will be embraced as yet another side to a band that have already delved in to so many different styles. Monty has chosen an interesting selection of songs, from ‘I Just Can’t Be Happy Today’ and ‘Smash It Up’ through to more recent tracks like ‘Beauty of the Beast’ and ‘Nature’s Dark Passion’, along the way visiting ‘History of the World’, ‘Wait for the Blackout’ and even ‘Shadow of Love’. It’s not a ‘greatest hits’ selection but rather songs that work well in this fashion and I really think that fans are going to enjoy it.