It took me a very long time to appreciate the Misfits and, by extension, Glenn Danzig. Chalk it up to getting into punk during that short period where all the Misfits records were out of print. Or blame it on only having one friend who was into Danzig's eponymous band, and us only listening to Fugazi and Nirvana and the Breeders when we drove around getting baked. Or maybe it just had to do with the fact that owning a Misfits t-shirt was punk 101, and I was always trying too hard not to look like a poseur. It wasn't until my late 20s that I was willing to listen to Jersey's finest, and even then, it took a mixtape that led off with "Where Eagles Dare" for me to get it.
Which is a damned shame, because I let myself miss out on the joys of one of the best crooners of the past 40 years. As I was chasing old Dischord releases and devouring Pushead's recommendations from Thrasher back issues, I was also discovering vocal jazz and pop from the 40s thru the 60s: Sinatra, Dean-o, Nina, Chet. I found I loved hearing someone sing their ass off as much as I loved circle pitting and singing along. I had the chance to hear one of the modern equivalents, singing about demons and succubi and the Devil. I couldn't get past the corniness to experience the soul.
So, about "Death Had No Name": this 7", resembling a Sub Pop Singles Club release, came out in 1991, in a pressing of 1,000 pieces...or so the back cover says. There were 500 on yellow, 500 on blue. The title track was a "Danzig"-era recording that wouldn't get a legitimate release for another 16 years until 2007's "The Lost Tracks of Danzig". It shows up in a ton of the Danzig bootlegs out there, but always as a live version. The B-sides are a ton of fun. As far as I can tell, both date from the 1987 rehearsal tapes that would come out as "Demos '88" in 1990. "Possession", as noted in the SGM post, rips the version that appeared on the Danzig debut. And "Trouble"? Sure, it's on the nose to have Danzig do a song popularized by Elvis. But I like it. If nothing else, it's an excellent mixtape curiosity.
Where does this leave us? It's possible I've downloaded a few Danzig records I don't own in the past month or so. And I've been contemplating picking up a copy of "Danzig Sings Elvis" a lot. Tell me I'm wrong.
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