The Piano Plays Till Midnight is a solo album by The Damned's keyboard and piano player for the last 29 years Monty Oxymoron, who strips back many of the band's classics to the very essence of the tunes. The album is available either as a 12 song Pinot Noir coloured vinyl edition or a 19-song expanded cd edition. The album was recorded at Beeboss Studios in Seaford with David Beebee engineering.
The album opens with Beauty Of The Beast played like it is a classical sonata, gently tinkled keys with a good contrast between what the bass notes are doing, against the higher notes creating a sense of deep melancholia. Wait For The Blackout uses the songs main riff as a jaunty motif for a variety of delicate and not so delicate flourishes to work around with a strong Gene Ammons influence.
Absinthe is slow and ponderous like you're trying to walk across the bar room but have had a sip or three too many and are weaving about all over the place. The dramatic second half feels like a black and white film score, before you slump into a heap at the end.
History Of The World switches between semi-classical and blues piano drawing out the more baroque aspects of the song. Life Goes On is rather delicate and hopeful of survival to live another day, evoking memories of those that haven't made it through this far.
Smash It Up treats this classic hit like it was made for piano recitals rather than pogoing punks, it has a downbeat melancholia to it before it builds to the chorus that lifts things in the same way the song usually does.
I Just Can't Be Happy Today is a torch song re-imagining that could do with a songstress in a ballgown singing it, with the gentle interlude being particularly pretty before it becomes more rueful. Shadow Of Love would be a perfect lover's theme for a romantic scene in a romcom as the couple become entwined.
Limit Club is paced for London's 20MPH zone, slow and thoughtful, slowly rising, finding ways round the limitations placed upon all of us at certain times, the central theme delightfully works its way towards sounding like it should be part of a soul ballad.
The Dog uses horror film bass notes, with wistful lighter notes feeling like that dog is frolicking in a park. Disco Man is far more tea dance than disco, but it would be a good fun grab a granny tea dance. Nature's Dark Passion opens like a lullaby slowly developing into a slow dark lover's tryst.
Under The Floor is the first of the bonus tunes on the CD a fully flowering of the monsters beneath your feet, rumbling away like the bustling of vermin you hope never find a way above the floorboards.
Generals has a more upbeat spry feel as if they are the good Generals we should all admire, before the only vocals on the album declare "the whole worlds going insane". Black Is The Night has quite a blues rock feel, almost a 60's sensibility.
The album closes with 4 piano themes for key members of the group, the first For Captain Sensible is slow wistful and gently building, becoming more florid. For David Vanian is rather delicate meandering neo tone poem. For Paul Gray has more the feel of a John Cage piece for prepared piano, light and intense in equal measure. For Stu And Pinch is the most intense and slightly schizophrenic conclusion of the album.
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