Doctors Of Madness ‎"Late Night Movies, All Night Brainstorms" 1975****

The Doctors Of Madness (DoM) are a bit of a riddle. I came across them while researching proto-punk bands on the internet in order to create a spotify playlist which would be both eclectic and entertaining, mixing familiar and lesser-known names. They surprised my by sounding nothing like the other bands on it, e.g. The Flamin' Groovies or New York Dolls. Indeed the DoM are just as close to prog or glam as they are to punk. Their name is another riddle: I would understand it if they were called the Mad Doctors, but what is a Doctor Of Madness? Not a psychiatrist, surely. An expert on madness - someone who has studied it up-close or who lives it every day? Wikipedia writes about (singer/main songwriter) Kid Strange's "ideas and compositions, which analysed urban culture neurosis and systems of control" as if he was some kind of blue-haired punk-prog-rock Michel Foucault. Maybe that provides an indication to their name.

Of course there's no parthenogenesis in rock and roll, even though some bands make it seem so. The DoM, for example, borrow heavily from Roxy Music's experimental art rock and Cockney Rebels' decadent glam cabaret - I think Strange even sounds like a mix of their respective singers Brian Ferry and Steve Harley. But that's only one component of their sound. Then there's the long duration of some tracks and overabundance of violin which marks them as progressive rock. Violinist Urban Blitz can be both melodic and aggressive; at times he reminds me of Velvet Underground's John Cale, other times of Curved Air or String Driven Thing. And then, there are elements presaging punk: the relatively short (and, in the case of the singer, dyed blue) hair, their stage names (next to Kid Strange and Urban Blitz, we have bassist Stoner and drummer Di Lemma) and non-conformist attitude. To be fair, only two songs here justify their classification as proto-punk: opener "Waiting" and "B-Movie Bedtime" from side 2 are as loud and aggressive as anything by, say, Damned - not coincidentally, The Damned's Dave Vanian had a short stint as the DoM's co-vocalist. Punk bands (Sex Pistols, Jam, Joy Division) supported the DoM at many occasions when punk rock was still an underground phenomenon. This LP was their first. In the best prog tradition, Side 1 is a kind of song suite, with the aforementioned "Waiting" followed by 3 semi-acoustic songs ("Afterglow", "Mitzi's Cure", "I Think We're Alone") featuring theatrical vocals and lyrical violin. "The Noises Of The Evening" which closes the side, is more experimental with slow and fast passages, the violinist spiraling out of control to produce an awesome noise. "Billy Watch Out" is an art-rock piece reminiscent of Roxy Music and Pink Floyd, while Side 2 closes with a prog opus called "Mainline". In the space of its 16-minute duration, anything can -and does- happen. Like with every over-long piece, it lags at times but still has amazing moments, often provided by Blitz's electric guitar and violin. Lyric-wise the album has been described as doomy or even suffocating, the singer acknowledging William Burroughs as a key inspiration. A sample (from "Waiting") goes like this "Kentucky chicken is dripping Around my ears/ Let me down easy before my Mind disappears/ Rationalize this pageant of pigsties/ Definalise the unthinking grey skies/ I'm sitting uneasy upon my throne of fears". Happy Days! This kind of stuff might resonate with Goth fans, but DoM didn't stick around long enough to witness Goth. They turned out to be too intellectual for the thuggish punk crowd and broke up in 1978, after releasing two more albums. They became one of those cult bands fondly remembered by music critics and collectors, getting gradually re-discovered and gaining posthumous recognition thanks to the internet. A CD box set reissue of their entire catalogue appeared in 2017 to rave reviews, while they also released a new album in 2019, at which point only Strange remained of the original band. Their debut Late Night Movies, All Night Brainstorms remains their best though. Add it to your collection and get an approving nod by any rock connoisseur who comes across it.

**** for Waiting, Afterglow, The Noises Of The Evening, Billy Watch Out, B-Movie Bedtime

*** for Mitzi's Cure, I Think We're Alone, Mainlines