In a sense, "Degenerates" is the wild card in cult Mancunians THE PASSAGE'S pack, as it's the only one made by the relatively short-lived Dick Witts, Andrew Wilson and Paul Mahoney line-up and is by some way the most commercially-oriented POP outing in their back catalogue.
Indeed, kicking off with the still-catchy "XOYO", "Degenerates" momentarily looked like hitching The Passage's colours to the chart-friendly synth-pop sound that the likes of The Human League and Depeche Mode were gleefully making hay with at the time and while they're a little darker, tracks like "Love As Is" and - more obviously - "Born Every Minute" and "(Ourselves)" continue in this vein, peddling an electro sound that almost entirely dispenses with Wilson's fractious guitar scrapings.
Which isn't to say The Passage had altogether turned their back on the obiqueness and confrontation. The whiff of subversion still hangs heavily over virtually all the tracks and the likes of "Fleck" (which collapses into some fine mangling from Wilson), "Revelation" and the fiery "Go To Seed" retain the dark truculence of the band's earlier work and feature rhythmic dexterity from Mahoney that wouldn't have shamed regular Passage drummer Joe McKechnie.
The other great thing about "Degenerates" is that it finishes very strongly with "Time Will Tell" and "Empty Words." Both proffer big, expansive keyboard scapes, while the latter is something of a lost classic with Witts sounding unusually resigned, not least when he sings: "Life remains, we decay/ Impermanence by night and day" with a strangely calloused grace. Great.
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The extra tracks are welcome, too. There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-the-difference edit of the virtual hit "XOYO", the surreal scurryings of B-side "Animal In Me" and -best of all - "Taboos", yet another great 'lost' Passage single, with the Witts/ Mahoney percussion spectactular coming on like a mobile gamelan orchestra. Also included, the "Taboodub" version brings on the woozy spaciness without sacrificing the original's drama.
Sadly, "Degenerates" (originally released by Cherry Red in 1982) didn't prove The Passage's commercial breakthrough, although with McKechnie back in the fold they went on to record the excellent "Enflame" swansong. Nevertheless, for all its' pop aspirations, "Degenerates" retains its' impact twenty years on and is yet another fascinating chapter in Passage lore.
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