POP MUSIC REVIEWS : A DAMNED NEAT TRIBUTE TO ROCK

“Neat, Neat, Neat.” That’s the title of a single by the Damned that was one of the first records to come out of the British punk-rock explosion of 1976. It also sums up the Damned’s show at the packed Palladium on Tuesday. Pioneers and survivors after all these years, the quintet proved its longevity is no fluke with a show that paid homage to the basic, unadorned joy of rock ‘n’ roll.

Though the group proved it could still crank out its vintage trash-tunes like “New Rose” to the hyped-up crowd (many of them too young to have caught the group in its early days), the Damned has made great musical strides in recent years, blending the kind of pub-rock and music-hall pop of groups like Madness and the old Small Faces with classic proto-punk elements from some groups whose songs the Damned performed Tuesday--the MC5, the Doors and the Electric Prunes.

Leader Dave Vanian’s bellowing baritone sounded tour-weary, and he’s not quite the frantic ghoul of his younger days, but he made a charming and likable host for the group’s rock ‘n’ roll circus. The sinister elements have become fairly benign, and the band is closer to “Abbey Road” than Kings Road these days, but the Damned’s happy-go-punky energy and enthusiasm are a bracing tonic. In a word: neat.