Marco Sabatini, review: The Chameleons - Why Call It Anything

 Marco Sabatini

Musicshockworld

Offagna

14th April 2026

The Chameleons – Why Call It Anything

The Chameleons have quite a few fans in Italy, but I seriously doubt that many are thoroughly familiar with an album released in 2001, entitled "Why Call It Anything".

And yet it is an important milestone in the turbulent career of the band from Middleton, Greater Manchester. 

It was the album with which they attempted a comeback following the splendid debut of "Script of the Bridge" and their other works from the mid-1980s.

People always talk about them being underrated, but in reality, from their early appearances at Cargo Studio in Rochdale, through the substantial sessions with John Peel at the BBC, right up to the three official albums before their split, they certainly didn’t lack attention; if anything, their frenetic live activity, with tours featuring an often excessive number of dates, detracted from the project’s clarity. 

Let’s see what the intrepid Mark Burgess has managed to put together in this early-21st-century work.

First and foremost, all the key figures from the 1983 debut album are present, which is no small feat.

In addition, we find percussionist and vocalist Kwasi Asante, a somewhat unexpected but ultimately welcome presence on the track “Miracles and Wonders”, which effectively closes the album, followed only by an instrumental track – “Are You Still There” – which, in my view, is rather forgettable. 

The opening track is "Shades", a piece that aims to evoke the post-punk glory of "Don't Fall", the opening track of "Script of the Bridge", but completely misses the mark; I think we can all agree it’s the band’s worst single ever. 

But "Anyone Alive" soon arrives to set things right. A Dream Pop track that finds its perfect form in the guitar phrasing of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding and banishes any negative thoughts; it’s not just a commercial venture, there’s substance here. 

"Indiana" certainly doesn’t maintain the same standard, but the following "Lufthansa" – if we forgive its slightly over-melancholic tone – is enjoyable, with John Lever offering rhythmic solutions that put the listener in a good frame of mind. 

The next quartet of songs features, in order, a touch of psychedelia that doesn’t go amiss in “Truth isn’t Truth Anymore”, and the catchy chorus of “All Around”, where the references delve even further into the past (remember The Kinks?).

What stands out in "Dangerous Land" is the opening atmosphere, which transports us somewhat to a sandy, desert-like Mexico before evolving into one of the most electric moments (a masterclass from John Lever on drums), a fine prelude to what

I have no hesitation in calling the high point of this album, "Music in the Womb": a decidedly well-crafted track; the opening might bring to mind Death in June’s “All Pigs Must Die”, released around the same time, so we’re verging on neo-folk; we find ourselves at the peak of this acoustic shift for the band, which would continue the following year with the release of “This Never Ending Now”, featuring unplugged versions of their old hits.

The band would then continue their live performances amidst a whirlwind of name and line-up changes, with Mark Burgess’s vocals and bass being the only constant. 

In 2025, the much-heralded comeback with "Arctic Moon".

To sum up, "Why Call it Anything" is a failed attempt to re-establish The Chameleons brand, revamped and updated with nods to various musical genres in vogue at the time; nevertheless, it remains a pleasant listen twenty-five years on, with nine tracks, at least two-thirds of which hold their own alongside the band’s early gems.