REVIEW: The Darkness – Live at Hammersmith (2018)

THE DARKNESS – Live at Hammersmith (2018 Canary Dwarf)

“Gimme a D!  Gimme an arkness!”  It’s long overdue, but the world is now the better for it:  the first live album by The Darkness!  Including a few quality B-sides, The Darkness had enough strong songs for a live album back in 2006.  Time waits for no band, but now they’ve got an even hotter selection of hits and deep cuts to draw from, and Live at Hammersmith boasts 19 of ’em on a single CD.  Sorry Japan, no bonus tracks for you.

All five Darkness albums and some classic non-LP singles are sourced, and what a collection it is.  A lot of the newer material on stage consist of the heaviest songs:  “Buccaneers of Hispaniola”, “Southern Trains” and “Barbarian” are like lead, but propelled at the speed of sound!  The oldies span all shades of Darkness, from the hardest cut stones (“Black Shuck”) to the cushioning of a ballad (“Love is Only a Feeling”).

It seems to be, by and large, all the best stuff.  “Givin’ Up”, “Growing On Me”, “One Way Ticket”, “Friday Night”, and the two big hits “Get Your Hands off My Woman” and “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” are present and accounted for.  The last three albums are also represented, and as good as they are, it’s the old stuff that thrills most.

That includes “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)” from this seasonal Hammersmith gig.  Maybe it’s those giant dual guitars, but this one has always seemed to work all year ’round.  It’s just a glorified Thin Lizzy riff with a high-pitched singer, and that works winter, spring, summer and fall.

Speaking of the singer, Justin Hawkins has maintained his one-of-a-kind voice and range over all these years, unlike virtually every other homo sapiens on the planet.  Let’s start a conspiracy theory right here that he is an alien, because the voice is just inhuman.

Would have loved “Last of Our Kind”, though that’s a minor complaint.

Hammersmith fell to the Darkness that night.  Now you can relive it in your headphones, or home theatre, as it were.

4.5/5 stars

 

28 comments

      1. Yup, it was August – they lowered a Christmas tree down onto the stage and played the ‘Don’t Let The Bells End’.

        I never saw them play Radiohead’s Street Spirit, or their own track Dune Buggy though – they’d stopped playing those by the time they hit the arenas.

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  11. Revisiting this review as I revisit the album itself. I was at the opening night of the ‘Tour De Prance’ – October 13th in hometown of Limerick, and the night after in Dublin. Right at the front in Limerick – got guitar picks from Justin & Dan. Absolutely loved the album, ‘Pinewood Smile’ and being at those shows, particularly the Limerick one, was amazing.

    The live album has such a power, they really managed to capture that live sound,. I always think if a band can record the live drum sound, they have a great live record.

    Long live the Darkness, and I hope there’s a new album this year as ‘Motorheart’ was 2021.

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    1. Motorheart was 2021?? Oh my! I just played it last week and it stands up so well. New Darkness is what we all need.

      Pinewood was also an excellent album. I love it. To be honest, Easter is the only one that just never clicks with me.

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      1. Motorheart seems a year ago, but later this year it shall be three years! There isnt a single album of theirs I don’t love, I want more albums!

        Justin’s Hot Leg album 2009 I would also recommend if you havent heard it (am sure you have though). Plenty tracks the Leg had left over, and on B Sides, ready for a second album that never came.

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