Permission To Land

REVIEW: The Darkness – Permission To Land… Again (2023 – 4 CD/1 DVD Box Set) – Bonus Tim’s Vinyl Confessions – Best Reissues of 2023

THE DARKNESS – Permission To Land… Again (2023 Box Set)

Once (and perhaps still) considered one of the biggest jokes in rock*, The Darkness have proven ’em wrong, for it was 20 years ago they dropped this bomb on the world called Permission to Land.  Regardless of the ups and downs, the band continues on today with a documentary film in the works.  Of course, the obligatory box set was also necessary.  Permission to Land… Again collects nearly everything from the era and packs it up for you in a 5 disc set perfect for home consumption.  And it’s affordable, too.

CD 1 commences with the original 2003 album, a monolith of Queen and AC/DC’s bastard children, brought to life in spandex and bandanas.  The album itself spawned four singles:

  1. “Get Your Hands Off My Woman”, the expletive-laden favourite that still delights today as a fast head banger.
  2. “Growing On Me”, perfectly in the pocket, a melodic hard right classic with just enough bite.
  3. “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”, iridescent and unforgettable as ever, a classic in every sense.
  4. “Love In Only A Feeling”, bombastic and beautiful guitar chords crashing on this prototype for the trademark Darkness ballad.  Steve Tyler wishes he could write ’em like this today.

That leaves six killer album tracks, none of which are filler.  Opener “Black Shuck” is a monster (literally), rocking heavy and beating the doors down despite your best efforts.  “Givin’ Up” should have been a single, but the language, tisk tisk!  Foreshadowing Justin Hawkin’s drug issues, this song is literally about “stickin’ that fuckin’ shit” up his nose.  Yes it’s surprisingly delightful, and perhaps the most immediately catchy one on the album.  “Stuck In A Rut” is different, blasting fast and loud, with Justin singing at max voice.  Back to lighter, catchy territory, “Friday Night” is a certain fan-favourite.  It easily could have been another single, as Justin literally reads off his weekly schedule.  “Monday, cycling, Tuesday, gymnastics, dancing on a Friday night.”  Bopping piano accents will keep feet moving.  Moving on to “Love On the Rocks With No Ice” (great title), the slow heavy grind smacks you in the head and reminds you this is a rock and roll band.   Despite that, the album closes on a lovely ballad “Holding My Own” which also really could have been a single.

The album on its own earned a 4/5 star rating here previously, though it’s probably at least a 4.5/5.  As time has gone by, these songs have proven their mettle.  They still stand.

CD 1 is beefed out with six extra songs, all demos, of tracks that didn’t make the album and tracks that did.  Speaking of which, they are rough but so similar to the final versions.  Some have bits that were later trimmed out or de-emphasized, like keyboard overdubs and intros.  “Black Shuck”, though without the hard-hitting production, might be better in some ways than the album version, with more twists and vocals.   There is also a demo of “Out of My Hands”, a fine album B-side.

The best inclusions on this disc, however, are the surprises:  demos that didn’t make Permission to Land!  “Live ‘Til I Die” went unreleased until 2019’s Easter Is Cancelled, but this version has Eddie Graham on drums.  This version is very, very different.  Much more AC/DC and dare I say, much catchier and better.   There’a also an early demo of “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us”, which was finally released on 2012’s reunion album Hot Cakes.  This one is much more similar to the glossier final product.

CD 2 is a treasure trove of goodies!  Every studio B-side from the album, some non-album singles, some “clean” versions that we wouldn’t purposely seek out to buy; they are all here.  (The live B-sides are included with their respective shows, but we’ll get to those.)  This is comprehensive as heck.

The three tracks from the very rare 2002 EP I Believe In A Thing Called Love are included:  the title track, “Love on the Rocks With No Ice” and “Love Is Only A Feeling”.  The recordings themselves are the same as the final album versions, but the mixes are not.  These earlier mixes have slight, but audible differences and can be characterised as a bit less finished.  The bass may be more pronounced on some places, and backing vocals in another.

Like some British bands before them, such as Oasis, The Darkness seemed to put just as much effort into their B-sides, often making them album (or single) worthy on their own.  The complete studio B-sides here are:

  • “The Best Of Me”, a crankin’ rocker with a southern vibe.
  • The aforementioned “Out of My Hands”, a lighter song with a Def Leppard vibe on the guitars.  Could have been a hit in its own right.  Brilliant chorus.
  • Concert favourite “Makin’ Out”, which has more of that AC/DC vibe that the Darkness really mined in their early days.  A fan favourite for a reason.
  • “Physical Sex”, another riffy number with an outrageously high chorus.
  • The ballad “How Dare You Call This Love?” which also could have been on the album, had it been longer.  The actual album had two already.  A fun song though, with some lovely Lizzy-ish guitar harmonies.
  • “The best instrumental that AC/DC never recorded”, according to Tim Durling, is “Bareback”, one of the Darkness’ best B-sides ever…if not their best.  Thankfully, this song was not just relegated to the dusky corners of the “Growing On Me” single, but received some live workouts too.  More on that later.
  • A song about building a house, “Planning Permission”, is a bit goofy lyrically (mixing cement!), but it gets goofier still as you’ll see.  Fortunately it’s a catchy, upbeat Darkness number that has all their trademark guitar and vocal accoutrements.
  • “Curse of the Tolland Man” is the goofiest of them all, a ghost story, and a song that gets trashed in the liner notes as awful muck, but is defended by Justin and Dan Hawkins as a favourite.  The jury remains out, but they are all correct about it.
  • “I Love You 5 Times” is another ballad, but by this time we’re technically heading outside album territory.  Forgettable, but for the strings and Justin’s silly “m-m-m-meees” stuttery vocals.  It was actually the B-side to a standalone Christmas single, “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)”, an excellent song in its own right.

This box set is so comprehensive that it even includes the two singles that were not from it.

  • “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)“…don’t Google what “bell end” means in British slang.  Let’s just say Justin had his tongue in cheek!  Great rocker, very Lizzy, and an absolutely Darkness classic.  Produced by Bob Ezrin!  This track was included on some European editions of the album as a bonus.
  • Then we have the rarest of them all, and finally available physically for us to buy:  2004’s “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again“.  Though it does have Frankie Poullain on bass, this song is more a part of the story for the second album, One Way Ticket.  The band were experimenting with producer Roy Thomas Baker and this remake was sold digitally.  It is here in both “clean” and “explicit” versions.  A cleaner, sharper incarnation of the song, for better or worse!  The liner notes finally explain the mystery of the added piano part:  It was inspired by Ben Folds’ cover of the song, which they thought was an improvement!

CDs 3 and 4 contain three live gigs, and the balance of the B-sides from this era.  “Gimme a D!  Gimme an Arkness!”

The 2003 set at Knebworth is brilliant.  Opening with “Growing On Me”, the band has a bizarre and comedic stage presence, but the song kicks!  They are a tight band, and a beat is not missed.  They play two B-sides, a manic “The Best of Me” (for dancing, says Justin) and the classic “Makin’ Out”.  “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” from the Knebworth concert was previously issued on a German version of the Christmas single.  I like when Justin asks the audience which version of “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” they’d like to hear, clean or dirty?

On the same disc is a set from the Astoria in 2003.  Opening with a raging “Bareback”, this set is even better than the Knebworth one.  What a start!  Instrumentals can make a pretty killer opener!  From there it’s “Black Shuck”, and a live version of “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” that was previously issued as a B-side to a rare DVD single for “Love Is Only A Feeling”.  It’s notable for the strange “me-me-me” singalong thing Justin does at the end.  Another thing they do in this set is something called “Buffet”, a pretty cool riff, from a part in the show that is explained in the booklet.

Best of all:  The action-packed Astoria and Knebworth shows are both included on DVD inside.  Watch Dan play all the guitars so Justin can do the splits!  The DVD also includes all the music videos, outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from their music videos.  There’s a cute bit in the EPK (electronic press kit) explaining why Justin always asked the audience to see their thumbs.  The editing on the Astoria show is absurdly fast!

CD 4 is a full-length show from 2004 at Wembley recorded on Dan’s birthday, and the last show on the tour.  It’s especially cool, because the band were already road-testing new songs from One Way Ticket.  Opener “Grief Hammer” was a new song that would become a B-side in 2005.  It has a stuttery riff with elements of that AC/DC vibe, but the band were clearly moving beyond that pigeonhole.  It takes balls to open a set at Wembley with a new song that nobody had heard before.  From there they visit more familiar territory with the favourite “Givin’ Up”.  A manic “Stuck In A Rut” blasts out immediately afterwards.

Other B-sides played at Wembley include the fan favourite “Makin’ Out”, “Physical Set” and that “Buffet” again!  Future classics “Dinner Lady Arms” and “Seemed Like A Good Idea at the Time” are rolled out alongside the hits.  “Dinner Lady Arms” is a tad harder than the soft-Leppard style of the later version, though the chorus still soars into the stratosphere.  “Seemed Like Such A Good Idea at the Time” is presented without introduction, and Justin on piano with a more spare arrangement than the elaborate album version to come.  This is more power ballad, and less experiment in extravagance.

As the 17 song set rolls through classics and hits, it’s clear this disc could be a standalone live album if the band choose to release it as such.  Great banter, and the band were obviously having a blast on stage.  At the end, there are two more surprises.  One is an abbreviated cover of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid, performed solo by Justin on piano.  Finally, they close the show with a bombastic “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)”, which works brilliantly in the end slot.  There is no feigning joy and surprise here.  All the delight is pure and genuine.

The final ingredient you need in a box set such as this is a kickass booklet with loads of reading.  Look no further, as Dan and Justin exhaustively tell the story from session to session and song to song.  The stories will keep you in stitches as the band shed light on things you never knew before.  Eddie Graham was the most “normal” one of the bunch, but they have survived it all, and the Darkness keep going!

We live in the age of box sets.  The Darkness have risen to the occasion with, dare I say it, the perfect version of Permission To Land.   Will they pull this trick again in the future with One Way Ticket?  They should, because they have demonstrated an understanding of what makes a great box set.  In short:

  • Complete collection of B-sides, even from formats as obscure as DVD single.
  • The rare demos and EP versions we’ve been wanting.
  • Non-album singles.
  • Even those clean versions that we normally wouldn’t try too hard to collect.
  • Live concerts.
  • Extensive liner notes.
  • DVD with added value and live shows.
  • Reasonable pricing and packaging.

5/5 stars

 

* One evening in 2003, I was listening to the Darkness with my girlfriend in my living room, late at night, heavily intoxicated.  I suddenly jumped and said “I get it!  These guys are not a joke at all!  They are dead serious about what they are doing!  Listen!  Just listen!”  It was an epiphany and I was right.

 

BONUS!  Check out Tim and I discussing this box set and more!

#1089: The Introvert Goes Out! (To Encore!)

“One does not simply walk into Encore. The back door is guarded by more than just books.  There is music there that does not sleep, and the big speakers are ever playing. It is a rich treasure trove, riddled with finds, and vinyl and accessories; the very air you breathe is bathed in music!”

RECORD STORE TALES #1089: The Introvert Goes Out! (To Encore!)

I have so much music in the house, still sealed, unplayed, that you could argue I never need to go to a record store again.

Some of that sealed music came from Encore, during the pandemic, by mail order.  I have two unopened John Norum Rock Candy remasters.

The reality of it is, I’m in an introvert who prefers staying home and ordering online, so I have to be in the right mood to go out, even record shopping.  However, one of my mental health goals this winter is to get out more, and Encore Records is an obvious easy choice.  Thanksgiving Sunday was cold, wet and winter-like, so we bundled up and drove to a deserted downtown Kitchener.  Encore’s rear parking lot was empty.

Jen found the stairs challenging, but front or back, Encore has stairs.  The challenge was met and we were greeted by old friend Al King, still slinging vinyl in downtown Kitchener, over three decades after I bought my early scores from him at Sam the Record Man.

There were plenty of new releases to decide upon, but I immediately chose the new Darkness Permission To Land…Again 20th anniversary box set.  20 years?  Can it be?  It has been 20 years since those bastards at the Record Store killed my soul.  The Darkness was one of the few bands that got me through that era of my life.  We talked about this with Al a bit.  There was a bit of a one-sided rivalry with Encore and the Record Store at which I used to work, back in the early 2000s.  One of our employees (that I trained on buying) left us and went to them.  My understanding is that a phone call was made, a tale that they still tell today….

Anyway, the Darkness 4 CD / 1 DVD box set has all the bonus tracks, demos, B-sides, single edits, and three live gigs (on two live CDs).  Very thorough.  It also has all the music videos, and even the 2004 remake “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again” which really falls into the One Way Ticket era better.

Even when I worked at the Store, there was always more at Encore that I wanted to buy.  They just got better stuff.  Prove me wrong.  I began to browse…

Even though this was a quick impromptu visit to pick up a new release or two, I ended up spending $200.

On the new release rack:  King Kobra – We Are Warriors!  Check out this lineup:  Carmine Appice and Johnny Rod, original members of the band, on drums and bass.  Paul Shortino of Quiet Riot and Rough Cutt on lead vocals, and still sounding strong!  Carlos Cavazo of Quiet Riot and Ratt on guitar!  Rowan Robertson of Dio on guitar!  That’s a lineup with some pedigree folks.  The album sounds good.  It rocks hard and it’s heavy.  The best song is the “bonus track” called “Side By Side”.  Just classic all around.

Also on the Encore front rack was the new Coney Hatch, Postcards From Germany.  Amazon fails again:  I cancelled my “pre-order” (now weeks late) right in front of Al and bought a copy from him instead.  It will be cool to hear their first new studio tracks since the Four album all those years back.  Not to mention there are songs on this live album that were not played at the El Mocambo for that prior live release.

One does not simply walk into Encore. The back door is guarded by more than just books.  There is music there that does not sleep, and the big speakers are ever playing. It is a rich treasure trove, riddled with finds, and vinyl and accessories; the very air you breathe is bathed in music!  Al was playing some Gentle Giant that really ticked my fancy.  That is a band I will need to investigate further down the road.  I found the musicianship challenging and strangely appealing.

I didn’t buy anything on vinyl, though Encore had a good chunk of the Kiss studio albums that I still need to add to my vinyl collection.  Vinyl is so expensive these days.  $36 for albums I used to buy for $10.  Especially considering I’m not going to play the record very often, and I already have the music many times over.  However, when I want them, Animalize, Asylum, Rock and Roll Over and the self-titled debut are all awaiting me.  There were also quite a few in the Arkells vinyl section that called my name.

The used CDs offered many temptations.  I could have filled up on Saga.  Frank Zappa beckoned me over, but I started in the A section and made my first questionable buy.  Why, after 25 years, am I finally buying Aerosmith’s Geffen-centric live album A Little South of Sanity?  Because I can’t justify spending $150 on the Japanese Greatest Hits with three exclusive live discs, and not patch up these glaring holes in my live Aerosmith collection.  I’ve played A Little South of Sanity a number of times at the Store when it was new, and I know I don’t like it.  Too many backing tapes.  You can hear two or three Tylers singing together at once.  Jen hears it too.  I’ll probably play this once for review, and never again.  Collecting!!

In the “G” section, I decided to finally start my Glass Tiger collection.  I wanted Diamond Sun on vinyl initially, but when CDs are right there for eight bucks, you can’t say no.  Diamond Sun is a wonderful album, I discovered, with a couple serious deep cuts such as the epic “It’s Love U Feel”.  Impressive musicianship, and a tad on the progressive side at times, even though this is ultimately a pop rock band.  I also picked up the compilation CD Then Now Next.  This includes a variety of single versions, unreleased songs and new stuff including a Beatles cover!

Over in Journey, I found the remastered version of Steve Perry’s 1994 solo album For the Love of Strange Medicine.  All these years, I’ve never played this album.  I’m sure it’ll be mellow, even though he has members of Winger and Hardline in his band.  In the liner notes, Perry is very bitter about his treatment by record label executives.  The remaster has five bonus tracks (some of which were on Greatest Hits + 5 Unreleased), two of which are exclusives.

I also snagged a CD that I thought I needed, that I didn’t, that I will gift to a friend.

The winter season is often commenced by Thanksgiving.  I would consider this a good start.  We plan to see more of Encore this season.  I look forward to it, in fact, which is not something I usually say about going out in the winter time.

Moderation, though.  Moderation.  Need to absorb all this new music, which will take time!  Until next time…

 

 

 

#947: Last Of Our Kind

A sequel to Record Store Tales Part 80:  The Darkness

 

RECORD STORE TALES #947: Last Of Our Kind

By the time that I decided “enough with the bullshit” and quit the Record Store at the end of 2005, The Darkness were truly one of my favourite bands.

The band’s newest album One Way Ticket To Hell…and Back was really resonating with me.  It was the kind of triumphant rock that felt appropriate as I started my new life, post-store.  Uplifting.  Carefree.  Nostalgic.  I had a Darkness shirt with their logo in silver scroll.  I was downloading rare live tracks from Limewire and buying imported singles.  All the stuff that properly qualifies a person as a “fan”, but with the additional emotional kick that this was “my” band.  I didn’t know anyone else who liked them.  Well, there was one.  I had just met Jen, my future wife.  In her CD collection was a copy of Permission to Land.

Two weeks after quitting the store I was back in the workforce.  I had what I wanted:  a boring job!  There were several days straight of just make photocopies.  Nobody to talk to, and with the clanky-clank of the copying drowning me out, I passed the time by singing.  Specifically, I sang my favourite Darkness tunes.

The most attractive tunes have the biggest and most bombastic choruses it seems.  Huge drum fills, big multi-layered vocals, and all the trimmings.  Songs like “Dinner Lady Arms”.

I used to be able to come close to hitting the notes. Just approximating the correct intonation, because who the fuck cared? Nobody could hear me.

Also on the playlist:  “Hazel Eyes”, “One Way Ticket”, “Growing On Me”, “Givin’ Up”, and “Friday Night”.

I made a Darkness “Greatest Hits” CD with all those tracks, a bunch of great B-sides, and couple bootleg live tracks.  The best of which was a ragged live take of “Givin’ Up”, sadly now lost.  That’s the problem with downloads.  In the golden glow of memory, it was the best version of the song ever!

Sadly, the Darkness were hitting a rough patch.  Justin Hawkins went to rehab to clean up, and then quit the band afterwards.  In shock, the band looked inward to new bassist Richie Edwards (who replaced original Frankie Poullain).  His surprisingly powerful rasp was perfect for a new start.  They reconfigured themselves as the heavier Stone Gods, while Justin launched his new band Hot Leg.  In this battle, Hot Leg sounded more like the Darkness, while the Stone Gods had a stronger album in hand.

Lineup changes continued to ensue.  Original Darkness drummer Ed Graham left the Stone Gods due to ill health, and was replaced by Robin Goodridge, formerly of Bush.  This left guitarist Dan Hawkins as the only Stone Gods member that had been in the Darkness.  Regardless, they managed to record a second, more stripped down album.  This second album was never released, because suddenly in 2011, the original lineup of the Darkness was back!

The comeback album Hot Cakes returned the band to their classic sound.  Most importantly, it was only the first in a series of great albums, the best of which might be 2015’s Last of Our Kind. The title track of which is the most quintessentially “Darkness” of any song they have released since their debut.  The music video features Justin Hawkins at his most Freddie, and a new drummer:  Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Queen’s Roger.  Talk about rock royalty!

Not to ignore the important contributions of Emily Dolan Davies, who played drums on the album and in the music video for “Open Fire”.  As an in-demand session drummer, Davies was praised by Justin as having “revitalized” the band with her hard-hitting style.  Since her departure, Rufus has held down the drum stool on Pinewood Smile, Easter is Cancelled and the forthcoming Motorheart.

That’s right.  The Darkness have a new album coming.  They may or may not have doomed us to a long pandemic with the prophetic Easter is Cancelled, but they sure are going to rock us anyway.

Long live The Darkness!

REVIEW: The Darkness – “Love Is Only a Feeling” (CD and DVD singles)

THE DARKNESS – “Love Is Only a Feeling” (2004 Warner UK CD and DVD singles)

Collecting singles isn’t as easy as just buying the single anymore.  Which versions are out there, with what tracks?  The Darkness’ singles are usually interesting for the different bonus tracks and variations out there.  Their hit ballad “Love Is Only a Feeling” was available on CD, DVD and 7″ vinyl.  You only need the CD and DVD to get all the tracks, but there’s a catch:  the DVD is in PAL format (common in Europe), so you need a player that can decode it.

No problem.  LeBrain HQ has a collection of frankenstein multi-media tech that can convert the most popular physical formats into something easier to play!  It’s not a pretty setup but it gets the job done.  All the tracks from all the versions of “Love is Only a Feeling” can be compiled in a single file folder!

As far as ballads go, The Darkness didn’t wimp out with “Love is Only a Feeling”.  The Lizzy-like intro harmonies meld into an acoustic mandolin verse.  A bombastic band like the Darkness is at home with a bombastic ballad, but early Darkness didn’t use a lot of frills and extraneous instrumentation.  “Love is Only a Feeling” doesn’t go overboard, but sticks to pretty a traditional rock arrangement.  You can blast it out the car windows — no problem.

The first of the single B-sides is “Planning Permission”, an unpolished song that almost stands with the ones that did make it onto Permission to Land.  It could use a little more tightening up but the roots of a good song are there.  Next is the bizarre “Curse of the Tollund Man”.  It might even be considered educational.  The actual mummy of the Tollund Man was found buried in peat as described in the song.  It sounds like the Darkness were really trying to write a Queen B-side.  It’s amusing but all over the place.

The music video for “Love is Only a Feeling” is the main feature of the DVD single.  I’m a sucker for mountaintop videos.  “Love Is Only a Feeling” is almost as epic as the Bon Jovi and Guns N’ Roses clips that came before .  Then, they take it over the top by going under the ground, in a cave!  A behind-the-scenes video reveals safety ropes, helicopters and elevated platforms to heighten the drama.

The real reason to seek the DVD single is to acquire the final bonus track, “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” live at the Astoria.  The action-packed track features Dan Hawkins on all guitars, so Justin can jump around and do the splits.  Vintage live Darkness with the original lineup is scarce, as far as official releases go.  This live Darkness is full speed, filmed in the raw.  It doesn’t matter if you get it for watching or just listening.  It’s a great version.

If you’re fortunate enough to play DVDs from multiple regions, the singles are usually dirt cheap on Discogs.  This one even came with a poster!  DVD singles were a fad and never really caught on.  They can, however, patch some holes in your Darkness collection.

4/5 stars

 

 

REVIEW: The Darkness – Permission to Land (2003)

DARKNESS_0001THE DARKNESS – Permission to Land (2003 Atlantic)

There was a time in the early 1990’s when I ate up all the new bands coming out. I bought every indi tape I could get my hands on in search of the “next thing” in heavy rock. I tweaked early to bands such as I Mother Earth, Tonic, Sven Gali, and Big Wreck. I still have my old I Mother Earth and Sven Gali promo tapes that arrived in the mail!  Then suddenly in the 2000’s everything dried up and there weren’t any more new bands coming out that I liked.  I stopped buying music by new rock bands.

Until I got Permission To Land.

The Darkness are probably the last “new” band (well, they’re only on album #4 now) to come out of the woodwork that I truly love (love being a big word). I’m also pleased that in 2015 they are back once again with a new lineup, album and tour.  The story of my Darkness discovery and eventual love was recounted in Record Store Tales Part 80.

A lot of people thought this album was a novelty; a spoof of 80’s metal like Steel Panther are today. They are dead wrong. While The Darkness have ample humour in their music (as did Aerosmith mind you) they are deadly serious as musicians. The guitar work here is quite excellent. You can literally hear Thin Lizzy dripping from the strings, and it doesn’t get any more serious guitar-wise than that. Justin Hawkins takes his vocals to an almost absurd length, but listen carefully. Listen to how cleanly he hit those notes back then. There are very few rock singers who can hit notes like that so consistently and cleanly. Everybody says, “Ahh, but he’s copying Freddie Mercury.” Well first of all, a) no he’s not, Freddie was a very different kind of singer, and b) anybody who can hit notes as cleanly as Freddie is worthy of praise, not derision.

Yes, the leotards are a bit much, but what about the songs?

The album is slightly better sound-wise than demo quality.  I think I read somewhere that Permission to Land is little more than an independent recording released by a major. The drum sound for example is thuddy and annoying. However it doesn’t matter, because these adrenaline-filled rockers don’t need embellishment. The band themselves are all the embellishment needed. 10 songs: four singles, and several great album cuts make this record a winner.

“Get Your Hands Off My Woman” is more than just the four-letter-word is was known for, a great little metal song with volume and unstoppable pace. Better still is “Growing On Me” which also had a great video. “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” is just a great, fun song period.  I had to have it played at my wedding, where I did the air guitar on the dance floor. There are ballads too — “Love Is Only A Feeling” is the power ballad that Steven Tyler wishes he wrote for the latest Michael Bay turd.

The album cuts are stellar, with “Black Shuck” leading the pack, which masters that AC/DC chug-a-lug. I love “Givin’ Up” as well, with its point-blank lyrics about drugs. I used to think it was a sarcastic look at drugs until Hawkins suffered from his own addictions, but it certainly can be interpreted as an anti-drug song. That’s the great thing about music.

After the success of Permission to Land, the band would grow perhaps a bit too fast for the fans to keep up with.  That’s OK though. It could have happened to Kiss too, when they did Destroyer. If the second album wasn’t your cup of tea, that’s alright. There were plenty of singles from this album, with great B-sides to collect.  Not to mention that the splendid Hot Cakes reunion album should be sampled by the curious.

Don’t underestimate The Darkness. They were, and remain, an underrated band who provide fun, fast licks, and fuckin’ high lead vocals in their rock and roll!

4/5 stars

Fuck iTunes, buy the CD and check out the action-packed booklet.  Just like rock bands used to do it.

REVIEW: Hot Leg – Red Light Fever (2009)

HOT LEG FRONT

HOT LEG – Red Light Fever (2009 Barbecue Rock Records)

It was a dark time for rock and roll.  The Darkness had split into two factions:  The Stone Gods, and Justin Hawkins’ Hot Leg.  The Gods were out of the gates with their album first in 2008, while Justin followed in 2009 with Red Light Fever.  Bizarrely, he credits himself as Justin “Dave” Hawkins in Hot Leg.

The Stone Gods made an excellent album, concentrating on rock and metal sounds.  Justin, on the other hand, has synthesized everything he does into one gestalt on Red Light Fever. There are still those cherished AC/DC-like moments that you may remember from Permission To Land (Hawkins even uses the lyric “permission to land” on one song) mixed with those operatic high vocals, taken to new levels of absurdity (“Chickens”). This is mixed with the polished Queen-like moments from the second Darkness album, One Way Ticket…, and the 80’s “keytar” sounds of his solo project British Whale. The result is, quite frankly, an album only Darkness fans will like.

I am a Darkness fan, and I do like it. The album kicks off with the aforementioned “Chickens”, which at first tricks you into thinking Hawkins has gone back to basics. Then the operatic chorus in full falsetto hits, and you realize that Hawkins is just as outrageous as ever.

“You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”, the second track, reminds you that Hawkins is still one hell of a guitar player. Coming up right down the middle between Thin Lizzy and Brian May harmonies, it is Justin’s guitar work that keeps this band most anchored in rock.  The aptly titled “Trojan Guitar” is a cool workout, multi-faceted and complex.

By the time you get to the single, “Cocktails”, you will wonder just how Hawkins crammed so many notes into a word with just two syllables. Many will find this to be simply too much, like coffee with too much sweetener, or a cake with nothing but icing.  It’s a great song, with that Def Darkness vibe that I like so much, but the chorus is ridiculous!

“Gay in the 80s” is the most British Whale of the tracks, keytar up front and in your face, and Justin’s lyrics embracing the kitsch of that decade. Not a track for insecure rockers by any stretch.  Yet “Whichever Way You Wanna Give It” is the most reminiscent of early Darkness. It has that “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” vibe, with a chorus straight out of One Way Ticket…, and some solid guitar riffs with ample space between the power chords.

TAKE TAKE TAKEThe album ends a mere 35 minutes after it began, which some will find absolutely offensive after spending close to $30 (Canadian) on this import. However, if you wanted more, the band used to offer a vintage-Darkness sounding bonus track called “Take Take Take” on their website for free.  Unfortunately with the band now defunct, the song has been taken down.  Another free song, a bouncy upbeat number called “Heroes”, was available for a limited time only.

According to the inside notes, the album is to be filed under “Man-Rock”.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: The Darkness – “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again” (2004 mp3 single)

GYHOMWATHE DARKNESS – “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again” (2004 Atlantic mp3 single)

After the surprise hit Permission To Land (which was essentially just a released demo) The Darkness were determined to make a better sounding second album.  At first it was announced they were going to be working with one Mutt Lange; that didn’t pan out.  Up next was Roy Thomas Baker, of Queen fame.

Their first released collaboration was a re-recording of “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” re-titled “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again”.  It differs only slightly from the original.  Better sounding bass, better sounding drums, but almost identical otherwise.  There are only two moments were the song deviates from the original:  a 5 second piano break at 1:54, and a different, more abrupt ending.

This was released November 8 2004, for one month only, for 99p on the official Darkness site.   Since then I understand it’s been very difficult to find online.  I like when bands release stuff like this, even though for most people it’s fairly redundant.  A lot of bands test the waters by re-recording older material, Axl’s done that and so have others.  When they make it available for almost nothing for a limited time, sure, I’ll bite.  It’s a kind of immediate release that didn’t exist 20 years ago.

Not to mention that this is just one of the Darkness’ best songs, ever.  Gratuitous language, hot riffs, screeching high vocals, ripping solos, and hooks for miles.  I was sold on the original song on first listen.  As for this re-recorded update, I like the better quality sound, but I don’t like the piano break or the ending.  Great tune, great sonics thanks to RTB, but I’ll stick with the original!

3.5/5 stars

Since you can’t take a picture of a non-physical product, here’s the CD single that I burned!