Power in the Darkness

Tom Robinson Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B000002Z7Q
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,676 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Up Against the Wall

2. Gray Cortina

3. Too Good to Be True

4. Ain't Gonna Take It

5. Long Hot Summer

6. The Winter of '79

7. Man You Never Saw

8. Better Decide Which Side You're On

9. You Gotta Survive

10. Power in the Darkness

11. Don't Take No for Answer

12. Martin

13. Glad to Be Gay

14. Right on Sister

15. 2-4-6-8 Motorway

16. I Shall be Released

17. I'm Alright Jack

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PEDIGREED PUNK PROTEST ROCK, May 28, 2003

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Power in the Darkness (Audio CD)

This CD reissue of Power In The Darkness contains many extra tracks making it in effect a Best Of or Greatest Hits collection of the Tom Robinson Band. It is aggressive rock straight out of the heyday of punk when the Sex Pistols, The Clash and Siouxsie & The Banshees were making waves in the UK. Opening with the anthem Up Against The Wall, it takes the listener on a rollercoaster ride through the politics of those times, mercifully interspersed with some pure love songs and a dash of humor here and there. Gray Cortina and 2-4-6-8 Motorway are great rocking car songs whilst the protest number Better Decide Which Side You're On sounds dated now and Glad To Be Gay, probably Robinson's most famous anthem, has aged well. Power In The Darkness is basically a repetitive chant wbut there's a ver funny speech in the middle which still cracks me up after all these years. The song Now Martin's Gone dates from a couple of years later, in the 1980s, when his sound had changed considerably into a pop direction. The music isn't particularly innovative, it's just good old rock infused with anger, but Robinson's contribution is valuable for the great songs he created. Fans of artists like The Clash, The Jam, The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers will appreciate Power In The Darkness.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Play It Loud, May 4, 2003

By 

Chris Ward (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power in the Darkness (Audio CD)

Here's a gem from the late 70s. This was recorded in a raw white heat by angry energetic young men with a lot to say, and the engineering by Chris Thomas is sharp and crisp-- it sounds great on CD, LOUD. Some of the politics may be out-dated, but not much of it-- the anger against authority is just as fresh as when it was recorded a quarter-century ago. It's more pop than punk, but has a punk sensibility in its visceral power. Buy it and play it loud on a summer day-- you'll find yourself singing along (even on "Glad to be Gay," no matter your orientation).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Protest-Rock: Confrontational and Ferocious, August 28, 2000

By 

dev1 (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power in the Darkness (Audio CD)

He's here, he's [gay], and he's in your face. Power In The Darkness recalls the memorable words of that Great American Philosopher, Jerry Seinfeld, who once said "I'm not one. Not that there's anything wrong with it." Even if you discard 'Glad To Be A Bugger,' Power In The Darkness contains more than enough confrontation and hang-the-king material to appease the most ferocious rock hound. The album rocks-on like an out of control Metro train with a cocaine-crazed driver at the controls (hey, that happens weekly in Baltimore). Robinson is seething with frustration, and rather than "sing," he spits-out venomous lyrics with a heavy British accident. Lines such as "yer best mate getting paki-bashed" makes absolutely no sense to me, but what the heck: the message is secondary to the delivery, and Robinson boils over with vigor.

The band is as contentious as the MC5 and the Sex Pistols (Ain't Gonna Take It, Right On Sister). The rhythm guitar work is technically simple, but filthy (and that's good) - see 'Long Hot Summer,' 'The Winter Of '79,' and '2-4-6-8 Motorway.' Turn up 'Don't Take No For An Answer,' and the machine gun drumming will shake the baby right out of the crib. 'Martin' is a sissy sing-along, but I wouldn't repeat the word "sissy" in front of this live audience. They're quite an enthusiastic lot.

Buddy, if you're going to do Protest-Rock you'd best better be sincere because I can smell pretension a mile away. I haven't paid any attention to politics in rock for the past three decades. Tell me, how does a rock star (unlike Robinson) sitting in his mansion in Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean write about government hypocrisy? I just don't buy it, but I do buy Tom Robinson - hook, line and stinker.