Customer Reviews

Power in the Darkness

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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.

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).

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.

I don't know where I heard of Tom Robinson Band, but now that I have, I immediately recommend hsi music to anyone who might like it. It is uncomprimisingly political, but light-hearted at the same time. Tom Robinson's musical and lyrical talent shines through what is, for all intents and purpose, a punk rock record, splicing the three chord choruses with adequate guitar solos.

2-4-6-8 Motorway, was I think the first song that I ever heard by Tom Robinson and immediately after hearing it, I needed to hear more. The song's hook is unforgettable in its simplicity. Grey Cortina follows in the car theme, and is equally catchy. Power in the Darkness and Winter of '79 are rather political songs, but sense of humour is not lost in the monologue in Power in the Darkness. Up Against the Wall sounds like a punk song, both because of lyrical content and symplistic song structure.

Almost ever song on this records is memorable, catchy, and, a right down to it, good song. Though the album is in no way ground-breaking, Tom Robinson's voice gives it a unique tinge, something that let's us differentiate between TRB and ever other mediocre band of the time.

Tom Robinson was (and still is to this day) a fervent and outspoken advocate for many causes--rebelling against established authority in the UK (particularly in his disdain for then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher), a campaigner for gay rights, and so forth. With the 1978 release of "Power In The Darkness", Robinson and the band appeared seemingly from out of nowhere and threw the UK punk scene on it's ear with their poppish yet powerful debut single, the lost classic "2-4-6-8 Motorway". The album contains the then-controversial "Glad To Be Gay", which despite being banned by the BBC, was a hit on the UK charts. The song describes in angry and graphic detail, the bigotry and violence aimed against homosexuals; but underneath the hatred and indifference reflected in the song, Robinson urged listeners to be proud and "sing if you're glad to be gay/sing if you're happy that way"; a theme every bit as relevant now as it was in 1978.

But Robinson and his songs weren't all about grandstanding for political and social issues--the track "Grey Cortina" is about his quest to someday own a souped-up Ford Cortina; the aforementioned "2-4-6-8 Motorway" is straightforward rock n' roll about cruising the motorways with the early morning sun in your eyes (and picking up a couple of hitchhikers along the way); "Don't Take No For An Answer" is a scathing, thinly-veiled attack against The Kinks' Ray Davies, describing Robinson's ill-fated association with Davies' record label, Konk in the early 70's); and also a bit of humor on my favorite track, "Martin", about a boyhood friend--listening to Robinson sing the song in his hilarious mock-Cockney accent, and the crowd interaction during the chorus (in call-and-response segments, the crowd shouts out "Martin" whenever Robinson does, causing him to laugh a few times), give the track a funny and lighthearted charm.

If you want to hear some furious but melodic British punk rock, performed with a no-holds-barred, damn-it-all attitude, look no further than this classic album; it's now currently out of print, but if you can find a copy somewhere, BUY IT! You won't be disappointed!

I heard the songs on the radio and I bought the original vinyl album, which came with a stencil of the fist logo. My Denim jacket back panel was immediately painted blood red with a black stencil fist on the back. I was only 14 and did not full recognise the implication until some one asked if I was gay. I said no, paused then said that I still have the right to be if I wanted.
At high school we had an old record player in the common room and we could take records in. I took this and we all (well a lot of us) screamed and shouted along with it. It was a powerful message, whether you were gay or not. I have spent the morning on Youtube doing the same. It still gets the same reaction and weird looks especially from my teenage kids.
I would recommend everyone buy this and turn it up loud and scream and shout along with it. It is excellent therapy.

In 1980 I was 19 years old and I bought this album on 2 vinyal records. Now I have it on CD on it just sounds better of course. This is just OUTSTANDING straight ahead rock n roll with a political of view and it gave me somewhat of an insight into British politics (I'm from a small town in Missouri, USA). And I love when he says "we got Brothers in Brixton with their backs to the wall" I LOVE The Clash too and I think they had something to say about Brixton too....

Released in the late '70's, this work stands the test of time. It has such a raw drive that it's almost impossible to listen to it while sitting still. The passion comes from Robinson's anger over injustice in all forms--from the Stonewall riots ("Long Hot Summer") and racially motivated violence ("Up Against the Wall")--to what the conservatives were unleashing on Britian at the time. And then, there's his unbridled lust for a hot car ("Grey Cortina")... Even those who aren't politically inclined will respond to the energy of the music; right-wingers may be aghast to find themselves bobbing their heads in time to the music. This is great rock and roll.

I've had this on LP for years, didn't know if it was available on CD so more of my friends could hear it. They danced with me to it in the 80's, after we came home from attempted occupation of the Seabrook nuclear plant, during its construction. But that's a long and beautiful old story.
Anyway, in this time in our country and the world, I've been relying a lot on powerful music to carry me through. Bruce Cockburn, Phil Ochs, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Cris Williamson, and on.
At least Power in the Darkness is on CD, unfortunately out of stock at Amazon. But we all know we can get it.
So let's rock on and on. In case you haven't seen their site, there's a Center for Political Song in Glasgow, take a look and breathe a sigh of relief!