Track Listing

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. 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 - Tom Robinson, Tom Robinson Band
17. I'm Alright Jack - Tom Robinson, Tom Robinson Band

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #283578 in Music
• Released on: 1993-09-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Customer Reviews

An underrated album
Make no mistake, this is a great album. Released in 1978 amid the explosion of punk to the mainstream and it's consequent fallout, TRB mixed punk atitude with great lyrics, catchy tunes, swirling organ and punchy rock guitar. They were never really a punk band and they knew it, but in their debut single "2-4-6-8 Motorway" they had a fist punching rock anthem that could help attract those "middle class kiddies" (Robinson's own words) who had previously been a bit afraid of the punk bands. TRB wore "nice" clothes tailored to the fashions of the day - jeans with blazer-style jackets and thin ties, together with a keen eye for iconic badges and logos. Songs such as "Long Hot Summer", "Too Good To Be True", "You Better Decide Which Side You're On" and "Man You Never Saw" were basically rock songs, albeit relatively short ones, but rock all the same. Punk showed itself in the marvellously angry opener, Up Against The Wall" and the anthemic, tub-thumping "Ain't Gonna Take It", while a bleak, post-apocalyptic vision was wonderfully expressed in the unnerving "You Gotta Survive", along with the "Big Brother"-esque vibes of "Man You Never Saw" with its references to the "Church Police" being out to get you. "Grey Cortina" showed TRB to have their fingers on the pulse as they name-checked Bruce Springsteen, still comparatively unknown and mysterious enough to be cool in the eyes of both the music media and even the punks. Despite all this, at the time this album was neither a good nor a bad seller and TRB could never break out of being a bit of a cult, famous almost before they were famous, but then when they got famous, it all ended. Inded, organist Mark Ambler (who looked about fourteen!) left as soon as this album hit the streets. TRB really were that short-lived.

The title track has one of the classic spoken fade outs in rock's catalogue, as a Tory MP character rants out his prejudices against an insistent guitar and organ sound, leaving us in no doubt as to whose side this band were on.

Any review of this expanded edition must not forget the inclusion of the afore-mentioned hit single; it's B-side - a great cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" (dedicated to a contemporary cause celebre, George Ince); rock's first (and possibly only) pro-feminist tribute in "Right On Sister"; the oafish, laughable "Martin"; the blistering rock and fury of "Don't Take No For An Answer" and, of course, the first gay anthem, "Sing If You're Glad To Be Gay". The last four tracks all being live recordings from High Wycombe (that hotbed of musical trends!), dating from the time "before they were famous", the songs never having been released but still receiving a rapturous reception. TRB has a huge live following for about eighteen months. It is a great pity they could never build on such solid foundations. By the end of 1979, they were gone.

PEDIGREED PUNK PROTEST ROCK
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 but there's a very 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.

All time fave
First heard this album in 1983. 19 years on and I'm still listening - to a very old scratched record or likewise on tape: It's that good. Been looking in various second hand places for the CD but haven't yet. My search will go on until I keel over or find it. This is because, maybe because of the point in my life I first found it, it takes me on a rollercoaster journey of emotions. Gotta be listened to at full volume.