The Darkness – One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back!
Justin Hawkins – Lead guitar, vocals, keyboards, synths.
Dan Hawkins – Rhythm guitar.
Richie Edwards – Bass.
Ed Graham - Drums
The Darkness seemed to have it all going for them after the release of Permission to Land: over 4 million record sales, a #1 album, a #2 single (I Believe in a Thing Called Love), a #2 Christmas single (Don’t Let the Bells End), sell-out tours, and legions of loyal fans. This was incredibly well-deserved. After all, they re-invented Rock ‘n’ Roll, in much the same way that Pantera re-invented Metal. Their optimistic brand of guitar-laden riffs and nonchalant lyrics captivated me and millions of others (their signature hand-gesture of a ‘thumbs-up’ rather than the usual ‘middle-finger’ made me smile). I simply could not get enough of Permission to Land, so naturally when I heard that a 2nd album was on the way from the Lowestoft rockers I was ecstatic to say the least. I was slightly distraught at the departure of bassist Frankie Poullain under more-that-slightly rancorous circumstances, with Justin claiming he left on personal terms, despite more than a few sources claming he left because of tension in the band.
I surfed message boards and countless music-news sites for more info on the new album and maybe even a sample of a track or two. Much to my dismay, though, very little info was initially available. However, one day on Blabbermouth, I read an article revealing the track listing and the first single from the album: One Way Ticket. I immediately Googled it to try to find a sample, and was elated when I found that The Darkness have their own MySpace page, and kindly had uploaded One Way Ticket onto it. I rammed my headphones into the jack and hit Play. Ah, a crunchy rhythm riff courtesy of Mr. Dan Hawkins to start it off, pounding drums and screeching vocals to top it. Now we’re in Darkness country. You can imagine my slight surprise when the sitar-driven solo breaks out, but as I found out this is the general tone of the new album. The guitars have been turned down in favour of more prominent vocals, synths and keyboards. You see, one Roy Thomas Baker has been tinkering about in the studio. Yes, the same man who produced for Queen, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Free and The Who. Despite his impressive CV, I can’t help but have hard feelings toward the man, as it was the guitar-driven focus of Permission to Land that drew me to The Darkness in the first place, and the addition of sitars, synths and other slightly more exotic instruments than your average Les Paul have taken some of the purity and long-haired, horns-to-hell “YEAH!!”-ness away from ‘One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back’. The album also dabbles in different styles of music such as Celtic (Hazel Eyes), Country (Knockers), Arabian (One Way Ticket), Blues (Is It Just Me?)
Still, even with this setback, ‘One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back’ is a fantastic album, though perhaps not as good as it could have been without RTB onboard.
I’ll run you through the tracks:
1. One Way Ticket – Fantastic opening riff, and top notch singing. If the solo was played on guitar rather than sitar, I would have enjoyed this opening track a whole lot more, but the slightly Arabian-feel of the track was… refreshing. 8/10
2. Knockers – Not the best track on the album. This track is about a man who has been away from his lover for a long time and has forgotten how to make her happy. It has a kind of country-style feel to it, probably because of the slide-guitar riffs. The eternally stereotypical clueless-man phrase “I love what you’ve done with your hair!” pretty much sums up how this guy is feeling. However, this is probably one of my least favourite tracks on the album, but is still by no means rubbish. It just fails to captivate as the other tracks did. 6/10
3. Is It Just Me – This is a brilliant track. It’s is set to be the second single from the album. The intro riff is excellent, if rather more bluesy than the rest. The song is about a man who feels everyone has left him and he’s on his own. Amazing solo shows the Hawkins brothers back in top form. 9/10
4. Dinner Lady Arms – Another excellent track. It has a more obscure subject matter of a man who remembers his old Dinner Lady. It’s tracks like these that make people think The Darkness are a joke band, but this is a brilliant, touching track. Dinner Lady Arms is a more tender and less rock-oriented track than others but still unmistakably Darkness. 8/10
5. Seemed Like a Good Idea at The Time – Another slower and less rock-oriented track. Features Justin on Piano for the most part and also features double-bass, from what I can tell and brass instruments, and is also very touching. It appears to be about a man who has broken up with a woman and really wants her back. However, on closer inspection of the lyrics, it could be a song about Frankie Poullain leaving the band…interesting. 7/10
6. Hazel Eyes – Now this has to be the best track on the album. This is The Darkness on top form. Hazel Eyes has a fairly long intro that sets the mood. This track has very Celtic overtones, with synths and bagpipes (I know…). After the lengthy string intro, it starts off slow with what sounds like could be a 12-string guitar. After the verse it gets interesting. “Hoots! Ah can’ne get back to me hoose in bonnie Scotland” screeches Justin then Dan breaks out with loud chorus chords, then a very cool riff. And the solos in Hazel Eyes are awesome. If there’s one song on this album you have to hear, it’s this one. 10/10
7. Bald – This is a vocal screech-fest for Justin. Bald is, as the title may indicate, about a rock star that’s losing his hair. Has some great riffs, but is not as good as most of the other tracks on here. 7/10
8. Girlfriend – Another of my favourite tracks. Very upbeat and positive, you can’t fail to like this song. Has a very odd-sounding solo, but I still really like this track. 9/10
9. English Country Garden – This sounds really Queen-y. This track also contains the immortal couplet - “She said have you got a match? and I said yes, My cock and Farmer Giles prizewinning marrow!” Very upbeat and cheery, this seems like the ‘official’ end to the album, with Blind Man kind of stuck on at the end to make up the track numbers. Brill song. 8/10
10. Blind Man – Pretty epic track this. Very slow and mellow; a good closer for the album. Blind Man is about a Blind Man (who’d have thought) that’s been through a lot. His wife died, and is also deaf. You can’t help but feel sorry for this guy, whoever he is. As far removed from the rest of the album as it is, it’s still a pretty likeable track. 7/10
So, in conclusion, I feel that while this is a very worthwhile and great album, it’s not as good as Permission to Land. Tell you what lads, kick Roy Thomas Baker off production and I’ll buy 2 copies of your next album.
Axem Black
