Description
The self-titled, sole studio album by the British rock band Out of Darkness was released in the UK on Key Records in 1970. The album was recorded at City of London Recording Studios. It was the best selling gospel album of 1970 in the UK (however, these were early days for the industry and the numbers sold were relatively small). The band was formed in 1969 and this recording features Tony Goodman (vocal, harmonica, acoustic guitar), Wray Powell (lead guitar, acoustic guitar), Carl Grant (bass, bongos), and Tim Anderson (drums, hammer, wirecutters). Denver Grant plays guitar on “Hustle Bustle”, and the band’s manager Ian Wilkie (formerly of The Pilgrims) is also featured playing tambourine.
Out of Darkness were kind of a UK ‘Gospel Blues Super Group’ with musicians selected at audition. Their first manager Ian Wilkie (formerly of The Pilgrims) created the band around guitarist Wray Powell who with bass, keyboards and percussion player Carl Grant were from the black gospel group the Soul Seekers. Drummer Tim Anderson, came from the progressive gospel blues band Insight, as did bassist Bruce Duncan, who joined Out of Darkness in 1972. The vocalist and guitarist Tony Goodman came from the band The Pilgrims. Out of Darkness were one of the first multi-ethnic groups, featuring Wray and Carl from Jamaica, as well as Tim and Bruce from London. Fun Trivia: The members of After The Fire met at a Out of Darkness gig and Steve Fairnie became a close friend of the band as well.
In 1993 a live album entitled The Celebration Club Session was released on CD by Plankton Records. It was recorded in 1972 at The Celebration Club in Gillingham, England; on a four-track portable by the BBC engineer Peter Cornelius. The same year the band was described by music industry insiders as the best band in Britain without a major recording deal. Never the less, having failed to secure a major recording contract Out of Darkness disbanded in 1974.
Virtual Tyrannosaurus Rex of early Jesus music crawling out from the London underground on Britain’s pioneering Key label. This is the one folks – a heavy duty classic hard rock scorcher with tons of loud blistering electric guitar work. Ray Powell is the man behind all that guitar, joined by Carl Grant on bass, Tim Anderson on drums, and Tony Goodman on lead vocals and harmonica. These guys fall right in line with the late-‘60s bluesy sounds of Hendrix and Cream on driving rockers like «On Solid Rock», «Who Is To Blame», «There You See A Stranger», «Light» and «Closin’ In On Me» (note the strong similarities to Hendrix’s «Fire» on the latter). Also samples loud stomping blues-rock with wailing harmonica («Lemonade And Peanuts») and minor-key psychedelic folk with hypnotic percussion («Homeland»). «Thank You Lord» chugs along with some punchy Stones rhythm guitar, while «Hustle Bustle» features nifty jazz-influenced guitar. Still room for a couple ballads in «Wings Of The Morning» and «Dreamaway — Stevie’s Song». Intriguing pink and purple band cover photo (no smiles) with negative image on the back (Anderson’s nifty fedora is beyond cool). Grant and Powell are both black, making Out Of Darkness one of the few interracial Christian rock bands on the early scene. Must’ve been the gutsiest thing ever released on a Christian label at the time. Pretty hard for the common man to come by, too, as psych collectors “discovered” it a few years ago and ensuing bid wars successfully shot the thing up near 4-digit figures for a while. For the more budget minded, a re-issue from 1990 is available with a limited pressing of 500, albeit with a totally different cover that opens up into a 6-panel poster. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Us” – 0:54
A2. “Thank You Lord” – 3:14
A3. “On Solid Rock” – 4:00
A4. “Wings Of The Morning” – 3:29
A5. “Moses” – 2:46
A6. “Lemonade And Peanuts” – 2:40
A7. “Closing In On Me” – 4:10
Side Two
B1. “Who Is To Blame” – 3:16
B2. “Hustle Bustle” – 2:25
B3. “Dreamaway – Stevie’s Song” – 3:13
B4. “There You See A Stranger” – 3:47
B5. “Homeland” – 5:17
B6. “Light” – 3:55
Note: Later released on CD featuring a bonus track; “Closing In On Me”, recorded live in England in 1971. Re-issued once again on CD by Prog Temple in 2016, featuring the live album The Celebration Club Session (minus the last track) as a bonus, as well as background notes and images.
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