Dark Room (The Angels album)
Dark Room is the fourth studio album by Australian band The Angels, released in June 1980.[1] It was their first album for CBS/Epic and was co-produced by the group's John and Richard Brewster (brothers).[1][2] It peaked at number five on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.[3] It reached number 37 on the New Zealand Albums Chart in July 1980.[4]
| Dark Room | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 June 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 42:07 | |||
| Label | CBS/Epic | |||
| Producer |
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| The Angels chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Dark Room | ||||
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In the Australasian market the album provided three singles, "No Secrets" (May 1980), "Poor Baby" (July) and "Face the Day" (August).[1] "No Secrets" peaked at No. 8 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart – their highest position to that time.[3] The other two reached the top 100 in Australia.[3] "Face the Day" appeared at No. 30 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[4]
For European and North American markets the album was issued as Darkroom in October 1980 under the name, Angel City, "to avoid confusion with the US glam metal band Angel."[1] Two tracks, "Alexander" and "I'm Scared", were replaced by "Ivory Stairs" and "Straight Jacket".[2] When the group toured the United States to promote this album they performed as Angel City.[1] They released "No Secrets" as Angel City, late in 1980.
In June 2002 Shock Records issued four-disc box set The Complete Sessions 1980–1983 with remastered versions of Dark Room (nine bonus tracks), Night Attack (nine bonus tracks), Watch the Red (five bonus tracks) and The Blow (2× CD). In June 2006 Liberation Music re-issued Dark Room using the version from The Complete Sessions 1980–1983.[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Bernard Patrick Neeson, John Brewster-Jones and Richard Brewster-Jones,[6] unless otherwise indicated.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No Secrets" (Graham Bidstrup, Neeson) | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Poor Baby" | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Wasted Sleepless Nights" / "Dark Room" (J Brewster-Jones, Neeson, R Brewster-Jones / Neeson, Bidstrup, J Brewster-Jones, R Brewster-Jones) | 6:09 |
| 4. | "Face the Day" | 6:10 |
| 5. | "Night Comes Early" | 4:14 |
| 6. | "Alexander" | 3:29 |
| 7. | "The Moment" | 4:20 |
| 8. | "I'm Scared" | 3:49 |
| 9. | "Devil's Gate" | 5:32 |
All tracks are written by J Brewster-Jones, Neeson and R Brewster-Jones,[6] unless otherwise indicated.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Back on You" | 3:09 |
| 11. | "Alexander" (early take) | 3:45 |
| 12. | "Hot Shit" | 3:21 |
| 13. | "Hard Sell" | 3:45 |
| 14. | "Staring Voices" (Neeson, Bidstrup, J Brewster-Jones, R Brewster-Jones) | 2:42 |
| 15. | "I'm Scared" (live) | 4:28 |
| 16. | "Face the Day" (single edit) | 4:07 |
| 17. | "Public Enemy" (Chris Bailey, J Brewster-Jones, Neeson, R Brewster-Jones) | 2:57 |
| 18. | "Into the Heat" (Neeson, R Brewster-Jones) | 8:11 |
Chart positions
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian KMR Albums Chart[3] | 6 |
| Official New Zealand Music Chart[4] | 37 |
Personnel
- The Angels
- Chris Bailey – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup – drums
- John Brewster – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Rick Brewster – lead guitar, piano, organ
- Doc Neeson – lead vocals
- Recording details
- Producer – Bidstrup (track 1), J Brewster (tracks 2–9), R Brewster (tracks 2–9)
- Audio engineer – Dave Marett, Dave Cafe, Mark Opitz
- Art works
- Cover – Timewinds
- Photography – Shoot and Run
International release
| Darkroom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 43:25 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Brewster, Brewster, Bidstrup | |||
| Angel City chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Darkroom | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Billboard | (unrated)[7] |
The North American and European versions of Darkroom appeared in October 1980 under the band name, Angel City, and used a different track listing. In addition to being re-sequenced, "Alexander" and "I'm Scared", were removed, and "Ivory Stairs" and "Straight Jacket" (which had been issued on previous Australian albums) were added. The cover art shows a colour photo of a person with blue eyes instead of the black-and-white shot on the original. "No Secrets" was issued internationally, late in 1980, but it did not chart. However, this was Angel City’s highest charting album in the US with it reaching 133 in the Billboard 200
Chart Position
| Year | Chart | Chart Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Billboard | 133[8] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Neeson, J Brewster-Jones and R Brewster-Jones,[6] unless otherwise indicated.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No Secrets" (Bidstrup, Neeson) | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Ivory Stairs" | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Wasted Sleepless Nights" / "Dark Room" (J Brewster-Jones, Neeson, R Brewster-Jones / Neeson, Bidstrup, J Brewster-Jones, R Brewster-Jones) | 6:09 |
| 4. | "Face the Day" | 6:10 |
| 5. | "Night Comes Early" | 4:14 |
| 6. | "Straight Jacket" | 4:33 |
| 7. | "The Moment" | 4:20 |
| 8. | "Poor Baby" | 4:04 |
| 9. | "Devil's Gate" | 5:32 |
References
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Angels'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
- Holmgren, Magnus; Senatore, Tony. "The Angels". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
- Hung, Steffen. "Discography The Angels". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- The Angels – Dark Room at Allmusic
- "'Poor Baby' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 5 May 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:'
- "Review: Angel City – Darkroom" (PDF). Billboard. 85 (40). 4 October 1980. p. 108. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via American Radio History.
- "Billboard". 13 December 1980.
