TotW 11/28/2022 - 12/04/2022: PETER GABRIEL - Darkness

    • Official Post

    Your rating for "Darkness" by PETER GABRIEL 18

    1. 15 points - outstanding (5) 28%
    2. 14 points - very good (0) 0%
    3. 13 points - very good - (6) 33%
    4. 12 points - good + (2) 11%
    5. 11 points - good (1) 6%
    6. 10 points - good - (3) 17%
    7. 09 points - satisfactory + (1) 6%
    8. 08 points - satisfactory (0) 0%
    9. 07 points - satisfactory - (0) 0%
    10. 06 points - sufficient + (0) 0%
    11. 05 points - sufficient (0) 0%
    12. 04 points - sufficient - (0) 0%
    13. 03 points - poor + (0) 0%
    14. 02 points - poor (0) 0%
    15. 01 points - poor - (0) 0%
    16. 00 points - abysmal (0) 0%

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    PETER GABRIEL - Darkness
    Year: 2002
    Album: UP
    Working title: House In The Woods
    Credits: Gabriel
    Lyrics: Yes
    Length: 6:52
    Musicians: Peter Gabriel, Tony Levin, David Rhodes, Manu Katche, Dave Power, London Session Orchestra
    Played Live: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011
    Cover versions: Tarja, Nena, Engelspost

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    Notes: Darkness is considered one of the core pieces in the making of UP, which took Gabriel almost 10 years to produce. The song stands out among the Gabriel songs, even though stylistic elements of the song were already used on OVO (2000) (The Tower That Ate People). During the 2-year (Still) Growing Up tour, Darkness was usually played after the opener (which was mostly Here Comes The Flood). In 2009 it returned to the live set after the song was not played in 2007.
  • I remember listening to Up an awful lot in the year it was released, I traveled a lot and it was a major companion piece to those travels. Darkness was such a great opener, with the jagged, unsettling verses and sorrowful, melodic chorus. It has a signature Gabriel component of expressing vulnerability to perfection. 15/15.

    • Official Post

    13 pts

    I remember listening to that track for the first time. I got a promo copy very early (June or July 2002) and nearly destroyed my ears as I played this really loud.

    Then a couple of weeks later Peter played this in Munich, still weeks before the album came out. Only a few knew this track. Was a great moment when he played this.

  • My recollection of hearing this song for first time always brings a smile because (and I've heard from others who did the same thing) I put up the volume during that little percussive bit that opens the track, curiously wanting to listen closely, only to be jarred by the screeching sound screaming out of my speakers seconds later and me scrambling to reach for the volume control.


    I think there are some great songs on this album - I just don't think this is one of them.

    I voted "Satisfactory" because I think it's an OK song, once you get past that jarring intro, but I think it pales in comparison, certainly to the four excellent tracks that follow.

  • My recollection of hearing this song for first time always brings a smile because (and I've heard from others who did the same thing) I put up the volume during that little percussive bit that opens the track, curiously wanting to listen closely, only to be jarred by the screeching sound screaming out of my speakers seconds later and me scrambling to reach for the volume control.

    Yes this matches my first listen, only it was over earphones while sitting on the top deck of a 65 bus going along Eden Street in Kingston on my way to work in Ealing one morning.


    I kind of get what you're saying about its diminishing returns. That jarring opening is effective and piqued my interest, as I like abrasive atonal stuff. But it then sort of wimps out a bit. Overall though, I like it.

    Abandon all reason