One of the rarest progressive rock records in existence (it is said that only 50 copies were pressed when it was made in 1971). Originals on the UK label SIS have fetched as much as $6500. There’s a copy available on eBay right now for about $4500 if you don’t mind VG condition (and, from a UK seller, that’s probably a liberal grading). It’s also been reissued by Akarma in an edition of one-thousand, on clear vinyl with a six-page booklet that contains lyrics and photos.
The album took two years to create, the band went through several personnel changes during that time, and the resulting six tracks are (although at times meandering) really good. Between the fuzz and the light psychedelic vibe you could maybe pick out some similarities between Dark and Blue Cheer, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead. The second side of the album is really where the songs take off. The vocals are a bit harder and faster (which matches up better with the guitar playing) and the songs are better.
Oh, look. I just found a review on AllMusic that cites both Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead! They must have heard the same thing. Or read the same review somewhere else on the Internet.
Dark’s sole album consists of six long, rather meandering tracks, the songs largely vehicles for some involved, fuzzy hard rock guitar soloing. In the softer parts and the vocal sections, there are faint echoes of the folky psychedelic late-’60s rock of acts like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. You can hear that in the first part of “Live for Today,” in particular, with its bittersweet melody and harmonies. But, despite this rarity’s high rep in some circles, the songs aren’t too substantial, and the guitar work not so intricate or imaginative that it demands a listen on the merits of the riffs alone. The record has been reissued a few times since the early ’90s, sometimes in editions almost as limited as the original run. Akarma’s LP reissue is the most desirable configuration, not only because of its relative accessibility in terms of managing to acquire a copy, but also because it replicates the gatefold sleeve and lyric pamphlet of the original release.
Dark
Round The Edges
(SIS, 1971)
DepositFiles DL Link
01. Darkside
02. Maypole
03. Live For Today
04. R.C. 8
05. The Cat
06. Zero Time
