The world of psychedelic rock is littered with enough scarce “holy grails,” at least in eBay/collector parlance, that the phrase often seems to lose its impact. But a true, excellent rarity exists in the prog-influenced fuzz of Dark, a band from Northampton, UK, whose sole LP Round the Edges was privately released in an edition of 60 copies in 1972. Curiously, of the 60 pressed a few different cover variations exist, but only two LPs and one jacket have come up on the collectors’ market in the past several years. Naturally, it’s a coveted item and a few reissues have appeared, both legitimately (long out-of-print) and on the grey market. Now, Portland, Oregon’s Machu Picchu has stepped to the plate with a gorgeous and fully authorized vinyl and CD reissue with an expanded booklet and additional photographs. As with most reissues, the point in redoing it is to make sure that it’s been done right, and if Machu Picchu’s recent take on the Midwestern soft-psych Anonymous LP is any indication, Round the Edges will be treated properly.
The original LP consisted of six tracks performed by the quartet of guitarist/vocalist Steve Giles, guitarist Martin Weaver (ex-Wicked Lady), bassist Ron Johnson, and drummer Clive Thorneycroft. A few extra tracks and studio jams have also surfaced on subsequent CD editions. One can certainly hear the influence of Cream, especially in Giles’ Jack Bruce-like pipes, as well as in the clipped choogle of “Maypole,” though in that instance murky fuzz-guitar and reductionist symphonic moves quickly emerge. Lyrically, the group are often more wry than oblique, though the most compelling aspect is often the head-nodding instrumental stretches that follow, which are economical and flinty rather than ornately tangential. “Live For Today” combines this gritty electric stew with handsome drum breaks and sharp wails, while “The Cat” mixes bluesy skiffle with wiry hard rock — calm before the knotty storm of “Zero Time.” To be sure, other groups may have taken the formulas further or assembled a heavier, freer slab of psychedelic boogie, but concision and melody count for a lot in the lysergic world that Dark inhabited. although Dark disbanded soon after the LP was published, cultish interest inspired a brief and well-received reunion in 1996. More than four decades after their lone LP was waxed, Round the Edges deserves to be visited anew.
