Darkroom (song)

"Darkroom"
Song by Paul McCartney
from the album McCartney II
Released16 May 1980
Length2:20
Label
SongwriterMcCartney
ProducerMcCartney

"Darkroom" is a song by Paul McCartney, released as the penultimate track on his third solo studio album McCartney II (1980).

Background and production

"Darkroom" was the product of a recording practice McCartney did where he would often record a random drum track and improvise a new song over it, and McCartney said it could be about any type of dim lighted room; a darkroom for photography and film, a dark room for sex, or a literal dark room.[1] The drums were recorded first, followed by other instrunents and finally the vocals.[2] Some of the drum and maraca parts were recorded at double speed.[3] That is, McCartney recorded these parts and 15 inches per second but then played the tracks back at 30 inches per second.[3] Then the rest of the parts, including snare drum, tom-toms, synthesizer, bass guitar and electric guitar had to be recorded at 30 inches per second to match.[3] According to McCartney biographers Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair, this was done to get the timbre he was looking for, rather than to get a particular tempo for the song.[3] Some of the vocals were also recorded at different speeds in order to achieve strange sounds.[3] The song incorporated several synthesizer parts – one that sounds like an organ, one that sounds like string instruments and one that McCartney called "atmosphere synth", which Kozinn and Sinclair described as generating "high-pitched, transparent tones. that create an otherworldly texture."[3] The song's harmony is based on an F minor seventh chord.[2]

The song was recorded over the summer of 1979.[4] The song was mixed in October 1979.[5]

Release and reception

"Darkroom" was released on McCartney II and sequenced as the penultimate track on the album, but was almost cut from the final tracklist when McCartney had to cut the album down to a single disc.[6] In a review for Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden called it "cluttered compared to its immortal prototypes".[7] In a review for Consequence of Sound, Michael Roffman called it "another quasi-instrumental, though this one sports some vocals, although they hardly do much but chant again … and again … and again. It’s an exercise in sanity, really."[8] Daily News writer Bill Carlton said he couldn't think of a single good thing to say about it, and called it a "reggae-disco abomination".[9] Larry Kelp of Oakland Tribune called it a "silly love song".[10]

Kozinn and Sinclair described "Darkroom" as an experimental song that is "a fairly conventional song form mixed with some sonic zaniness."[3] The described the melody as "slight but catchy."[3] They described the lyrics as being "almost an update" of the Beatles' early song "There's a Place" in which the earlier song's lyrics of "There's a place / Where I can go / When I feel low" are replaced by "Got a place we can go / Lights are low."[3] They acknowledge that while "There's a Place" is about "solitary introspection", "Darkroom" is more social, with a bridge inviting the listener to "Come a come along with me to my darkroom."[3]

Music professor Vincent P. Benitez described the song as having a "funky groove".[2] He interpreted the lyrics as being "sexually suggestive".[2]

In 2005, a remix of "Darkroom" was done by Twin Freaks, a duo composed of Paul McCartney and Roy Kerr, known as Freelance Hellraiser, for the remix album Twin Freaks.[11]

Personnel

According to authors John Blaney, Allan Kozinn and Adrian Sinclair:[12][3]

  • Paul McCartney – keyboards, drums, percussion, vocals, bass, electric guitar

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Blaney 2007, p. 139.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Benitez 2010, p. 103.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kozinn & Sinclair 2024, p. 678.
  4. ↑ Kozinn & Sinclair 2024, p. 674.
  5. ↑ Kozinn & Sinclair 2024, pp. 687–688.
  6. ↑ Madinger & Easter 2018, p. 251.
  7. ↑ Holden, Stephen (24 July 1980). "McCartney II". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Roffman, Michael (21 June 2011). "Album Review: Paul McCartney – McCartney II [Reissue]". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Carlton, Bill (26 May 1980). "McCartney essays a one-man-band". Daily News. p. 78. Retrieved 22 August 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Kelp, Larry (1 June 1980). "McCartney recaptures his old magic". Oakland Tribune. p. I-33. Retrieved 22 August 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ McCartney, Paul, Twin Freaks, retrieved 7 July 2026
  12. ↑ Blaney 2007, p. 137.

Bibliography

  • Benitez, Vincent P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. ISBN 9780313349690.
  • Blaney, John (2007). Lennon and McCartney, Together Alone: A Critical Discography of Their Solo Work. Jawbone Press. ISBN 978-1-906002-02-2.
  • Kozinn, Allan; Sinclair, Adrian (2024). The McCartney Legacy: Volume 2 1974–80. Dey Street Books. ISBN 9780063000759.
  • Madinger, Chip; Easter, Mark (2018). Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium (Updated ed.). Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
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