Track 15 – Dark and Long (Dark Train) – Underworld (1994)
In the ongoing journey through my musical history, we now come to Underworld.
There was a number of tracks I could have chosen – Rez, Cowgirl, Pearls Girl or Born Slippy.
I first discovered Underworld in 1996 when I read a review of their second album – Second Toughest in the Infants and without hearing it, went that morning and bought it. I loved it and it sat nicely with another album I was listening to, Leftism by Leftfield.
Dark and Long is off Underworld’s first album – dubnobasswithmyheadman in 1994 but broke out when it was used in the film, Trainspotting in 1996 when Renton is going through heroin withdrawal. The use of another Underworld track –Born Slippy.NUXX in the final scene sent that track to number 2 in the UK charts.
More recently the track was used at the London 2012 Olympics during the opening ceremony and appears on the soundtrack of that event, Isles of Wonder.
The two Underworld members, Karl Hyde and Rick Smith acted as music directors for the London opening ceremony and collaborated with ceremony director, Danny Boyle on his movies A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, and his 2007 film Sunshine.
The Dark Train version is very different to the original album version and has Darren Emerson’s more house influences all over it. It has a great bassline and driving chord lines with Hyde’s random vocals of the top. One for the long runs at over 10 minutes long, but a bonafide classic.
If you like this – try the Underworld live album Everything Everything.
Track 1 – Right Here, Right Now – Fatboy Slim (1999)
Track 2 – Levels – Avicii (2011)
Track 3 – The Greatest – Sia (2016)
Track 4 – Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – Daft Punk (2007)
Track 5 – Big Love – Pete Heller (1999)
Track 6 – Catch – Kosheen (2001)
Track 7 – Lose Yourself – Eminem (2002)
Track 8 – Beachball – Nalin & Kane (1997)
Track 9 – Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore and Lewis (2012)
Track 10 – Mas Que Nada – Echobeatz (1998)
Track 11 – Sun is Shining – Funk Star Deluxe (1999)
Track 12 – Gym and Tonic – Spacedust (1998)
Track 13 – Nightmare – Brainbug (Sinister Strings Mix) (1997)
Track 14 – It Feels So Good – Sonique (2000)
Track 15 – Dark and Long (Dark Train) – Underworld (1994)