Don’t Stand Me Down

What a fascinating and strange listen. Think it might be brilliant, but not totally sure. Love that Kevin Rowland constantly reinvents himself, this album being a case in point, and did he invent the album skit?

Feel this needs a remix without the talky, quiet bits, and that Warren zevon homage. Some strong songs behind all the pretentious stuff

Honestly, it's better than I expected. It's also way more talking than I expected. Why is he talking all the time? Some of the songs are pretty decent, some of them sound like they're meant to be a joke. And then there's just a lot of talking. Every time you think it's just a little bit of talking for an intro, it just ends up being more talking.

Already 2nd album from this Band I am getting on the list. I feel this time I am enjoying them slightly more, even marked one song as liked, however I think I am still being overly generous cause this cannot go for more than 3 stars surely.

Is this a lost masterpiece or just something that doesn’t quite work? I’m still undecided. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 feels very deliberate and personal, but also oddly distant. It’s clearly reaching for something bigger than a typical pop album, yet it rarely pulls me in.

It’s not hard to see why it struggled — their label didn’t really get behind it, and there’s nothing here that comes close to a follow-up to 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗻 𝗘𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗻. You can almost hear the gap between expectations and what the band actually wanted to make. There are moments where it nearly comes together, but as a whole it never fully clicks for me.

Surprisingly good for a band I'd pigeon holed as one hit wonders

Only recently became acquainted with this band's first album and I loved it. I don't know anything but the hit from the second album, but I can't stand that fiddle-laden drivel. This one, sits somewhere between those two. There is some good soul-inspired stuff on here, that is reminiscent of their early work but never really hits with the same power. The upbeat numbers are fun and listenable. I really enjoyed the obviously ascorbic satire of shamelessly ripping off Warren Zevon while singing "It all sounded the same" over the top of it. When they slow down and Kevin switches between talking over the music lounge-singer style and full on crooning it is simply unbearable though. It feels like filler and there's just way too much of it on here.

Alright, I guess

⭐⭐.75

I like the few songs of theirs I know. It just never occurred to me to go check them out further. I actually really enjoyed this album abd it's further weirdness.

I like them! I like this album. I really like "one of those things", I think I've heard it before.

The twangy 'knowledge of beauty' has a great country arrangement with violins and lap steels, the rest is all brassy pop and wierd soul pastiche with nasal vocals and lots of energy.

This is very odd, not phased by the talking parts necessarily but they don't really do anything for me and the whole thing just feels like a bit of a fever dream. It sounds a bit like a record put together to get out of a label contract on purpose, which I don't think was the intention. Kind of impressed by how it comes together but I don't like it - 2*

Okay this was a step down from their others

Perhaps miraculously, I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a 4, just like their debut album.

Is it weird to say I might’ve liked this one a little more? “Searching For The Young Soul Rebels” entirely survives off of a vibe – Kevin Rowland’s vocals are incomprehensible but endearing, their instrumental energy is good, if a bit reliant on flash, and somehow, all of its flaws don’t sink it too badly, due to a weirdly infectious energy that just makes that album feel nice. As a developed project though, I find this album’s more casual tone & more intimate vibe sort of refreshing, in a way that’s very unique for an era generally defined by flashy music videos & gaudy showmanship.

Granted, much like their debut album, there’s still some flaws here – I think “The Occasional Flicker” kinda falls flat as an opening track, if only because it doesn’t really make its meaning super clear; the burning passion of his past are now nothing more than what the title suggests, but between a dull instrumental that doesn’t pick up too highly & a vocal performance that gets mixed down in a way that lessens the impact (& believe me, THAT is one of the bigger mixing problems here), it just doesn’t set a great opening tone. It’s not a bad track at all, and it does serve as a thematic entry to the whole album (lost passion & lack of self-importance due to the other struggles of the world, namely the ongoing Troubles in Ireland at the time), but as a musical beginning, it does set a bad tone, & one that probably turned a lot of people off.

“This Is What She’s Like” as a 12-minute followup probably shut the door for a lot of people, as on its very surface level, it is just Kevin yapping & blueballing his way out of describing the girl he’s with, but for some fucking reason, at least for my sensibilities, the whole thing reminded me of a Smiling Friends type conversation. You know the ones; Charlie & Pim just go on some weird aside that feels unnatural to a flowing TV show, yet would feel very natural in an actual controlled setting. This track is one of those weird asides, one that feels unnatural to the flow of the album, and yet, as an actual conversation & a loose attempt to describe indescribable love, it just kinda really hooked me in. Somehow, it fills up its 12 minutes well, and it worked for me.

“Knowledge of Beauty” is good. It reminds me a little of “Thousands Are Sailing” from that Pogues album we got a bit ago, if only for the emotional hook led on by love for one’s ancestors. The pacing is a little slow for a 7 minute track, but ultimately, I found myself compelled by what Kevin was talking about, even if his vocal delivery isn’t super compelling. “One of Those Things” is just “Sweet Home Alabama” but with Kevin’s frustrations over similar sounding music & anger at flippant dismissals of Ireland’s ongoing crisis behind it. It’s not a bad track at all, but it just never really hooked me in.

“Reminisce - Pt. 2” is alright. It’s just him doing some reminiscing, & while I question the decision to put a sequel to the B-side of a single from your last album onto the main tracklist of this one, it just feels endearing. “Listen To This” is pretty solid, with the whole regret over never saying “I love you” enough pretty potently expressed. Once again though, they REALLY needed to boost Kevin’s vocals in the mix to give it some of that emotional oomph, as without it, the track feels a lot flatter & not as effective.

“The Waltz” works as a closer; much in the same way that I could barely comprehend him on their debut album, I can barely comprehend the meaning here (apparently, it’s still a protest towards the UK’s involvement in Ireland). Much like their debut album though, Kevin’s vocal delivery sells the track & the sort of righteous anger that boils up throughout it, along with a slow swelling of a still casual (yet important-feeling) instrumental hit just the right nerve for me to enjoy the track. I don’t think it needs to be 8 minutes, but I wasn’t really opposed to it in the moment. It’s a good capper to the whole thing.

All of that said, it’s a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a 4. I don’t think it’s a super duper underrated gem or anything, but I see what they were going for with this album & I respect it. It’s obviously not the same ball of energy as their debut, and while we haven’t gotten “Too Rye Ay” yet, I imagine that album isn’t like this either. I kinda like that it isn’t though, and sticking out so beigely in a super flashy world & just wanting to speak your own truths to an audience that may or may not have given a shit, even sacrificing commercial success for it, is kind of admirable. I do think it’s a good album if you can allow yourself the patience to hear Kevin Rowland out, and for my tastes & sensibilities, I think it’s worth bumping up to a 4. I’m glad I heard it out, at least, and I’m glad it’s on the list.

What's up with all this silence?

Easy to see why they didn't make another album for 27 years. When there isn't a conversation taking place, the music dull or grating, and the vocals are obnoxious. Points for some cool piano parts.

1.5/5.0: Bad

the best of the three dexys albums on the list despite the copious amount of time that was straight up talking

I'm not really sure what I'm listening to. Is this a satire album on its era of pop? Is it genuine, or is it being ironic? I don't know, but for me it's not really doing much more than sounding distinct and pretty inoffensive.

Dexy’s Midnight Runners has to be the most blatantly overrepresented artist on the entire list. 3 albums is crazy for a band who most people would think of as a one hit wonder. Frankly, it pisses me off that this record was selected when it was a commercial and critical failure upon its release, and has seemingly little-to-no influence on culture.

I liked it well enough, though at times, I found it annoying or cynical. But it loses some points for simply not deserving inclusion on this list.

Finally got a Dexys album to see what they're all about. Unfortunately, they're not impressing me at all.

They're basically operate in one of two modes on this album.
Either they're chasing the sound from Come On Eileen, or they're making (What is to my ears) bog standard 80'd bar blues.

Like, they straight up ripped off Werewolves of London's riff for One of Those Things. Can we leave that poor song alone and stop sampling/ripping it off for a song that is nowhere near as good?

So yeah. Perfectly fine 80's bar blues, but that is not a genre that is going to get me excited for the music. Dexys probably belong on the list, but 3 albums is egregious. Just keep the album with Come On Eileen on the list and call it a day.