Don't Stand Me Down is the third studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 by Mercury Records. The album was released three years after their second album, the internationally successful Too-Rye-Ay. At the time, Dexys' lineup had been pared down from ten members to just four: vocalist/guitarist Kevin Rowland, guitarist Billy Adams, violinist Helen O'Hara, and saxophonist Nick Gatfield, the last of whom left the band after the recording sessions were completed. These four members are pictured on the original album cover in suits (and, for the men, ties), in what Rowland referred to as an "Ivy League" or "Brooks Brothers" look. The album was a commercial failure upon release, and its rejection by both critics and the public resulted in the group's disbandment in 1987. The album was later described as a "neglected masterpiece" by Uncut, and was selected as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Okay, c’mon! Three fucking Dexys Midnight Runners albums on this list?!? That is too much!! They have 1 exceptional one hit wonder and the rest is pure shite. We’ve discussed this already, topic fucking closed now alright!
From the reviews I read on this site, I understand there are two other Dexys albums on here, almost certainly SFTYSR and Too-Rye-Ay. This is the best of the three, and I love the other two. This is Rowland's "Tusk", the freak following the hit. I have to rush off to see the Taylor Swift Eras film tonight, so I cannot write an essay about how Rowland absorbs Van Morrison, the Beach Boys, golden age rock n roll and Christ knows what else before surpassing them all, or how he - along with Marvin Gaye - is the master of the chaotic concept album, or his tremendous sense of humour (he doesn’t speak Italian, but he knows a man who does), or his possession of one of the most marvellously distinctive singing voices that yet stays true to his upbringing, or his unique mix of softness and machismo. I can, however, apologise for insulting other reviewers in an early draft of this review. I am sorry that I referred to you as “ cloth-eared, verse-chorus-verse dingleberries”, or “the reason why most music is boring”, and I’m especially sorry to the chap who described this as “pub rock” for calling him “uniquely cretinous”. Forgive me. Hugs!
Another album by these guys? THREE?! Fuck, ok. Oh fucking hell was the singing this annoying before?? Just more dumb English pub rock. Fuck off for crying out loud. 1/5.
Man, their previous record was so fun, but this just sounds like they are trying to do Elvis Costello, and succeeding even more poorly than he does.
I used to love this album. I still do, but I used to also. My favorite of Dexy's classic trio and that's saying something. "This Is What She's Like": 12 minutes of rambling conversation and interjection with Kevin steadfastly refusing to answer the question, yet answering it perfectly. Why was this not a giant hit in 1985? Feargal Sharkey was more concise, I guess "Knowledge Of Beauty" (the better title, btw): building to "... if I need strength to take bad on..." is Rowlands best vocal performance in my opinion, stupendous. Almost rivaled here by the latter part of "The Waltz" "One Of Those Things": Fuck Kid Rock, this is how you rip off Warren Zevon "Reminisce Pt II": Lola is by far the better choice Any record where "Well, you know how the English upper classes are thick and ignorant" is sung as a lilting air deserves a solid 5*. A misunderstood masterpiece
Ugh - a bunch of mumbling and little song. They sound like they’re going to break out into come on Eileen at every corner but maybe it’s a good thing they don’t, but maybe it could have made this record bettter? Still better than the other Dexy album on the list but that’s not saying much.
Carried by its occasional catchiness and theatrical elements but brought down by the conversational style of singing.
No idea how this made the 1001 list.
When one thinks of Dexys Midnight Runners, one thinks of the country bumpkin, fiddle playing romantics at heart who just had that one song that's played at most 80s parties and never be heard from again. Which was what most people expected after 1983. What they didn't understand is that Dexys Midnight Runners are an adaptable bunch, willing to change at a whim to suit the musical ambitions of one Kevin Rowland and it was he who decided to take a radical new approach with their look and sound regardless of what the public wanted. The result is Don't Stand Me Down. Don't Stand Me Down is a work of art. It is a forgotten, oft neglected masterpiece that best encapsulated where they were going and what they were going to do. Surely, the press didn't appreciate it and the band didn't help matters by petering out altogether. But, in time, this album's genius would be acknowledged and rectified. Dexys are already a divisive enough band as it is, but you cannot mistake this for a lesser effort. The definition of a hidden gem.
It is ok…just ok. One of Those Things does sound like Werewolves of London
Is it obnoxious? Yeah. Did I have fun listening to it? Sometimes.
It's good music. But I'm just not convinced I needed to hear this before I die.
No, it is not a “neglected masterpiece” or “lost treasure” or “towering achievement”. This was unsuccessful because it just isn’t good enough. Too much talking and not enough singing. The music and songs are there, but overlong and disjointed with the talky bits. Given the brilliance of the previous two Dexy’s Midnight Runners albums, I’m very disappointed with this even if I’m left with one or two ear-worm melodies (just adds to my overall disappointment).
Not for me
This does not work for me. The voice bugs me a lot. Hard pass. The redeeming quality of this album is how brief it is. Not for me. Voice doesn't sit right with me, and even if you removed the voice, you'd be left with some mediocre weather channel music.
Theres a right and a wrong way to do theatrical music, and this definitely does it wrong. Why exactly is this on the list? Especially over a bunch of albums that are both really good and have proven to be super influential.
This was so much fun I adore this album. This is the favorite album yet. I love how it’s just a series of conversations between friends about various topics, but all of them are deeper than they seem, at least in my opinion. Love this album!
Like finding a Rembrandt in your Grandmother’s garage
10/10 I’ve now heard 3 albums by this band and am absolutely obsessed with each one, but if you put a gun to my head asked for what the band’s name is, I don’t think I’d be able to tell you
Have always heard this highly praised, along with the two other big Dexys records, for very different reasons. But never heard this one. Was initially baffled by all the talking, and the extremely quiet talking and singing at first leading me to turn up the volume ridiculously and getting blasted when the song bursts in. I also thought he was saying she was intermittent at first, which I thought was an odd characteristic for a person to have. But once I've settled into This is What She's Like I am fully on board here. Slow burn, mood, warmth, it's majestic really. I think this is a good set of headphones record for sure.
Very stylish album and great to listen to after all this time. Love it.
Really good! The Occasional Flicker is my favourite.
Surprisingly good.
Solid but same-y
Bueno, me encantó este disco! Tremenda la variedad de instrumentos y arreglos. Nosé como explicarlo, es como Abbey Road o Revolver con un cantante tipo el de CAKE que en partes habla. (Hasta podría haber puesto un 5).
enjoyable
This was a really good album, have been aware of Dexys work but not this. Will listen again.
Delightful. The full-Reagan (or Thatcher, I guess) album cover got me, and the ridiculous name. I'm here for it all - that weird 80s voice lots of people did, being a million miles from U2 and bands like Rush, talking through the songs, the heavy British accents, the surprising instrumentation (steel guitar!) - all of it, a breath of fresh air after a few heavy lifts.
Unusual one, lots of spoken word, but not poetry, more like conversation with a background track. Speaker sounds like Noel Gallagher, which makes it quite pleasant.
What a fun album! It's so much better, in my opinion of course, than other records by Dexys Midnight Runners. Every song is very entertaining, this album must have been awesome to hear live on concerts. I like the vocalist, he has a really unique voice, but so is the sound of the band, it's really hard to compare it to anything. Very solid position on this list.
Listen To This musiquita parecida a LHR.
Listen To This musiquita parecida a LHR.
I wish Dexy's was bigger in America. They were a great act. But this isn't amazing or anything.
Standouts: Kevin Rowland's 13th Time, One of Those Things. 3/5
álbum decent 3.
Not as bad as I thought it would be but the bar was pretty low
L'album s'est perdu
Not so bad.
A very generous 3 stars
Dexys Midnight Runners - Don’t Stand Me Down It's hard for me to listen to this album knowing they are the band that is considered a “one hit wonders” releasing one of my all time favorite songs “Come on Eileen”. This is a song that evokes memories of little me watching the music video on MTV when I was very young (maybe dancing a little too!) and many nights singing it with my friends in bars. I never knew this band did anything else or really cared to find out. Love the albums cover. Invokes many questions with a certain uncomfortableness to me. Upon first listen to the album, I found myself enjoying it and also disliking it throughout. I loved aspects of the song “This is what she likes” but hated the opening talking (and continued talking throughout the album - as I could not understand what was being said & it just kind of irritated me. (I don’t mind spoken words on albums but this seemed off to me) Come on Eileen seemed to sneak through to me on this song. “One of those things” seems a complete rip off of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolf's of London” which is a great song! I think this album wanted to give the middle finger to someone, probably the record industry and music company, offering not much radio friendly songs or singles. Seemed almost theatrical. Also, I think it was a story, maybe something about his life and girlfriends but I never really cared to find out and it was not coherent enough to understand on first listen. I am glad I listened but nothing on the album would have me want to listen again, to disjointed & a little frustrating. But “come on Eileen” is with me forever!
Good but there are better Dexys albums out there
Just a thought but when the band's a one hit wonder perhaps 1001 should include only the album with the one hit. There are some nice jams like "One of Those Things" but nothing original or ground breaking.
2nd Listen Dexys Midnight Runners from England 1985 New Wave, Blue Eyed Soul Standouts: Knowledge is Beauty, My National Pride, One of Those Things, Reminisce Part Two, The Waltz The slow soulful songs are really the gems on this album. 3.5/5
Quite a curiosity... the long compositions with their interstitial dialog bits. There is solid material, it's interesting to get more of this band than just "the hit," but it didn't quite pull it off for me.
Album 201 of 1001 Dexys Midnight Runners - Don't Stand Me Down Rating : 3 / 5 Favorite Track : This is What She's Like More detailed story of this album is below. Wasn't really sure why this was on here, but then I listened and enjoyed it very much. This band went from international stardom with a 10 member band to a low key 4 member band in only a couple of years. Then they were gone. We all think of Too-Rye-Ay and to many that is all they ever did. This is a fine album. Too bad it was pretty much forgotten. Don't Stand Me Down is the third studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners, released in September 1985 by Mercury Records. The album was released three years after their second album, the internationally successful Too-Rye-Ay. At the time, Dexys' lineup had been pared down from ten members to just four: vocalist/guitarist Kevin Rowland, guitarist Billy Adams, violinist Helen O'Hara, and saxophonist Nick Gatfield, the last of whom left the band after the recording sessions were completed. These four members are pictured on the original album cover in suits (and, for the men, ties), in what Rowland referred to as an "Ivy League" or "Brooks Brothers" look. The album was a commercial failure upon release, and its rejection by both critics and the public resulted in the group's disbandment in 1987. The album was later described as a "neglected masterpiece" by Uncut, and was selected as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Good not great
It's pretty good, but the songs are too long and there's too much random talking during the songs that is pretty annoying. Ironically the song where they sing about all songs sounding the same (One of Those Things) is a direct rip-off of Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon, which came out a few years earlier. 3 stars.
In tegenstelling tot jullie allemaal vond ik dit wel ok. Al zingt hij (of zij?) dan als Cher.
Based off the first song: What a strange singer. 4th song in: It's certainly interesting. It has good instrumentation, very 80s, and it reminds me of Dave Mathews at times, but, ultimately, not for me. Last Song in: I hate to admit it, but if the singer's voice annoys me, it's really hard for me to enjoy the rest of the band. His intonation and falsettos really bugs me. It's hard for me to pinpoint it to a certain element of it. It's Tay Zonday, but without the awkward charm.
Langweilig
Never blew me away but solid
Several years ago, I attended an open house at Artspace, a building that housed many arts groups in the city. On one of the floors, a band was performing to a group of enthusiastic people jam packed into a small space. The band broke out into a cover of Dexy's, Come On Eileen, a song I like, but never really grabbed me, but this band played such a raucous version of the song that gave off an energy I had never felt from the song and transported it into a memorable experience and now I love the song. Many consider that song to be a "one-hit wonder" for Dexys Midnight Runners, but the album it was on, Too-Rye-Ay and their debut, Searching For The Young Soul Rebels are good, solid records. Listening to their third album, Don't Stand Me Down leads me to wonder if the band ran out of ideas or if they were trying too hard to recreate the magic of Eileen. On a couple of the songs, it seemed like they were going to break out into Come On Eileen with similar sounding musical phrases and, One of Those Things sounds more like, Werewolves Of London than Kid Rock's embarrassing cover of the song. The conversation/talking/mumbling through many of the songs was annoying, especially during (the way too long...over 12 minutes!), This Is What She's Like, which is otherwise a decent song. When they get down to actually singing songs, it's not bad, but overall they produced better albums and can't understand why this album made the list? Now come on...Eileen!
Again, trust the people back then. Don't let nostalgia add meaningless sweetness that wasn't there at all.
Good listen, enjoyed the songs and the way it flowed
This album was unusual but all the better for it. And so fresh - if you had told me it was released this year I would have believed you. But it’s nearly 40 years old. Wow.
Dexy's Midnight Runners have clearly studied the music that came before them. I can hear elements of folk rock, jazz rock, the Beach Boys, and a whole lot of doo wop and early R&B. Their instrumentation and production is very clean as well. Unfortunately, while the synthesis is excellent, it comes off as a bit sterile. I think if they had added a bit of post-punk experimental flavor it would have come off as more exciting and groundbreaking.
Pop. Soul.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: This is what she’s like, Listen to this
One of those things sounded just like sweet home Alabama. Pleasant album to have on in the background
It's fine. The introspective talking doesn't work for me, but the songs themselves are have a mellow, sincere vibe that is okay. One of Those Things is weird to me as i can only hear a Bob Seger riff on repeat which in this context makes me want to move to the next song. Generally inoffensive.
2.8/5 - Its got some heart and good musicians. But i had to remind myself i was listening to music a few times which also led me to relistening to those songs.
Kind of like Dexys overall, but the album is a bit flat. No standout tracks like other albums, but it's not bad.
What happens when you drop 60% of your band between albums? You lose some of the ebullience and chaos that made you such fun to listen to. Some poignant and beautiful tunes but missing the sense of good old-fashioned hijinks of the first two albums.
Not as fun as their other album in the 1001.
Rock mais classique !
I prefer this band when he's not singing, his mumbling doesn't add much to the mix either. All the tunes were reminiscent of other things. I was pretty sure I was listening to a pastiche of 'Werewolves of London' at one point.
Meh. Not my favorite. Skipped through some songs. 2/5
Talvez seja um pop datado.
vraiment pas terrible désolée robert smith
Outside of the great musicianship, I can't get behind how long the majority of these songs are. As well as having to wait 2 whole minutes for a song to start before they decide to stop mumbling small talk to each other. This ain't it.
Do we really need three Dexys albums on the list? It's not that exciting..
Pretty lackluster, one or two good songs. Definitely don't understand why this made it on the list.
Why is this on the list? Commercial and critical failure, nothing really new about it. The random bits of mumbled conversation aren't interesting or endearing (leave the skits to the rappers), the tracks are too long (even if the album is mercifully short), and his voice shifts from decent in some places to tuneless in others. I think on one track he does an Elvis impression. But it does have some moments of interest and isn't totally unlistenable. 2/5.
Poor all round. Even the cover is shit
Where the fuck are the denim bib overalls? Apparently one person, who's probably a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, decided this is something of a "neglected masterpiece" and the music press just ran with it. And now this band somehow has, ahem, THREE albums on this list. Just for comparison sake, that's as many as Nirvana. Fleetwood Mac has two. Bob Seger has NONE. Are we sure this band needs more than one? The best song on this album admittedly rips off Warren Zeavon's "Werewolves Of London". But it's OK, because Zeavon and his co-writers were given credit on a song for an album that sold about as well as Mein Kampf in a Synagogue. Oh, and guess who many albums Warren Zeavon has on the list?
What a stupid voice. What a stupid idea to just chat over the music. What a stupid album.
Moyen, un toune sort du lot et j'ai cru comprendre que c'était un One Hit wonder... Qu'est-ce que ca fait dans cette liste ? je sais pas mais a 975 album d'écouts, je pense que je pourrais trouvé un 100 d'album meilleur qui pourrait prendre la place. 2.15
Cool to hear a one hit wonder’s full project. Not blown away I gotta say
Caught myself thinking "Why is it even on this list" and "when is it over?". Managed to listen to the whole thing, though.
This was a completely uninteresting new wave album. It wasn't outrageously bad, but why is it exactly on this list? Especially when I've jut realised that such utterly beautiful, one-in-a-kind albums like Vashti Bunyan's Just Another Diamond Day is not on the list.
3 Dexys Midnight Runners LPs on 1001? Really? And this one was ignored by fans and critics alike.
This album does really nothing for me. And I'm really curious why this has been exonerated later in life.
2.5
A very boring album
Didn't like this. Seemed like an entire album of Come On Eileen B-Sides.
I enjoyed the first Dexy's album. This one much less so, not sure what they are trying to achieve, but whatever is they don't.
Geht so
Third Dexys Midnight Runners album I'm getting here, one might think they're the next Led Zeppelin or something. They're not, and this album is not, either.
A sense of a band running on fumes here. Overlong tracks, several spoken word ruminations, arrangements that seem like more tortured versions of what seemed natural in the first two albums...I'm not buying the 'overlooked classic', but the well running dry. Having said that, Listen To This is a lovely callback to the northern soul stomping of their debut. Not enough for three stars though.
Loooooooooooooonnnnnnnnngggggggg soooooooooooooooonnnnnnnggggggssssssss because whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Very weird. I don’t get it, but I also don’t like it.
Some truly dire shite. 3 full albums is way too much for a band with (barely) a single hit.
Maybe I’m just hearing what I want to hear or maybe those horn players really love the Come on Eileen motif
Overly ambitious in the worst way possible. Self-important, rambly, and not very interesting.
Weird and zany, which I normally like, but I just couldn't get into this.
This is what she's like is not too bad, when there's actually music. I don't know about the rest of it, though. Twelve plus minutes? Followed up with a seven minute song? ugh
Didn't enjoy very much. No wonder band was a one hit wonder. Come On Eileen!
Glad to see I’m not alone in thinking that this band only deserve one album on this list and it’s not this one. A band that is considered a one hit wonder shouldn’t have three albums on a list of 1000 albums in the history of music. Talk about crazy pills. Let’s move on. This list is becoming tougher each day. But overall it’s okay, just British pop stuff. One song sounded like it just took werewolf of londons instrumentals. 4.3/10
Although the album didn't start out with much room for hope, 'This is What She's Like' was a nice twist as the second track. It's got a bit of the old Come on Eileen vibe but is entirely unique. Muscially, the horns and piano work very well here even though the spoken word throughout made it feel like a hot take or just studio chatter. 'One of Those Things' seems very derivative of Warren Zevon grabbing the melody of 'Werewolves of London' in part. The repeated line: "They all sounded the same." is a little ironic here. Again with the chit chat which by now is becoming a little wearisome. Once we hit 'Reminisce', the spoken word vocals have become really intolerable. All the elements together make you wonder if there was a plan here or just that someone hit record on a garage jam session. 'Listen to this' gets much better, again with terrific horns and piano masking in part the less agreeable moaning vocals. By the time we drag ourselves across the finish line, it's like someone (the lead singer) has finally drained the last drop from a massive bottle of gin and is nearly about to pass out. Overall, displeasing with pops of niceness.
This was not a good album. I am not sure why this group has three albums on this list. They had one good song on a completely different album. I do not get it. The album was entirely forgettable. It is better than a one but not really a 2. I will round up.