Don't Stand Me Down

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.

What a stupid voice. What a stupid idea to just chat over the music. What a stupid album.

No idea how this made the 1001 list.

This is the preeminent evidence of the British bias in Dimery’s 1001 list. One band member said the best thing about this album “ is that it got released at all.” It did so badly that the band broke up afterwards. I could repeat all the things JKav noted as issues. Instead I’ll focus on the vocals. They are awful. The frustrating part is I think they have OK voices if they would have used them properly. Instead there are intonations, affects, and strange noises throughout. Some of the music is decent, which is another sad aspect of this album. The final arrow of British bias is that inclusion of this album means that all 3 of Dexys Midnight Runners album from their original lifespan are on the 1001 list. Seriously? DMR are so good that 3/3 need to be included. I haven’t found one worthy of listening to yet.

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

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.

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).

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.

Is it obnoxious? Yeah. Did I have fun listening to it? Sometimes.

For years, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents have been in pursuit of "Dexy's Midnight Runners". Dexy, the famous amphetemine smuggler from London diversified his operations in 1980, moved to the sanctuary city of Los Angeles and started Dexy's Midnight Runners, LLC. Dexy was great at smuggling things, but in his heart he wanted to be a musician, except he wasn't so great at musician-ing. But, he had an idea... Dexy knew that he only needed a captive audience to listen to his songs about boring stuff. And, the best way to get an audience was to offer smuggling services to immigrants. See, they'd have no choice to listen to him sing as he led them through the night across the border and into California. However, it didn't work. This album, Don't Stand Me Down is based on the revolt that his caravan led against his music. Most of the caravan turned around and headed back down south rather than listening to his music. Dejected, Dexy moved back to the UK and became involved in peddling smut with a song about Eileen. The Brits loved that one and it took to the UK charts but never did much in the U.S. Excited about a potential tool to lower illegal immigration in the U.S., the Customs and Border Patrol have been trying to locate DMR to license their music. The thought being that if Dexy's music was piped through border speakers it'd make those who've travelled thousands of miles to escape poverty, political persecution, gangs and violence for a better life in the U.S. would be compelled to stop, turn around and rethink their choices. So far, Dexy has been mum on his intent to cooperate with the government. However, sources say that one of the sticking points in the recent budget proposal on Speaker Mike Johnson's desk includes a line item under Homeland Security for "DMRs auditory repulsion" and it's understood that "DMR" is in fact Dexy's Midnight Runners... Only time will tell if the U.S. will ever pass a budget and if that budget will include services by the elusive Dexy's Midnight Runners, LLC.

Carried by its occasional catchiness and theatrical elements but brought down by the conversational style of singing.

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.

Like finding a Rembrandt in your Grandmother’s garage

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's good music. But I'm just not convinced I needed to hear this before I die.

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.

Not surprised it was a failure when released

It absolutely boggles my mind that Dexy's Midnight Runners have ALL THREE of their albums on the 1001 Must Hear Albums list. That's a 100% batting average for a band that were barely more than a one hit wonder. 'Come On Eileen' isn't that great and isn't even on this record.   I really don't understand the way some people worship Kevin Rowland. He seems to me to be the King of Bad Decisions. For example, wikipedia suggest that he deliberately chose his strangely affected singing voice in order to be unique. It certainly is that, but also sounds shit. And the choice to radically change the band membership (cutting from ten to four members, one of whom left immediately after recording this album), and changing the sound radically from the previously successful model. Now, nobody would want to stifle a band's artistic growth, but you have to wonder about the choices here. The extended and aimless spoken word passages, the weird kludged together song suites, the lack of singles. It is easy to condemn the mercenary decisions of record companies to not support or promote records, but I have to say, in this case I agree with them. Everything fell apart for Kevin after this record career-wise and personally, and I feel for him. I certainly think the hate he received as a result of his "My Beauty" solo record in the late 90s had a disturbing undercurrent of trans- or homophobia. But in all fairness, it was a sincere but terrible record of naff cover versions, with a challenging choice of cover art. Another example of Kevin not really reading the room, methinks... This is not a lost masterpiece or hidden gem. It's a pretty shit record. Critics may champion it, but, in this case the record company and radio stations and buying public all had it pretty right; it's a crap album, best ignored. Objectively, it's a 1.5 or 2 star record, but I am so incensed by Dimery's audacity in putting it on the list, that I am going to give it 1 star. Fuck you, Dimery.

I like Dexys Midnight Runners, however this album has never stuck with me. I know a lot of fans consider it a misunderstood masterpiece, and there is good songwriting here, but Dexys seems to do everything they can to sabotage the album, such as songs being far longer than they should be, random pauses, and of course the spoken word segments. There is a good album in here but it's trapped under all these bafflingly poor choices.

I don’t usually question my participation in this project or its legitimacy…actually…who am I kidding, I’ve done nothing but that over the last two years…but the realization that Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ *entire discography* has made this list has me thrown. I’d be mad about it, but in 2.5 hours, I’m on vacation for 9 days and the Dexy’s aren’t going to bring me down.

Nein.

Vocalist went to the Bob Dylan singing school for the deaf

I really dislike the smug voice of this ass muppet

Just like track 2, "This is What She's Like"...I have nothing meaningful to say about this album. Boring.

Robert Dimery, the fact that you got your first BJ at a Dexys Midnight Runners concert doesn't mean that they deserve to have all three of their albums on the list. "Neglected masterpiece" my ass, fuck off. 0/5.

Can't believe how shit this is. Loads of guys mumbling at start tracks. Minutes of silence. Weird noise vocals. Come on dexys midnight runners

Any musical intrigue generated by this weird-ass album gets immediately dispelled by Kevin Rowland’s rambling, pointless conversations with his band mate in the middle of his songs. It’s not even spoken word poetry; it’s auditory litter. This does not belong.

Terrible stuff really, why is there so much talking!? It's crazy someone decided that was a good idea. They recorded it, listened back to it and said "yeah, love it leave it all on the album". So fucking annoying. Why is this on this list?! 1.5*

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.

Really easy to listen, I like it a lot.

I've always held "Come On Eileen" as one of the three quintessential one-hit-wonder songs of the 80's. It is perfect, and so I'm very curious to see what else is going on under the hood. What?! This song isn't even on this album?? Now I'm REALLY curious what they got going on on this album. "This Is What She's Like" is half-sung, half-spoken in the fashion of a lounge singer's approach while conversing with the audience, though the music is less "dark basement" and more "department store overhead speakers," specifically in the furniture section, until the throwback to Come On Eileen at the end where you exit the store to the overly glossy white floor tiles reflecting all of the neon lights of the mall food court as you make your way to get a you-so-deserve-this ice cream shake. I keep hearing "Come On Eileen" in these songs, even the "Werewolves of London" chord patterns of "One Of Those Things". There's something rollicking and simultaneously 50's and 80's in their sound. Though I only know the one song, The Boomtown Rats come to mind. I seriously had to look up if this was some sort artistic attempt to deconstruct "Come On Eileen" and re-write it into other songs. That's when I learned that the once 10-piece band was a four-piece by this, their third album, and that those other members left the group after recording the album. Maybe that influences my headspace some, but Don't Stand Me Down does seem to take the approach of a band who has one last thing to say, not really striving for a 3-minute radio hit or caring to capitulate to marketers or producers, and just doing whatever they feel like. "The Waltz" follows suit as the final swansong, a band's last brilliant flash before accepting their own demise. Passionate, heroic, proud in the face of being ignored, and beautifully sad. I believe it.

The singular genius of Kevin Rowland - I love how he interrupts himself, gives commentary on what he is singing about, lays himself bare. I love the muttered asides, and love that his reach exceeds his grasp - who could possibly achieve everything he has set out to do ? A deep listen.

A strange, unique and wonderful album. Glad I finally managed to listen to it.

Absolute Gold

Another great DMR album. I like it just as much as the first two DMR albums. score: 10/10.

cool

why is this in here hjahahahaha the most one hit wonder band of all time. Strange dudes tho so the album was fun I guess

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

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!

Don’t Stand Me Down I used to really like this album but haven’t listened in at least 15 years. I can totally see how it is a bit marmite, a bit like Kevin Rowland himself. And I suppose liking or disliking it will depend on your appetite for 12 minute part spoken word conversations, clear musical nicks, oddly crooned vocals and a slightly meandering spirit. Somehow though that all works for me, and I don’t get a sense of deliberate and performative eccentricity, more a sense of a distinctive and interesting voice making an album full of ideas and moments that sidestepped expectations and commercial imperatives post Come On Eileen. This is What She’s Like is probably the key track, and it either encapsulates what’s great about the band and this record or it sums up all there is to dislike about them. I’m of course on the side of liking it, from the conversational sections to the exuberant blue-eyed soul and celtic-soul fiddle led sections, it’s a great engaging and esoteric listen. With Dexy’s in general, there is a lot more to them under the surface than they get often get credit for I think, there’s a lot of craft and skill in their arranging, Knowledge in Beauty and The Waltz show this, with some great little parts on mandolin, lap steel and fiddle, and both these track create a great and slightly doleful country tinged atmosphere, a little like Nashville Skyline. One of Those Things shamelessly steals from Werewolves of London, and I think they retrospectively added Zevon as a songwriter, but I like the idea of nicking the riff and then saying all songs sound the same. And then I just generally enjoy their pop/rocksoul/irish/country blend, evident on stuff like Listen to This. While I don’t think it’s necessarily the great lost masterpiece that many critics seem to think it is, I do think it’s an excellent, quirky, engaging singular listen, full of wit, charm and a unique sensibility that does start to burrow into your consciousness after a while. ⏱️⏱️⏱️⏱️ Playlist submission: This is What She’s Like

Fascinating. Gorgeous production. Really interesting tracks. Not sure it's one I'll ever be able to listen to obsessively. But I'm going to keep trying.

Surprisingly decent. Unsurprisingly pretentious

It is ok…just ok. One of Those Things does sound like Werewolves of London

Reading reviews I also agree that the fact that all three of the band's albums being on the list is a bit ridiculous. I'm hoping this one is the worst of the three though, shame I got it first. This album is just deeply okay, not horrendous but not something I'd ever listen to again. Would have been happy giving it a three but it sounds unfinished in many places, the gaps in the middle of 7+min tracks give off the air of being still in the editing process.

Didn't need more Dexys tbh. Weirdly feted by some sections in the UK, but between Kevin's drone and *that* bastard song you hear at ever wedding, it's baffling they made this list once.

Not my thing musically and I don't dig the vocals for an entire album. Come On Eileen is fun at parties but it's not on this album. Not completely bad, but for me, definitely not "must hear before you die".

Is it a forgotten classic? Sorry Kevin, no it’s not.

This band did not need 3 albums on this list.

Not awful, but it's just not very interesting is it? Every song feels like it drags on forever, whether it's 12 minutes long or 3.

Ok, 3 albums by these guys is wild. They’re pretty much one hit wonders and they’ve already used up all their lightning in a bottle at this point. It’s no surprise they didn’t release a single off here, the only memorable track is Werwolves of London. A truly ridiculous inclusion to the list.

The music was uninteresting and the lyrics were incomprehensible.

Not for me

Some wonderful songs probably a 9 but the great songs carry it

Throw in a kid with a mullet and a crazy family pet and this album cover becomes 'awkward family photos.' But the music inside is really good. There are some deep tracks here that require multiple listens to absorb. Give this one a chance and don't read the negative reviews.

Hangulatoooos.

Three Dexys albums, three 5s from me! (And the fact they seem to infuriate a certain subsection of weenies doing the project is just sprinkles, as far as I'm concerned, heh 🍧) I was introduced to “This is What She’s Like” when the full video was played in the chillout tent of a festival I was at - it’s such a weird artifact, I instantly fell in love with it… Highly recommend you watch it if you haven't seen it before - it helps but all the pre- and mid-song chatting into context. Fave track - as well as the aforementioned, "One of Those Things" and "I Love You (Listen to This)" are both standouts. But really, this is a vibes album - do the whole thing.

Astonishing - one of my favourite albums.

Good find

Gorgeous. Beautifully produced, beautiful melodies, and very intimate vocals. Didn’t pay too much attention to the vocals (never really do on first listens bc I’m always trying to multitask) but will on another listen. Felt a little overindulgent the first few songs but that quickly became less and less of an issue. Glad I gave this one a chance

Who would have thought that Dexy’s Midnight Runners had so much material? I thought I recognised One Of Those Things on listening, but it’s apparently because it uses the same piano riff as Werewolves of London. I did enjoy this album. I’m not sure what it is about the vocals but I really like them. And the rest of the music ties everything together very enjoyably. It turns out I’m somewhat a fan of Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

Day462 - if you told me there would be two dexy midnight runner albums on this list and neither had come on eileen i’d say you are crazy. this is recorded like a live album which makes it interesting. they’re really talented, maybe they shouldn’t have got tagged as a one hit wonder

This is really fun and good music. Puts me in a good mood.

3.5

Spännande. Varierat. Ska lyssna mer. Fyra.

Great!

The cover gives off major sophisti-pop vibes, but the product is actually a well-crafted album of progressive blue-eyed soul tunes.

It wasgood

Interesting. I’ve never heard of this album nor heard any of the songs on it. I guess it was not promoted and no singles were released. I remember hearing that the lead singer was difficult and that there was a bunch of turnover in the band. I think the album is good and enjoyable but I’m not sure I’d put it on this list. I’ll listen to again especially the second song.

man what a rad album!

this is kind of like black country, new road for 80s office workers

Their best album by far, one thinks. Rich and bouncy and soulful, especially "What She's Like." But Pet Sounds for the '80s, it is decidedly not. They do like to the talky-chatty vocalizing, don't they, which can get a little tiresome even if it does help set an easy mood. And that's basically a ripoff of "Werewolves of London," right? Still, a pleasure to listen to overall. And not sure we still need the New Soul Vision, but one can get behind it nonetheless. Rounding up for a soft 4 because one's an Eire-ophile.

4+/5

Not as good as their other 2 albums but it’s still good.

Dexys Midnight Runners pushing their own boundaries by writing long-as-sin songs and playing around with song structures. It's still the same Runners to know and love from the first two albums but stretched out a bit more. Just as enjoyable as Too Rye Ay, but with more jamming than fully fleshed-out songs. Really the band is just faffing about, but they're excellent musicians and they're not taking themselves too seriously so it's a good time.

a neat album. my second dexys album of the project and i find i really like their style. they are very unapologetically british but their hooks are great and the music is quite sensible. this album i enjoyed a lot but there were some artsier and slower sections that i didn't care for as much. but when the horns and the fiddle hit on this, it's pretty great (like in the climax of 'the waltz'). i also really liked the title track, which has a fun interpolation of the piano riff from 'werewolves of london.' it's not my favorite album of all time, but i enjoyed it!

I guess they had to get mature after releasing an all time banger. Not bad but nothing to write home about.

I hadn't heard of them before. Fun album.

Skemmtileg og lúðaleg plata. Engir óþarfa hittarar eða neitt rugl. Bara 80's rokk, píanó, spjall og bull. Besta Dexy platan IMO.

Góð plata sem kom skemmtilega á óvart. Ekkert Come om Eileen stuð, heldur bara mjög þétt og góð lög með mikið af talsöng.

It took me a bit to get into this one. A colleague showed me the video fo This Is What She's Like and the album started to make more sense. I'll give this the benefit of the doubt and add it to my check out again later list. Fave: This is What She's Like

Don't Stand Me Down is the third album from Dexys Midnight Runners - the follow up to their incredibly successful second album, Too-Rye-Ay. This work was a commercial flop, and received little critical attention as a result. Dexys Midnight Runners made rich, orchestrated pop songs, with support from a string section and a horn section. Kevin Rowland, vocalist and driving force in the band, incorporates soul and Irish folk influences in his songs, which have an uplifting, energetic sound. Don't Stand Me Down is considered something of a "lost masterpiece;" a great album that flopped badly enough for the group to break up, and take 27 years before recording another album.

For someone who practically only knew DMR from “Come on Eileen”, listening to this album was a beautiful and very pleasant surprise. A solid 4 (and maybe I'm being a bit greedy here)

Weird but I love it

crazy that there’s two dexys midnight runners albums on this list but ngl this is pretty good

I’ve apparently been sleeping on Dexys this whole time. Another banger of an album. The attitude, the charm, the HORNS, all of it. Elements of new wave, soul, funk, maybe even some Motown influence. I don’t know man, they might be the most underrated artist on this list for me coming in. I’ve enjoyed both albums from them. For once I’m not complaining about the potential for a UK bias by the authors/editors of the books. This is just great. I didn’t love it like I loved the first one if there’s I got (“Searching for the Young Soul Rebels”), so they won’t get five from me this time. But a very happy four stars for this one. Gotta stop sleeping on them and wake up. Standout Tracks: The Occasional Flicker, Knowledge of Beauty, One of Those Things, Listen to This

delightfully inscrutable! esp as it seems like an artistic climax of an arc of which i only know the one big hit. extremely confident mix of new wave and soul and stretches of spoken word to create something ornate and at times melodically decadent but somehow super casual...like its simply giving voice and form to a bunch of thoughts of no consequence. ends up feeling deceptively huge by the end, some rly great arrangements help a lot with that but i think more than anything its that even if something is small, it ends up feeling like it Matters, somehow, or should at least be treated as such

Kind of a weird mix. But somehow I liked a lot of the songs. Come on Eileen is obviously a banger. Maybe my rating of this is just so high because Spotify played that song so often, because I think it outshines the rest of the album by far.

Voða kjút plata.

I really enjoyed this. The songs are probably a bit too long, but the last 1:00 to 1:30 of basically every song is fantastic.

Af hverju voru Dexy's að gefa út spoken word (góð íslensk þýðing óskast) plötu árið 1985? Hvers vegna fóru þau í jakkaföt og dragt? Og hví í ósköpunum virkar þetta svona vel strax við aðra hlustun? Ég fíla þetta svona líka vel og ég veit ekki alveg af hverju.

I HATE "Come On Eileen," but it turns out that they're pretty good songwriters. Every now and then this album threatens to go into "Eileen" territory, but, thankfully, it never commits.

Surprised. I thought another Dexys Midnight Runners!?! But then I listened. Surprise!

It's a lot more ambitious and odd than prior efforts. I don't love it as immediately but I feel like I'd fall for it over time.

4.0

I can't really explain why but I quite enjoyed that. I would only know Dexys from the hits and I can't say I'm a massive fan of his voice. But the confidence to give this the space they have, the still strong pop hooks and melodies and the overall feel sucked me in. A surprising treat.

I like Dexys, but I'd never heard this before. I believe Searching for the Young Soul Rebels and Too-Rye-Ay are also on this list, so I'm saving my 5s for them. This is a solid 4 though.

Three is too many albums from these guys on the list, but I did like this one the best out of them. They're better mellow instead of hyper.

It's a puzzling album... I'm genuinely not sure if I like it or not? Didn't expect Bearwood to be mentioned.