Don't Stand Me Down

I can see why folks could like this album, there are sparks of greatness that just never quite deliver. I keep wanting to get into a song, and then it veers away meandering off into the night.

Awful

When I got my first Dexy's album, I questioned how it made it onto the list and I erred on the fact that the catchy "Come on Eileen" was on it and that was why. This second album was even more brutal. Songwriting? Terrible. Instrumentation? garbage. Ripping off "Werewolves of London"? Check. Overall pretty bad

Three?

Annoying music. I really tried, but couldn’t make it to the end because it irritated me so much.

It’s not for me. I can tell it’s really talented. I just couldn’t really connect to it.

I don't think Dexy needs so many albums on this list, but i don't regret listening to any of them. This one is the weakest of the bunch though.

I was confused when I got this album. I was pretty sure I already got a Dexys Midnight Runners album a few months back and was positive it had Come On Eileen on it. There was no way this band deserved another spot on this list but maybe I was confusing it with a different 80's one hit wonder. They do tend to run together after 500+ of them. So I sat and patiently waited for Come on Eileen. And waited. And Waited. It never came. Turns out I was correct, I had previously gotten the album with that on it, and somehow a one hit wonder band got not one, not two but three separate albums on here, despite the fact that 99.8% of people could probably only name one of their songs. Not only that but the rest of their discography isn't even that good. At least I will remeber for when that third album of their's pops up. 3/10

A bit slower paced than something like Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, but still decent enough. 3.5 bumped up to 4.

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 the hell's up with the mumbling chatter all over this album? It's either mumbling you can't understand or caterwauling. And the song, One Of Those Things, is a rip-off of Werewolves of London. What a complete waste of resources to make this crap.

This album certainly exists and it was one of the ones I’ve now listened to. I didn’t hate it, didn’t love it.

Another one of those fairly baffling selections in the 1001. It's not bad, but it certainly doesn't rise to the level of greatness. There are many other records from many other artists that are more worthy of inclusion.

so much talking

Another mediocre British rock band. Yippee. Too much talking throughout the entire album. And when the singer isn't talking I can barely understand what he's singing. Two stars. (Favorite track: Knowledge of Beauty.)

music for the pub

Goofy. Not much to say.

Not sure what I hated more: the talking or the singing. Come On Eileen it ain’t.

Rubbish Simpsons: Yes

I don't get it

Kind of hoping this is the last dexys album in this list

This was a really odd experience...I actually cringed for the lead singer throughout the album. It reminded me of a bad high school performance where you actually feel bad for the kid performing because they were given a song or part they didn't have the skills to do, but are forced to perform in front of an entire gym of people and struggle the whole time. The band was good, but for some reason he was singing in slow motion and with a mouth full of marbles. That could be how he sings but it just didn't work. Then all the random quiet/silent openings and then the talking parts, like they were forced to make the album over 40 minutes long so they just filled in randomness. It felt like they were tired and out of ideas but were contracted and forced to make an album so they put this together. They knew it wasn't good and didn't work for their band but they didn't have a choice.

I’m surprised by how much I don’t like this considering I loved the last Dexy’s album we had on here. His voice sounds way too forced and the songwriting is sludgy. Pass! 2.5/5

"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." An album so terrible it made the band break up. So of course it made this list! The one decent song imo is One of Those Things, where they obviously rip off Werewolves of London, though it does sound like they admitted to that in 1997. I get the sense they knew what a mess they were making and chose to embrace the mess. Or maybe they truly thought this was great. And who's to say it's not, I'm just one opinion in a very subjective world. Either way, it had a few ok-ish moments but was mostly a cringe fest to me. And good grief, do a little self editing! Way too much going on and the vocals were hard to stomach in most of these too.

I’m just not even remotely on the same wave length as these guys. I’m a "shitty voice" lover, but I just can’t get into this guy’s warbling. Feeling blessed that this is my last DMR album.

2.5 stars

I really appreciate the live band feel here. Performances are tight. But I don’t entirely vibe with this. The vocals first off are absolutely ridiculous and distracting, but I suppose that’s a matter of personal taste. Also, the dead sections of dialogue/band banter were unnecessary to include and took me out of the moment.

Not really notable

His voice sounds like he’s trolling us… But the album wound up being ok. Just nothing special to me honestly.

Vergeten dat ik niet eerst reviews moet lezen voor het luisteren, nu was ik ook steeds aan het wachten op Come On Eileen. De eerste helft kan ik alleen maar omschrijven als 'gezellig', daarna heb ik het wel een beetje gehad met z'n stem vooral. Had best dood kunnen gaan zonder dit album te horen.

Hell yea de 80s! Slim fit business suits met brede stropdassen en cocaine! Praatzingen! Saxophoons en piano's! Kneiterhard overgeproduceerde cleane sound! Ik heb me vermaakt

Ik word agressief van deze plaat. Met name omdat ik meermaals per nummer denk dat het uitbarst in ‘Oooooh come on Eileen’. Verder doet het niks met me. Misschien zit er iets in de teksten, maar daar ligt mijn focus niet. En HOE KUN JE je albumafsluiter 8 minuten laten duren en er een fade out van een halve seconde opgooien? Was de studiotijd op?

Know your classics i guess. Wel leuk maar niet speciaal

It’s not a bad record, but 80s Brit pop just isn’t my lane. A lot of it hit me like theater kid soul music, super dramatic, super committed, and the vocalist gets into this borderline yodel thing on a few tracks that kept pulling me out of it. That said, I’ll give it this: the little “Werewolves of London” nod was pretty slick, that was the one moment where I was like “okay, that’s fun.”

I didn't really care for the overly long empty intros making some of the songs really long. Also one of those things reminded me of werewolves of london which came out earlier so kind of disappointed because i wanted that song instead.

Solid

Meh.

Dancing with my lover in a pub / getting my life back together montage. Big band big joy, live atmosphere.

good to hear what they made other than come on eileen

I didn’t get much from this. I like his voice and I don’t mind the tracks I just couldn’t for the life of me see what it was trying to do or why.

Meh

80's chud from a one hit wonder group. I'd give it one star if it didn't have some okay grooves.

Sometimes this list feels like it was made exclusively for British guys who were 16 years old in 1984.

It is pretty rare for me to dislike every song on an album

What's up with all this silence?

The muttering. The awful Werewolves of London ripoff. This is pretty dreadful.

Yeah... nah.

i don't mind the places this goes but i think i would have much more tolerance for it if it didn't take forever getting there

i really dug that! a lot of fun, good songwriting, a nice little warren zevon riff... whats not to like?

Guy sounds like Brian Ferry. I don’t like Brian Ferry. Incredibly indulgent production. Unlistenable.

love this album!

I liked the music, but his vocals are a lot

Eh

It couldn't keep my attention

This is the follow-up to the one with Come On Eileen. On release, it was universally panned and was such a flop that DMR broke up. That was the right decision as this is by far the most boring and pointless album on the list so far. There are been absolutely awful albums but they were at least interesting enough to hate. This is the aural equivalent of watching primer dry. It’s not even colorful paint, just a neutral on a neutral. For some reason, the English music press belatedly decided no, actually this is a masterpiece. Of what? The most inoffensive sounds ever committed to tape? This is the saddest, limpest, whitest version of black music since Pat Boone covered Tutti Frutti. But you know what, that's unfair to Pat because at least he could sing

Very underrated band. Their mixture of rock, soul, pop and everything in between is so unique and just hella fun. There is so much passion, energy and just pure joy. They have a lot of instrumental talent as well. The playing all throughout this album comes together so well. I love how they incorporate some less usual instruments too - there's some trumpets, trombones and others. The songs are mostly quite long but they manage to keep things interesting with a lot of diversity and musical switchups. One moment you get some funky soul, then it hits you with a spoken monologue over some acoustic guitars. The 12-minute This is What She's Like is this album's opus and shows everything I love about it.

This album was a pleasant surprise. I never knew Dexy’s Midnight Runners had this kinda range. I felt like this album would be amazing to hear in full live. With all the variety of instruments, the lead singer doing the spoke word sections plus the length of songs. I feel like it would be otherworldly.

There’s no call for three Dexys albums on this list.

The spoken conversations don't work but there is still enough to make this a good album. But would I buy it full price? no but I'd pick it up second hand. Great cover photo

What is this abomination? From punchy early Dexy's to bloated 12min songs, talking at random times, strange moments of over worked vocals, inane chatter, moments of great Dexy's hooks and then back to the fucking talking. Never again will I bother with this dross.

++: The Occasional Flicker, One of Those Things, Reminiscence Part Two, Listen to This +: Knowledge of Beauty, This Waltz +-: This Is What She's Like 7,0/10

I’d like to go back in time to when and where the first person of the late 70s or early 80s decided to use the stupid Dracula voice for singing and stab them in the heart with a stake. We didn’t need three of these.

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

This is genuinely so mid it’s annoying.

Was torn on this one - another mid-80s British rock album from a band I've never heard of, which was a commercial failure upon release but re-evaluated as "a towering achievement... a Pet Sounds for the 1980s" I really didn't care for the interstitial conversation, but some of the music was really good. I guess I'm glad I listened to it before I died?

Faktisk ikke så ille. Fengende engelsk rock.

fun album.

I dug that WZ sample. The rest was alright.

Had never listened to this, and god I love it. Yeah, maybe the on-mic conversations are a bit indulgent, and there didn't need to be so much of it, but damn, it's great. Definitely the best Dexys album. Been on repeat all day.

kind of perfectly illustrates why they’re a one-hit-wonder

Okay this really grew on me. Started off a little weird, then this is what she’s like evolved and was long and was the turning point mid song. Frankie goes to Hollywood. Knowledge of beauty was a great track, one of those things fantastic. Then I was hooked. Ended up enjoying, 3.5/5.

Long ass songs but nice tho

A bizarre collection from a long standing group of 80s pioneers.

What the.... Liked the last song but rest was rambling nonsense. Music itself was OK.

Weird but it grew on me. Not sure I’d come back to it

Before: The only thing I know from them is Come On Eileen, which I do like, but also find a little annoying. I'm not optimistic. During: The Occasional Flicker, this is awful. This Is What She's Like, wow, 12+ minutes, what was the point of that? Knowledge Of Beauty, awful?, not sure, it has it's moments. One Of Those Things, oh I've heard this before, Werewolves Of London. At least I found a song to add to my playlist "one of these things is a bit like the other". Maybe I'll rename it "One Of Those Things isabitliketheother" in honor of this album. After : I didn't like a single song on this album, but I don't hate it, so I'm giving it a 2. I won't be relistening to see if it grows on me. Well, maybe I'll give it another try in 10 years.

de super lange praat stukken zijn verschrikkelijk, de zing stukken zijn iets minder verschrikkelijk

Wodee dees is saai. 2 van de nummers zijn letterlijk gwn de bandleden die praten met een bas eronder gezet???

Eurgh

Interesting, but I not a huge fan of the lead singer's voice

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.

Pretty cool album. Who doesn’t need another Werewolves In London rip off?

Was just not in the mood for this. Snoozefest.

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.

Pretty good album, but hasn't aged well in my opinion. Listen to One Of Those Things and not think about Werewolves in London, I dare you.

Wtf is up with all the whispering/quiet space… terrible listening experience. I thought Come On Eileen was a one hit wonder and maybe it should have been…?!?

Who knew they had a song other than Come On Eileen much less a whole album without it. Know wonder they're known as a one-hit wonder.

Second Dexys Midnight Runners album, and the final in their included discography. I'm surprised these guys have three list albums. That's every album in their discography by the time the 1001 Albums book released, which is kind of insane. It hasn't been too long since my last album from these guys - about 80 or so since I listened to Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, which I remembered thinking was alright. There was a bit of an exotic influence on that album, if I'm remembering correctly. I think it was reggae/dub, which made for a tolerable listen but one I haven't felt compelled to the return to. Here's hoping this album is different. I'm not sure what I've just listened to. This is a strange, strange album. I guess it's new wave, but I can't put my finger on what this album is trying to be beyond that. The first half of this album dicks around aimlessly with the insultingly pointless "This is What She's Like" among other tracks that feature a lot of dead air. The second half is random Americana music, including a "Werewolves of London" sample with some incredibly lazy songwriting and assorted rambling plastered on top. The extremely English vocals don't do much for me, but I wasn't invested in this music enough to be put off by it. An overall dull and draining listen, but one I was content to let wash over me. Book time. "...Pet Sounds for the 1980s." Cycled through a lot of producers during the creation cycle. Ignored by critics. Unsuccessful with the public. It isn't looking too good for this album. Wikipedia says more than half of the band left after the release of their previous album. The failure of this album lead to the remaining band members leaving. The frontman refused to create any publicity for the album. If there's any silver lining, the album has received a very mild critical reappraisal in the time since release. I mean, what can I say? Its been a while since I've come across an album which demonstrably doesn't belong here. It seems to me like their second album is the only one that matters and the rest of their inclusions have coasted by on a nepotistic English bias. We're snubbing this one. In place of this album, I humbly submit Viva La Woman by Cibo Matto for inclusion on the list.

8,5/10

не очень запоминающийся (но с прошлого тоже только Айлин и помню) но одна песня очень похожа на что-то другое популярное. теория: вся западная музыка похожа. но не критический провал как современники писали

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.

For a brief moment in 1982 it seemed that you couldn’t move for roving bands of scruffy herberts dressed like tramps in ripped dungarees and neckerchiefs, playing fiddles and proclaiming (apparently completely seriously) that they were the only people who’d ever heard of Jackie Wilson. Anyhoo, after a couple of hits they vanished before resurfacing three years later with their third album. On the plus side, they’ve managed to put on some smarter clothes and slimmed down the band to a more manageable four members. As a result the music is a little more laid back with less of the previous faux Irish too-ray-ay malarkey. On the negative side, we still get too much of Kevin Rowland’s peculiarly affected honking singing style and some left field snippets of conversation dropped in between the songs. There’s also a very odd track complaining about everything on Radio One sounding the same (mate, other stations are available, and maybe you should have tried listening to John Peel instead of the Breakfast Show). This would have had more impact if it hadn’t just been a blatant copy of the riff from Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon (who had to be credited on later releases of the album). Tramp-tastic!

Meh. 80s

Vocals aren't good. The skits (?) interspersed throughout the album really make the tracks drag on. Instrumentals are forgettable.

I cannot believe that there is a Dexy’s Midnight Runners album on here that isn’t the one with "Come On Eileen." This was incredibly boring, and I tuned out for most of it like it was muzak. I will say though "Reminisce Part Two" at least wasn’t basic. Not good but not basic.

2.63

Listened a bit, didn't like that, just not my type of music

A lot of voiceovers, ig i liked “the occasional flicker the most”

This album didn't too much for me as I'm not the biggest fan of their arrangement with the fiddle and the vocalist's tamber. "Listen to This" was a nice jam song, but otherwise, it's hard for me to listen to this band anymore than the occasional replay of "Come on Eileen", and even then, some part of that is being done so ironically.

This guy's voice is nails on a chalkboard...DNF

This album was fun, but not my style.

If Cameron from Ferris Bueller sang as Mr Peterson for 45 minutes.

Weird British guys not bad but not necessarily for me

Nach dem ersten Song wollte ich es eigentlich hassen, bis zum Ende des Durchgangs hat es mich aber doch ein Stück weit bekommen. Sehr 80s im Sound, der Gesang ist ein wenig anstrengend, aber das hat schon tolle Melodien und stimmige Ideen. Nicht extrem toll, aber doch besser als anfangs erhofft.

Bland, compared to the other DMR albums I know

This is a pretty great sounding album. Lots of strong instrumental work and unique choices. The spoken word stuff is kind of insane. Overall it left me a bit confused but not negative feeling.

I saw 1985 and Dexys Midnight Runners and I was worried. This thing is an odd duck, but an odd duck made of high quality materials. On headphones this has an amazing rich dynamic sound. Seems that this suffered by just not playing along with the way you were expected to do things in the music business at the time. Big fan of the mandolin and steel guitar use. One of Those Things, with it's ripping off Werewolves of London sounded great. The Waltz was another highlight for me. I might be a fan of Dexys Midnight Runners. I tried for 20 to 30 minutes to convince myself that this wasn't a 5, I jumped around the tracks looking for a reason. I failed.

Too much talking and went crazy on the volume dynamics.

No pop song needs to be 12 1/2 minutes long, and if you absolutely must do so, at least make it interesting! This whole album was pretty rough. Not the worst I've had so far, but not great - and you know I'm not just "not a fan" of Dexy's Midnight Runners, because I gave Too Rye Aye a 4/5.

si es vd q hablaba el tio mas de lo q cantaba

nie przesłuchałem całego. dajcie mi coś nowego pls.

Nie wszyscy muszą nagrywać dziesięciominutowe piosenki

Jedyna myśl jaką mi się pojawiła w głowie w połowie tego albumu to: AUUUUUU WEREWOLVES OF LONDON a raczej brak tego wersu przy tym jak beat byl identyczny. Pozostawia mi to pustkę która tylko zapełnia posłuchanie werewolves of London, w sumie easy to do.

Kochani, nie znam tego albumu, ale przesłuchałem kilka utworów i chyba będzie piąteczka. Pierwsza dla nowego dla mnie albumu XD Bardzo miła muzyka. Są fragmenty szybsze i wolniejsze. Podobają mi się te wstawki mówione. No ogólnie nóżka mi się ruszała w rytm muzyki. Zdecydowanie zapiszę sobie ten album, a nawet z czystym sumieniem będę polecał go przyjaciołom i rodzinie.

Really liked this album, immediately, never heard of them before.

Well interesting for sure but not my speed today, I really disliked their banter that they would break into. Some interesting and catchy tunes here but overall a 2.

Mid-level 80s blue-eyed-soul. Nothing special here. Not sure what was going on with the interpolation of "Werewolves of London". 2 stars.

Some really wonderful moments on here

What's with this list's hard-on for Dexys Midnight Runners? Apparently there's TWO more I have to slog through? This is the most nothing-burger of an album I've listened to. Other 1 star albums suck. Dexys Midnight Runners doesn't even suck enough to suck. Does that make it even worse? Like, the music is boring and the whole album is nonfactor. You will have missed nothing in your life if you do not hear this album. At least most 1 star albums are wryly interesting, with godawful vocals, or white noise, or terrible lyrics. This is just bad. This album has a 6 minute long song that is essentially the "Werewolves of London" piano riff and has now ruined "Werewolves of London" for me.

A very interesting album with some strange choices. A pretty good New Wave album

It's fun, but I'm not sure why the author was so in love with Dexys Midnight Runners. They're fine, but not 3 albums on the list fine.

Did not care for this album, certainly less than I did the other two in the project. They had their big success and could now show their avant-garde, break-the-mold sides… well it fell flat to me. Not the worst thing here but no better than 2/5 for me

its alright, if its playing I won't hate on it but idk if I would add to my playlist. songs also very long, a 12 min song???? crazy

Ei mikään kauhean ihmeellinen levykäinen. En kauheasti pitänyt laulajan äänestä ja biisit eivät juurikaan jää mieleen. Yksi raita kuulosti aivan Werewolves of Londonilta. Onneksi tämän listan tekijät päättivät sisällyttää mukaan Dexys Midnight Runnersin koko kolmen albumin diskografian.

looovvveee

Not bad but nothing really grabbed me.

They have a sound and it doesn’t change too much. 3/10

Measured, inward-looking grooves built from muted horn lines, restrained rhythm guitar, soft organ touches, and steady, unshowy drumming, with vocals delivered in a controlled, earnest manner rather than explosive passion, move this blue-eyed soul album like a long, serious subdued conversation held in a quiet room, so that the intensity it reaches often settles into calm monotony instead.

I did not expect to like this album as much as I did. It had multiple suites, all of which were very creative and unique, but were also great. The spoken words were a nice inclusion, but I would have preferred less of them. However, it makes this album one of a kind, and there really is nothing exactly like it.

I was not a fan of this. The singer sounds like he's got a mouth full of peanut butter half the time. The instrumentals are boring, and the whole thing felt like hotel lobby music.

this lead singer's voice is AWFUL. literally couldn't stand it the second i heard it. this is actually an album i do not want to finish Would I listen again: NO Deserves to be on this list: NO 0.8

meh. only song i liked was knowledge of beauty

1. Surpris!! j’attendais rien et surpris en bien 2. le son aurait été bien si 1. il durait pas 10 ans, 2. on avait pas une éternité de conversation avant de débuter 3. sympa! 4. ils aiment bien parler ces tdc, sinon le son est good 5. mid 6.enfin il parle pas.. oui! 7. le titre dit tout 2.5/5

I was listening to this album and then they made fun of Lynyrd Skynyrd. I was then not into this album 2/10

was shocked to see an album by Dexys Midnight Runners on the 1,001 Must Listen list. I was even more shocked to find it wasn't the album with their massive hit, Come On Eileen. Huh?!? Seems the band went through some changes in between their second album, which included Come On Eileen, and the third album, Don’t Stand Me Down. They went from a 10-piece band with fiddles, hurdy gurdys, and mandolins, down to a four-piece band. In addition, band leader Kevin Rowland, also the lead singer, wanted to experiment more musically. Which means the third album isn’t a carbon copy of Come On Eileen. Which, coming off a surprise hit like Eileen, was certainly not a good plan for continued success. The production for the third album was costly, as well, while their second album cost nothing to make. Already behind the eight ball on this one. When Don’t Stand Down came out it flopped badly. The band didn’t think the record company gave them any support. I’m sure the record company also thought, there’s no Come On Eileen on this album. Where’s Eileen?!? But as happens occasionally, over time, the album has garnered a cult following, and several critics declared it as a masterpiece. Not me, though. The album is fine, but it’s nothing that grabs me and makes me want to listen to it again. I do take issue with there being no Come On Eileen on the album. The chords used in most songs, if that’s even the right term, are all reminiscent of the chords in Eileen. So, in a way, the spirit of Eileen is woven all through the album. Except in Track 4, One of These Things. Track 4 is essentially Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London, which is weird. And you might think I’m exaggerating, but Rowland straight up admitted they stole the piano riff from Werewolves and gave Zevon a co-writing credit. That’s just weird, right? I guess it’s nothing hip-hop hasn’t done its whole life. Track 4 is the most memorable song on the album to me, and it’s only because it sounds like Werewolves of London. The other tracks are good, but overall, it's just another 80s rock album. The lone single released from the album was This Is What She’s Like and it starts out with a conversation between two dudes. At least it’s not in the song. You know I hate talking in songs, looking at you, Shania, and Bret Michaels. It takes 2 minutes for the song to actually kick in, and it’s just okay. I’m lukewarm on this album. I wished I either loved or hated it, but I get no feelings from it. So, don’t listen to it or do, I don’t think it will affect you either way.

Bit surprised this is on the list. It’s a great album, but without any great songs, it’s a great album for people far down the Dexys rabbit hole. And that’s me. I can’t see it winning any new converts.

9 albums to go. But a third Dexy’s? Was the guy who put this list together in the band? I consulted chat: You’re not wrong to be baffled — three Dexy’s albums in that book does feel like a practical joke played on anyone who’s ever thought, “Yeah, one was probably enough.” Here’s the best possible justification — not a defence, just an explanation of how this happened. ⸻ The short answer The 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die doesn’t just reward greatness. It rewards narrative significance, genre disruption, and critical reappraisal — sometimes to an eye-rolling degree. Dexy’s tick all three boxes. ⸻ The long, reluctant explanation 1. Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980) This is the one that actually earns its place. • Fuses punk urgency with Northern Soul and R&B • Politically charged, working-class, confrontational • Sounded nothing like its peers at the time Verdict: Fine. Fair. No argument. ⸻ 2. Too-Rye-Ay (1982) This is where things get… generous. • Hugely influential in image (Dungarees! Fiddles!) • Spawned one of the most unavoidable singles in pop history • Represents a hard pivot from soul-punk to Celtic pop romanticism The problem: Its inclusion is less about album depth and more about “this moment mattered culturally”. Verdict: Dubious, but you can see the editorial logic squinting. ⸻ 3. Don’t Stand Me Down (1985) This is the critic’s pet. • Initially ignored, later reappraised • Kevin Rowland’s emotionally naked, rambling, almost anti-commercial vision • Now framed as a “misunderstood masterpiece” Translation: It failed, therefore it was brave, therefore it must be important. Verdict: This is the most contentious one — it’s here because critics love a redemption arc. ⸻ Why this feels so wrong Because the book often behaves like: “Influential + British + awkward + critically rehabilitated = mandatory inclusion” Which is how you end up with: • Three Dexy’s albums • While genuinely towering artists get one (or none) • And whole genres get tokenistic coverage ⸻ The real, unspoken reason The book has always had a UK-centric, rock-journalist bias, especially toward: • Post-punk adjacent acts • Artists who “took risks” • Albums that allow critics to feel clever for liking them Dexy’s are catnip for that mindset. ⸻ Final ruling ⚖️ • 1 album? Absolutely. • 2 albums? Questionable. • 3 albums? Editorial indulgence bordering on parody. If the list were rebuilt today with stricter standards, Too-Rye-Ay or Don’t Stand Me Down would be the first to go — and no one outside a Mojo roundtable would lose sleep.

Didn't immediately catch me. Continued not to catch me. Overall boring

this sounds like 14 year old kids who have made their own band and practice in the music room at lunchtimes, writing their own songs, that sound boring and borrow riffs and structure from other well known songs. Dexy’s were clearly only a novelty one hit wonder number band

It's a little self-indulgent with it's recorded conversations and 12-minute opus tracks, but the music -- the song craftmanship -- is really, really good. I can hear why this is considered an undiscovered classic.

Is it my imagination or is a lot of this album really quiet?

Gotta consider when it came out, great Album

All the talking was kinda weird

Fine as background music while I was working... Not much else to say about it. Don't listen too closely to the guy's voice. Lol.

I'm not really a "soul" guy, so this one is hard to rate. I do appreciate some of it. It takes a lot to write songs that feel so sparse but do continue to drive and have structure. The talking between the songs felt like a distraction, but I could see how that could have been novel at the time. However, I just feel like this thing has been done so much better. So, while I can admire some of it and understand why people would like it, it doesn't feel like "enough" for me to rate higher.

Previously, I was only familiar with Come on Eileen… I did recognize one of songs on this album. It’s OK.

I can't decide if this is bad or if I just don't like it. I'd be much more into it if the singer would drop the stupid affected voice and if the album weren't so bloated with spoken word conversations about nothing.

I hate this because it comes so close to being something but it never is.

LOVE THIS COVER

The 4th song boiled it down for me when thinking about the songs on this album: "they all sounded the same."

A reminder of what a good band Dexy’s were. They never reached their potential. Giving this a 4 as I’d play it again but I see from the other reviews that all 3 of DMR’s albums are in the list which is difficult to justify.

Interesting lyrics

love u dexys !!! not my fave of theirs but up there for sure now

Meh

Fun, eclectic, danceable

Doesn't hit

Dexys Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down Following a masterclass in jazz fluidity, Don't Stand Me Down feels like a jarring, theatrical departure. While there is an undeniable "funkiness" to the arrangements and a soulful core buried beneath the production, the vocal delivery proves to be a significant barrier. Kevin Rowland’s idiosyncratic style—blending spoken-word dialogue with erratic vocal tics—often distracts from the musicianship rather than enhancing it. While the album is historically respected for its bold, non-commercial vision, the actual listening experience feels cluttered and difficult to connect with. It’s a project that prioritizes a "character study" over melodic cohesion, resulting in a listen that ultimately falls flat

Does the vocalist know he doesn’t always have to make sounds

This is almost good but gets a bit too kinda violiny for my liking; better when it's more fiddly. Also, the suits on the cover give me the ick; better when it's overalls.

When Dexy’s decided to ditch the dungarees and donkey jackets, they turned into Elvis Costello and Van Morrison Do Tom Waites. Neglected masterpiece my arse!

the english know their music

why were they talking

Wow! At first I was annoyed, but the more I listened the more I got into it. These guys offered their own unique twist on 80s rock. I don't think I've ever heared anything like this before. Ending of This Is What She’s Like is simply fantastic. Most of the album is catchy, melodic, joyful and quirky. Will definitely return to it. Also it's cool to have Vincent Crane as a session piano player here. Check his previous bands' (Atomic Rooster) first two album (should have been on this list too), this guy is a beast.

I still can’t believe they’re British

This didn’t really engage me much on any level. His voice can be irritating and like others I am baffled as to how 3 of their albums made it on to this list. 2.5

Very pleasantly surprised by this! Only really knew Come On Eileen by this band. It’s a gorgeous album. Full of personality and feeling. A lot of these songs spoke to me!

Eh, more mediocre 80s British rock. Not awful, not great, heard a bunch like this already.

It's alright. Nothing to write home about. One of the songs sounds exactly like Werewolves of London

Pretty nice but the random talking isn't really necessary.

Fun, creative, and different. It was such a fun listen. I really liked the talking parts and how the conversations were part of the songs, it felt fresh and new to me. I haven’t really heard anything like it before, and it made the listening experience really enjoyable. I also loved how playful the whole album felt. From the music to the lyrics, everything felt creative and fun.

I reviewed DMR’s first album about a year and a half ago, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, giving it four stars. Reading about this album, I get the impression that this effort from DMR is going to be a little different than Soul Rebels, so I’m not sure what to expect from this in terms of its sound. This will be my penultimate album from 1985 (my birth year) to review, and I’m hoping its 40th birthday is worth celebrating! I was really underwhelmed by this album. I was immediately a bit nervous when I saw that it was over 45 minutes long but with only seven songs, and it seems my trepidation was well placed. A couple of these songs were good, but most of them took nearly half their run time to really kick off into something I enjoyed. I enjoy the tone of Kevin Rowland’s voice, but I was really turned off by all the spoken word sections on this album. Musically, there wasn’t a whole lot for me to enjoy either, and I didn’t think that this album was really anything I hadn’t already heard before from the likes of Haircut 100 or Orange Juice. “One of Those Things” was the best song on the album in my opinion. The interpolation/sample/whatever of Warren Zevon was excellent, and I thought the lyrics carried a wonderful message as well. Other than that, I did like “Listen to This” as well. “Listen to This” was fun, and I liked the saxophone playing and overall upbeat sound of the song. Dexy’s does up-tempo pop really well, and it’s a shame that there wasn’t more of that on this album. While this album wasn’t really my jam, I’m still looking forward to hearing Too-Rye-Ay.

No me gustó.

This wasn’t great for me. Wasn’t super lengthy but it really dragged and didn’t connect with any of it really. I just don’t know what they were going for here. Not horrendously bad but really not my thing.

The Americans will put this down to English bias on the list but it must be known that there is not a single other person in the uk that would put THREE dexy albums on a list like this. Most people wouldn’t put one on there. The author is a lunatic and I have been subjected to his awful taste for nearly three years now.

It’s fine, one of those bands I feel like I should like more than I do, but I just can’t get into this band.

I mean for a northern soul album it’s fine - I think there are better albums and I’ll probably pass on any more DMR in the future

One of many unexpected twists in an admirably uncompromising career. It does not conform to the norms of a pop album and it’s pretentious, but it is a boldly strong piece of art from an important artist.

Nice to listen to but has some weird production choices. Also not necessary to have 2 albums from these guys

Easily the worst of their 3 albums

2 “Are we there yet?” “How much longer till the next song?” “Where are we, still on track 2?” Track two had gems but how do you play this on radio? Track 2 weighed in at over nine minutes. I guess if you’re a Disc Jokey and you got to pee, and you need a long track, then put on track 2 and you will have no problems, you will have time to spare! So who produced this album? Alan Winstately and Kevin Rowland. Winstately is probably why a lot of these songs sound like Elvis Costello. Winstately produced for Castello, Punch the Clock and Goidbye Cruel World. So i wonder what the discussion between Alan and Kevin Rowland was like? I believe Kevin Roland had the final say and that’s why it’s a Yugo and not a Porsche, it could have been so much more. The production of it is weird where editing was most needed they just kept playing. The sound levels are not mixed correct, the vocals don’t match the instrumentations. But I don’t think it was Winstately fault on this one! Is it me or does “one of these things” sound like a copy of Werewolf of London by Warren Zevon; only it’s a bunch of rambled and not like a hit by Zevon. “They all sounded the same! That’s a bit of it. One of those things.” Then he reminisces again into oblivion, this would be a great live album, or something like VHI’s storytellers. . The problem is there is a lot of good here! If only they could have found a producer who could filter the mess into coherence! Or that Rowland listened to his producer. Uncut was right when they said it was a “neglected masterpiece”. The good stuff and there is a lot of it. Kevin Rowland has a great voice. violinist Helen O'Hara, and saxophonist Nick Gatfield. I think a Christmas album would be a good choice for them! Or an ode by Shakespeare. Something that would keep their creativity at bay and not at odds with performance. Overall a 2:5.

2. Kinda tedious.

I really wanted to like it but sadly i couldn't find a song that really moved me

'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.' Yeah I can see why. '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.' Did Dimery get paid to put this on the list? It's absolutely fucking awful. At least the other 2 1/5s I've given out so far had SOME, REALLY TINY, BUT SOME redeeming factors. This is absolutely awful. Boring and weird in a way that isn't even "they tried something new and it missed the mark but it was an attempt" but just they tried to do the boring thing, missed, and produced something even more boring. 0/5 is too generous.

Dexy's have one really great song. It's not on this album. This isn't a terrible band. The lead singer is just a bit irritating -- I'm not sure if he's trying to channel Van Morrison or Elvis Costello or something, but his nasal baritone dynamics sometimes dip so low that I can't hear him over the band. The fiddle player is pretty good -- great intonation. You'd be delighted to have these guys play a pub you were in, or maybe a wedding you were at. Give their albums a skip, though -- there's no need to spend 46 minutes and 20 seconds with this before you kick the divine bucket. I started writing more (something about 'This Is What She's Like' being a kind of a Springsteen/Brian Wilson crossover) but it was honestly pretty boring. The best part of the album is their sense of style with the cover. 2/5 -- better than Tank Battles but I'd sooner listen to Kid Rock. Edit: having read the community's reviews, I think this may be The List's most controversial band. Look, I can hear the competence and the compositional skill that's involved in this record but that doesn't make it any fun to listen to. Rowland's vocals, *at least* let the whole side down (they sound some combination of drugged-out, apathetic or pretentiously lackadaisical). I love a long song, I love being challenged by music -- I don't like this. The changes are too subtle to be impressive -- they're difficult to remember and perform, no doubt, but the effect is just *more song*, not multiple lovely songs all together. This album's insistence on complicating itself in small, imperceptible ways is like cleaning your windows with Dom Perignon: very expensive and nobody will ever know (and, honestly, if they notice, they might think less of you).

Somewhat forgettable- appreciated the novelty and attempt at a cool felt album but with the offputting voice and lack of catchiness, it didn’t land at all for me.

Enjoyed. Would revisit.

5/10 - This reminded me of a British Hall & Oates meets Prog Rock length songs. This was not for me.

This album bores me. The sound hasn't aged well and there isn't a whole lot going for it. I like that they experimented with the structures of the songs though. 4/10

A surprisingly nice album, even without Eileen.

Where is Eileen?

Þetta var nú ekkert spes albúm og mikið hrikalega var söngvarinn leiðinlegur. Ég skemmti mér bara alls ekki við að hlusta á þetta og beið eftir því að platan kláraðist.

lmao this fucking sucked

Enjoyable for a relic of the past.

when the original dungarees version of dexys moved on we seem to have these albums based around one piece of music repeated in nearly all the songs. strange

ANOTHER one? and there’s a third i’ll have to suffer through? i’m convinced that dexy and co. paid off some critics that contributed to this list.

Why is this on this list?

It was alright

Interessanter Genremix

(24/100)

Hailed as the Pet Sounds of the 1980s in some quarters, such as Dimery’s publication, but the whole deal with Dexys from Rowland’s voice to the mandolin to the fiddle to whatever this forgotten masterpiece is about just does not connect with me. Nails on a chalkboard. One of the many parties guilty for Arcade Fire.

3.5

why??? why? they had one good song. don't subject me to THREE of their albums.

woof. it's all downhill after too rye ay, isn't it? this was just boring, unnecessary drivel. the 12 minute song where they're just 'avin' a bi' of a chat? why. the only reason i'm giving this two stars and not one is because one of those things inspired me to finally create a playlist of all the songs i've found that sound like sweet home alabama/werewolves of london favorites: one of those things

I see why this album broke up the band, as it was that rough of an album. Lead vocals are bad and who wants to hear someone whisper for about 10 minutes in a song.

Everyone listen close. I am going to talk soft for a lot of the song

Kevin Rowland can't sing. He sucks butt at it in fact. I hate his voice. Also half the album is him talking to himself. It's boring, painful, and crappy. Why does a one-hit-wonder have three ENTIRE ALBUMS ON THIS LIST? What's up with that? British bias.

musically it's is.....interesting. but his vocals are rough. why is this on here???

Where was Come on Eileen? That's the only song that I knew about and was pretty disappointed with this album.

sometimes i'm listening to an album on the list with someone else and they say the most accurate thing ever and i'm like "i gotta steal this". so this album, kinda filler stuff, which is insane to be on the 1001, like this ain't meant to be here. my father's like "oh this sounds like an album which they were forced to make to be able to go on a tour" and i'm like... OMG YEAH THAT'S IT. there's the random good song on here but it's almost pointless.

I don't mind this album, however, even if I haven't listened to any of albums by them that they should have only put "Too Rye Ay" on it. Other than that, it's really a waste of space with lackluster songs that don't do much and pointless talking parts that were really dull.

Dexy went to the future and watched Get Back. Thought it was a great idea so he recorded everything good and mundane in the studio. But Dexy is not the Beatles so there would be no documentary and all that stuff got dumped on the album to make a 46 minute runtime. Ride, Dexy, ride.

Too much chatting at the start of a song, dont wanna hear your life story mate

It was ok, not really what I expected but it grew on me the more I heard.

I couldn't tell you why, but I like this. Something is pulling me in and I'm embracing it. Made for really good driving music. I love that bizarre vocal style of his; it really works for me. I'm curious to hear more, especially something more upbeat - I'm assuming they've got other upbeat songs.

Sucks and the original critics were right

Why is every song like 10 minutes long and full of farting around? Why do we even need more than one album by this mediocre band? I can't stand this dude's voice. If there's a third album by them on here I will riot. (Oh god just saw in the reviews there IS a third! Getting my Molotov cocktail ready...)

I’m not sure exactly what’s going on on this album but I can barely hear any of the lyrics. I think it could be kind of cool and interesting if Dexy wasn’t so convinced they were super cool and interesting. Completely ripping off Werewolves of London for a song about everything on the radio sounding the same is a perfect example. It’s kind of clever but not nearly as clever as they think it is. Also, really a second Dexy’s midnight runners album without come on Eileen?

1.0 Seemed a bit pretentious for how shitty it is.

Yeah

- no en ihmettele kyllä miksi julkaistessa ei oo oikee yleisölle lähteny kun ei tästä saa kyl mitään otetta

was a lot of talking and the affected singing grated. It wasnt horrendous but equally unremarkable to me. The Wikipedia section on reception at release was pretty harsh "a torpid snore that denies entertainment on every level". My spotify rolled onto Searching for the Young Soul Rebels we previously had, which i had downloaded to listen on a plane. To me it was far more interesting and better energy. I think i gave that album a 4

Felt like the whole album was them simultaneously trying not to sound like while also just enough sounding like Come on Aileen to not totally alienate the fanbase. Didn’t enjoy this one.

Shit was irritating. Reminded me of “Steal My Sunshine” but just the talking portions lmao

Considering the low global rating and the bad reviews, I was expecting something dreadful... But I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. While not exactly ground-breaking, it’s honest pop-rock with good production, clean instrumentation and more energy than average. It’s also quite ahead of its time – it can absolutely hold its own against a lot of mid-90s bands. That being said, describing this album as a "neglected masterpiece" is obviously a far-fetched exaggeration by snobbish music critics. It’s good fun all right, but it’s certainly not a genre-defining album, and I’m not sure I’ll remember much of it in a few days. Moreover, including all three albums of this band on the list is obviously preposterous, one would have been enough. This list is so weird sometimes... 5/10

God, how much I listened to this album (cassette) back in the days, even though more in 1987, 2 years after its release, in the aftermath of Come on Eilein. I am very happy to get back to this. It’s very enjoyable with its Soul vibes, warm horns, kevin Rowland’s crooner voice, difficult to guess these guys come from Punk rock. Not Otis Redding, but out of nostalgia I ‘ll give it a 4

I listened to this album and... I've completely forgotten it! Nothing exceptional, no personality either... nothing to dislike and unfortunately nothing to like!! In short, yet another album that shouldn't be on this list of 1001 albums; there are so many others that should be there instead.

A one-hit band with « Come On Eileen » … and this damn list throws at us the worst crap Dexys ever made. Honestly, that fake-soul voice and the whole parody vibe… the horns and everything… The only thing going through my head while listening to this album is the feeling of accidentally walking into some depressing KTV room, where a guy is going all-in in front of three half-asleep people, fully convinced he’s nailing a Carpenters track. But why did all these Brits who started out as punks end up making such improbable stuff? It feels like the whole ’80s machine whith the shiny sound, the plastic synths, the overblown production… all sucked them in.

No wonder they broke up after this album. It’s awful.

Was I in the mood to listen to this? No. Will I ever be in the mood to listen to this? Probably not. Does it defy all expectations based on my limited (ie American) perspective? Absolutely. Way better than expected by orders of magnitude. The voice is still the fulcrum - depending on how much dig the warble mat predict your appreciation of the album. But the arrangements are excellent. And surprising. And sometimes just weird. I feel like with investment this may pay some dividends. I'm unclear on whether I will ever put in the time needed truly succumb to this albums charms. It definitely has its charms. Perhaps many. I think it may have helped my end of holiday blues. At worst - these guys are having a great time and that can be quite infectious. Respect. 3.51 stars.

So apparently there’s two more albums of these guys on this list… gee I sure am excited for that. Half the album is just talking over music, and the parts that do have actual singing are nearly incomprehensible. Singers sound like they have marbles in their mouths. Only tolerable song was just Werewolves of London with different words. It’s clear to see why these guys are seen as one hit wonders

It seems like maybe this is a cult classic, for some people? I can almost understand it, but it's really just okay for me, and dragged down by soooo many talking bits during tracks. Why is "This Is What She's Like" 12 minutes?

Quite the surprise for me - I only knew this group by Come On Eileen, but what I got here was a really neat prog-pop album filled with vague hints of Celtic influence and some great instrumentation! The vocalist sounded kinda stuffed up, but I got used to that as the album went on too.

I try my best to not let my personal feelings on an album’s inclusion influence how I feel about the music itself. Just because something wasn’t super important, popular, or critically acclaimed doesn’t mean it can’t be good! However. This album sucks so much ass that I feel fine ripping on its place among the 1001. I felt insulted listening to it; progressively angrier as it went along. I didn’t even think the music was that bad, but the singing style was so genuinely awful that it pissed me off. What a waste of everyone’s time. This might not even make 10,001 albums I must hear before I die. Dexys Midnight Runners is known throughout the globe for one song. They’re the epitome of a one-hit wonder. This album does not contain that song. Not only that, but there are two OTHER albums from this band on the list. Meaning that one of those two albums ALSO doesn’t contain the only song. There is nothing important or influential about it. What really drives the point home is that even the Wikipedia article mentions how everyone hated it so much that it broke up the band. The only notable thing about the album is that it made the 1001 list. Garbage.

I thought this was pretty decent! The pointless chatter does detract from the experience, but it's fairly sparse all things considered. When the band is just jamming and having a good time, that's when the album is at its best, and it did make for a mostly fun listen. Standouts: This Is What She's Like • One Of Those Things

I try really hard not to fall into the trap of why is this on the list blah blah blah. However, this one broke me. Not every commercially mauled album is le hidden gem and listening to this guy try to sing like Talking Heads for 45 minutes was pretty rough. Why are we having spoken spits on here. Bad.

I loved this. It's funky, smooth with a bit of soul. An extremely 80's sounding album, in all the best ways!

7 songs, 46 minutes. 3 albums by a middle of the road 80's British band at best. You do the math

I wrote a fairly long spiel about this one, but it didn't save for some reason. I really liked the other Dexys albums on the list, but this one is completely unnecessary.

Who is Dexy, and why do they have people running so late at night? I didn't really feel this album. Some parts of it I liked, some I didn't, but a lot of it was just background.

Come on…and get’em another hit. Wasn’t meant to be unfortunately. Not a bad effort though.

Ok

Pretty good, no real standouts but i did enjoy the violin

I found this rather enjoyable. The vocals weren't anything special, but I loved the instrumentation. Definitely drags, though. Also, I'm 99% sure that was just Werewolves of London in there.

Listened to this once, and then later when I had some things to do around the house I thought I should listen to it again. The good news is that you can listen to it twice in one day without it getting annoying. The bad news is that's because it's so forgettable, that you're barely aware you've listened to it twice. Once again, fine and inoffensive. The Sweet Home Alabama sample is a lot of fun though. Songs added to playlist: - The Occasional Flicker - Knowledge Of Beauty - One Of Those Things

Neither fun nor interesting. Not even good background music. This list is pushing its luck.

Chill

After not being really able to stand Rowland on their first album, he didn't bother me as much here. As such, I found myself liking this record a sizable amount more. The arrangements and soundscapes are quite interesting, and I actually think the production is pretty solid by mid-80's standards (or, should I say, my mid-80's standards). Is this weird? Am I weird? 3.5/5

Good. 3.5

Really just didnt feel it

I kinda wish there was a half-star option, but I guess I'll round up to a 4. I'm definitely glad I checked it out, but I really don't see why it's on the list. It's enjoyable, and the band is pretty idiosyncratic, but there's nothing so groundbreakingly special that makes it a "must-listen."

Listening to this, I kept confusing Kevin Rowland with Bob Geldof. They aren’t the same person. Some interesting bits here, but nothing that caught my attention for any extended period. This is the “Come On Eileen” band as far as I’m concerned, no need for any more, thank you.

Fun listen but no real standout tracks to me, wouldn't be mad if they came on but nothing that made me want to listen again.

The third album by this band is another dramatic shift in instrumentation: From the big soul ensemble to the strings and now... a reduced group of four musicians plus some guests. I'm not sure that worked already on this album, but it's certainly different to the predecessors. I'd rank it 3,5 if I could.

This is one of those albums that feels like a chore to get through. The longest track, "This Is What She's Like" is so long and all over the place. I have no idea what the artist is trying to make me feel or interpret. Sometimes, I feel like this should be just an instrumental album. But still, I wouldn't listen to it. Favorite track: Listen To Me

"Don't Stand Me Down" is the third studio album by English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners. New wave and blue-eyed soul are the Wiki-listed genres. Fine. The band line-up was paired down from ten to four members after their previously successful album "Too-Rye-Ay" which included Kevin Rowland (vocals, bass, guitar, piano), Billy Adam's (guitars, vocals), Helen O'Hara (violin, vocals) and Nick Gatfield (saxophone, vocals). 11 additional session musicians also participated. The recording process was described as "a painful process" with multiple producers fired; Rowland wanted to experiment musically which left the music company uncomfortable. Rowland also refused to do publicity for the record and no singles were released. This set up it up for the commercial failure it was. The album had mixed reviews upon its released but, retrospectively, some call it a lost treasure. Long silence opens "The Occasional Flicker." Piano, drums and Rowland's blue-eyed soul vocals come in. There's an organ, horns fills and flairs and an overall very loose feel to the song. Exhibit A for the musical experimentation is the 12-minute "This is What She's Like." A song broken into three parts and about Rowland's love for bandmate Helen O'Hara. The first part is poppy and upbeat, the second part is more rockin', and third part is horn-driven with piano. Rowland vocals are conversational and even scatting. "Knowledge of Beauty" pays tribute to Rowland's Irish heritage in a lovely song. Soft piano, drums and Rowland crooning. The song builds with layered backing vocals. "Listen to This" brings back memories of "Come on Eileen." A rock beat, prancing piano, sax and organ. Clear vocals and lyrics. Rowland doesn't hold back his feelings on Britain's involvement in Ireland in the last song "The Waltz." You don't come across too many protest songs done in waltz time in the 1980's. Drums, organ and piano in another song that builds with the strings and horns. There's an extremely loose feel to this album; Rowlands' vocals can be scatting and conversational talking to others and himself. The music does generally fit the blue-eyed soul genre with the vocals, piano, horns, strings and organ. At times, there's a jazzy vibe and reminds me of the Dave Matthews' Band but I actually like this album. At best, this album recalls the heights of later day Talk Talk. All in all, Rowland successfully achieved his experimental music and produced a very good album.

Very underwhelming and a shit album cover. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★☆☆☆ (4/10)

I'm good with just Come On Eileen.

I am sick of this dude wailing in my ear, let this album come to an end posthaste ... oh good this is an 8min song

I'm giving this four stars purely for what appears to be an interpolation of Lynyrd Skynrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" in "One of Those Things".

Not my cup of tea for a multitude of reasons: 1. Half of it sounds like "Lalala Britain hates Ireland long live British tea" ok we get it 2. Why is there so much speech over the tune? Distracting 3. I liked the instrumental of The Waltz, not entirely sure what to think of the rest

Tried to look for the "underrated" and "forgotten" good, couldn't really find it.

No idea what the fuck this album is supposed to be. Can't pinpoint the genre, and the vocals make me want to stab my eardrums with a needle.

I absolutely love the instrumentals here, but the singing style and the nature of the album, the random quips, really bring it down

The 12 minutes rambling on the melody of Come On Elieen is.. I mean it's a choice

The other album is better, this one is the same thing except with the craziness and more cba attitude

Interesting voice and music, but not my style

Didn't enjoy

I can't imagine why this would be on any acclaimed list of any sort.

I have nothing constructive to say. I can't even be bothered coming up with a replacement.

Linda producción, valorable coherencia entre tema y tema, hermosos de escuchar el violín y el saxo. Las voces, por momentos conversando, muy amenas también. Los temas valorables en su formato largo, en el sentido de que uno como oyente debe comprometerse. Por ejemplo, de ser "This is what she's like" varios temas distintos en vez de uno sólo largo, sería más fácil decir cuál gusta más y cuál menos, más no es ese el objetivo de escuchar música, entonces considero que este disco por momentos propicia la escucha activa y compleja. De todos modos, no todos los temas logran esto y tampoco sé si es el objetivo de los artistas. Por ejemplo, "One of those things" son seis minutos de tres acordes y algunos estribillos acaso atendibles, como una zapada sobreproducto de su época. En cualquier caso, merece una reescucha adonde me gustaría prestarle más atención a las letras.

First time listening Multi-layered music with a wide range of instruments. It rollercoasters from really good, soulful music to goofy 80s poppy music. Some really good songs on the album, some skippable ones (on first listen). Singers voice works really well in parts, and gets cartoonish at others. I'll give it another shot in the future, could be a possible 4 if something clicks. Knowledge of Beauty is one of the best songs I've ever heard. Best songs: The Occasional Flicker, Knowledge of Beauty, The Waltz

Absolute CEO of yapping right here. Best song on this entire album is just Werewolves of London, but not as good. Album would have been much better if half the runtime wasn’t just this bloke talking over the instrumentals.

Nu Wave operatic pub, Beach Springsteen Boys. This is why you wait until an album ends to score. 2nd half wore me out.

This was tough to get through. I wasn’t even rewarded with come on Eileen

This album was fine. Nothing as good as Come on Eileen

i know they eventually credited him but good lord the rip off of Warren Zevon is almost unbelievably egregious. everything else is just a listless reprise of Too-Rye-Ay

Mercifully short

Pues me he encontrado un disco delicado, sofisticado, bien producido, sólido sin ambiciones, sincero y sencillamente agradable. Se rompieron las expectativas porque de Dexy’s solo conocía la mítica “Come on Eileen”, y esperaba algo igual de folkie. Leo por ahí que este disco fue ninguneado en su momento, se entiende porque no sigue el hype de la canción de marras. A veces ser auténtico no gusta, por eso me gusta quien no gusta.

10 seconds in I was worried and by 2 minutes into the second song I was ready for this album to be over. There were just enough fun elements through the rest to keep it from one star, but just barely.

Fun beats but "it all sounded the same"

F this trash ass singer. I remember the last album of this band. The music was mid, and the singer’s voice was the annoying part of it. Somehow the singer’s voice is WAY worse than that one. I bailed on song one. There’s a reason this album was a flop, so no, you don’t have to listen to this before you die. 0 out of 5

Come at me.

Most of this album is middling but "This is what she's like" is such a banger that it biases my review. Historically having one great song and the rest of it being a two nets the album a 3

This was one of the worst pieces of shit I’ve ever heard.

MEDIOCRE!

A strange, talkative, and oddly charming detour for Dexys Midnight Runners. It trades pop hooks for long, conversational songs that feel more like overheard thoughts than radio singles. Sometimes that makes it fascinating - other times, just frustrating. Still, there’s something honest and quietly bold in how unpolished it is. A flawed but intriguing gem.

If you happen to live stateside like me, you would probably know Dexys Midnight Runners for their one US hit "Come on Eileen", and maybe "Geno" too if you are cool enough. If so, you would be surprised at first to find that their first three studio albums are in the 1001 Albums book series. That was certainly how I felt, until I remembered that the band was big back in the UK. Lest we forget, Robert Dimery is English, and he and his team have a proven track record of propping up acts from their home country that haven't been as popular across the Atlantic. I was willing to meet them halfway and see if I could understand the larger appeal Dexys Midnight Runners had overseas. Unfortunately, the first of these albums I got was the most esoteric of them. The album Don't Stand Me Down was marred by the band personnel dropping from ten members to just four, troubled recording sessions, and frontman Kevin Rowland refusing to publicly promote the album. Sometimes, an album can come out amazing under such difficult circumstances, but I'm not sure this one came out completely unscathed. While it sonically continues in the band's trademark new wave meets blue-eyed soul crossover style, complete with Helen O'Hara's excellent violin playing, Kevin opted for more rambling conversational dialogue as opposed to outright singing. Whether it's over the gorgeous string arrangement of "Knowledge of Beauty" or over the same cadence as Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" on "One of Those Things", Kevin certainly rattled on about whatever troubled his mind. I didn't hate this lyrical approach, but I also didn't feel as thoroughly engaged with it. Which is a shame, as I am admittedly fond of his usual idiosyncratic delivery, and he does showcase his vocal depth in spurts alongside the heartfelt arrangements, really only kicking into full gear with the penultimate track "Listen to This". I think there was a potentially great album underneath all the deliberate obfuscation going on here. But as it is, Don't Stand Me Down is a rather unfortunate example of a group grinding their gears for too long. The band would break up shortly after that release, only to reform in the 2000s and then put out their follow-up in 2012 under just Dexys. From the sound of things, Kevin and company sound a bit more amicable towards each other and their legacy, which I can take solace in.

Woof. This was tough. A strange folksy album with a jazzy feel, but I didn’t like it. Too much of a weird conversationalist vibe, and I didn’t really care for the vocalist.

Not the worst piece of shit I’ve heard in October, but it is shit, and it does stink.

Why are there three Dexy’s Midnight Runners albums on this list? This just sounds like a very slow windup to Come One Eileen, the only album that should have been included. I think about other exceptional albums that aren’t on the list because of this crap and I get mad

I just want it to be known that, aside from some ill advised attempts at a career revival last decade, the three albums on this list are THEIR EMTIRE DISCOGRAPHY

Won't seek it out again, but wasn't terribly upset by it.

(3.5) the songs were quite long - someone who listens to mahler casually

time waster of the year

I could spot their sound from the first track. Not bad.

It's OK. There are a few songs that sound kind of like a peppier The Cure, but the guys voice gets a little grating after awhile. Knowledge of Beauty is awful, and I think that's dragging down my overall opinion of the album. Also, I'm a little salty that I'm listening to Dexy's Midnight Runners and There's no Come On Eileen. It's an outrage. Overall, I din't hate it, but I'm glad it's over.

It was fine but not special.

Good enough. 2.5

This is ok but not really standing out got me, and the one song really sounds like ‘Werewolves of London’.