Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Not sure about this one....may need another listen
ONE HIT WONDERS!!!!
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.
Wow, two albums by DMR and neither of them with the hit they are most noted for, "Come on Eileen". Whoever put this list together must have really liked DMR. Just so many other albums that should truly be on this list. It's not that this album doesn't have some good songs. They are good, not great...
I don't even like the popular song by this band, so I knew my chances of enjoying a whole DMR album was slim. But this album seems to go out its way to be bad, with lousy vocals and nothing arrangements.
Good find
What a funny album. Who thought it'd be a good idea to talk over this whole thing? And the mixing is infuriating, as I can barely ever here the piano even though it's the one putting in the most work. The irony of the song One of Those Things and the fact it sounds just like Sweet Home Alabama is also too funny. It's probably the one making myist because it stuck with me a bit after the album, though maybe that credit should go to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
7/10 - the instrumentation of one of those things sounds like sweet home Alabama. I like dexys midnight runners way more than I should. Most of the songs I actually enjoy but they just talk so much during them.
Definitely a baffling pick for this list. Doesn't feel very important, wasn't that interesting to listen to, songs just weren't very good. Too Rye Ay was a fun album (mostly because of come on eileen), but this album was pretty ass
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
Way different from the other Dexys material I have heard. Not a fan. To mundane. 1.5/5
This was ok
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
Moments of real beauty and emotion, but never a full song I could latch onto. Feels more like Kevin Rowland’s soul journaling than an album. Hard to revisit.
This actually grew on me the more it went on. I didn’t like all the talking at first, but actually it worked at times. Some of the tracks are pretty pleasant, and I like the musicality of it generally. There’s a bunch of bits in here which sound like they’re ‘creatively borrowing’ from other artists. ‘Knowledge of Beauty’ has that ‘bom bom bom’ bit from Lou Reed’s Satellite of Love, and One of Those Things’ main groove sounds suspiciously like Sweet Home Alabama. Still, straight down the middle, it’s not too bad.
This was abysmal. Half the album was just him talking I felt like. Nothing really jumped out to me here so I am struggling to understand why it's on the list. Thinking maybe it was much bigger in the UK?
didn’t take many notes on this one because it was unremarkable. not necessarily an enjoyable listen, but not unpleasant either. it helps that this album was britpop (i love british music). otherwise mid. 3/5.
Jeg synes det er ret sjovt at der 100% er 3 Dexy's Midnight Runners albums på listen. Meget britisk af dem. Synes den her var fed nok, mere interessant end den forrige men jeg kunne ikke personligt lige så godt lide lyden
Meget af det var rigtig fedt! Fik ikke så meget ud af de mere konceptuelle aspekter
I did not enjoy this album. The vocals are all shubiduoouuuooouuu like Elvis Costello.. The album felt way too long, maybe because I really despise the genre... It actively made me angry.
This album is close to being really good. The songs are catchy but not quite enough to stick in your head after they’re over. A lot of them have an epic sweep but not quite enough to justify being 6, 7 or 8+ minutes long. But this is the third Dexys Midnight Runners album on the list and I’ve enjoyed being in the company of their music every time. This album has a loose and live feel. There are even spoken word interludes that sound like stage banter.
I'm happy today to dive more into this band beyond "Come On Eileen", as a lot of these songs are crisp rock tunes with great performances and production. It's a bummer that the play counts are so low (per Spotify) because it's really an enjoyable album to sit and listen to. The 12 minute "This Is What She's Like" is a trip- with large spoken sections (I need to go back and read what they are saying), a big 4 minute Bruce Springsteen-esque steady rockin' outtro, and a nice English pop/folk rock tune right in the middle. I love the vocalist's crooning throughout. Solid album.
I am befuddled why I have to listen to another Dexys Midnight Runners album. Their typical sound: new wave, soulful, some Celtic aspects, a little punk-y. Unnecessarily long songs, but that did mean there weren't a lot of songs. Vocals were warbling at times, and boring at best. Yeah, I guess it's music, but I fail to see what makes DMR so special to have a third album on this list. If there's a fourth album... god grant me serenity for the things I cannot change.
A one hit wonder band that has three albums on this project was definitely a choice. And this is probably the most unremarkable album of theirs to be included. The most exciting part of the album may have been the borrowed "Werewolves of London" riff but even that was incredibly anemic. You would have thought if they were going to be so bold, they would at least make it into a good song. Also let me quickly mention the album cover, which is triggering because it looks like a Monday morning business meeting that I do NOT want to be a part of. Anyway, glad that's over with.
This album isn't good. it was boring as hell
After multiple listens, I have no idea where I stand on Don't Stand Me Down. I usually write my reviews earlier in the evening, but I am just about to go to bed and almost forgot to do it. Does that mean anything? No clue. I respect Kevin Rowland as a weirdo and the weirdo choices here are fascinating. The mumbled asides take the spoken interludes of soul and doo-wop to a comic extreme. Then the mumbled interstitials take that even further, past funny into the concerning - as funny as a rap skit and no funnier. And Rowland's assumed voices triangulating between Robert Smith, Elvis Costello, and Mark E. Smith. The sparse, crippled four-piece. The dead drum sound. The only element that doesn't fascinate is the songs themselves and it is hard to tell, behind all the other decisions, whether they are underthought or overthought. When Rowland sings on One Of Those Things that the songs on Kid Jensen all sound the same is he displaying a playful self-awareness or the true eccentric's obliviousness to how they are perceived? I've no idea really. A lot of the reviews here question how this baffling mess made it onto the list of 1001 albums you should listen to before you die, but I hope my record-listening career is full of such follies, curate's eggs, and artistic indiscretions. If I must spend three years working through them all, I want to be more challenged than listened to albums that demand four stars on the first listen. I already thought scoring records was largely hopeless - scoring Don't Stand Me Down won't help you or I understand it any better. 2.5 This album has a strange charm but I don’t think it is much good. I can credit it for sincerity - I don’t know what Kevin Rowland wants to say exactly (neither does he) but I can tell he means it. I can also credit the artistic feat of overthinking and overproducing a record but still ending up with something that, good or bad, is at once excessive and somehow light. It seems to me that about 90% of it is outro (the other 10 is spoken word and Werewolves of London). I love a good outro but I like to have the rest of the song first. 2.5/5
It grew on me, hard to start
Meeeeeh
Couldn't get past 2nd song. Not my jam.
The band that made "Come On Eileen" proves to everybody exactly why they are a one-hit-wonder. In retrospect I would be happier to die without having forced myself to sit through this embarrassment of an album.
Unfortunately, Come On Eileen defined Dexy for me. The switch from upbeat 80’s to slow and warbling vocals DID NOT work for me.
Based on album covers and aesthetics and the success from the days of "Come On Eileen" to this alone, they went from rags to riches, outhouse to the penthouse, and still produced a steaming pile of shit so bad the band imploded for the best part of 25 years... and absolutely nothing of value was lost.
Epitome of a “One hit wonder”. Not a bad sound. But, one and gone.
I've been a fan of Dexys since the first album. I love the way their style changes with every album with Rowlands distinctive voice linking them together. This is definitely not their best album. Only a 3 from me.
Solide englisches Rockalbum einer Band, die auch mehr drauf hat als „Eileen“. Gut zu hören aber kein überdurchschnittliches Potpourri.
Niet slecht, maar ook niet echt memorabel ofzo
There might be a masterpiece hidden in there, but I haven’t found it yet despite repeated listens. Some songs definitely show glimmers of greatest, like Knowledge of Beauty, but also some where I’m still scratching my head, like This Is What She’s Like. There are also what seem to be many borrowed sounds, either intentional or unintentional, which make the album feel familiar but also unoriginal? I’ll come back to it again in some time to see if my mind changes.
duurt gelukkig niet te lang.. paar redelijke nummers, maar sommige zijn echt langdradig, zeker met zo'n stem
Like the Talking Heads mixed with Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan, but not good. Not sure why this one is on the list.
I am begging whomever is in charge of this list to put aside their British-ness and reconsider the inclusion of Don’t Stand Me Down on this list. I understand it’s impossible to be completely objective about music or any art, but by making such a list I imagine that is what you were attempting to do and this album appears to be a huge misstep. Maybe there’s nostalgia here for you with this album— riding the tube with your Walkman or whatever, listening to inane chatter that takes up a large portion of a 12 minute song. Or maybe it was played at your big tacky 1980s wedding that everyone was having then. Maybe you just want to prove that you stuck with the band after their only hit came out (because this is NOT the one with Come On Eileen, dear listeners. It’s the album after where they must think they’re Miss Big Tits and can easily keep that momentum going ((they couldn’t)))). This should not be taking up space on this list. I should have died never hearing it.
This is really fun and good music. Puts me in a good mood.
Prima, maar ze hebben betere nummers. 2 sterren.
Tough listen
Did not enjoy this album, found it boring and meh.
Not sure. I like the music. Not sure about the vocals.
Definitely the weirdest album I’ve heard so far on this journey. I can appreciate what they were trying to do but it didn’t land for me. That song this is what she’s like was insane.
pretty good, has its good moments and slow spots but a good listen
this is the first album to make me question the credibility of this list lol I googled it and I found the story behind the album release was interesting but HONESTLY this album didnt do it for me. I was expecting come on eileen but that isnt even on here like whwhwhw whattttt
The Runners really swung for the fences on this one and I think it paid off.
Interesante. No pensé que seguían activos hasta los 90. Eso sí, podría prescindir de las partes habladas
I'm thinking a high 2/ low 3. I'm all for experimental music, but this didn't really do anything for me.
Fell asleep half way through this spoken word.
Lot more boring than the last one by this group. Did not need to hear. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
This is two albums by these guys and neither of them had the Big Song on them which makes me think they must have three on here? Strange, surprising, but also I liked the last this one and I liked this one too. Especially the Zevon rip off, that was a hoot.
This was pretty meh, honestly. I really like some of their other albums, I feel like this one fell short.
The volume levels are all over the place, but the work is quality and feels weirdly punk inspired. Could have been a lot better with probably less refinement.
3.5
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.
p542. 1985. 1 star. There are three Dexy's albums on this list, and only one of them deserves to be on it. This isn't it. Sounds like a collection of discarded tracks from "Too-Rye-Ay" that weren't strong enough to make the final cut. Kevin Rowland sounds like he is trying to sing whilst gargling pebbles and being strangled. I just wish someone had finished him off properly. And no-one needs multiple 5+ minute tracks - it's like punk never happened, eh Kev?
Meh
Mid de chez mid, une fois de plus. Crisse, y sont où les masters pieces, je suis bien sur la liste des albums à écouter avant de mourir, ou jme suis trompé pis ils m'ont mis sur les albums à écouter pour mourir?
FT
Spännande. Varierat. Ska lyssna mer. Fyra.
Langweilig ist noch geprahlt. Warum ein ganzes Album von diesem One-Hit-Wonder? Unverständlich.
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.
i enjoyed in the background but not sure I'd fully seek it out?
Great!
Not bad, not good.
🤨
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".
The cover gives off major sophisti-pop vibes, but the product is actually a well-crafted album of progressive blue-eyed soul tunes.
Rating: 6/10 Not bad at all...
Noh.. pikkasen poljetaan ja naamavärkkiä lupsutetaan... heh...
Let’s stick with Come on Eileen and stop there. One Hit Wonders happen for a reason sometimes, and this is a prime example. I don’t care about the conversations either- tell your story through your songs, not your boring voice. Sorry. Boo.
"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." Well. I certainly can't think of a better reason for this to be on this list. .... That line should be all you need - wow. Going from the legitimately excellent and fun predecessor "Too-Rye-Ay" to this is about as fun and exciting as the album cover so they got that right. What a snoozer at best. Embarrassing fail and mostly due to whatever track 2 was trying to be - the music could have been ok but this is a chuckle and a hard pass, never to be heard again. This is a legitimate 1/5 and yet I also felt like I needed a delineation between the nu-metal we've gotten and this mere god-awful wet shart of a release ...but no, alas, this IS terrible and a 1 it shall be. Dexys (really Kevin Rowland) down in the stormdrain with Linkin Park, Korn, and Slipknot you go. Everything floats down there - you'll float too..... 2/10 1 star.
That was fun. looking forward to it coming up in the shuffle as the years go by.
An enjoyable enough album but doesn’t have the high points of a ‘Gino’ or ‘Come on Eileen’, so it’s easy to see how Mr Rowlands star faded.
I did not use a private session for Spotify. Dexys Midnight Runners, the perennial answer to "Name a one hit wonder" question. I think this album represents the 2nd through 8th Dexy's songs I have listened to that aren't their big hit. Fun to listen to in that regard. I listened to it twice, so I liked it, but don't know if there will be a third listen.
7/10 Despite the score I really quite enjoyed this. Endearingly weird with some excellent tunes. The extended chats were a bold choice, worked once but maybe not multiple times? Really poppy music shrouded in a cloak of unpoppyness Best: This is What She’s Like
the sampling of warren zevon’s werewolves of london is so bizarre here. like great now I wish I was listening to warren zevon don’t see the vision of this
I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand.
The singer sounded like he was having a lot of fun :)
There are parts of this album I like more than their debut which I have previously reviewed and parts of it I like less. Musically it's a bit more mature than their debut, probably a little less fun overall and it's still got really annoying vocals. It's the purposeful up and down shift in pitch and tone, like yodelling but not quite. It really grates on you. I don't know why he can't just sing it straight, and use his voice properly. There's too much talking in places. 'This Is What She's Like' has a two minute conversation to start the track off. The music is slightly overlong and disjointed with the talky bits throughout the album. This is carried by its occasional catchiness but brought down by the irritating vocals and conversations that happen on tracks.
This didn’t need to be on the list. 1/5
Fairly unexciting
No more 2/5
Luojan kiitos, että kyseisen bändin tuotannosta 100% on nyt ollut listalla joten enää ei voi tulle Dexy's Midnight Runnersia. Ihmettelen kyllä suuresti, miten yhden hitin ihme on ansainnut tulla näin edustetuksi listalla. Ilman höpöttelyosuuksia olis 2/5, mutta mumina laskee arvosanan ykköseen.
This list is terrible.
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.
its alright i like it listened to this quietly in the background while editing a school project. it kept me from giving up on the assignment so i guess thats a testament to its quality.
man what a rad album!
A Kevin Rowland wank fest. Play it for someone you hate.
this is kind of like black country, new road for 80s office workers
A little kooky, a little meandering
The Occasional Flicker 2.8 This Is What She's Like 3 Knowledge of Beauty 3.1 One of Those Things 3 Reminisce Part Two 2.9 Listen to This 3 The Waltz 2.8 Score: 2.942857143
Music was okay, but the singer is so annoying and I couldn't manage to finish the album.
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.
Some kind of weird mix between The Pogues and Randy Newman, where every song sounded like a soft rock, acoustic Come On Eileen. I've heard a few non-Eileen Dexys midnight runners songs that I actually liked, none of which were on this album. It's not horrible, but I honestly couldn't wrap my mind around what the fuck these songs were even supposed to sound like. It's like they had a vague and undefined idea for what kind of music they wanted to play, and never figured it out beyond that. Just strange. In the right mood, I probably wouldn't mind it so much. Today was not one of those days though.
I have never listened to anything by DMR except Come on Eileen. I probably never would have. But this was pretty good. There were a couple throwaway songs (including the one that sampled Werewolves of London) but most of it was really solid. I love Rowlands voice. Reminds me of Orville Peck. I will be returning to this.
Really two and-a-half stars. Has a few moments.
*scratches head*
As someone who's always had a soft spot in their heart for Come On Eileen and has listened to some of DMRs other stuff and thought it was fair, this is the first one that's really got me questioning the top 1001. Lightning Bolt and Adam & The Ants were dogshit but I could see them in certain circles or to widen perspectives, but the basis for the stuff on this DMR album can be heard so much better elsewhere. It's fine and I don't mind it, but this could be the top 10001 and wouldn't deserve an appearance. I'll give it a 2 because again, it's not awful or even not to my taste, it's just not good.
After conquering the world with Come On Eileen, Dexys Midnight Runners took on their next challenge: make an album with no good songs on it. Against all odds, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. As a big fan of 1980s UK rock bands, it’s remarkable how much I didn’t like this. They should’ve taken some of their Eileen money and got this guy some singing lessons. I’m sure he has a very authentic accent from Whereverthefuck, England but it is not pleasing to the ears. The country-tinged “Knowledge of Beauty” might have been passable if they had a good singer on it singing a different melody. Hopefully Warren Zevon sued the piss out of them for “One of Those Things”. I do like thinking that Kid Rock was actually sampling Dexys MR instead of “Werewolves of London”
So this is a weird pop record. No songs under 3 minutes, and 4 of them over 6 minutes? Spoken interludes? Multi-movement songs? And is that… Werewolves of London I hear? I almost think there’s something cool happening here. You never know quite what’s coming next and some of the melodies are fun and catchy. Unfortunately I can’t get over the musical theater rambling song structures and goofy-ass singing. Not just goofy; often way out of tune. The production is very painfully 80s. “Come on Eileen” is no masterpiece but I think I’d rather listen to 12 of those trashy pop songs than this soundtrack to a movie that I haven’t seen.
Vocals (or talking) almost drove me mad.
The album of the day. The AOTD. It’s a new year. I’m caught up except for that 4 hour Ella Fitzgerald thing I have to trudge through. I might actually die of fatigue during that. But here we go with a band I’ve heard of but never heard. Classic combination. I don’t want to be hyper insensitive, but the thought that is popping into my head repeatedly is “is he deaf?” Like he has a speech issue right? I just need to know. He doesn’t. I’ve checked Wikipedia. Whatever man. He sounds like George Michael drunkenly impersonating Devo. The rest of the song is fairly cool but that singing has produced raised eyebrows and full blown guffaws. Oh I thought he was saying “WATCHING YOU DIE.” Apparently that’s not it. I can’t handle this vocal delivery. I like unique. This is bonkers. Not good enough to be entertaining unique. Now it sounds like “Last Christmas.” Which came first? Ugh. This sucks. Near 13 minutes of bad saxophone loops under a man who will apparently not do a vocal take without a mouth full of what sounds like bread. Oh yeah. We’re getting slow. We’re getting low. Settle in. He’s trying to sing better. Somebody got to him. It’s not working. The doo wop over top of the mid 90’s country. This is maybe 25 seconds of ideas stretched until there are holes in it and it’s transparent so it can fit 6 minutes as if the label asked for a certain length. Awoooooo Werewolves of London. Big Warren Zevon hit. Uhh this is also 7 fucking minutes. Man. Give it a rest. I honestly prefer this monologue from twink Jason Sagan any day over the rest of this shit. My favourite song so far by a country mile. And it still stinks. Listen to this, say Dexy’s Midnight Runners and I respond with a resounding “no.” I did listen to it and any attempt I make to like this band, is dashed upon the rocks of honky the Christmas crooner over here. Is he Dexy? Or one of the Runners? Another 8 minutos. That’s English for “I don’t know what else to call minutes for writing variety.” A Bob Dylan impersonator has now appeared briefly. I read that this album was panned by audiences and critics alike and then was unearthed by virgins who in one final grasp at the clutches of uniqueness to be different, knighted this as a “forgotten classic.” I don’t need to joust in a battle of wits with guys whose whole personality is claiming a love of bad music is a sign of elevated IQ. I will say though, this was not good for much of it, and the parts that were ok were extinguished by an awful singer. This fails as a pop album certainly, but any deeper meaning that one might glean from this is truly a personal choice and does not translate to me whatsoever. Somebody run over to Dexy and tell him that after Come on Eileen, his band needs to pack up and start serving the cruise ship guests. Time is money. 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Reminisce - Pt. 2. Part one was where I can remember a time where I hadn’t heard this album. Remember those days? I sure do.
Christ this was an annoying album!
4+/5
Close to giving this 2* because at least there are some enjoyable strings and horns bits. The vocals are bad though and that's before I even consider how much talking there is?? The long tracks really drag. It's simply not enjoyable to listen to and shouldn't be on the list either
Meh… Kevin has a beautiful voice but this didn’t grab me.
Bit of a meandering album. The songs are long even though there are few. I think some casual Scottish conversations were caught between the lead singer and himself that were just left in. The violin is nice. Based off of this album they might be a one hit wonder band. 4/10
Prima album, wel irritant dat het steeds heel zacht begint. 3.6
Alright
Shout out to their cover of "Werewolves in London"....oh wait, it appears to be their own song with the lyric "they all sounded the same". Oh, the irony.
I tend to agree with most one-hit-wonder artists' position in music history. There are some exceptions, of course; but I've been through the Dexy back catalog, and it's not music to write home about. I'm struggling to understand how anyone considers this a 'forgotten masterpiece' when the music barely scratches the surface of interesting. It's not even some avant-garde think piece. It's just normal, radio friendly tunes. The production is odd as well. I thought something was wrong with my speakers for the first 4 minutes of Knowledge Of Beauty; the slow volume build up did not work for me. I was at max volume just trying to hear the damn thing, then it got TOO loud. And I don't care what anyone says, there's no masterpiece album out there that samples Werewolves of London for six minutes. Actually, strike that...Kid Rock is our modern John Lennon so, never mind. I enjoy this group, I always have. But there's just no world where they're essential listening. Another review on here said they have THREE albums on this list. THREE?? You've lost a lot of credibility with that call, list.
I don't even like this band's big hit, so it should come as no surprise that the experimental follow-up to the record with the big hit doesn't hit big with me either.
This is not the Dexys Midnight Runners who wrote "Come On Eileen". This is a more mature, restrained Dexys. However, for all the maturity and interest in "high brow", it comes off a bit bland. This is painfully apparent on "One of Those Things" as they recycle the "Werewolves in London" riff. This feels like a band adrift. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate that Dexys are willing to experiment with longer songs and different song styles, but their attempts fall kind of flat. Sadly, not essential by any measure.
Go happy Go lucky
Is it a forgotten classic? Sorry Kevin, no it’s not.
Not as good as their other 2 albums but it’s still good.
3/5
This lands as one of those records I am glad are on this list as they show there is more to a band than a wedding song.
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 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.
Some fun songs, The Waltz was very nice. Felt like there might have been a little too much spoken word parts for my taste.
Hangulatoooos.
Surprisingly decent. Unsurprisingly pretentious
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.
Not my style but I didn't hate it.
Does not strike anything except for the wuestion: „Why these super slow spoken word intros)?“
So there was life after "Come On Eileen"? Ouch, it seems there was. If you consider pest, bugs and annoying little critters as "life", that is. What was left of the band wearing suits on the artwork says it all: city traders are just parasites sucking blood for a livelihood after all. I don't know what went in Rowland's head at the time, maybe that was his own ironic way to ape the 'New Romantics' hitting the charts, hence the attempt to sanitize the folk-soul music of Dexy's Midnight Runners and trying to have his cake and eat it too through some vaguely formed "concept" supposedly giving 'substance' to what turned out as very unsubstantial music. I mean, if you try to look at this thing *objectively*... (I very, very rarely use that last adverb to talk about music, you know...). Glad that Rowland's attempt to suck blood out of the audience failed, at least. He probably refused to release a single out of the album because, deep inside, he knew the latter was quite a worthless effort. Under that light, that's very rich that he puts the commercial failure of *Don't Stand Me Down* on his supposed artistic "integrity". Nope, Mr. Rowland... it's just that whether you consider the art OR the commercial potential of this thing, it is obviously bound to fail on every level. Comparing the self-indulgent, 12 minute-long drivel "This Is What She's Like" to the *Pet Sounds*-era Beach Boys era is probably one of the most misguided takes by professional critics I have ever read (it was a tiny minority of them, fortunately). It's like slapping every good music that has ever been played in the face. Everything is obnoxious in this song: the opening dialogue -- actually pointless and unfunny -- the forced vocal performance, the stilted instrumentation, the drawn-out sections going on for no rational reason, the pretense of reaching narrative and musical genius when the lyrics are so dumb and the chord and harmonies are so bland... Everything in the album is up to this level of... nothingness. Don't even want to go into specifics for the other tracks. Life's too short to spend it on pointless drivel. The only good news if that now I might be a little more predisposed to consider the contents of Dexy's Midnight Runners first two LPs. But including *Don't Stand Me Down* in a list of 1001 albums you must absolutely listen to...? Get the f*ck outta here. Seriously. 0/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 5/10 for more general purposes (5 for musical competency + 0 for the artistry) Number of albums left to review: around eighty, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 449 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 270 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 326 (including this one)
2+
This is rather pleasurable. I can’t give it more then a 3 cause I don’t think it super interesting but there’s also nothing I didn’t like.
2 stars
ok that Werewolves of London riff on One Of Those Things is BLATANT. I can see why this was both a commercial and critical flop at release. Wtf why is this spoken word interlude taking 6 minutes? I am not a huge fan but I am glad this album exists, as its a great swan song for the fans.
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.
i feel like i love the concept of this album and these songs but i just don’t love their sound. and it’s hard to have such a big hit as Come On Eileen with such a distinctive voice and then have other songs. just sounds weird sometimes
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
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.
What happened to the werewolves?
Astonishing - one of my favourite albums.
I liked their hit album, and this isn't bad. But it has absolutely no business being on this list.
Really not good
I was looking forward to to hearing this, since the only other song I’ve ever heard from this band was … well, you know what it was. The album didn’t offer me anything new to consider.
I found this to be surprisingly irritating and uninteresting.
Pretty meh, i know some of you Brit poppers might think higher of it, but just meh for me.
Straight from The Department of Redundancy and Stuff That's Already Been Done Before Already...it's ANOTHER Dexy's Midnight Runners album! For a band that is primarily famous for being a one-hit wonder, having two records on this list is more than suspect. The Spotify play count for these songs should tell you everything you need to know about how essential this record is. Maybe Kevin Rowland is Robert Dimery's cousin or owes him a life debt or something. Losing six(!) members since their previous album and changing their appearance from "1880's un-housed British country folk" to "1980's Wall Street/American Psychos" does little to change the fact that this record is dull and unoriginal. You can even perfectly sing the words to Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" along with Dexy's' "One of Those Things." I'll tack on one half-star because at least it's not another Morrissey or Arcade Fire album.
This band did not need 3 albums on this list.
In a nutshell: must be a British thing. I grumbled at Kevin and co several times for taking so long to get to the point. The ship had already sailed with this kind of blue eyed soul/new wave style. I was offended at the band ripping off the Werewolves of London riff (it took until 1997 to give co-writing credits). The band should be represented in the list, but this ain't the album to represent them. Overall: 1/10
Jaunty! Quite enjoyable but not massively my thing.
Pretty good stuff. Started to all sound the same to me to be honest but I liked it.
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.
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.
nonsense
why is there so much goddamn TALKING
I do not like how his voice bleats.
A mixed bag - really enjoyed parts of the songs but found the "chat" sections annoying and all a bit loose. Wanted to like it more.
I’d break up my band, too, if this were an album we released. Just kidding, that’s kind of mean. But also just as true.
Decent album for what it is. I can’t see returning to it but it was enjoyable. Who copied who werewolves of London by Warren Zevon or this? Could hear traces of their most famous song throughout. What’s with all the talking parts?
Yea this was annoying
A truly terrible record. Crooning pub karaoke.
A much slower burn than their other stuff. Not as many of the fun grooves that I like. Less of the super goofy vocal parts but they do still pop up a few times. Overall they still retained many enjoyable aspects of their style, just in a slower package
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
Like a good evening in a pub ! 3*
It’s simple and a little awkward, but in a good way. Like if Talking Heads slowed things down and let themselves get sentimental. The sound feels honest; it’s not flashy, just raw.
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)
This music sucks
Where is the option for zero stars? Whoever made this list has some issues…
Not really my thing, but enjoyable enough. Singer loves his vowels, especially O. Would give it a 3.5 if I could but it's closer to a 3 than a 4.
80's pop is far from what I'm used too. But still enjoyable. A few rhythms feel like they were stolen for future songs
This band sounds like if Billy Joel was obnoxiously British.
Weird but I love it
This is just kinda corny and stupid, I don't really care about it
Ikke dårlig, ikke godt. Der var lidt meget violin til min smag. Måske bare lidt gøglet på en chamerende måde.
Kender dem kun fra Come On Eileen. Første sang var langt derfra, på den gode måde. Vi kommer lidt tættere på på det næste nummer der nærmest lyder som hvis Talking Heads lavede Come On Eileen. One of Those Things lyder bekendt 🤔 (edit: de har planket Werewolves of London!) Coveret ligner 4 kontorarbejdere fra 80erne. Det ved jeg sgu ikke hent hvad jeg skal syntes om. Ej det er faktisk lidt fedt. Det stive visuelle udtryk er en kontrast til noget af den til tider løssluppenhed og quirkyness der er i musikken. Det bliver til et stort 3 tal
Interesting new wave sound. It was quirk but not quite enough for me
THE one hit wonder band in my opinion. But this album wasnt very good in my ears. Slow and dragning lyrics, a lot of talking. A few Nice rhythms didn't fix the feeling I got from the album as a whole.
I'm not listening to another fucking album from dexys goddamn midnight runners what crackhead put them on here i hate you i hate you so much
Klasični preambiciozni album koji dolazi nakon velikog hita. Britanska kritika obožava ovaj album zato je i na listi. Ja bih rekao da je više interesantan nego li dobar
Det här var ju inte särskilt kul.
There are just some albums that, after hearing them, make me question whether or not they were actually written to be enjoyed. Like, I’m not sure what path you have to take in life that leads you to a point where you think this sounds good. It also makes me wonder what kind of taste you need to have in order to like this. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And maybe this is karma for speaking so positively about bands like Avenged Sevenfold or Protest the Hero. Because this is so unappealing to me, I actually enjoyed working an 8-hour shift at my shitty part-time job more than the 40 something minutes I spent with this. The opening track left me thinking maybe there was a small chance I would find some enjoyment in this. The actual music I was hearing sounded good. But somehow every song after this gets progressively more uninteresting and boring than the last. And there is no part of me that can justify something like Knowledge of Beauty being 7 minutes long, The Waltz being 8 minutes long, or especially This Is What She’s Like being over 12 minutes long. These songs aren’t even remotely unique enough to make that length feel worthwhile. Where my biggest gripe lies is in the vocals. They are just flat out awful. I guess I shouldn’t claim outright that I could sing any better. But I don’t think it’s much of a stretch. These are the most painfully British sounding vocals I’ve ever heard in my life, and they drive me insane. There are some short spoken word sections in these tracks, and it would help to make them more interesting if I could actually make out what he is saying. But most of it is basically unintelligible. I tried so hard to understand what this could possibly be going for, but nothing about it was really appealing to me in the slightest. Rating: 3/10
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.
Had reasonable hopes for this but it didn’t do much for me. Liked the Warren Zevon track. A couple of other bouncy songs. Didn’t like the kinda spoken word segments.
I just know they were like, “what’s so hard about making Station to Station? We’ve got seven good long songs in us too!” Reader, they did not. They had one good short song in them that isn’t even on this album.
OK - but not sure about this record's place in the 1001
Some good some not so good. Definitely running out of ideas a bit on this one. But can't give it too low as I like their style of music (less so some of the singing)
The album is as much fun as the album cover
2.5/5
Well produce but kind of boring.
The music was uninteresting and the lyrics were incomprehensible.
Albumi #108, 13.11.2024 Täysin uusi tuttavuus on Dexys Midnight Runners. Musiikkityyliä voisi luonnehtia new wave popin ja blue-eyed soulin jonkinlaiseksi sekoitukseksi. Don't Stand Me Down oli lukuisia miehistönvaihdoksia läpikäyneen bändin kolmas albumi vuodelta 1986 ja se jäi bändin viimeiseksi ennen pitkää 2003 päättynyttä hiljaiseloa. Useissa kappaleissa on sävellyksellisiä ja sovituksellisia vaikutteita myös irlantilaisesta folk-musiikista.
crazy that there’s two dexys midnight runners albums on this list but ngl this is pretty good
I liked their previous album a lot but can’t say the same about this one Rating: 2.0
B- The Occasional Flicker 3 This Is What She's Like 4 Knowledge Of Beauty 3 One Of Those Things 3 Reminisce Part Two 3 Listen To This 4 The Waltz 3 I love Dexys, and I actually own this on vinyl too. However, I just don't care enough about it, so it's going in the sell pile.
There's a name I haven't heard for awhile... The last Dexy was album 334, the one with Come on Eileen on it; this is #952. The book uses a much more fitting, colourful album cover than this drab, grey suits. Right from the get go, the bluesy brass of “Flicker”* and the extended coda of “This Is What She’s Like” are energetic and joyful. I’m not as fond of the frequent spoken word pieces substituting for melody, however, even if the one starting ”What She’s Like” is amusingly banal. Though this album doesn’t have a single, “Listen to This” seems like an attempt at a pop hit. Daryl Easlea compares this to “Pet Sounds”, which is definitely one of the more insane takes I’ve heard. At the end of the day, I do appreciate this album’s audacity to be as uncool and un-trendy as it was at the height of synth pop & new wave. 3.5 HL: “The Occasional Flicker”, “This is What She’s Like”, “Knowledge of Beauty” *a good trombone part will always elevate an album’s value to me
I like Dexy's and I admire his inventiveness and sheer bloody mindedness but this isn't a great album.
Guardians of the galaxy mixtape core
Meh... C'mon Eileen appears to be their apex.
..
I came to this with open ears! I love Come On Eileen, one of my favorite OHWs of all time! So catchy and fun, so I was fully prepared to listen to other songs from Dexys! Unfortunately I just got nothing good. None of the cheeky fun of Eileen. Just…talking. Lots of talking. And halfhearted genre experimentation. Genuinely disappointed!
Manches klingt wie "come on eileen" Insgesamt kann man es anhören
I'm close to calling bullshit on this book. I don't find Dexys Midnight Runners that important of a band to justify having an album on this list, much less three(?). Same goes for Roxy Music. If Robert Dimery was American, this album wouldn't be on the list.
Excruciating. Sounds like he’s singing with someone’s balls in his mouth, which means he’s likely doing two things poorly.
This album has too less of what characterises the dexys for me. Too less brass, too less good mood. The "Sweet Home Alabama"-ish "One Of Those Things" is o.k. favourite: "Listen To This" 2,5
I was prepared to dislike it but ended up liking several songs.
Thoughts before listening: One hit wonders who seem to get more respect than other one hit wonders. This album cover doesn't look familiar to me so I'm thinking this is an album that doesn't contain the one hit....which is pretty on brand for this list. Review: So this is a weird album. Looks like this is Dexys Midnight Runners' weird, troubled 3rd album as they attempted to follow up the massive hit that was "Come On Eileen". There are some moments that I enjoy on here, but overall it's a confusing album. Lots of talking, some atonal singing, an extended section of a song where the music sounds just like "Come On Eileen", and another that is basically a straight rip off of "Werewolves of London". I would say that overall I did not love this album even if there were a few moments I did like. 2-stars
No Come On Eileen
Still can't believe 3 albums from this band got on. The only good song was the one that's basically just Werewolves of London 2.5/5
Eughhh that whiny vocaled synth infected British pop againnn. Did not even notice this is the third one. Hopefully it'll be the last.
Lonnnnng songs, a lot of weird talking, pretty slow.
Not quite country, not quite rock, not quite pop, not quite anything enough to be worth listening to.
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
It's an odd one. There are some good songs but a lot of it feels a bit self-indulgent. I can't help thinking that history might have been different if everybody involved had pulling in the same direction.
Fine
Oof. Terrible singing, talking at the start of songs, depressing, and way too long I've always thought of this band as a one hit wonder - so I was a bit shocked to see them on this list 2 ⭐️
As expected, complete rubbish.
Not a lot happening here, I expected more Dexy's from Dexy's but aside from the voice this sounded like a thousand other bands. It mostly passed by without making much of an impression. It's fine for background music that invokes the occasional toe tap.
They carried on conversations with themselves throughout the album during the instrumental parts of the songs, kinda annoying actually…
7/10 Good album. Songs are a bit too long for what the album is trying to be Favourite Song=Listen To This Least Favourite Song=This Is What Shes Like
We both felt surprisingly underwhelmed by this one. Whilst listenable neither of us felt it was anything special
Oh, we’re finally back to unremarkable 80s English pop. Great.
Not bad, but not memorable either.
The third Dexys Midnight Runners I got on the list, and altough I loved one of them, I'm still unsure if I like the band. Let's wait for the fourth album.
So this album flopped so bad that the band broke up and yet it's on this list?
Good. Classic. Nothing too bad but nothing revolutionary.
Get ready for this… Jexi’s midnight runners
Idk I guess I liked this. Confused at the amount of Dexys Midnight Runners. Feels inessential to me.
i like to call them Jexi’s midnight runners :)
I do like “This is what she’s like” but I realise now that’s as far as it goes.
Better than expected, but not much
Music is pretty good, when they decide to play it, and that's the only reason it got a 2. Don't like the singing style... At all.
There are brief flashes of something pretty interesting here, but the album is delivered in a deranged way. About 5 songs into the album I pick up my phone and discover that actually I'm only partway through track 2. I bring the volume up to try to hear what they're chatting about, and then I get blasted when the music kicks up unexpectedly.
The massive amount Kevin Rowland's vibrato needs to be dialed back. Over used and more than necessary.
I got a 80's vibe from this. Well presented
I was simultaneously charmed and annoyed by this album. There's some high points and songs I enjoyed. I think the spoken word bits and rambling conversations work sometimes, but then they become annoying once they go on too long. The music gets too repetitive and the songs are too long. Favorites: "Knowledge Of Beauty", "The Waltz"
No bueno
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
1. flicker - 0 2. like - 1 3. beauty - 1.5 4. thingz - 1 5. reminizce - 0 6. lizten - 0 7. uualtz - 1
What an awful album. I kind of liked the first song “The Occasional Flicker” and then I realized it sounds a lot like “Come On Eileen”. It went downhill from there for me. The vocalist has the most annoying vibrato I think I’ve ever heard. As if that isn’t bad enough, most of the songs are too long (e.g. the 12+ minute “That is What She’s Like” - BTW, what’s with the pointless conversation in the beginning?) Others are unoriginal (“One of Those Things” rips off Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”). It’s hard to believe that this is same band that came up with "Come On Eileen". DMR is clearly a one-hit-wonder and I found the album without any redeeming qualities. 1/10.
Not even had the other DMR albums on here but I know this is over doing it.
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.
Wasn't the biggest fan. Some songs stood out as vibers, but most just melded into the background
I don't know what this was. What was this??!!?
Annoying vocal/conversational style...
Forgettable 80s pap. Not worth a first listen let alone a second one.
Вообще не приколо, сами нахуй слушайте хуетутна 12 минут
Very long album and each song felt like a chore to listen to even if I liked the core idea
I enjoyed the music but there was too much talking. You didn't enjoy the talking bits? They just didn't add anything to the songs. You felt they were only talking for the sake of talking? Yeah, like it was all a bit of a gimmick - you know what I mean?
Interesting but inessential. 2
I already know, because of my infinite curiosity there is no need to enter this room. Is where the ugly or forgotten and broken things are. Slumming poshies and mutiple failed versions of the mini. Ah the English. They fail so elequently, non? This Ingleesh quaintness. As interesting as ASCII Art. really. 1oo1 8 ~~ Hello ? Does your dig bite? Non, of course not! rediculous question. ><Ouch<> your dog bit me!! Errh, Monsiuer, but that is not my derg.
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.
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.
Kinda interesting but didn't rattle me cage
Felt kinda bad, even by New Wave standards. Goofy English singing and talking over the track at times - save that for the concert. Then the Werewolves of London song which just... what? I only know these guys from their one hit wonder which wasn't even on this album. 4/10.
Tweede album in korte tijd van hun. Zoals ik zei op de vorige, hun hit is goed maar verder valt het tegen.
mid
Voða kjút plata.
Nothing that blew me away.
I'm amazed more than one DMR album has made this list. Where they really that big or important at the time? That groundbreaking? This one a bit less annoying than the last one that came up, but still absolutely nothing really worth saving down or coming back to. Pretty bland. 2.5*
The original iteration of Dexy's released three albums and, inexplicably, they are all on this list. This is easily the least impressive of the three.
Eipä mikään kappale jättänyt itsestään muistijälkiä.
Okay follow up to an amazing album.
THEY ALL SOUNDED THE SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMEEEE!!!!!!
Very forgetful album. One and done.
Best Song: Listen to This. The only song short enough to not wear out its own welcome. Worst Song: Knowledge of Beauty. Just a woefully long, saccharine ballad. Overall: So much of this is just inane conversations over unexciting looping music. What's worse is when he starts singing, I kind of wish he went back to just chatting. Completely not for me.
Really don’t need 3 DMR albums on this list, gave this a couple of listens but really didn’t do anything for me.
Feels like one which'll grow on me.
Enjoyed it, never listened to a whole album from them
Don't really know what to make of this album. A nice break from the usual 70's classic rock at least. Didn't hate it but didn't really love it either. Only ever really heard Come on Eileen before and wanted to like this but couldn't get on with the spoken word preamble on most tracks. Maybe worth another listen, another time.
Ponderous musings.
Too Rey Ay was so good, what happened in the three years following it?!
waiting around for ages for a song to start and then waiting around for ages for it to stop because it's fucking shit
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
The inclusion of “Too Rye Ay” on this list was understandable given the powerhouse of a hit that is “Come On Eileen”. While the rest of the album was as good, it was possibly good enough to get it on the list. This album, however doesn’t have any powerhouses. It doesn’t even have a regular hit. It’s got songs that have an enjoyable amount of cheekiness to them, but are otherwise fucking unintelligible. What are they talking about? Is this supposed to be good? Like an artsy sort of thing? My opinion is that it’s not good art if you don’t feel anything. This album had me feeling nothing. The album is tolerable and inoffensive if you don’t give it too much thought. Don’t believe it should have been on the list. Certainly not that great, but whatever. 3/5
the occasional flicker- 4 this is what shes like- yapper. boy im not listening to 12 minutes knowledge of beauty- 4 one of those things- saw a werewolf eating chinese food type beat 4 reminisce- im bout to crash out stop this listen to this- 6 the waltz- 5 who cares
Enjoyed this 1000 times more than anticipated. Disliked them purely off Come on Eileen and that daft hat the singer wears. But this was way better than I ever gave credit for. I was expecting uber 80s cheese pop, but this was more like a poppier version of Roxy Music. Not sure if it’s the thing I’d come back to, but a solid 3.5 for me
This album seemed to be Dexys trying and largely failing to write songs that don't sound like come on Eileen. There were about 3 songs that took the various sections of Eileen and stretched them out into a full song. Other than that there were some slow croony songs that did nothing for me. Didn't enjoy this.
Not quite what I expected - lots of violin, but not a lot else. Uninspired and long, and I wasn't a fan of the vocals. I think they tried to replicate Come on Eileen on nearly every song.
"Play come on Eileen!" I feel like this album was trying to demonstrate that they are more than the come on Eileen band....I think it probably worked to a certain extent too, bits of it were ok. I just don't really know what it is.... Who is it for? All got a bit meandering and long too. But I would say this shows they are more than just a 1 pop hit wonder though. 2.5
Very uneven album for me. 3
Nein.
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.
Anos 80. Não gosto!
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.
2/3
Fav: This Is What She’s Like Least Fav: Reminisce - Pt. 2 It was ok I guess, liked it a bit more than the other album by this group. It encapsulates a 5/10 rating
Surprised. I thought another Dexys Midnight Runners!?! But then I listened. Surprise!
Super fun. Doesn't sound like 1985 but more like 1965 with better production. Cool. 3 stars
This is a stark contrast to their older stuff. I think they overdid it. It's too ambitious and, at times too whiny.
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.
Vocalist went to the Bob Dylan singing school for the deaf
Im almost over with the list and i can say the list should be 101 albums. This isnt one of them 1