Don't Stand Me Down

Unfortunately, Come On Eileen defined Dexy for me. The switch from upbeat 80’s to slow and warbling vocals DID NOT work for me.

Epitome of a “One hit wonder”. Not a bad sound. But, one and gone.

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.

Tough listen

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.

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

Fell asleep half way through this spoken word.

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?

Langweilig ist noch geprahlt. Warum ein ganzes Album von diesem One-Hit-Wonder? Unverständlich.

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.

This didn’t need to be on the list. 1/5

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.

A Kevin Rowland wank fest. Play it for someone you hate.

Music was okay, but the singer is so annoying and I couldn't manage to finish the album.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

why is there so much goddamn TALKING

A truly terrible record. Crooning pub karaoke.

This music sucks

Where is the option for zero stars? Whoever made this list has some issues…

This band sounds like if Billy Joel was obnoxiously British.

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

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!

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.

They carried on conversations with themselves throughout the album during the instrumental parts of the songs, kinda annoying actually…

No bueno

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.

I don't know what this was. What was this??!!?

Forgettable 80s pap. Not worth a first listen let alone a second one.

Вообще не приколо, сами нахуй слушайте хуетутна 12 минут

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.

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

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.

Im almost over with the list and i can say the list should be 101 albums. This isnt one of them 1

I would have been pissed off if I spent money on this. It's basically a non-album

"Commercial failure" figa ci credo 😭

An album so bad it literally killed the band

A sound only the British could love. And I had sorta high hopes for this, as I understand they aren’t a one hit wonder over there. Makes sense why they were one in the U.S. though.

I am immediately annoyed by this guy's voice. The music is alright, so I'll slog through the rest of it. One of Those Things, I mean Werewolves of London also gets on my nerves. I can't get past all the talking and the vocals. The music is ok, but this album shouldn't be on this list. Thankfully, after several needlessly long songs, I was able to Waltz my way out of this and into a different album.

Well I had high hopes for this one but found it very disappointing. I found the album to be disjointed and not having good flow. The singer has a decent voice but it isn't really showcased much on this album. I felt like he overdid it and was generally mismatched to what was going with the music. I found a lot of the album to be perplexing, like the random muttering. One song sounded like a cover of Werewolf of London. Really surprising considering how much I like 'Come On Eileen'. Another album that I am not sure needs to be on this list.

WT actual F?

#289. This is bad. Real bad. Borderline unlistenable. We are once again blessed with a one hit wonder's album that wasn't the one with said hit, and this time the results are atrocious. Please stop. 1/5: terrible.

Listened to it with my dad. "It's bad but at least Come On Eileen is coming up soon" By the end of the album I checked to see how many songs were left. There was 1 song remaining and there was no trace of their single recognisable song. What is the point of this album being on the list when this band is a one hit wonder with a singer who can't sing?

3 albums from essentially a one-hit wonder!? DNF

Sometimes I wonder why an album appears on this list when it really really shouldn't. This is one of those albums.

I don’t get it. Even after reading about the album it escapes me.

really not for me. too meandering and doesn’t seem to have a purpose to me

I did not make it to the end of any of the songs. Come on Eileen is the only DMR song I need in my life.

I think Dexy's mom is on the board of the 1001 curators as there are three albums from the band on the list. WTF? This really wasn't good. I mean, dig 'em if you like, but a must listen? What? Just to prove they recorded more than one song? Musically uninteresting, certainly not enough to support drawn out material like this. Dude's got a strange, and by that I mean annoying (unconventional?), voice. I'm at a loss.

One dexys album was more than enough for a list of albums to hear before you die. The editor of this list has a hardon for british one hit wonders, and its a bit obvious. 1/5

Absolutely not.

This was never fun

At least the production on this DMR record is better than 'Too Rye Ay'. I still cannot stand this lead singer's voice, I still think their compositions are either boring or grating, and the 12-minute song almost put me over the edge. Unlike 'Too Rye Ay', this album has the audacity to have spoken introductions and interjections; unbearably pretentious in this context. I said "Are you kidding me" out loud when "Reminisce - Pt. 2" got going. I tried to keep the hater hat off for my second DMR album, but I can't. It's adhered to my scalp. I think there's one more of theirs on this list. I'll live in trepidation and fear until it has passed. Who knows, maybe third time's the charm. Highlight: Ironically, I did come pretty close to enjoying "Listen To This". Nadir: Reminisce - Pt.2

I feel like some of the albums on this list are here because someone is playing a joke, like, “this is so niche it would never appeal to the masses, let’s put it on the list and see how many people will listen to this crap.” Jokes on me I guess.

nah not for me

Already wasn't looking forward to this one, and y'alls reviews aren't helping the matter. Welp, here we go... Amazing the band had any success given the frontman's voice. The Birmingham accent unto itself is pretty off-putting, but he doesn't do much to counteract it with talent. I guess it worked for the romp that was Come on Eileen, but it really doesn't translate well outside of that setting. Knowledge of Beauty is a high point on the album so far, but I can't shake the feeling that it is a poor mans rendition of Lou Reed's Satellite of Love. Followed up immediately by One of Those Things which basically is Warren Zevon's Warewolves of London in the backing. I'm really confused how they are getting away with these blatant rips? Apparently they admitted to stealing it and gave writing credits to Zevon. Lol, welp on that I'm pretty much out on this album. Not going to bother to finish it. An argument could be made for a 2 because the music isn't terrible; however, the blatant theft of other popular songs is a big turn off and the vocals don't do anything at all for me. Therefore, this earns a much coveted 1 from me.

Meh it's inoffensive but just kinda standard fair pop songs? Just doesn't really do much for me. The production is very clean.

I just kept waiting for it to end which is not the sign of a good album… Oddly enough though I did sort of enjoy “One of Those Things” as I could sing the lyrics to “Sweet Home Alabama” to it.

I think one or more of those 6 people cut from the band was needed. 10 people is too many, but there are few actual songs here. Just a lot of fixing around.

2/10 Like Dexys midnight runners, I too wish they were Warren Zevon. 5-15-2024

Absolutely hate this guys voice. Sounds like Kermit the Frog on acid.

Boring and derivative! I cannot understand how this makes the list!

I didn't think much of this, too slow, too long, nonsensical mutterings, warbly vocals, no thanks! Searching For The Young Soul Rebels was a better album.

I didn’t really get this album at all. With so many incredible albums in here, how did this one get added to the list?

Not sure why this is on the list

This is one of the worst albums I've heard in my life.

1.5

Really average, didn't enjoy too much. At times the intros to the songs were really quiet and a few times I thought the player was down. Turns out the song took about a minute to kick in. I can see why it was a commercial failure when it debuted but not sure how it ended up being a "lost treasure" to end up on this list. Best: Listen To This Worst: This Is What She's Like

This band being a one-hit wonder band is starting to make more sense

Why is this album on this list? At least it very clearly explains why they are a one-hit wonder. Dexys Midnight Runners don’t seem to know how to start a song, let alone finish one. After 12 minutes I still have no idea what she’s like. And what is with all the mumbling? Does Warren Zevon know they ripped off Werewolves of London? This album raises so many questions that I don’t even care enough to know the answers to. I fully expected them to pull off three stars, or at least a very solid two, but found I disliked it more with every unnecessary minute.

Terrible

Kevin Rowland is a genius. Instead of just writing shitty songs, he wrote long shitty songs

A very strong bold underlined flashing glowing 1.

Very mid, did not really enjoy

THREE albums from Dexy's Midnight Runners on this list? No. I was there for "Come On Eileen." No. Fuck off. fuckin' Anglophile listmaker wankers.

Can we not with that stupid voice. Stop talking and make some music please. Really nothing special to me.

I hated it

The album wasn't the worst music I've ever heard, but why tf did I need to hear this? There was nothing interesting, new, or groundbreaking about this.

There’s probably a reason they were one hit wonders.

Back to back 50 min albums that just make me want to eat a can of paint bro This band has 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, so either I’m clearly missing something here, or this is one of their weaker works? To me this is just as cringe as the Elvis Costello record from the other day, in that this feels almost like a parody. “One of those things” sent me over the edge by copying the melody of sweet home Alabama. From that point forward I cringed myself into a coma and everything went blurry, I don’t even know what happened man. Can this guy QUIT TALKING AND JUST SING?!

If I get one more bad album this week I will be upset. This gets a 2 solely for the second song on the album which is amazing after the first 2 minutes IMO. This is a forgettable and mediocre record in this whole list another one i did not have to hear before my death. Please be better 3/10 closer to a 2/10 but you know what I am giving it a 1 forget it

What the fuck is this and why is it on the list? There are 2 more albums of theirs I have to listen to. Shoot me now.

Do not like the vocals in the opener. Weird spoken interludes too. Some good moments in the surprisingly long This Is What She's Like, especially the second half. Next track is slow and not sure it needs to be 7 minutes long either. Closes with a bizarre 8 minute folk song. Is the singer deaf? If so, this is very impressive. The parts with an established groove are better but I can't get past the vocals and there's too many parts of the album that don't make sense to me.

Fucking awful. Mumbling and nondescript twiddling.

Terrible

i think i just hate 80s music

Songs with talking are blech, and one of these was a rip off of werewolves of London.

I tend to agree with the interviews calling it a bore…

Why is this so goddamn boring. I love that they tried to do something completely different but it didn’t really work for me. Kevin Rowland is a really good songwriter but here I feel like no one told him no enough with this one. Bloated and far too pretentious for me.

A Dexy's album without Cine On Eileen? Pffft

Described as a neglected masterpiece. Not my bag.

I can’t even pretend that I finished this one.

I have a long-standing love for '80s alt and Come On Eileen was a fave (Dexys but not on this album). This album, however, was not for me.

How was this on the list

Soooooooooooo boring. One hit wonder ns

I am not sure why this album was included. Unremarkable. Musicians were fine, his voice is good and unique, songs were meh at best. One Hit Wonder band for a reason.

Nah

ужасная нуднота, гнусавый голос, невнятные аранжировки, расплывчатая мелодия и адски долгие треки, я не смогла это слушать

About as boring as the cover photo.

1.6 - I groaned the entire time I was listening to this awful record. I hate the constant use of unfunny spoken dialogue. I hate that they made the 2nd song a 12-minute epic slog. But the biggest offense was hearing Kevin Rowland complain on “…One of Those Things” that all modern rock “sounds the same.” That’s a bold statement coming on an album in which every song sounds like it could play either over the opening sequence or the end credits of the 1988 comedy “Big”, starring Tom Hanks. Here’s a band that should’ve known when to calm it quits, releasing a record that should’ve been drowned in a bathtub.

3 Dexys albums on this list? They only put out 3 albums in the 80s during their original run as a band! Warren Zevon should have sued them for plagiarism.

couldn't stand it

another DNF, a lot of talking on the album and nothing really caught my attention during the first few songs.

Mumbly Joe and Friends sit around and talk over music.

Pretty slow and boring for me, to be frank. I had high hopes coming off Too Rye Ay, but this follow-up album feels like a momentum killer. All these songs are way too long for what they are, as well.

Too much talking, not enough hooks. Wholly forgettable. It’s too pretentious and goofy.

I have no idea why this exists on the list. It was 45 minutes of absolutely nothing

Another album that's just too British for me I guess. These songs are way too long to be this repetitive. I'm pretty sure one song was just a long drawn out parody of Warren Zevon's Werewolves Of London. Including entire conversations that you have with your bandmates in your 12 minute song is not endearing or artistic or whimsical or cheeky or some other British adjective or interesting or entertaining in any way. Don't do this. Not even once, kids.

Feels like I wandered into a recording session. Feel’s meandering, unedited, mumbling. This is not for me. It’s pub music at best and I don’t drink. Stopped

Long mumbling intros wondering when the song will begin, then still somehow being just as bored listening to the song itself. First album that I skipped through to the middle of songs to just get a general feel of the songs. Couldn't even bother listening to it in its entirety.

I never rated “Searching For The Young Soul Rebels” so I didn’t know what to expect from Dexys Midnight Runners. But “Don’t Stand Me Down” did not make me look forward to the two other Dexys albums on the list. So I then listened to “Searching” filled with dread, and was pleasantly surprised. But almost anything would be good compared to “Don’t Stand Me Down.” Overly long tracks that stop and start as if several songs in one, obnoxious overdone vocals, but above all the background mumble chatter. Not even spoken word, instead there were frequent moments of the artists muttering to each other, presumably in studio. So muffled that you wonder if you should turn it up to find out what they’re saying, only to get blasted when the music comes back in. It was like watching a movie with bad sound mixing on your inferior home audio system. Except worse. I don’t think even their namesake Dexedrine could get me moving to this musical embarrassment. Apparently it was so poorly received that it led to the band breaking up for almost 20 years. They may deserve a spot on the list for “Come On Eileen,” but that is not on this album. So let’s get rid of the single-star “Don’t Stand Me Down.” Offered instead: Alabama Shakes - “Sound & Color” Dexys alleges to have soul influences, but they’re hard to spot on “Don’t Stand Me Down.” So instead of too many white British dudes, how about Alabama Shakes, who legitimately brought soul and blues to garage rock in the 2010s, led by the amazing voice of Brittney Howard. Their debut “Boys & Girls” was fantastic, but it was “Sound & Color” that cemented them as a force in rock music. Excellent songwriting, emotional delivery, and just dripping with swagger and passion. It’s too bad they went on hiatus and their drummer turned out to be a douche, because I haven’t been able to get into Howard’s solo work as much. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think everything done is here is done well, talent-wise. There's a ton of influences pulled in and blended here, it's just... indulgent. Long. Pretentious. This is album #3 for Dexys, and it's just... you don't really need this one on here, I think. It's the lead singer going for broke after landing a fluke, extremely catchy hit, and him absolutely going broke.

Generic and unimaginative 80’s music.

Annoying singer.

This album sucks and I hate it. I really don't get it, and the vocals are so annoying. That's a lot coming from me. 1/5

Afgezet omdat ik me afvroeg waarom ik hier mijn tijd mee aan het verdoen was.

Mozes-kriebel, dit is werkelijk niet te harden!

There's nothing here that hasn't been done 200% better on their previous albums. This needs to make way for another band and album that deserves it.

The bits where they are chatting are excruciating. These guys are dullards.

Like their buttoned down Brooks Brothers cover, this album is very underwhelming and sleep inducing. What happened to the dynamic fun sound of Searching for the young soul rebels or Too Rye Ay? Kevin Rowland sounds like he's got marbles in his mouth and the production is decidedly muddy and mixed too quietly. No wonder this album bombed when it was released. So that begs the question 1,001, why is this album on this list?

I know this is a free project, but I feel like I deserve my money back for having to listen to a SECOND Dexys Midnight Runners album. 1.5/5

Utterly forgettable except for the Warren Zevon rip-off.

This is such a fall off after their previous two albums. The unique and fun qualities of those has gone and instead is just a really homogenous 80s sound with songs that are far too long for the ideas they contain - I’ve never felt a 45 minute album drag as much as this. The second track is 12 minutes and doesn’t flow together at all, it’s just a 3 minute song that’s stretched out far far far too long. I gave up after the awful Warren Zevon rip off One of Those Things

The kind of album you find while cleaning out the dusty attic of your recently departed great aunt, who stuck it up there because it reminded her of that one fling she had in the 80's with the self-absorbed yuppie stock broker, who bought it on 8-track because he was expecting a decent follow up to C'mon Eileen, but the disappointment of the music could only be superseded by the companionship of your aunt, leading him to ditch both and relapse into his coke habit. 🤧

How the fuck is this in this book?

Dull, obscure and not particularly good.

I hate it. Wtf is this Sweet Home Alabama ripoff? This band should be nowhere near this list. Best track: Listen to This

Dull shite!

Self indulgent coked up 80s nonsense.