Don't Stand Me Down

wait this doesn't have the one hit of these one hit wonders wtf. To be fair though it isn't a bad album. This is What She's Like is ambitious, especially for a pop song. ⭐⭐⭐

I had Dexys' first album, and even though it was a double, it was surprisingly good. At the time, I remarked that this was a great use of this project: check out the whole album (or a better album) of this one-hit-wonder. They are actually different/better than what you expected. Now a third album from a one-hit-wonder is just superfluous. And we have a 12+ minute song. And "One of those Things" is a blatant rip-off of "Werewolves of London." I do not understand how Dexys didn't get sued for that one.

I think I only know “Come on Eileen” and never listened to a full album from this band. It is kind of weird also why it seems that all three albums they made are on this list. “One of those things” has a Warren Zevon riff from ‘Wherewolves of London’, ‘This is what she’s like’ is way too long and has a a small portion that comes back in Come on Eileen. Some parts also give some Madness Vibes (due to the ska like horns here and there e.g on ‘Listen to This’ A fun and catchy track. But the talking songs in between are quite boring and a bit unclear what the band’s goal was with this album. I understood it sold very badly and the band broke up afterwards. Not sure why this is now labeled as a ‘neglected masterpiece’ as I don’t really get it. 2/5

Bra melodier. Lite mycket prat i en del låtar. Knowledge of Beauty bäst. 3,5 av 5.

Ok

This picture looks like a POV of a slave that is being auctioned on by rich people for their organs

One of my first albums for this project was a Dexys Midnight Runners album. I gave it a 4. That was three years ago. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking.

Man actually wtf is this?? Some of the most obnoxious vocals out of the 780 albums I’ve heard on this list. Trash

Yet another artist that absolutely did not need more than 1 inclusion. This one is not good or required listening by any means, unless you're studying advanced torture methods. It's genuinely terrible.

So bland and at the same time uniquely annoying.

why is this on here

This Is What She's Like

I think these guys could do with a fourth album on the list

Bit incoherent but did enjoy it

M'n derde keer Dexys en de eerste twee keer was ik al niet bijster enthousiast. Vervolgens zet ik dit album aan en na een seconde of, ik schat, 20 begint de zanger te zingen als een soort Elvis Costello met trekjes van Bob Dylan. Ik ga dit niet trekken. Ik ga dit niet doen. Ik ga deze niet geheel uitzitten. Bizar dat deze band drie keer in deze lijst staat. Proteststem, 1 ster.

I’m sure I’ll be tired of saying this by the end - but here’s another album that I’m not sure why it earned a spot on the list. Plodding, meandering, honestly pretty dull. I couldn’t identify a standout track, if I’m honest. It wasn’t so bad I had to turn it off, which is the only reason it gets a 2 instead of a 1. That and the instrumentation, which is occasionally refreshing.

This is #day794 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... I'd already forgotten I'd listened to one of this band's albums before and didn't rate it highly. On to their second record now? Spoiler: there's one more to go. Anyway, I can't help but think I'm listening to Roxy Music. As with their previous album, I think it's the vocals for the most part. But then, the music has that same kind of proggy new wave sound sprinkled with glam. If we're talking new wave, I'd drop one of their albums from the list and replace it with, say, Rain Tree Crow's self-titled album or Arcadia's So Red the Rose, etc. Let it be a 3 out of 5 this time. Looking forward to #day795.

New wave album with a lot of similarities to Talking Heads. Unfortunately none of the songs really stuck with me. Not terrible but it doesn't really stand out in any way

Not awful, but not particularly enjoyable (for me) either

The 60's taught us that Pop artists could make long songs, the 70's taught us that they could be more than just a jam and Dexys Midnight Runners taught us that we really should be making songs shorter again. It's not bad but none of these songs have any reason being over 3 or 4 minutes long. I also just don't like Kevin Rowlands high voice I've figured. There is enough 80's music in the world and on this list and this could've stayed 4 decades in the past. Pretty cool they covered Kid Rock though.

Nah.

Groovy, fun, a little self-indulgent (did they steal werewolves? Or is that the point?)

What the hell is this? The first minute and a half of the second song is a couple of dudes mumbling incoherently at each other. The lack of enunciation and volume is so bad that cranking the volume barely allows you any semblance of what they're even going on about. Then there are the vocals, so snooty and pompous-sounding. You could tell me this was Morrissey and I'd have argued that even he isn't that pretentious. Wait... There are three of these albums in the mix? Alright. As the album went on, it wasn't as bad as my initial reaction. I was still aching for it to be over though.

I'm not someone who thinks the front man or woman has to be great singer. I love the Stone Roses and Bob Dylan is my favourite artist. But Kevin Rowland's voice is really grating and irritating. This would be 1 star except for 'One of Those Things' which reminded me of Warrrn Zevon's 'Werewolves of London', this brings it up to 2 stars.

Poor old Dexys getting a hammering on here. I remember as a 15 year old reading a rave review but taking one look at that sleeve and thinking "Yuppies!? No thanks". Which was a shame. It's such an imaginative and intriguing album.

its nice

Interesting

åååh fyyy.... hva gjør denne her?...

Unbelievably mediocre.

True one hit wonders.

Egh

Bem ok, nada demais

As far as I know, this band only was popular in the USA for that horrid Eileen song. Apparently the authors of this book think they are great? This is the second album by DMR that’s been served up to me and it’s every bit as bad as the last. Hard pass.

I was waiting for that moment when it would become apparent why this album was on the list; it never came. It was fine but was it special? No.

Maybe I'm outing myself as a dumb American here, but this is another artist that probably doesn't need three albums on this list and I mean that with no offense. There were a couple songs that I found interesting but I can't imagine my life would've been lesser without hearing them.

I am partial to these Dexys, it is unbelievable that there are three Dexys albums on this list though.

Didn't actually mind this. 3/5

Have I listened to this album before No How familiar am I with this album Unfamiliar How do I feel about this artist? Nuetral Pre-Listen Thoughts: Like many Americans, I know only one song from this band. But this list has quite a few albums from them so they must be more than just Come On Eileen. Favorite track(s): Thus Is What She's Like Post-Listen Thoughts: His voice gets to me after a while. This album was fine but nothing about it really stood out to me.

Interesting! Never heard of this band or album before. It was so successful when it came out that it ended the band... weird decision from the frontman to do no promotion or single release, but then be devastated by the failure... They reunited though and just released an album in the last 30 days??? Good for these guys. But holy shit... as much as I don't mind new wave... I don't like this at all. It's all over the place. I don't fully understand what makes this something you "have to listen to before you die". The "single" that was released after the release of the album is 12 minutes long. I appreciate a long song, especially one with many changes, but I just do not get this music at all. I couldn't make it past Side A. Maybe someday I'll try to tackle the B side. I take that back, I made it 30 seconds into One of Those Things, the first track on the B side. It's Werewolves of London. Checked the Wiki, and sure enough, the guy eventually had to come out and admit he ripped it from that and had to give Zevon a writing credit.

lousy. Hate what they did to Werewolves of London

It seems they were so exhausted after coming on Eileen that 6 of them left and the other four exhaled this. Absolutely not a band that merits all of their albums on this list.

Not for me. 1/5

I have the first two of their albums, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels and Too-Rye-Ay, but not this one and after listening too I now know why. Listening later on it's not bad but by the time of the release the band had reduced to just 4 members and it lacks that energy and punch of the earlier albums. The sound that made Dexys unique is missing although Listen To This is pretty close to the original style.

A timeless masterpiece by innovative musicians. Remarkably, this music could just as easily have been released today. The songs feature a great deal of spoken word, which sounds unusual—yet it serves as a powerful form of expression amidst the sea of ​​generic pop music. At twelve minutes long, "This Is What She's Like" is a mini-opera. In contrast, "Listen to This" stands out as the only truly catchy, pop-oriented track—a real earworm. Its structure and passionate, urgent vocals strongly remind me of Bob Dylan's classic "I Want You." "The Waltz"—a stately, highly emotional eight-minute piece set to a waltz rhythm—serves as the album's finale. It begins with a measured pace and evolves into a masterpiece—one that Bob Dylan didn't write—driven by a sweeping orchestral waltz rhythm, a dominant violin, light piano work, and occasional brass. It represents a "protest"—an act of defiance against the music industry and society, both of which sought to co-opt the band while failing to understand them. Following the incredible success of their previous album, *Too-Rye-Ay*, this record marked a creative breakthrough.

Dreadful. Sounded like drunk karaoke

Having exposed only to their hit-single 'Come On Eileen' and seeing as there are two additional records of them that I will need to listen along the way, I am a bit dumbfounded on the relevancy of this one. There are no real standouts of the album, which is consistently average. 7/10 [DROP]

The instrumentation along is just a decent combination of folk and New Wave. There are violins, saxophones, trumpets, pianos, acoustic guitars, banjos, keyboards and probably some other more instruments, so there is a lot of range in that aspect. Musically speaking, they don't do anything very interesting, but they add their playful and softer moments and are overall passable. However, the voice absolutely ruins this album for me. I find it impossible to tolerate its incredibly annoying accent and forced tone, and how it is always on top of everything else. Furthermore, I do also find quite irritating a particular thing in the songs "This Is What She's Like"and "One of Those Things". What these two have in common are some sections where two of the artists are having a normal conversation, and out of the sudden, the main singer starts singing, and I hate it, because it feels like those incredibly corny musical scenes where one of the characters start a musical piece out of nowhere. So yes, awful experience. Instrumental-wise, it could be salvageable, yet the voice makes sure nothing is enjoyable.

How did this pub band make it big and then somehow on to this list THREE times? Come on Eileen!

No. Not this one. Not for me.

I've never been so sure I was listening to career suicide. Don't Stand Me Down is one of the most irritating albums I've listened to for so many reasons. It's full of meandering spoken-word musings that blend into the music and are difficult to understand. The singing is terrible -- forced and often out of tune, but featured as if it's supposed to be a virtuoso performance. That's particularly in focus on the opener, "The Occasional Flicker." Then "This Is What She's Like" starts off with an irritating mumbled conversation, more drunk karaoke, and a jump-scare start to the music. It sounds like a country hoedown in a piano bar... both elements wondering what the other is doing there. I don't want to know what she's like... I can't even understand you through all the vocal strain. The song meanders through different movements for 12 minutes, and it's tough to tell that "Knowledge Of Beauty" has even started. Once it gets going, it's even worse... sounding at times like an American country ballad, and continuing to offer more undecipherable mumbling. After all that, the nerve of these fucking guys to put on a repetitive song that complains about a bunch of music on Radio 1 "all sounding the same." If I wasn't out before, I was 100% done with them at this point. Fortunately, the worst was over. Reminisce Pt. 2 actually allows the spoken parts to be heard. I didn't like the meandering story it told, but at least I could understand it and the music wasn't too bad. Listen To This finally puts a decent song together. It's the first time I'm reminded that this is (some of... 40%) the same group that put together the epic "Come On Eileen." It's not a great song, but it's good -- and easily the best this album has to offer. Finally, The Waltz is just a bore. I feel like these guys were totally out of step and lost with what made good listenable music at this point in their careers. Hey, it happens. Apparently, the front-man says he came out of the studio thinking "that's the best I can do." If that's true, I genuinely don't think they should have done it. Easily one of the worst albums on the list so far.

It's a good album. On the one hand, I think that three albums by this band is way too much. On the other hand, even if I can't find anything special after a first listen, their albums (this is the second one I've listened to) are somehow growing on me. From this album, I particularly enjoyed: "Knowledge of Beauty", "Reminiscence Part Two", or "The Waltz". So, for now, I think this is also 3 stars. However, I may revisit these ratings when listening the third album in this project.

Good album.

#104 Props for steel guitar usage on a British New Wave album. Not a fan of all the talking parts though. Overall it's just ok. Highlights: The Waltz, Knowledge Of Beauty

Enjoyed it - much more to Dexy’s than Gino and Come on Eileen

Hard pass on this band, this album, and that song.

19/09/2026 I can't get behind this band, I dont believe there is anything special about them at all! Spotify listeners: 7.7 million

Can't say I've heard any song of theirs aside from Come On Eileen. Glad to see they have range.

I will say that Don't Stand Me Down is the most consistent out of the Dexys Midnight Runners albums but it is also the most forgettable. I feel like the other two DMR albums have at least one thing that is really good about them but they have one thing that's really bad about them but not this one. This one didn't really have anything good or bad about it, it just kinda existed for me. The music on offer is very solid and the vocals, while they could get a bit quirky, never got too annoying like they did on Searching For The Young Soul Rebels. All of that is to say that while this album isn't bad, i really don't see why it needs to be on this list. Best Song: One Of Those Things Worst Song: Reminisce (Pt. 2) Side note: Last Dexys Midnight Runners album, meaning: 1. Too Rye Ay 2. Don't Stand Me Down 3. Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

4.8 HOLY SHIT, this shit is so peak. The instrumentals... SLAP, the vocals .... SLAP, the narrative ... SLAPS. I vibe with it so much. The only reason I am not give it 5.0 is because I can understand why someone wouldn't dig it as much as me.

2 out of 5. Second Dexy album is as many weeks and the last one in this list for me. These songs maybe should have been cut down or edited more.

Another Dexys, a lost masterpiece apparently. Kind of sounds like the rest of 80s soul. Sort of flat sounding production, that does hinder the more interesting things you can hear happening. 3 Heard before? No Owned: No, 106/414 (25%) Will I get: No

This is a really mediocre album and shouldn't be anywhere close to this list. I enjoyed the first album from them and was always a fan of "Come On Eileen" so I can imagine someone hearing this after expecting something like that...and hearing a bunch of unintelligible dialogue instead of singing, songs with no hooks that go on way too long, and a song that has a riff completely lifted from Zevon's "Werewolves of London." What were they thinking and what were they going for here?

A drag. Maybe if you're spending more than half an album's run time mumbling and ranting incoherently and ripping Warren Zevon riffs, you dont have enough ideas for a record (side note, why the hell is Dexys on here three times and Zevon not at all)

Audibly groaned at this one, couldn’t make it through. Vocalist sounds like a demented puppet.

Some cool moments here, but ultimately not coming together for me

Wow never had such a bored feeling after hearing music. Maybe not for me.

The fun part with that list is there many albums that I know nothing about, like Don’t Stand Me Down by the Dexys Midnight Runners. My listen was a bit conflicted. I understand the buzz around, the fact that it was overlooked, and then rediscovered, but for me, it didn’t stick with me. I had difficulty with Kevin Rowland’s voice on the album. I love him more in short songs like Come on Eileen (which I didn’t know it was them), because in this album, only 2 songs were shorter, with That’s What She’s Like leading the way with a whooping 12:23. I don’t know, it was listenable, but it’s probably the only time I will listen to it. 2/5. Sometimes, the thrill of discovering a favorite artist or song was there only at the beginning, but fade away rapidly. The Occasional Flicker : 3 This is What She’s Like : 3 Knowledge of Beauty : 2 One of those things : 3 Reminisce Part 2 : 1 Listen to This : 3,5 The Waltz : 2

I'm not sure I really understand what's going on here. Still, some quite cool moments. Young soul rebels? Elder pop nonconformists at best.

This album exemplifies the biggest problem with this album project, namely that I'm often introduced to a band by its most recent work rather than having the opportunity to start at the beginning and follow a band through its creative development. My enjoyment of this band in particular definitely suffers from this because this album apparently performed so badly that the band broke up over it, and for someone who hasn't heard their other works, it's easy to see why. When the band actually gets around to playing music, it's great: I love when pop music includes brass instruments, and the horns here give the music a lot of energy. I don't even mind the eccentric vocals. The problem is that a lot of the space of this album is not actually dedicated to music. There's a lot of talking over the instruments and even entirely blank space dedicated to inane chatter, which stops the album dead in its tracks. It especially harms the song "This is What She's Like", which is actually a great song once you get past the very long skit at the beginning. If they really wanted to put these in, I think musical artists have solved this by having them be separate lead-in tracks so they can be easily skipped. It's really a baffling decision, because the talking doesn't appear to be *about* much of anything, although it's often hard to even make out the words because of the vocal mixing. Anyhow, I probably wouldn't return to this album but I'd be willing to look at some of their earlier work; here's hoping it's less messily arranged than this is.

I loved it

Awful album. Only saving song was the one of those things where they sampled werewolves of London.

Not for me Mostly dull

I mean . . . it's not a 1. It's got that goin' for it.

Good Christ, why is this on here?

I nearly like the 3rd song. The Werewolves of London riff surprised me.

This was kind of wacky. First reaction: these guys, and it's not even the one with Come on Eileen? Weird. Well, I know they're big in Ireland. I'll try it. A mix of annoyance and, surprisingly, admiration and enjoyment. Annoyance because I still don't like the melodramatic swooping in the lead vocal sound. Also, annoyance that they stole the riff from Werewolves of London -- it's not remotely questionable -- and didn't credit Zevon until years later after they were called on it. Admiration at including mini-operas as if they were the Who or Queen. And enjoyment of large parts of those operas. The middle part of This Is What She's Like is fantastic.

1/5 - I don't know what I was expecting to hear here, but reality didn't meet expectations.

Dette var ei gledeleg overrasking. Veldig bra plate, spesielt likar eg dei lange «this is what she’s like» og «the waltz». Mange fine parti og god energi, med ein vokalist som dreg på. Så då er eg kome meg vidare frå «come on eileen» og skal sjekke meir frå denne gjengen. Det ser eg fram til.

Det er noe med Dexys Midnight Runners jeg ikke helt klarer å forstå. Jeg tror det har med Kevin Rowlands å gjøre. Hvorfor er Kevin Rowlands? Jeg sliter så veldig med synginga hans, helt til det plutselig sitter, og jeg synes det er helt uforståelig at ikke alle digger den. Før jeg plutselig ikke orker mer, men er tilbake igjen etter et halvt minutt. Og sånn er det på nesten hver eneste låt! Det er nesten litt slitsomt, den måten Rowlands og bandet tvinger meg til å engasjere meg i musikken og låtene deres. Jeg klarer ikke å plukke ut en eneste låt ti minutter etter at plata er ferdigspilt, men jeg klarer ikke å skru den av når den står på heller. Et album som for min del rett og slett må høres fra start til mål hver gang. Don't Stand Me Down er nok en av de mest uforståelig gode platene jeg veit om, men jeg nekter å strekke meg helt etter de øverste karakterene. Halvparten av tida liker jeg den jo egentlig ikke. Eller joda. Neida. Jo! 7/10

Litt lausare, meir innfallsprega og utsvevande enn dei to førre (begge glimrande) platene. Og det er no triveleg det. Flott band dette - likar korleis dei blandar sine ulike inspirasjonskjelder, noko Van Morrison-soul her og noko britisk indie-basert der og så den umiskjennelege stemma (som nesten herjar i overkant her).

Forsåvidt lite å grine over på dette albumet, og gjentatte repetisjoner gjør at ting sitter bedre og bedre, men grunner veldig over hva jeg skal bli glad over her. At bandet spiller egne instrument og kan like en produksjon av den nøyaktige åttitallsskolen? Den beste låten er den rene kopien av Zevon sin Werewolves of London. Og den er traumatisk å velge å høre på i stedet for Zevon.

Har lurt en stund på om ikke boka som er kilde til platene er et britisk prosjekt, men med Divine Comedy i går og Dexys i dag er jo all tvil blåst bort. Jeg kjenner de to Dexys-platene som kom før denne ganske godt, men Don't Stand Me Down har jeg ikke hørt før. Ikke kan jeg huske at noen har vært opptatt av den heller. Nok et overraskende valg, altså. Kan for så vidt like Kevin Rowlands pludring, og lydbildet av Dexys blue-eyed soul er trivelig nok. Men jeg savner låter som stikker seg ut. Nærmest er de vel på One Of Those Things, hvor det er lånt kanskje i overkant kraftig fra Warren Zevon. Også trodde jeg plata skulle vokse raskt etter et par gjennomhøringer, men på runde to, tre og fire er jeg heller bare utålmodig og klar for å høre på noe annet. Da blir det ikke mer enn meh.

Dexys Midnight Runners - Don’t Stand Me Down Eg har aldri høyrt denne før. Faktisk kjenner eg vel omtrent kun den “Eileen”-songen, men min få-opp-energien-song har lenge vore Stevie Wonder sin “For Once In My Life” (eller dene julesongen til Mariah om årstida er riktig), så ja… Høyrt utruleg lite på DMR. Så kva med denne plata? Jo, altså, eg digga den allereie halvveis uti på første lytt og no på andre runde sitt eg omtrent og klappar med. Gir veldig meining at Warren Zevon etterkvart blei kredittert på “On Of Those Things”, men om ein ser vekk i frå denne hermegåsa så er jo denne plata full av tilbakelent og soul-influert new wave med eit mykje mindre massivt lydbilde enn eg hadde forventa. “Listen To This”, “Knowledge of Beauty” og særleg den dritlange “This Is What She’s Like” er alle heilt fantastiske. 8/10

meh

Tom Waits without distortion, what's wrong with y'all

How do people rate this low? This is songwriting Zeus with a headache, opening his head and regaling us with an undiluted, unstoppable fountain of ideas. There's more ideas in a couple of these tracks than in entire albums I've listened to.

This was a pleasant enough album but, when I finished, I felt like nothing much had really happened. It didn't engender much in the way of emotion. Either positive or negative.

what a Masterpiece even though they got some borrowed Tunes

Gear: Fostex TH610 (Lawton Mod & Black Limba Chambers) Artwork: 😐😐😐😐 Production: 😐😐😐 Music: 😐😐😐 Rating: 😐😐/5

Most of this album isn’t to my taste. One star…

Jag blev stressad

This blows

56/100. The folk rock instrumentation was enjoyable, the lyrics felt difficult to get into. I mean, in some of the talking segments I could barely make out any words over the instrumentation. Talking about the speech parts, they really drag down the score on a couple of songs, This Is What She's Like is a good song, but you have to sit through 2 minutes of whispery mumbles before the song starts and the same for the ending.

I liked it

I wish I liked this album more. It's good, there's nothing outright bad about it, but it just doesn't have the hooks it needs to work as well. I'm only really familiar with them for their obvious stuff, i.e. Come On Eileen.

Another album of enthusiastically played bluesy/trad music that would be best with a pint of good beer in front of one. The fast ones are fun piano, fiddle, sax wailing away; perfectly competent. The slow ones are… slow. I think this record is another example of “you’ll like this if you like things like this.” I played it while prepping dinner and processing some photos, and it was fine for that. One song sounded exactly like “Werewolves of London,” except with lyrics that were a complaint about things all sounding the same, which I guess was on point. 3 stars

Shite

Dexys are criminally naff in general but this one is especially bad, what is he yapping about for half of this honestly

Wasn't in the mood for snore Bowie. Not bad. Not great. Could probably enjoy in the right space. 2-3 rats

There's only one song from DMR I need to know about and it ain't on here