Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

A bit of a boring, whiny album. Very prominent brass section, not a huge fan ❄️❄️

The horn section was fine, but I deeply hated this album. Kevin Rowland's voice is just too whiny, and clashes with the music in unpleasant ways. I hear we get the other two Dexy's albums, and that this was their best?? God help us all.

I didn't care for this album at all.

3/10 Nothing wrong with the music, but omfg I cannot STAND the vocals. The whole time it sounds like he's deliberately straining his voice (in a very 80s technique) just for the aesthetics - it sounds awful.

Now I see why they only had the one hit (Come on, Eileen). It's no longer a wonder. Wailing, plaintive lead singer. Backing music sounds like SNL's house band.

Not sure why this was here. Once song might have stood out as kind of work listening to again, but most of the album just did nothing for me. Don't think there's any reason to hate on it, but not anything I'd ever think to say people should listen to

Too much like ska

"You know what this mediocre rock record could use? A really annoying horn section" - Dexy, 1980 Run far from here, whether midnight, 3 pm or the true runner's sweet spot, 6am. Watch the sunrise while running your breathing meat husk around the neighbourhood in a desperate attempt to extend the life of said husk another hour. Strapping on your gear in order to fight the concept of mortality itself. Driving forward past the heaving of your lungs in order to change your date of death from April 2079 to November 2079. You go get 'em, runner. 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Are we there yet?

Putrid. Hate the vocal delivery. All of it. Horns are cheese. Lyrics are unsophisticated. I will never purposefully listen to this again. Actively dislike all of it. Some of tracks are really really irritating.

Nieko blogo, bet nieko ir labai įspūdingo.

I enjoy brass. His voice could be annoying/over the top at times. 3* Highlights: i'm just looking

I've quite enjoyed the other albums by them on here, but how on earth are there 3 albums represented in this list? Were they ticking some kind of quota? It's very strange. Maybe I just didn't realise they were as popular as they were...? I've not gone back and re-listened to those other two albums, but it hasn't seemed like this album is massively different. Maybe some slightly more prominent brass...? That's always welcome from me, but it's still kind of the same thing. It's quite good overall, but not hugely inspiring.

There are some good tracks in here, but despite whatever novelty it had in the 80s...it doesn't do much for me in 2026. Also, no Come On Eileen (yet), and that still beats any of these tracks.

Top album

Really cool mix of genres here! LOVE the ska influence.

A near peak, very high foothills just a couple of slightly weaker tracks but also some absolute belters.

Not a bad album but nothing amazing

Enjoyed this more than I thought and wouldn't kick it out of bed.

secret political ska album. All bangers, if I've learned anything from this list it's that the come on Eileen band rips.

fine

First time hearing this, but I really don’t like horns in songs so this very isn’t for me.

Weird…. I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen again but I did appreciate the marching band feel

What a way to make clasic english punk into sounding different every song.

Surprisingly fun and some really good tunes in here. Everyone pays attention to Come On Eileen and never bothers to dig in (I'm guilty of that). This is a great album. Couldn't help but bop around from time to time. Highlights include Geno, Seven Days Too Long, and Thankfully Not Living in Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply

Dexys Midnight Runners doing absolutely nothing to beat the one-hit wonder allegations

play come on eileen

All these albums that allegedly capture the sound of Britain… Maybe I don’t ever want to visit Britain.

Good instrumentals, but insufferable vocals

Ooh, nice horns! They make this superior to "Come On Eileen" and equal to "Geno," which also has horns.

It’s pretty good, but a bit samey (in a bad way) for me. 6/10.

Album #295 Dexys Midnight Runners: Searching For The Young Soul Rebels I’m pretty surprised this album made this list, but I’m definitely not complaining. Kevin Rowland just has such infectious energy that it makes it impossible for me not to have a good time listening to his music. New Wave in general is the genre I turn to if I want a quick mood increase; that shit hits for me more than drugs. There are some songs here which aren’t exactly up to the standard of the rest, and it isn’t the classic that Too Rye Aye is, but it’s still a great time. There’s just something about that 80s mini Celtic revivalism that I find so fun to listen to, The Pogues and The Waterboys being other great examples. Best Songs: Geno, Seven Days Too Long, There There My Dear Worst Song: Burn It Down Score out of 10: 7

What an album. Just to be contrary given Tom's comment I've always preferred Side 1, but the whole thing is a joy

Not listened to a Dexy’s album before but this was a joy. Certainly will listen again

Thought this was alright, didn't quite get what others got out of it but enjoyed it enough. Would be worth a revisit.

This is a fantastic album, side 2 (tracks 6 to 11 in new money) is especially strong, love the radio snippets at the start of “Burn It Down” too. Four of the brightest stars, thank you for sharing RGP❤️❤️❤️❤️ Tom.

The songs without singing are pretty good but the ones with singing make me want to ask for an angel shot

The radio snippets from much better tracks by much better bands at the start of the album was as good as it got. I'm not sure I've ever thought that an album had too much trombone on it, but alas today's the day with this one. Also what the fuck are those vocals?

honestly, kinda liked it. 80s being 80s hard on here though. Vocally, I got Joey Ramone and Morrissey. Some ska kinda horns in there was cool actually. Every album around this time seems to need some radio tuning intro like Rock & Roll Radio

3,5 stars

Admittedly I was only familiar with "Come On Eileen" and thats a great song. Having never delved deeper into the discography I was excited to get into this. While cueing this up I looked to see that Dexy is represented on this 1001 album journeys 3 times. 3 times! Considering the omission of countless artists I feel should have at least one album on here I figured I was in for a real treat here. Turns out I was wrong. These are the moments I wonder why I keep sludging through this damn project. Granted and all due credit to the Midnight Runners this is no where close to the worst album I have encountered on this list.

Album #208: Dexys Midnight Runners – Searching for the Young Soul Rebels ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Whenever I think of Dexys, I remember when I used to work as an AV Technician in corporate events and worked this highly illegal 20-hour shift, in which I had to set up and take down this set endlessly around a new hotel for a photoshoot advertising their event spaces. It was hell. On the drive home in the van, I was so tired that I played Tell Me When My Light Turns Green on repeat at full volume, with all the windows down, to keep myself awake. It did the trick! I feel you’d struggle to sleep through a Dexys song. It’s smacking horns galore. The brass really is the star of the show, no matter how much Kevin Rowland wants to be the spotlight chanteuse. The songs are good, but the brass elevates everything. It gives them an emotional lift. And I do like Kevin’s vocals. He and the music itself are highly indebted to Van Morrison. Not a bad artist to imitate! His vocals are highly ambiguous, in the same way Van’s are. It can be nigh on impossible to understand what the hell he’s singing, with this drunken, last-chance-saloon slur of his. I like it! The songs are deeply satisfying. They go and advance where you want them to. They don’t unnecessarily leave a chorus out or cut a song too short. I’d argue the lead single, Geno, is the worst song on the album. It’s a laddie kind of track, but again, the horns save the day with a beautiful motif at the end.

This band perplexes me. Before the project, I was only familiar with Come on Eileen. That gave me NO indication as to why they were so well represented on the list. 3 albums are ALOT of representation. I believe I have heard all three albums at this point. And I STILL don’t get it. Perhaps this one really IS because I am not British. But I will say, this is the second time I have listened to this debut, and I now fully believe it is their best. It’s growing on me. But it’s still not a 4. 3 Boolean: Null - really- I just can’t say if I needed to hear this before I died.

Maybe the most beer soaked pub band ska out there.

I didn't think I'd heard these guys before, but apparently they're the ones who sing Come on Eileen. And this is supposed to be soul-punk / new wave / Northern soul-inspired post-punk. lol that's a mouthful! That was actually a really good album. I loved it 4 stars.

This is so bad. So muddy. The horns sound out of tune. It plods along. I’m so upset that anything this poorly made is on the list. Suppose it could get two stars but they have other albums on the list and this put me in a bad mood so I’m not going to be generous.

Bangers and horn parts fantastic.

Enjoyable

So incredibly British. Like so insanely British that I’m afraid my music is gonna get colonized

Ska-esque decay (which has nothing to do with drugs, allegedly) offer up a plate of fun for your ears. A sound meal; 3.5 stars

426/1089 i‘m just never going to love this style of singing as a whole maybe i slightly preferred it ofver the other algums of theirs i’ve heard but nothing stood out to me particularly 48/100

They played a trick on me This album is fine though

That was pretty fun for being the one that doesn’t have Come on Eileen on it. The horns were a nice change of pace and gave it some ska feel at times.

Pretty cool ska influenced 80s pop rock. Not groundbreaking, but certainly a good listen.

No redeeming qualities. Terrible vocals, boring “melodies”, and I assume the lyrics were bad too but I couldn’t really make them out. Not a fun time.

1980 new wave, great horns Burn it down Geno Seven days too long

I love Dexys, so I was really looking forward to giving Searching for the Young Soul Rebels a proper listen today. The first thing that stands out is just how brilliantly put together this album is. The brass is superb throughout and gives the whole record so much energy and personality. Kevin Rowland’s vocals are instantly recognisable as well. They’re raw and passionate and work perfectly with that mixture of soul, pop and punk running through the album. There are some cracking tunes on here. “Seven Days Too Long”, “Burn It Down” and “I Couldn’t Help It If I Tried” are all great, but the showstopper has to be “Geno”. What a brilliant song. That brass opening is instantly recognisable and the whole track is an absolute classic. What I really like about this album is how much energy it has. It takes the sound of classic soul and mixes it with something much rougher and more British. There’s loads going on musically, but underneath it all are simply some really well written and catchy songs. I really enjoyed this today. Dexys are such a distinctive band and Searching for the Young Soul Rebels captures everything I love about them. Great songs, brilliant brass and loads of character. Definitely one I’ll be listening to again. Favourite tracks: “Geno” is the obvious standout and an absolute classic. I also loved “Seven Days Too Long”, “Burn It Down” and “I Couldn’t Help It If I Tried”. Least favourite tracks: Nothing. It’s a really consistent album and everything is worth a listen. Album artwork: Love it. A great photograph and a really distinctive cover that suits the album perfectly.

This album is pretty obnoxious, but it's not bad. They're not trying to be anyone else and honestly basically every song is better than Come On Eileen. Really not that bad. At times it does feel like a lot of third wave ska was influenced by this.

Not for me. 2/5.

Now you’re talking - one of the best albums ever

Over the course of the album, the horns and general style gets grating, but there are some great tracks here like Tell Me When My Light Turns Green and the closing track. And most songs are fine sounding. Liked it a lot more than I expected.

This was pretty good. I'll give it a 4

That's weird. Like when someone fucks you in your ears, but for some reason, you like it.

This has everything I should like, satisfying horns, catchy hooks, but idk, it’s just not sticking with me. The vocals are annoying as well 3/5

Britpopzinho diferenciado, o diferencial sendo uma sessão de brass bem interessante e que se destaca. Pouco presente em músicas populares, acaba tornando o som meio caricato. Divertido mas falta algo. Não é totalmente encantador. 3/5

> **3/5** – I really didn't know what to expect from this one. I mostly knew Dexys Midnight Runners from “Come On Eileen,” and this sounds almost nothing like the band I had in my head. > > It's a strange mix of soul, punk, horns and even a few moments that felt almost like prog rock. There was enough going on musically that it kept surprising me, and I liked the energy of the band quite a bit. Kevin Rowland's voice is definitely an acquired taste, but it didn't bother me enough to ruin what the band was doing around him. > > I'm not sure how often I'd actually come back to it, and there wasn't one particular song that completely grabbed me, but for a first listen to something this different from what I normally play, I enjoyed it more than I expected. **5.5/10.** This is exactly the kind of album I'm glad this list occasionally throws at me.

When I learned that these guys had more than the one song everybody knows I was amazed. I’m much more amazed that most of this album is better to me than Eileen.

Geno and seven days are too long are alright but it just sounds like come on Eileen and I don't know how I feel about it. This is way better than that other album of theirs I had that was just dreadful. I was worried when I saw these guys come up again but I am surprised. It's still not great but it's not unlistenable.

317 / 1089. This was made for a shrimp like me. 10/10.

This was definitely not the sound I was expecting from the band that eventually did “Come On Eileen.” I went in expecting something closer to that bright pop sound, and instead got this weird mix of soul, punk, horns, and something that kept reminding me of ska. For 1980, it actually feels pretty forward thinking. The horn arrangements and rhythm section give it a lot more bite than I expected, and Kevin Rowland already sounds completely committed to whatever he’s doing. There’s plenty of personality here, even if I wasn’t always sold on the songs themselves. Interesting album and definitely more ambitious than I expected. I’m glad I heard it, but I don’t know that I’d ever go out of my way to listen to the whole thing again.

5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background I didn't hate it. I actually enjoyed pieces of it. I'm a sucker for horns.

fun!

Was shocked to know this band started with with bumping ska rockabilly sound. Whoever steered them into the Too Rah Ray era did them a disservice!

Rock, new wave, 1980 -> 3

That was a fun couple of hours.

Not really sure this is a must listen to tbh. Not a bad album, but really nothing making it worth a listen.

I don't know if there any more Dexys albums but I definitely don't want to hear them. No idea what makes their entire catalogue essential, this was more jaunty pop with brass. The wiki reckons this "combines the aggressiveness of punk rock with soul music" which I can only take to mean they were listening to something entirely different. They swear a couple of times I suppose, the rebels. They have a unique sound and were massive so understand the big album making the list. Recognised gino on this which is probably the best song here. Absolutely no interest in hearing anything by these again though.

Play, "Come on Eileen"! Ah to be fair it is a lot better than that. Geno, The Teams That Meet in Caffs, and I Couldnt Help It If I Tried were good, Caffs especially. Really fun instrumental number, jigged along. Perhaps more than just the sum of Eileen? A pleasant surprise.

I almost feel like I've misunderstood dexys after this. Loved the trombone (or whatever it is), by far the best album of theirs we've had. Still not sure there should be 3 of them on the list. However, I think if if heard this before I'd ever heard come on Eileen I might be a fan. I recognised Gino. A lot of it was good though. I'm going with 3.5.

3.1

The same as every other Dexy album I’ve heard - extremely meh.

this album wasn't too bad. I kinda appreciate a pop-rock album that features heavy use of brass instruments, which kinda reminded me a little bit of The Specials. In fact, all this time I thought it was the latter that did the song Geno.

Actually had some good parts. Didn't mind it

Seriously, 3 albums for this lot? Just like the others, dude's voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

Not sure what I expected Dexys Midnight Runners to sound like, but not this. Decent, but not wildly exciting. Sounded a bit like The Specials but without as catchy tunes.

Never particularly been a fan of horn sections stabs on pop, soul, or punk. Yeah, this means ska and two-tone music troubles me at times but this isn't a review of The Specials (who somehow still delight). And, it's not time to talk about more moody, melodic sax that shows up in David Bowie records (also fine). And certainly, I'm not going to write Clarence Clemons' name here as I bemoan Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA record (can't stand that sax). Have I ever revealed I played saxophone in middle school? Yeah, it's true. And yet, and yet. I'm here to say that there's too much horn on this record. Arrangements like this can work for some people but for me, it's an immediate turn off. I'd be curious about an alternate universe where these songs have different instrumentation, but I don't live in that world. My ears inhabit this one. And so, dear Dexys, you get docked the sax tax. I'm sorry.

They’re still super fun even if your Eileen. But how did they decide when two albums were back to back in the list which came first....

2.5

I was surprised by how much I thoroughly enjoyed this album

Pretty good! More ska than I expected....also didn't expect the Dexy's midnight runners album without Come on Eileen on it to be on here lol

This album is like when your uni friend Benedict falls in love with his second girlfriend on their second date. His first relationship was a disaster. His girlfriend was emotionally abusive, and Benedict could often be found moping around his room feeling sorry for himself. You were stoked when he found out Nicola was cheating on him, thinking it would be the end of their relationship. But the dumb idiot took her back?! Luckily, four months later he walked in on her with the same guy, and you managed to talk him into finally leaving her. Now, a couple of months later, here he is dating another girl. You hope things will be better this time around, but one Thursday afternoon, you grab a box of beers on the way home from your Sports Psychology lecture. You open your front door, ready to get the flatties hyped up for some afternoon beers, only to hear Coldplay blaring on full volume in Benedict's room. FFS here we go again.

A strong start and I thiugh I was in for a really great album. Had the hallmarks of an early ska classic. But it just kinda passed by. Not bad, but notting stood out. Vocal style got tiring fast. Sime good instrumentals.

Some great horns and beats.

I have not heard this before. I’ve heard half of their second album and all of their third, the stuff on the second is pretty good and the third was abysmal, so I don’t know how this will turn out. I was expecting a more standard 80s oddball pop sound but this is basically a soul/motown record with a slight new wave edge to it, and thankfully recorded on gear that wasn’t updated with 80s digital effects. I’ll have to check out the second record all the way through now

It's a whiny British bloke with a flouncy horn section. Like most albums on this list, some tracks were fine, others were shite.

Dexys!!! for some reason i bought this on CD and got really into it in around 2007, when i was 17, and it was kind of an outlier among all the other music i was into then. i haven't gone back to it since then, so it was a lot of fun today to relisten - and also realise how much of it i still remember! there are so many lines that have just been kicking about in the back of my brain for the last 20 years - like the bit where he lists all the writers; the entirety of Geno; WELCOME THE NEW SOUL VISION WELCOME THE NEW SOUL VISION WELCOME THE NEW SOUL VISION; and everything will be funkeeehhh...from now on. they're not for everyone, but i love them.

Again not something I'd typical reach for, but really good

Proto Belle and Sebastian ass album cover Wasn't that good, but made me reassess them beyond Come On Eileen

Pretty entertaining throughout, will probably come back to this at some point 3.5

2/5

These brothers got soul