Dec 28, 2016

RhoDeo 1652 Aetix

Hello, Prinses Leia is no more, but i guess if need be Disney will revive her electronically like they did at the end of Rogue One, . Seriously I wouldn't  have thought it possible to die from heart complications in an LA hospital with all the high tech at hand, but Carrie Fisher did at age 60, she leaves behind her mother and daughter. She chain-smoked, confessed to a love of LSD and her compulsions led to addictions to cocaine and painkillers, ah yes the Hollywood lifestyle, she'd probably seen enough of this realm. Oh dear news just in her mother, Debbie Reynolds has died too, the shock of her daughters death was too much....



Today's artists are an English pop band with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid-1980s. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dexys went through numerous personnel changes over the course of three albums and thirteen singles, with only singer/songwriter/co-founder Kevin Rowland remaining in the band through all of the transitions and only Rowland and "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone) appearing on all of the albums. By 1983, the band consisted only of Rowland and long-standing members Helen O'Hara (violin) and Billy Adams (guitar). The band broke up in 1987, with Rowland becoming a solo artist.  ......N'Joy

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Dexys Midnight Runners are best known in America as one of new wave's ultimate one-hit wonders, thanks to their 1982 number one smash "Come on Eileen," a distinctive fusion of '80s pop, Celtic folk, and blue-eyed soul. In the U.K., however, they earned a fair amount of critical acclaim and made a greater impression on the public consciousness with their frequent changes in sound, wardrobe, and personnel.

Dexys were formed in 1978 by singer/guitarist/songwriter Kevin Rowland and singer/guitarist Kevin "Al" Archer (who changed his first name to avoid confusion). Both had been members of the Birmingham, England, punk band the Killjoys, and Rowland, who was ethnically Irish, had split his childhood between London, Ireland, and Birmingham, and soaked up the influence of Irish folk and the so-called Northern soul music popular in the Midlands. Seeking a new direction, Rowland and Archer decided to put together a full-fledged soul outfit and named it after the stimulant Dexedrine, a popular drug on the Northern soul scene (despite the strict no-drinking-or-drugs policy Rowland later imposed on the band). The lineup eventually settled on trombonist Big Jim Paterson, tenor saxophonist Geoff Blythe, alto saxophonist Steve "Babyface" Spooner, keyboardist Mick Talbot (who replaced Pete Saunders, was once a member of the Merton Parkas and later joined the Style Council), bassist Pete Williams, and drummer Andy "Stoker" Growcott (who replaced Bobby Junior). Acutely image conscious, Rowland tried to reflect the band's working-class roots by dressing them as New York dockworkers, with a wardrobe lifted straight from the Martin Scorsese/Robert DeNiro film Mean Streets. The band struggled financially at first, especially given its large membership, and according to legend, Rowland organized (or at least encouraged) shoplifting expeditions to make ends meet.

Dexys didn't take long to release their first single; "Dance Stance" (aka "Burn It Down"), an attack on anti-Irish discrimination, appeared on EMI in 1979, but only scraped the lower reaches of the charts. However, their next single, "Geno," a tribute to American-born soul singer Geno Washington (who'd made his career in the U.K.), went all the way to the top of the British charts in early 1980. Dissatisfied with their share of the profits, the band stole the completed master tapes of their debut album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, and successfully reworked their deal. When the album was released later in 1980, it caused a sensation. With their bright, tuneful, horn-heavy take on Memphis soul (which predated Paul Weller's similar transformation of the Jam), Dexys were hailed as British rock's return to an organic, soulful sound in the post-punk/new wave era. Their third single, "There There My Dear," became a Top Ten hit, but Rowland insisted on following it with the inadvisable single choice of "Keep It, Pt. 2," which flopped. This was the last straw for most of the band, who had grown tired of Rowland's control-freak leadership and restlessness. Archer left to form the Blue Ox Babes, and most of the rest of the group wound up in the Bureau, leaving only trombonist Paterson with Rowland.

Rowland and Paterson regrouped Dexys, adding guitarist/banjoist Kevin "Billy" Adams (again renamed), drummer Seb Shelton (ex-Secret Affair), keyboardist Mickey Billingham, alto saxophonist Brian Maurice, tenor saxophonist Paul Speare, and bassist Giorgio Kilkenny (who replaced Steve Wynne). After the 1981 single "Plan B" (which featured a new wardrobe of boxing boots and ponytails), the new lineup left EMI and signed to Mercury. Their first single for the label, "Show Me," became a Top 20 hit, but the follow-up, "Liars A to E," flopped, and Rowland considered modifying the group's approach. Allegedly, he heard a demo tape of Archer's folk-influenced Blue Ox Babes material, and decided to reinvent Dexys in a similar fashion. He infuriated the Babes by not only borrowing from their sound, but recruiting violinist Helen O'Hara out of their lineup; he also added Steve Brennan and Roger MacDuff on the same instrument.

The second Dexys album, Too-Rye-Ay, was released in 1982, and while their soul sound was still easily audible, it was now sitting alongside a strong Irish folk influence, making for a striking hybrid. The makeover was accompanied by yet another wardrobe change, this time to a scruffy gypsy/hobo image that wound up changing the standard of acceptable dress at many a restrictive London club. Dexys introduced their new sound on the single "The Celtic Soulbrothers," which was a mild success; however, the follow-up, "Come on Eileen," was a smash, becoming their second British number one. A few months later, helped along by the group's highly visual, MTV-ready appeal, "Come on Eileen" broke in America and went all the way to number one there as well. With their new folky direction thus established, the entire horn section (even the loyal Paterson) departed in the summer of 1982, as did keyboardist Billingham. Unfortunately, at the peak of the group's success, the rest of the lineup proved unstable as well, due in part to rifts with Rowland; eventually, the core of the group was whittled down to Rowland, guitarist Adams, and violinist O'Hara.

Rowland took Dexys to New York to work on the follow-up album, which -- slowed by his perfectionism -- took a year and a half to record. In the meantime, EMI released the singles compilation Geno in 1983. Paterson rejoined the group when Rowland decided to blend his soul and folk phases more thoroughly, and the rest of the instrumentation was filled out by hired session musicians. When Don't Stand Me Down was finally released in 1985, Rowland insisted that no singles were to be pulled from the album, wanting it to stand as a cohesive piece of work in the manner of '70s LPs. As a result, it sold much more poorly than expected and wasn't helped by lackluster reviews that slammed Rowland's attempts at Van Morrison-esque poetry. After a few weeks, a panicked Mercury -- who'd spent quite a bit of money to make the record -- released "This Is What She's Like" as a single, but the damage was already done. One last single, "Because of You," charted in 1986 after being used as the theme to a British TV show, but with Don't Stand Me Down having bombed, the group disbanded.

Rowland mounted a solo career and returned in 1988 with The Wanderer, a mellow record flavored with country and lounge-pop, which failed to sell. A disheartened Rowland spent the next few years in a deep depression, fighting off bankruptcy and cocaine addiction. In 1996, he signed with Creation as a solo artist, but in typically idiosyncratic fashion, his comeback effort was an all-covers album; My Beauty was released in 1999 and sold abominably, probably not helped by Rowland's new wardrobe of dresses and suspenders.

After a couple years spent living down the album, Rowland returned with a new edition of Dexys Midnight Runners, with the stripped down name Dexys, in 2003. The new line-up began playing live shows and contributed two new songs ("Manhood" and "My Life in England") to the greatest-hits collection Let's Make This Precious. The group, which included former Runners Mick Talbot and Pete Williams, began recording in earnest in 2005 but the painstaking processes didn't yield results until the release of One Day I'm Going to Soar in 2012. Along the way, another former member, "Big" Jim Paterson, joined back up, and Rowland added new vocalist Madeleine Hyland, as well. The album was met with a positive response from critics and signaled a triumphant comeback for the band. After a full slate of concerts over the next few years and the departure of Talbot, Paterson, and Williams, the group's next move was to record Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul. Released by Rhino in June 2016, the record features their unique versions of classic Irish songs (like "Women of Ireland" and "Carrickfergus") and a wide range of others (like Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"), all given that Dexy's spin.

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The crackling stations being switched on the radio and the gang shout followed by the spoken injunction to "burn it down" sound like they should be starting off a Sham 69 record. Then "Burn It Down" actually starts, with its horn section, Hammond organ and Kevin Rowland's utterly unconventional soul vocals. The cult of Dexy's, and this album in particular, were worshipped as the return of "soul" to English rock music at the dawn of Thatcherism. Exploring the myth that this album holds, especially in Brit music terms, can be a strange prospect: 20 years on it doesn't sound revolutionary, it just sounds good. And good it is, quite good, compared to where Paul Weller ended up, i.e., too reverential by half. This is vibrant, alive, and unconcerned with perfection. Rowland takes a role that Morrissey would have in 1985 and Jarvis Cocker in 1995 -- the unexpected but perfect voice to capture a time and moment in the U.K. His slightly strangled wail and sly, wry lyrics and song titles ("Tell Me When My Light Turns Green," "Thankfully Not Living in Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply") make this album in many ways. Musically, the group lays down R&B grooves and brassy hooks with aplomb, as on the brilliant "Seven Days Too Long" and the number one single "Geno," but throw in film noir touches, John Barry-writing-for-James Bond fare and more just as ably. The liner notes have a fun description of the group's origins and brief notes for most of the tunes -- the best for the finale, "There, There, My Dear":

This new edition of Searching For The Young Soul Rebels comes with a second disc which features 21 additional tracks: a- and b-sides, BBC sessions with John Peel and ‘Kid’ Jensen, and previously unreleased demos from EMI’s Manchester Square studio, including a tilt at Sam and Dave’s “Hold On I’m Comin’”. Much of it has been aired before, and inevitably there is repetition, but it contains some terrific performances from a band firing at full power, however briefly.

This blazing incarnation of Dexys barely survived the album’s release before fracturing under the eccentricities of their leader, who subsequently assembled new gangs for the following Too-Rye-Ay and Don’t Stand Me Down before the whole thing fell apart. But ultimately, the myth-making around Kevin Rowland tends to obscure the fact that he’s been responsible for some truly soul-scorching music, much of it featuring on this record. At 30 years of age, Searching For The Young Soul Rebels continues to burn.



Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (flac  238mb)

01 Burn It Down 4:20
02 Tell Me When My Light Turns Green 3:46
03 The Teams That Meet In Caffs 4:08
04 I'm Just Looking 4:41
05 Geno 3:28
06 Seven Days Too Long 2:43
07 I Couldn't Help If I Tried 4:12
08 Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply 2:59
09 Keep It 3:59
10 Love Part One 1:11
11 There, There, My Dear 3:31

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Dexys Midnight Runners - Extra Searching (flac 465mb)

The Non-Album Singles And B-Sides
01 Dance Stance (Alternative Single Mix) 3:44
02 I'm Just Looking (B-Side Version) 4:23
03 Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache 3:24
04 The Horse 2:22
05 Keep It Part Two (Inferiority Part One) 3:45
06 One Way Love 3:09
07 Plan B 2:37
08 Soul Finger 2:12
Demos & Radio Sessions
09 Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply 2:53
10 Hold On! I'm Comin' 4:18
11 Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache 3:36
12 The Horse 2:40
13 I Couldn't Help If I Tried 4:18
John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session(26-2-80):
14 Geno 3:29
15 Tell Me When My Light Turns Green 3:15
16 The Horse 2:13
17 Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache 3:29
Kid Jensen BBC Radio 1 Session:
18 Geno 3:26
19 Respect 3:35
20 Dance Stance 3:19
21 The Teams That Meet In Caffs 3:56

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For one brief moment, Dexy's exploded into America's consciousness -- and what a song to do it with! "Come on Eileen" combines ramalama rock & roll, soul delivery, and Celtic/country flavor into a perfect musical fusion and an irresistible U.K. and U.S. number one hit. The rest of the album is nearly as successful, with quite a few numbers that should have matched "Come on Eileen"'s fame. Given that song's obvious debt to Van Morrison's similar fusions, it's no surprise that Dexy's tipped their hat with a great cover of Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said," another big British single. Throughout the album, Rowland's distinct, unique voice takes the fore, but the revamped Dexy's lineup proves it was the original version's equal, if not better. Given that only trombonist Big Jimmy Patterson remained, and even then only for two tracks, recruiting a new band able to create the "Celtic soul" Rowland dreamed about turned out to be exactly the right move. Excellently produced by Rowland and the legendary Clive Langer/Alan Winstanley production team, Too-Rye-Ay sounds like an old soul revue recorded on-stage, no doubt an intentional goal. Other highlights include the opening jaunt "The Celtic Soul Brothers," which just about says it all both in title and delivery; the slow swirl of "All in All," and the vicious ballad "Liars A to E."



Dexys Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Ay (flac  442mb)

01 The Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You) 3:09
02 Let's Make This Precious 4:04
03 All In All (This One Last Wild Waltz) 4:10
04 Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) 3:06
05 Old 5:32
06 Plan B 5:05
07 I'll Show You 2:41
08 Liars A To E 4:10
09 Until I Believe In My Soul 7:02
10 Come On Eileen 4:41
The B-Sides
11 Love Part 21:19
12 Dubious 2:42
13 T.S.O.P. 3:47
14 Let's Get This Straight From The Start 3:35
15 Old (Live At Shaftsbury Theatre, London) 4:55
16 Respect (Live At Shaftsbury Theatre, London) 7:42
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17 Let's Make This Precious (Original Version) 3:42

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Dexys Midnight Runners - BBC in Concert (flac 491mb)

BBC In Concert - Newcastle 26/06/82
01 T.S.O.P. 4:15
02 Burn It Down 4:01
03 Let's Make This Precious 4:05
04 Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) 3:16
05 Come On Eileen 6:33
06 Soon 1:27
07 Plan B 4:05
08 Geno 3:33
09 Respect 6:59
10 Old 4:27
11 The Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You) 2:46
12 There There My Dear 4:55
13 Show Me 3:25
14 I'll Show You 3:03
BBC Session - David Jensen 04/07/82
15 Let's Make This Precious 3:41
16 Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) 3:05
17 All In All (This One Last Wild Waltz) 3:52
18 Old 4:40
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19 Reminisce (Part 1) 5:55

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9 comments:

Chris said...

thanks for these wonderful posts. "Searching for..." is unfortunately not accessible.

Rho said...

Hello Chris, sloppy that, usually happens when re-upping but forgetting to enter a new link at a fresh post is rare, oversight corrected now, N'Joy

Anonymous said...

Great posts! Having a problem accessing too-rye-ay though - comes up as a blank page can you possibly help please Rho?

Anonymous said...

Rho - I'm talking *ollocks. Apologies - your links work fine. Sorry...

Mick said...

Idiot critic at Allmusic rated "Too-ay-ay" higher than "Young Soul Rebels". Nice to see the user ratings thought otherwise.

Anonymous said...

merci!

Anonymous said...

Hello buddy! Merry Christmas!
Many thanks for your excellent work over the last year, I downloaded multiple files of new music and music I own on vinyl, cassettes, CD etc that I need in portable digital form.
I appreciate your very kind endeavours and well researched blog and long may you continue!
Have a Happy New Year!
Saudi Mike

jackiewilsonsaid said...

Rho - pls could you reup Soul Rebels, Extra Searching and BBC? Too rye ay is still available.
I had a NASty accident whilst sorting out my lossless files for SONOS and using a playlister to get it to play more of them. I accidentally and randomly deleted the letter D by mistake, so searching for the young soul rebels etc. It could have been worse I guess although Dylan is now about -100. More worried about Dury Lord Upminster which isn't anywhere, and Don't Stand Me Down. As usual I have the records but like lossless too. Thanks as ever.

Anonymous said...

Can you Please Re-post Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels in flac

Too-Rye-Ay is still available in bayfiles

Thank you so much for all you do for us.