Dexys Midnight Runners - more than a one hit wonder

[johnnyASAT]

Kind of an odd band to post about in a guitar forum because they largely eschewed guitars in their heyday, but I've been listening to their catalog a lot recently. First off, Come On Eileen is an all timer pop song and deserves its play. But the band has a ton of other really great songs. There's a rerelease of Too Rye Ay that's out now that's been remixed by Kevin Rowland (the lead singer/main songwriter) and the guy that mixes his current material and it really reinvigorates the album. Just smartly written, huge sounding pop. Highlights for me are Old and Liars A to E.

If you haven't dug into these guys before, don't write them off. The songs are seriously good and the performances are incredibly on point. Rowland's new material isn't half bad either.

 

[Mouth]

Our House makes two. Oh wait.

 

[Lawdawg]

Hell yeah! I went years and years thinking they were the quintessential one hit wonder (albeit a fantastic hit) and had no idea they had a more interesting discography as well as many other hits in their native land. I 'discovered' "Searching for the Young Soul Rebels" when the 30th anniversary edition was released -- better late than never!

 

[trev333]

 

[trev333]

 

[Killing Floor]

Yeah, no they weren’t. It was just the one song.

But Mick Talbot was a super freak organ player. Absolutely love his work with Weller in Style Council.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

The opening reminds me of the Blues Brothers version of "I Can't Turn You Lose." Which is a good thing.

 

[Masmus]

In the Come On Eileen video, as the video goes on there are less people in it. The singer was firing band members as the shoot went on.

 

[Kev-wilson]

Brilliant cover, and anyone (Uk) remember the sitcom 'Brushstrokes'?

 

[trev333]

 

[wulfenganck]

They had some great influence in an early 80s soul revival.
It's just Rowlands voice......he has this odd howling and vibrato going on, I can't stand him longer than three, four songs in.

 

[johnnyASAT]

In the Come On Eileen video, as the video goes on there are less people in it. The singer was firing band members as the shoot went on.

Dang a singer with a theatrical style and temperament also had an ego. Learn something new every day!

 

[johnnyASAT]

They had some great influence in an early 80s soul revival.
It's just Rowlands voice......he has this odd howling and vibrato going on, I can't stand him longer than three, four songs in.

He can be a bit much, but there's definitely some smart writing and arranging that elevates their stuff imo

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Come on: You know how people will run onto the dance floor for the part that speeds up? I thought a funny cover would be to start that section off at the original's slow tempo, then just get slower and slower

 

[David Barnett]

 

[Ron R]

100%

 

[BigDaddyLH]

 

[Vermoulian]

Just because a band has lots of records and good songs doesn't mean they are not a one-hit wonder. We can talk about Big Country some time.

 

[cartier]

One of the more underrated bands. "Waiting for Columbus," is one of the best live recordings of it's day. Last month, I saw the latest iteration of the band and they still rock their hits. When a member of the "Mothers of Invention," Frank Zappa heard Lowell George play, Willin, he told George, go start your own band and he did! For an LA based band, they sure knew how to write and sing about the South!

 

[johnnyASAT]

Just because a band has lots of records and good songs doesn't mean they are not a one-hit wonder. We can talk about Big Country some time.

Yes and no. There are bands where the one hit was what they had in the tank. Then there are others that have rich libraries of great material. It's okay to have a distinction imo. Dexy's had the one big hit... but there's more. Lots of acts of both stripes.