Label: Mercury Records (Europe), 9800889
Style: Pop, Folk Rock
Country: Birmingham, England
Time: 71:24, 78:02
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 253, 506 Mb
Charts: UK #2, AUS #2, CAN #10, GER #29, NL #9, NOR #22, NZ #2, SWE #22, US #14. Canada: Gold; Australia, New Zealand and UK: Platinum.
When most people bother to think of Dexys Midnight Runners at all, it's usually as one of those one-hit-wonder '80s bands. There's more to it than that, though. The truth is that in a musical era known more for its singles than its LPs, Dexys' Too-Rye-Ay is actually one of the stronger albums of that decade, as well as one of the more atypical ones. An English band that mixed Celtic phrases and rhythms with soul and R&B influences, Dexys Midnight Runners eschewed the synth-pop style so fashionable in the '80s. In the process, they not only scored a huge international hit single with "Come on Eileen", they also created a unique and powerful LP.
Following their moderately successful debut album, 1980's Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, co-founder Kevin "Al" Archer and several other band members quit the Dexys, leaving lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Kevin Rowland and trombonist Jim Patterson (who sometimes referred to themselves as the "Celtic Soul Brothers") to remake the band. The new band ended up at 11 members strong, and included a pair of violinists (the idea of which had been one of the key bones of contention that caused some of the previous band members to bolt). Dexys then left EMI for Mercury Records, and released the first single for their new label, "The Celtic Soul Brothers", which only got as high as #45 on the British charts. However, their second Mercury single, "Come on Eileen", propelled them to stardom.
It's hard to overstate just how big a hit "Eileen" was. A playful seduction song wherein the saucy protagonist tries to convince the object of his affection to come back to his place and "take off everything", the song reached #1 in the charts in the UK, and the U.S., as well as in Ireland, Canada and a number of other countries. With its pronounced Celtic fiddling and a chorus that included the lyrics "Too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye" (which hearkened back to a 1913 Irish-American song later made popular by Bing Crosby in the film Going My Way), "Eileen" was something of a novelty number that became even more popular thanks to having its video placed in constant rotation on MTV. It became a mega-hit, and deservedly so. Even now, 35 years later, it's instantly recognizable to most music fans, and in fact it's currently being featured prominently in a commercial for the new season of the American television series Preacher.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/73568/Dexys-Midnight-Runners-Too-Rye-Ay/)
01. Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You) (03:11)
02. Let's Make This Precious (04:03)
03. All in All (This One Last Wild Waltz) (04:10)
04. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) (03:05)
05. Old (05:32)
06. Plan B (05:04)
07. I'll Show You (02:40)
08. Liars A To E (04:10)
09. Until I Believe in My Soul (07:01)
10. Come on Eileen (04:41)
11. Love, Pt. 2 (01:18)
12. Dubious (02:41)
13. T.S.O.P (03:47)
14. Let's Get This Straight from the Start (03:35)
15. Old [Live] (04:55)
16. Respect [Live] (07:42)
17. Let's Make This Precious [Original Version] (03:42)
01. T.S.O.P. [Live] (04:14)
02. Burn It Down [Live] (04:01)
03. Let's Make This Precious [Live] (04:04)
04. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) [Live] (03:15)
05. Come on Eileen [Live] (06:32)
06. Soon [Live] (01:26)
07. Plan B [Live] (04:05)
08. Geno [Live] (03:33)
09. Respect [Live] (06:59)
10. Old [Live] (04:26)
11. Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You) [Live] (02:45)
12. There, There My Dear [Live] (04:54)
13. Show Me [Live] (03:25)
14. I'll Show You [Live] (03:02)
15. Let's Make This Precious [BBC Session] (03:40)
16. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) [BBC Session] (03:05)
17. All in All (This One Last Wild Waltz) [BBC Session] (03:52)
18. Old [BBC Session] (04:39)
19. Reminisce, Pt. 1 [BBC Session] (05:55)
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