Dexys webstore exclusive coloured triple vinyl LP live album celebrating the band's triumphant 2023 tour in support of The Feminine Divine, plus a selection of Dexys classics. Recorded across the course of the tour.
Dexys webstore exclusive coloured triple vinyl LP live album celebrating the band's triumphant 2023 tour in support of The Feminine Divine, plus a selection of Dexys classics. Recorded across the course of the tour.
Dexys webstore exclusive coloured triple vinyl LP live album celebrating the band's triumphant 2023 tour in support of The Feminine Divine, plus a selection of Dexys classics. Recorded across the course of the tour.
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…
The album is a body of work which sees Dexys putting their heart and soul into every track that Kevin has wanted to do since the mid-1980s. Drawing on Rowland and co-producer/core band member Sean Read's Irish roots, the album is a combination of their interpretations of Irish songs and other select compositions. Each song has been given at least the same level of attention and care as any of their own songs would be. This record is not a stop gap, or a fill in album. It is not a covers album. "The album is called Dexys DO Irish & Country Soul: DO it, not BECOME it," Kevin emphasizes.
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.