Panties

Limited box set packaged in a 12 x 12 hardcover book containing four CDs, the original album on vinyl, and a pull out eight page booklet with sleeve notes by Phill Jupitus. Alongside the original album there are three bonus discs containing bonus tracks, demo versions, John Peel Sessions and a full live performance not available before on CD…

Ian Dury's primary appeal lies in his lyrics, which are remarkably clever sketches of British life delivered with a wry wit. Since Dury's accent is thick and his language dense with local slang, much of these pleasures aren't discernible to casual listeners, leaving the music to stand on its own merits. On his debut album, New Boots and Panties!!, Dury's music is at its best, and even that is a bizarrely uneven fusion of pub rock, punk rock, and disco. Still, Dury's off-kilter charm and irrepressible energy make the album gel, with the disco pulse of "Wake Up and Make Love With Me" making perfect sense next to the gentle tribute "Sweet Gene Vincent," the roaring punk of "Blockheads," and the revamped music hall of "Billericay Dickie" and "My Old Man".