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For God’s sake, burn it down!
Today, I want to tell you a unique story. A story that takes place, as it could not be otherwise, in that England transitioning from the '70s to the '80s. It's the adventure of a group of young guys in love with music, who one day were a motley crew led by an eccentric Don Quixote, and the next, acclaimed national stars.
Kevin Rowland, our "Joe Strummer with a Stax twist," had a peculiar conception of rock: once he had given his all to punk, heart and soul when the fashion was Vicious&Rotten, he was just as quick to recognize the deceit beneath it, turning on his heels and leaving reluctantly. The next step, after a diet of stimulants, classic Stax/Motown and Northern Soul, was recruiting kindred spirits and the birth of the Dexys Midnight Runners. In his vision, there was a class struggle, collective training, and above all, an ensemble without guitars, driven by the fierce and overwhelming power of horns tasked with supporting the arrangements. In 1980, the Dexys launched "Searching for...," a work of imposing and solid physical power, structured from its title on the quest for a third way between post-punk and 2-tone, which were all the rage at the time. As close to the infernal folk of the Pogues as to the ethereal flourishes of the Waterboys, their music assaulted the listener and even themselves, leaving no breath or drop of sweat wasted. That album remains a gem of that brief and intense season, of which Geno somehow represents the epitome.
But here's where the crack occurs.
The sudden and unexpected success perhaps surprised Rowland, who until not long before had been picking through obscure 4-pence singles in Birmingham's markets. The statements to the press grew increasingly confused and paranoid, the leader ever more despotic, the lack of ideas alarming. In short, Rowland found himself alone. How many similarities can we find with the story of Scritti Politti? As if Gartside and Rowland were two sides of the same coin.
However, the sabbatical year benefited our heroic frontman. March 1982 saw them return in great style to the scene, in response to critics who had too hastily written them off. Quite the opposite: preceded by the programmatic and intense chant The Celtic Soul Brothers, they now showcased a new look and a polished lineup. They suddenly abdicated the imperious muscle of horns to rediscover themselves as more elastic in sound, with an unusual funk/jazz influence that intoxicated the performances. Also thanks—but not only—to the courtesy of the Emerald Express Fiddlers who adorned the entire album here and there with mandolins and Gypsy violins. The point of reference, noblesse oblige, was obviously "Into the Music" and Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, with their (in)disciplined acoustic escapades: and to reconnect with the past, a few tracks sufficed, the version of Jackie Wilson Said, here even more forceful than the original, clearly etched who were the guiding deities of Kevin Rowland. In the end, nothing had changed.
The energy, vitality, and extreme intensity with which they delivered their pieces remained intact, even if a track like Old the Dexys wouldn't have played a couple of years prior, not even under torture. The arrangements, the music, the spirit were joyously pop: with many thanks to Colin Fairley, who in production had the bright idea of constantly putting the unrelenting Kilkenny/Shelton rhythm section in the foreground. So not just a simple change of cover outfit (from Mean Streets to an updated version of street hobos), but a profound modernization of the style on already laid foundations. Even the lyrics, invariably probing the mind/body dichotomy conjugated toward unattainable purity (again Gartside, pure coincidence?), had become a well-tested trademark. The New Caledonian Soul was now the style for saturday night stars performing under a different light, at times more fierce, certainly more thrilling and seductive. It happens then that right in the midst of the best mid-tempo interplay—Until I Believe in My Soul, a tearjerker ballad on self-punishment of the flesh, just for a change—they throw in a dixieland that makes you jump from your chair and exclaim: hey! And then our little heart, which had been joyfully skipping until that moment, stops for a moment, and just for a moment we remain stunned. Then, all one can do is stand up and applaud, knowing that the curtain will soon fall. The closing Come On Eileen—again, violins, mandolins, accordions, flutes, for a party that seems never to end—remains the seal of an intense and unrepeatable album not only by the Dexys but by anyone: the cornerstone that has consigned this collective to a small part of history, the one Rowland longed for since those early days in Birmingham.
The dream of Kevin Rowland, although deeply rooted in the '80s (and despite him disavowing it), was born and died in the '70s: too tied to many of those ideas, this poor man's genius got entangled in many stereotypes typical of the same post-punk movement, which rejected anything that wasn't "forward" (read: the «hippie press»). In this sense, "Too-Rye-Ay" remains a swan song, rather than a rebirth. But we would only know this with the years, after the next album—the bizarre "Don't Stand Me Down"—would reveal itself to be a resounding failure. Even the subsequent literature, which for better or worse recounted all the parties involved during that period, would help to define more precise boundaries and list the Dexys Midnight Runners as one of the few truly resplendent falling stars in that blue San Lorenzo carpet that hosted the best music of those years.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Celtic Soul Brothers (03:09)
I'll need tonight to sit and think about this
Think what to do
I'll take some strength to banish hollow sorrow
Hollow sorrow's nothing new
Just enough strength to last until tomorrow
Till I believe in my soul, till I believe in my soul
Tonight I lost sight of your purpose
Despite all this trickery you told me was right
I was such a good boy, I let you hold the door
So kind, so nice, where's my prize?
That's all there ever is
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
That's all there ever was
Oh yes, yes, yes
The same for everyone
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
That's all there ever is
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
That's all there ever was
Ah, you must be fucking joking
The same for everyone
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
Would you please repeat that, break this to me gently
Stand over there
Oh, I know I was an arrogant boy, I let you hold the door
So kind so nice, where's the
I believe in
I believe in
I believe, yes
I believe, yeah
I'm on the train from New Street to Euston
I'm going out to Harrow again
And I'm trying to get the feeling
That I had in nineteen seventy two
I'm saying, wait a minute there, wait a minute there
Hold it, stop, stop, let me get this clear
That's all there ever is
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
That's all there ever was
Oh yes, yes
The same for everyone
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
I know what this is, this is just the difference between
It's the battle between the body and the soul, the spirit
What I'm gonna do now is I'm going to punish my body
I'll punish the body to believe in the soul, I will punish
My body, until I believe in my soul
[Inaudible]
Yes, yes, yes, yes
Yes, yes, yes
I believe it's there
That's all there ever is
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
That's all there ever was
Oh yes, yes
The same for everyone
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
That's all there ever is
That's all there ever was
The same for everyone
Yes, yes, yes
That's all there ever is
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah
02 Let's Make This Precious (04:02)
Pure, this must be, it has to be.
Pure, let's make this pure,
(Do you mean it?) Yes I do,
(Then let's sing it) Certainly, but
First bare your hearts and cleanse your souls
(And then?) Let's try and make this precious, like this.
Let's make this precious.
We're striving over here
(Ever nearer?) I think so
(Visions clearer) of course, of course.
But still we must forsake all to win
(All temptation?) everything (for salvation?) now you're talking
Then let this apply to all we do
(And then?) Our striving will guide us
And somehow I think that we'll win.
Let's make this precious,
First let's hear somebody sing me a record
That cries pure and true.
No not those guitars. They're too noisy and crude.
The kind that convinces refuses to leave,
There's no need to turn it up.
If it's pure I'll feel it from here
Let's make this precious, (I think we probably will)
Let's make this precious, (I think we probably will)
04 Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) (03:05)
Jackie Wilson said it was reet petite
I kind of love you
Yes it knocks me off my feet
Let it all come down
Oh let it all come down
And you know I'm so wired up
I don't need any more tea in my cup
Let it all come down
Oh let it all come down
Now watch this
Toodle langa langa Toodle langa fang
Toodle langa langa Toodle langa fang
I'm in heaven
I'm In heaven
I'm In heaven when you smile
And when you walk across the street
It makes my heart go boom boom boom,
Let It all come down
And every time I stop to think about It
Well little child you simply make my day
Let It all come down
Oh let It all come down
Toodle langa langa Toodle langa fang
Toodle langa langa Toodle langa fang
I'm In heaven
I'm in heaven
I'm in heaven when you smile
05 Old (05:33)
Old have memories to keep all cold away.
What is that you say?
No sense to dwell.
Old, are you ridiculed and fumed away,
No attention paid?
I thought as much. Yes and the dumb patriots have their say,
Only see their way.
Nothing to sell.
And worse from us, so obvious,
Preposterous, when you think of the time that each has spent.
Words heaven sent and truly meant to show
Old, may I sit down here and learn today?
I'll hear all you say.
I won't go away
06 Plan B (05:03)
You've always been searching for something
But everything seems so so-so
Tightly close your eyes
Hold out your hand
We'll make a stand
Forget their plans
and their demands
PLAN B
They're testing you - but don't worry
PLAN B
This week I'm strong enough for two
I'm coming
I'm running
I'm burning
I wouldn't sell you anything
It starts off just joking
and then they stop talking to you
and that's the worst thing of all
The worst thing of all
Whispers more than loud enough
Try to make you feel not good enough
Try this
Don't believe your eyes
Hold out your hand
We'll make a stand
Forget their plans
and their demands
PLAN B
Bill Withers was good to me
PLAN B
Pretend I'm Bill and lean on me
I'm coming
I'm running
I'm burning
I wouldn't sell you anything
PLAN B
Hold on to me
PLAN B
No don't be nervous. Just trust in me
I'm coming
I'm running
I'm burning
I wouldn't sell you anything
08 Liars A to E (04:10)
Nobody tells you. You end up knowing
Bad habits: you should sleep alone
Open to suggestions, is that the way you feel?
'Cos you're the voice of experience, every word
You choose sweet stolen info' you must never lose
Until you're so secure in your habitat familiar
But you won't want from me
There's nothing else to see
Try smoking your own and don't look at me.
No need to explain it, just order dresses
Bad habits: you really shouldn't keep.
Quick nip next door to the vendor of charisma
Because the time, the place and the mood is right
And good old Kevin'll be all right
Here comes ''His Soul
10 Come On Eileen (04:32)
Come on Eileen
Come on Eileen
Poor old Johnny Ray
Sounded sad upon the radio,
He moved a million hearts in mono
Our mothers cried,
Sang along, who'd blame them?
You've grown (you're grown up)
so grown (so grown up)
Now I must say more than ever (come on Eileen)
Toora Loora Toora Loo-Rye Aye
And we can sing just like our fathers
Come on Eileen, oh I swear (well he means)
At this moment, you mean everything.
You in that dress, my thoughts, I confess
Verge on dirty
Ah come on Eileen
Come on Eileen
These people round here, wear beaten
down eyes sunk in
smoke, dried faces, so
resigned to what their fate is
But not us, (no never) no not us (no never)
We are far too young and clever (remember)
Go Toora Loora Toora Loo-Rye-Aye
Eileen, I'll hum this tune forever
Come on Eileen. Oh I swear (well he means)
Ah come on let's, take off everything
That pretty red dress, Eileen (tell him yes)
Ah come on let's, ah come on Eileen
That pretty red dress, Eileen (tell him yes)
Ah come on let's, ah come on Eileen, please
(Come on, Eileen taloo-rye-aye
Come on, Eileen taloo-rye-aye)
Now you are grown, now you have shown
Oh, Eileen
Said come on Eileen, these things they are real
And I know how you feel
Now I must say more than ever
Things 'round here will change. I said
Too-ra-loo-ra too-ra-loo-rye-aye
Come on Eileen, Oh I swear (well he means)
At this moment, you mean everything
You in that dress, my thoughts (I confess)
Verge on dirty
Ah come on Eileen
Come on Eileen, oh I swear (well he means)
At this moment, you mean everything
(in that dress), whoa, my thoughts I confess
Well, they're dirty
Come on Eileen
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