Number 625 - Dexy's Midnight Runners

Number 625

Dexy's Midnight Runners

"Come On Eileen"

(1982)

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Genre:Alt Pop

Ah, its good to be baaaaaack! I have shifted (Physically that is) to a new abode and new town. Its a secret, i don't want to scare all the new friendly neighbours just yet, so i won't be telling them thay have a ghoulish gothic music nut in their midst! Now where was i? Oh Yes *cracks knuckles* Number 625 (Please no complaining that you miss the "Superman Lover Spiderwoman" video (Cos i know you would be fibbing)

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. Both the song and its video were such hits that years later, ska/punk band Save Ferris made a minor splash with its own version of the tune, while Garth Brooks appeared in a Saturday Night Live skit dressed as the capering, bedraggled Rowland.

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. Throughout the album, Rowland's distinct, unique voice takes the fore, but the revamped Dexy's lineup proves it was the original version's equal, if not better. Given that only trombonist Big Jimmy Patterson remained, and even then only for two tracks, recruiting a new band able to create the "Celtic soul" Rowland dreamed about turned out to be exactly the right move. Excellently produced by Rowland and the legendary Clive Langer/Alan Winstanley production team, Too-Rye-Ay sounds like an old soul revue recorded on stage, no doubt an intentional goal. Other highlights include the opening jaunt "The Celtic Soul Brothers," which just about says it all both in title and delivery; the slow swirl of "All in All"; and the vicious ballad "Liars A to E." 1996's reissue is recommended, with eight extra tracks, including some fantastic live cuts like a seven-minute "Come On Eileen," and an appreciative and thorough essay. ~ Ned Raggett

What does The 40 Year Old Virgin R.Stone think?
Armed with a folio of hearty Stax/Volt-style tunes and enough pretensions to poetic spirituality to sink a shipful of Solomon Burkes, singer-writer Kevin Rowland took Dexy's Midnight Runners on a desperate hunt for a mythic tribe of bold new British youth on 1980's Searching for the Young Soul Rebels. That same anthemic breast-beating and soapbox arrogance also scuttle the band's second album, Too-Rye-Ay, an otherwise ambitious fusion of folky Irish jigs and Sixties Memphis soul blasts.
This time, it's not Rowland's lack of sincerity that rings hollow; rather, it's the self-important swagger of his lyrics and imperial ranting in his voice. "First let's hear somebody sing me a record/That cries pure and true/No not those guitars, they're too noisy and crude," he bawls in the brassy "Let's Make This Precious." As a singer, Rowland still mistakes knee-bending histrionics for real conviction. The canny integration of wheezing barroom accordion and the sunny sawing of Celtic fiddles with honky horns suggests there may indeed be a connection between traditional Irish music and American R&B. That connection was first explored by Van Morrison, whose "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" is covered here. And the recent British hit "Come On Eileen," a spirited, unpretentious romp in the hay with a shy lass, brings the LP to an exuberant pop climax with Rowland's pleading chorus and the jaunty pluck of a banjo. But the rude smugness and narcissistic flaunting of songs like "The Celtic Soul Brothers" ("I've seen what's on show and now there's no more to know...So step aside, now your time's up") show Rowland is still too busy studying himself in the mirror to find the young soul rebels right under his nose. (RS 389)

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For Van Morrison see Number 987

For Garth Brooks see Mellow Mix Vol 1 Number 128

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Hey, we are 40 years old) and the Album ranked at Number (We decide... not you, young whipper snapper)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 71.5 out of 108

Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
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Tags:Dexy's Midnight Runners, 1982, Alt Pop, Van Morrison, Save Ferris, Music, YouTube, Music Video, Rolling Stone Magazine, Crowbarred, New Zealand, Crowbarred Unleashed, The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time

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