Feelin' good with Dave Edmunds
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This stuff will brighten anyone's day. A great way to head into the weekend.
Amazon:
There's nothing complicated about Welsh roots-rocker Dave Edmunds. Beginning with his days with Love Sculpture through Rockpile (with Nick Lowe) and as a solo artist, he's been churning out passionate music which is a product of his fifties influences without sounding like a mere rehash of the country, blues and rock 'n' roll music he so obviously loves.
Though not a gifted songwriter (he co-wrote only 8 of the 41 tracks on this collection--most with Lowe), overall he shows impeccable taste in song selection: Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk," John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night," Chuck Berry's "The Promised Land," and Bruce Springsteen's "From Small Things, Big Things Come" (a song her wrote for Edmunds)--all of which should have been big hits.
In a perfect world, Edmunds would be known for more than just his lone Top 40 U.S. hit, "I Hear You Knocking," a Smiley Lewis tune he took to No. 4 in 1970. This double-disc set is loaded with should-have-been hits: "I Knew the Bride," which reached the U.K. cart at No. 26, but wouldn't chart in the U.S. until Lowe released his own version of the song; "Queen of Hearts," which went to only #56 (while a note-perfect cover by Juice Newton went to No. 2 two years later!); "Crawling from the Wreckage," or any of a dozen others.
For some reason, chart success eluded Edmunds, but that's not to say there isn't plenty for new and longtime fans alike to enjoy. Of special interest are the non-LP single "As Lovers Do" from 1979, the duet with Carlene Carter "Baby Ride Easy" from her album Musical Shapes, and a stunning Everly Brothers cover, "Crying in the Rain" with Lowe. [You'll have to buy Rockpile's Seconds of Pleasure to get the other three.]
Even on the handful of tracks from Information and Riff Raff, where Jeff Lynne was brought on board to update Edmund's sound in the 80s, he couldn't bury Edmund's rock 'n' roll heart.
All in all this is a great place to get familiar with one of the rock world's best-kept secrets. HIGHLY Recommended
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Comments (7)
Yea Dave edmunds is still apersonal favouriteand its good to see a decent anthology. The songs he covers he owns Girls Talk is a classic example and even Freddie Kings the stumple is embelished with his own personality.My favourite Dave Edmunds is Tracks on Wax 4 with every track a winner.
Usually, my favorite dave edmunds track is the one I'm listening to at the moment. You are so right - he has a way of inhabiting a tune and making it the definitive one.
"Nothing complicated" to me is, frequently, the sign of music close to the core. I love Edmunds, own everything he's released, and will continue my devotion until one of us passes...
I'll let him know :-)
I'm with dermahrk on this topic. Astute track choices here, inrumford. Thanks for giving me an excuse to digitize Freddy King's original 1961 version of "The Stumble."
Spike, you are da man!