Dave Edmunds - Information

Dave had been doing pretty well sitting in the producer's chair in the early '80s, his work with The Stray Cats was so good. However he was first and foremost an artist in his own right. For over a decade his solo career had chugged along at a steady clip but in terms of commercial success Dave seemed to bubble just below the surface. Most people if they know his name will generally site his 1972 hit "I Hear You Knocking" and that's about as far as it goes. For me that's how it started too. Over the years his name had appeared on enough recordings, including the band Rockpile, that when I found Information I snapped it up. The back cover listed Jeff Lynne on bass and synthesizer, and Richard Tandy on synthesizer, both from ELO. Jeff also produced a couple of the tracks which was a bonus as far as I was concerned.

I've always loved this kind of straight ahead rock and roll. It's more varied than simply labelling it rockabilly ... it's just good old rock and roll. Dave knew what he was doing, and the album is a lot of fun. The big surprise here was Jeff Lynne's "Slipping Away" it's the kissing cousin to "Rock and Roll is King" from ELO's Secret Messages. I wonder who influenced who? This one came out first, but that doesn't mean anything. Apparently Dave cracked the billboard top 40 with this one, marking his second entry onto the US charts, but I don't remember it at all. I do now, it's fantastic. The title track is the other Jeff Lynne production, and it had Richard's touches all over it. I'm not knocking the other songs on the album, there are no weak songs, but these two were just that little bit over the top.

Now, I'll be that guy. What the heck is with the cover? I mean, seriously I've seen the original cover from the UK, and that was so much better than this. What the heck, this was so bad. I mean, you gotta love that Danelectro Longhorn, that's a killer guitar, but the loafers? Ah jeez, why not just tell the guy you were deliberately trying to sabotage the release in North America by trying to design the shittiest cover imaginable. Did Columbia use this as a tax write off?

Back in '83 this should have killed by riding in on the tale end of the rockabilly craze. This would have been an awesome coda and there was just enough edge and tech on the record to almost qualify as a weird new wave glam record.

Dave Edmunds, man that guy just could not catch a freakin' break.

Here's some information for you. THIS IS AWESOME.

Comments

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