"Dear Robin,

I'd try to explain, but you'd never see in a million years..."

from "There, There, My Dear'' on the album, "Searching for the Young Soul Rebels" by Dexy's Midnight Runners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searching_for_the_Young_Soul_Rebels

If enjoyed 'Come On, Eileen' in the 80s, but you haven't heard 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels', you should give it a listen.

I got 'Too-Rye-Ay' when it came out, based -- of course -- on the teenage radio erotica of 'Come On, Eileen' and I listened to 'Too-Rye-Ay' a lot.

When I went looking for more of the same, I found 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels'.

Which I did not like.

(As an aside, I also did not enjoy 'Don't Stand Me Down', but that's a story in itself.)

For several years, I had a tape that was 'Too-Rye-Ay' on one side, and 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels' on the other side, and sometimes I would listen to 'Searching...', but usually I would fast forward through it.

I think -- as someone who grew up surrounded by country music and bluegrass -- I had a better understanding of the banjo and fiddle music of 'Too-Rye-Ay' and the more rural feel of the album, and that the horns and the urban, pseudointellectual vibe in 'Searching...' didn't appeal to me as much.

Until, one day, I realized that I was listening to 'Searching..' a lot more than I was listening to 'Too-Rye-Ay.' (And -- also -- that I really dig rock bands with horn sections.)

So -- as it turns out -- 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels' is one of my favorite albums.

(Granted, Kevin Rowland is not nearly as smart and insightful as he thinks he is, but I think the teenage angst in 'Searching...' is sincere -- even if he was 23.)

#DexysMidnightRunners #dexys_Midnight_Runners #80sMusic #80s #SearchingForTheYoungSoulRebels
#KevinRowland

Searching for the Young Soul Rebels - Wikipedia

In my tradition of browsing through popular culture years or decades late, via the #Irish public #library system, I had a listen to Searching for the Young Soul Rebels. I can see why it has such a great reputation. Some BBC session versions on the bonus disc have much more intelligibly delivered lyrics. This isn't necessarily better than the official version, whose inscrutable delivery is part of the charm really.
#dexys_midnight_runners
#music
#pop

#MorningCoffeeAlbum

Don't Stand Me Down - Dexys Midnight Runners

I wish I knew where Mrs H got this album from. It has a sticker on the back reading "Promotional Copy Not For Resale".
The follow-up to the highly successful Too-Rye-Ay, this album was considered a failure at the time (1985), and the band split two years later.
This is my first listen, and I'm really enjoying it.

#nowPlaying #dexys_midnight_runners #KevinRowland #music #vinyl