Disc 1
The collection gets underway with "Here Comes The Weekend," a fun song written by Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe. There is a delightful youthfulness and innocence about it. Remember when the weekends meant something, before cell phones made it so everyone has access to you at all times? This song also looks forward to the day in the future when things will be different, when he won't have to rely on a regular job. "Everything will go my way/And I won't have to say/Here comes the weekend." This song was released on a single in 1976. "As Lovers Do" was also written by Edmunds and Lowe, and was the flip side to "Here Comes The Weekend." This one has an easygoing vibe, and feels like a song from those early days of rock and roll, especially in that work on keys and the backing vocals.
The next single, also released in 1976, contained two covers. The first is "Where Or When," written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for Babes In Arms. This is a beautiful rendition, mainly due to the vocal work, which is just perfect. The flip side is "New York's A Lonely Town," a surf song taking place in New York in winter. It was written by Pete Andreoli and Vini Poncia, and originally recorded by their band The Trade Winds, who released it on a single in 1965. That's followed by another cover, "Juju Man," written by Jim Ford and Lolly Vegas, and originally recorded by Brinsley Schwarz, a band that included Nick Lowe. Not only Nick Lowe, but also Bob Andrews from that band joins Dave Edmunds on this track. This one has a great energy, and features some good stuff on piano, as well as nice Cajun elements. "Falling in love again/Falling in love again." This was released in 1977. Its flip side "What Did I Do Last Night?" was written by Nick Lowe, and is a seriously fun rock and roll number, coming at us at a good clip and with some attitude. "Top ten music playing way too loud/What did I get into?"
"I Knew The Bride" is a delicious rock and roll number, somewhat reminiscent of Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie," except on the chorus, where he sings "I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll." This is fun, fun, fun. It features some good stuff on guitar. It was written by Nick Lowe. The flip side to the U.K. version was "Back To Schooldays," written by Graham Parker and originally included on his Howlin' Wind album. Interestingly, Brinsley Schwarz and Bob Andrews of the Brinsley Schwarz band played on that Graham Parker record. Like the A side, this one too looks back. "I'm going back, back to school days." There is a great raw vocal performance, and yet an overall sweet feel to this one. The U.S. version of the single had a different song paired with "I Knew The Bride," "Little Darlin'," which was written by Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe. This is a sweet love song in which he sings, "I've been searching such a long time/All around this big old world" and "I can't compare your lips to any other lips."
"Get Out Of Denver" is a great rock and roll number moving at a fast pace. This was written by Bob Seger, who really rocked in those days. He included this song on his 1974 album Seven. This song is guaranteed to get you on your feet, spinning your chick around the floor of your home. Dave Edmunds' single came out in 1977. On the flip side, Dave Edmunds switches to a country vibe with "Worn Out Suits, Brand New Pockets," a song he wrote. "If I make more than a dime/I know I'll lose it back in time/Leaving me right back where I started." Then we move into 1978 with "Deborah," written by Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds. This one has a bit of a Buddy Holly feel to the verses. "Just to have a girl with so much class/They'd crawl a mile over broken glass/And she'd let 'em do it just for a game/And Deborah's her name." The single's flip side, "What Looks Best On You," was also written by Lowe and Edmunds. It's a slower number with a country flavor. "You can look like a queen/In diamonds or jeans/But what would look/The best on you/Is me."
"Television" was written by Nick Lowe. It had been recorded earlier by Kursaal Flyers, who included it on The Great Artiste. This version by Dave Edmunds has a loose feel, a country rock thing happening, and it features a great lead on guitar. "Never Been In Love," the flip side, was written by all four members of Rockpile. It moves quickly with a youthful energy, and features more strong work on guitar. "They can't understand/Why we're walking hand-in-hand/Because they have never been in love." This is one of my personal favorites. The first disc concludes with "Trouble Boys," which was paired with "What Looks Best On You" on the U.S. single. It was written by Billy Bremner, and is a fun track to wrap up the disc. "Well, one of 'em walked up and started dancing with my girl/Who was cryin' 'cause I didn't stop him/All I could say to my baby was/Honey, this man is bigger than the both of us."
Disc 2
The second disc opens with the last single released in 1978, "A1 On The Jukebox," a country rock number about struggling to find a position on the chart after initial confidence. This song is completely adorable. It was written by Dave Edmunds and Will Birch. "My agent gives me spending cash/His pockets seem so deep/I'd live just like a millionaire/If it were mine to keep." He sings that his song has the A1 spot on the jukebox, but is "nowhere on the charts." I love that it ends with "And nowhere," holding onto that last syllable, playfully implying that not being on the charts is like not existing. And then, oo-wee, we get a serious rock and roll number delivered with a fantastic energy. "It's My Own Business" is a Chuck Berry song, this version featuring some delicious work on both guitar and piano, and a vocal performance that has a fiery edge. They jam on this one, stretching Chuck Berry's two-minute song to four minutes, and I love it.
The disc then takes us into 1979 with "Girls Talk," which was written by Elvis Costello. "But I can't say the words you want to hear/I suppose you're going to have to play it by ear." Elvis released his own version a year later, as the flip side to "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" and then included it on the compilation Taking Liberties later that year. Dave Edmunds delivers an excellent rendition. "But I heard you mention my name, can't you talk any louder?" The flip side, "Bad Is Bad," was written by Huey Lewis. It is a song you probably know as the coolest track on the Huey Lewis And The News Sports record, released in 1983. I saw that band in 1985, and was excited that they played this song. This early version begins with some great harmonica work, and is a bluesy rock number quite a bit different from Huey's own rendition. Though, guess what, that is Huey Lewis on harmonica. That man can seriously deliver on that instrument. I once saw him sit in with the Grateful Dead on harmonica, and he impressed the hell out of the crowd. This track also features some delicious stuff on guitar.
Then we are treated to a wonderful rendition of "Queen Of Hearts." This single was released only in the U.K., and it's the first version of the song that was recorded. Yes, this rendition came before Juice Newton's rendition. Juice Newton, as you know, had a huge hit with it, and yet her recording is really not all that different from Dave Edmunds' version. I love both recordings. But this one should have had a chance in the United States. Both "Girls Talk" and "Queen Of Hearts" were included on Repeat When Necessary. The flip side to "Queen Of Hearts" was "The Creature From The Black Lagoon," written by Billy Bremner and inspired by the 1954 movie, which is great. After all, these guys were inspired by 1950s music, so why not also movies from that time? They're having fun with this playful number. "All he wanted was a lady/When at night he came up from the deep/He was feeling like any other lonely fellow/Decided to take one while the city was asleep." The last single of the 1970s is "Crawling From The Wreckage," written by Graham Parker, the second Graham Parker song of this collection. Like "Girls Talk" and "Queen Of Hearts," the Dave Edmunds version is the first recording. This is an energetic and totally enjoyable tune. "Queen Of Hearts" was included as the flip side on the U.S. version of the single, while "As Lovers Do" was the flip side in the U.K.
Then we slip into the 1980s with a delicious cover of "Singing The Blues," a song written by Melvin Endsley, and a hit for Marty Robbins, Guy Mitchell and Tommy Steele all in 1956. This Dave Edmunds rendition has a great loose vibe. "'Cause everything's wrong and nothing ain't right without you/You got me singing the blues." The flip side is "Boys Talk," written by all four members of Rockpile. Hey, they did "Girls Talk," so it makes good sense to also have a song titled "Boys Talk." This one begins with a list of some familiar names. "Sheila, Layla, Josephine, Sweet Jane/These are just some of my favorite names." Yes, this song pays tribute to the female characters of song, and goes on to include "Alison," which, obviously, is another Elvis Costello song. It even mentions "My Sharona" and "Girl From Ipanema," equating the latter with "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena."
The last couple of singles were released in 1981. The first is a cover of "Almost Saturday Night," a song written by John Fogerty, who included it on his 1975 self-titled album. "Gonna push all the clouds away/Let the music have its way." The flip side is a solid rendition of "You'll Never Get Me Up (In One Of Those)," written by Mickey Jupp, who included it on his 1978 album Juppanese. The final single that Dave Edmunds released on Swan Song was a cover of "The Race Is On," on which he is backed by The Stray Cats. This is a country number written by Don Rollins and originally recorded by George Jones. I first heard it in my teens when I got a copy of the Grateful Dead's Reckoning, which was released the same year as Dave Edmunds' version. Dave Edmunds turns in a delightful rendition. On that single's flip side was "(I'm Gonna Start) Living Again If It Kills Me," written by Nick Lowe, Carlene Carter and Dave Edmunds. "I've been sick of everything for so long/That now I'm even sick of myself/I'm going to call up some old friends I used to know/Although they never come around much now/But I can't blame them/Who wants to listen talk me about you for hours?" This song has a kind of gentle, sweet sound, yet with lyrics that offer some surprises, such as the two women "turning tricks out at Disney World." This is another of the collection's highlights.
CD Track List
Disc 1
- Here Comes The Weekend
- As Lovers Do
- Where Or When
- New York's A Lonely Town
- Juju Man
- What Did I Do Last Night?
- I Knew The Bride
- Back To Schooldays
- Little Darlin'
- Get Out Of Denver
- Worn Out Suits, Brand New Pockets
- Deborah
- What Looks Best On You
- Television
- Never Been In Love
- Trouble Boys
- A1 On The Jukebox
- It's My Own Business
- Girls Talk
- Bad Is Bad
- Queen Of Hearts
- The Creature From The Black Lagoon
- Crawling From The Wreckage
- Singing The Blues
- Boys Talk
- Almost Saturday Night
- You'll Never Get Me Up (In One Of Those)
- The Race Is On
- (I'm Gonna Start) Living Again If It Kills Me
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