Dexys Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay

There was point on this album around the second track where I thought: “There were drugs involve in making this album. Kevin Rowland was off his face on cocaine, heroine and some kind of hallucinogen. All this stuff about wanting something “pure” and “striving” for something is clearly the product of an intoxicated mind. No one could be that unabashedly idealistic.” Then I remembered that one of the first things Rowland did when he joined the band was made everyone straight edge. So all the things said on this album were said while stone cold sober. I might be too cynical for this album.

This album’s thesis statement comes in the title and chorus of “Let’s Make This Precious.” It is in essence “Let’s try to make something precious and pure,” and that can be broken down a bit further. First off striving, not being sure if you’ll ever actually get something pure and precious but trying anyway, is the important part to Dexys. This is an album about approaching a dream. That theme is important now, but it was also important then in England, where cities like Birmingham where Dexys originated were going through severe economic depression, and the entire album is a message of hope for the downtrodden.

In terms of sound, the big change from Soul Rebels to Too Rye Ay was the addition of violins to supplement the horns. They’re still a soul band, but they’ve become more dramatic, more theatrical. The emotions are grander, and the song structure a bit looser on some tracks, and that can be a bit jarring at times when you’re used to that tight soul sound.

For example, there were two singles off this album: “Jackie Wilson Said” and “Come on Eileen.” and they were the only singles that could have seen mainstream appeal. “Jackie Wilson Said” is a cover of a Van Morrison song (I prefer Dexys version). And “Come on Eileen” is the Celtic soul version of “Born to Run," just a mammoth song about escaping your humdrum life and trying to find a joy that’s out there. “We can sing just like our fathers.” Anyways, my point is that these two songs are the only singles possible on this album. Everything else has to really be appreciated with everything else. That being said “Jackie Wilson Said” and “Come on Eileen” both fit into the album perfectly. Think of them as being to the album what the song “My Shot” was to the Broadway show Hamilton.

5/5 This album sounds good and it’s good for you. It strove to be something precious and pure, and while it may or may not have succeeded, the feeling I get when I’m listening to it is.