Search - Dave Edmunds :: Tracks on Wax 4

The pinnacle of Dave Edmunds' "solo" career

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 12/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Edmunds had already found success twice by the time of this first full collaboration with the backing band that would be known as Rockpile. He'd first come on the scene with the blues-rock band Love Sculpture, and later as a solo artist with his debut album "Rockpile" and its hit-single cover of Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knockin'." His follow-up "Subtle as a Flying Mallet" produced two UK hits, but it was his blossoming relationship with Nick Lowe (who he'd befriended while producing the last LP of Lowe's band, Brinsley Schwarz) that would chart his future success. The two worked together on Edmunds next solo album, "Get It," and Lowe joined Edmunds touring band - also named "Rockpile."



This album is the first full LP by Rockpile (Edmunds, Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams), and everything that marks this foursome for greatness is here. Edmunds rock 'n' roll roots mesh perfectly with the loopier pub rock of Lowe's songs. The band, gigging constantly, is as tight as a drum. Their future efforts, including Lowe's "Labour of Lust," Edmunds "Repeat When Necessary" and the band's own "Seconds of Pleasure" would all bear the same hallmarks, but this first assemblage is the most vital.



Edmunds lends superb rockabilly and blues stylings to the Lowe originals "Never Been in Love" and "Television," and the two exercise intricate Everly-styled harmonies on their own "What Looks Best on You." Edmunds' "A.1 on the Jukebox" is a fine two-step country-rocker, and the co-write "Deborah" is Nick Lowe styled power-pop at its best. Covers of Chuck Berry's "It's My Own Business," the obscure 1964 Dean and Jean B-side "Thread Your Needle," and a trio of songs by writers Billy Murray and N. Brown round out the album perfectly. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]"

+ 1/2 stars...Classic Dave Edmunds

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 10/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Except for his hard-core fans (of which I include myself), most people will only remember Dave Edmunds for his 1971 Top 10 cover of Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knockin'." But for more than three decades, Edmunds has made a career of being one of the music world's finest roots rockers.



By the late-Seventies guitarist Edmunds and basist Nick Lowe appeared on each other's solo albums along with second guitarist Billy Bremner and drummer Terry Williams. [They would record only one album under the moniker Rockpile--1980's SECONDS OF PLEASURE.] But for all intents and purposes, this 1978 album is a Rockpile album, and it is one of Edmund's best.



Highlights include rockers like "Trouble Boys" and "Deborah" as well as songs like "Never Been in Love," which evokes the harmonies of the Everly Brothers (an obvious influnce on Edmunds and Lowe, who cut an EP of Everly covers as a bonus disc on the original release of SECONDS OF PLEASURE).



If you're a fan of rock 'n' roll from a two guitar-bass-drum band, you'll fall in love with this album. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"