Customer Reviews

D.E.7th/Information

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A welcome reissue of Dave Edmunds' first two post-Rockpile solo outings from the early 80's. "D.E. 7th" and "Information" also shore up the tail end of Edmund's creative peak period (i.e., his association with Nick Lowe) as most subsequent releases to date have been either quick-buck "live" sets or anthology/greatest hits rehashes. This latest "2-fer" reissue is chock-a-block with Edmunds' patented infectious blend of rockabilly, powerpop and John Fogerty-style swamp-blues. Highlights from "D.E. 7th" include a rousing cover of NRBQ's "Me And The Boys", "From Small Things..." and the Stray Cats-ish "Generation Rumble". Interestingly, the stand-outs on "Information" are the two songs produced by Jeff Lynne-the title cut and "Slippin' Away" (which sounds suspiciously similar to ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down"). Edmunds has traditionally produced himself (and sat at the controls for many other artists),so this leads to speculation whether he was getting record company pressure to produce a "hit" (despite his obvious talent, chart success has eluded him since his classic 1971 radio smash "I Hear You Knockin'"). Great remastering job (as usual) from BGO, and I once again applaud them for thier collector-friendly tradition of "2-fer" reissues!

I was living in Northern California when I got the cassette of DE 7th.
I lterally wore it out.
KTIM in San Rafael was playing alot of this type of music.
Strange that Bonnie Raitt also recorded "Me and the Boys" on her "Green Light" album. Her rendition damn near mimics the version on this record, all respects paid to her guitar wizardry and earthy vocals.
But Dave grinds it down to it's basic roots.
DE7th is a must have for anyone who owes his chops to Chuck Berry, and the Brits (who introduced alot of us to the native sound of rock and roll.)
A good friend of mine was the House Manager of a place called Tampa Theater at the time. Rockpile was booked in there one evening, and he didn't get it until he heard that guitar going on during a sound check. The sound of Rockpile was significant in the day when rock music was a diaspora of synthesized, overly produced schtick. Dave Edmunds brought it down to a manageable level, with tons of high-end licks and crunching rhythms.
As Pete Townshend said of Alexis Koerner, "His bones deserve to be carried through London on a Sedan Chair".
Paul McCartney thought enough of him to include him in his "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" film, which featured Dave in his practice space group.
It's got alotta boogie beat and rolling lines.
It's good for the car, the party and the chamber listening.
His stuff makes you think about strapping on the Telecaster and joining in...in fact all his material is like that. The man rocks. Plain and simple. get this record or die without.

An interesting, if conflicting match-up of two Dave Edmunds albums from his tenure at Columbia. The earlier, "D.E.7th," was pretty typical Edmunds fare. Catchy and solid roots rocking with a few choice covers, this time hooking up with a ringer courtesy of Bruce Springsteen. Dave's take on "From Small Things" is as fine as they come, so good that it became the title for From Small Things: The Best of Dave Edmunds. But the rest of the record doesn't match the zing of that song, even if such delights as "Me and The Boys" or "Louisiana Man" come close. Given that Springsteen was supposed to be a golden touch, the lack of success afforded "DE 7th" (it crept into the top 50 in 1982) probably had the suits at CBS nervous about their investment.

However, they weren't the only ones confused when "Information" dropped. Edwards became part of the new ELO, the Edmunds/Lynne Organization, for a heavily synthesized album. While it charted slightly lower than "DE 7'th, the single "Slipping Away" cracked the Top 40, only the second single to do so in Edmunds' career. It is Lynne's hand that guides the album, with heavy new-wave influence crushing "The Watch on My Wrist" but striking the perfect balance on the title track and "Slipping Away." (It is interesting to note how Lynne would eventually revisit some of these experiments in the Traveling Wilburys, and how an attempt at replicating this style with Edmunds on DE's follow-up, Riff Raff, did not even chart.)

As usual, the big successes were the choice covers. Moon Martin's "Don't You Double" and J.Geils' "Wait." It's some pretty good stuff on an album that seemed like such an odd feather in Dave Edmunds' cap.

This is a re-packaging, offering both of Dave Edmund's solo releases immediately after Rockpile on a single disk. I particularly like the first one, DE 7th. From the imaginative cover with the tab notation for the two chords, this is a slick release. Dave rips it up on the Bruce Springsteen tune "From Small Things Mama" with ripping horns on the end of the tune. The cover of the NRBQ song "Me and the Boys" offers an interesting use of delay on the lead vocals to provide a doubling effect. "Generation Rumble" is a nice tune that received airplay as well. The second release, Information, was produced by ELO's Jeff Lynn, and showcases the lush vocal layering that made their sound so popular. Dave's guitar playing and singing are great on the compiled version. I still like Tracks on Wax more, but think this is a nice repacking, allowing the listener two albums for the price of one.