Saturday, May 13, 2023

Dave Edmunds Get It 1977

So Dave Edmunds recorded a classic in 1977. It is almost a Rockpile record, but without Billy Bremner.

Get It is essentially perfect. Edmunds made several others that came close, but this is the bomb.

What makes it so great? Well, Edmunds is an excellent guitarist, a fine singer with just a touch of nasal twang in his voice, and a lover of, and skilled practitioner of, all things rockabilly and/or early rock and roll. And he writes songs almost as good as the tasty covers he chooses.

And what a list of great covers: Bob Seger's rocking Get Out Of Denver, Graham Parker's rockabilly Back To School Days, Rogers and Hart's tender Where And When, Jim Ford's Ju Ju Man, Bob Kelly's Get It, Otis Blackwell's great Let's Talk About Us, Hank William's Hey Good Lookin', and Arthur Crudup's My Baby Left Me. I mean the man has studied the classics of early rock and roll, country and rockabilly, and his choices are hard to criticize. 

Add to that Nick Lowe's wonderful I Knew The Bride (the fast version) and What Did I Do Last Night? as well as Edmunds own Worn Out Suits, Brand New Pockets, and two co-writes with Lowe, Little Darlin' and Here Comes The Weekend.

Only two songs are more than three minutes long. There isn't a wasted note. Edmund's voice is a perfect vehicle for these mostly rockabilly gems. His twangy guitar is always spot on. Lowe contributes bass and Terry Williams drums, thus the "almost Rockpile" reference.

The whole record is on YouTube, if you're so inclined. The two before this one, Rockpile 1972 (with his only hit single, from 1970, I Hear You Knocking), and Subtle As A Flying Mallet 1975, cover similar terrain, and are also well worth your time.

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