Too-Rye-Ay

Too-Rye-Ay
Studio album by Dexys Midnight Runners
Released July 1982
Recorded December 1981-March 1982
Genre New wave, blue-eyed soul, Celtic folk
Length 40:37
Label Mercury
Producer Kevin Rowland
Clive Langer
Alan Winstanley
Dexys Midnight Runners chronology
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
(1980)		 Too-Rye-Ay
(1982)		 Don't Stand Me Down
(1985)
Singles from Too-Rye-Ay
  1. "The Celtic Soul Brothers"
    Released: March 1982
  2. "Come On Eileen"
    Released: 25 June 1982
  3. "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)"
    Released: August 1982
  4. "The Celtic Soul Brothers"
    Released: March 1983 (re-release)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
NME8/10[4]
Q[5]
Record Collector[6]
The Village VoiceB+[7]

Too-Rye-Ay is the second album by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in July 1982. The album is best known for the hit single "Come On Eileen", which included the lyrics "too-rye-ay" that inspired the album's title.

Background

Shortly before recording this album, Dexys' bandleader Kevin Rowland had decided to add a violin section to the band's existing horn section, which had contributed strings (viola and cello) to the band's latest single, "Liars A to E". However, after violinists Helen O'Hara and Steve Brennan joined the band, the three members of the horn section, including Dexys' co-leader and album co-composer "Big" Jim Paterson, decided to leave Dexys and become an independent horn band (ultimately known as The TKO Horns). Rowland was able to convince them to stay with the band long enough to record the album and to do a kick-off concert debuting the album on BBC Radio One in June 1982.

All the songs on the album were rearranged to add strings, which caused Dexys to re-record the 1981 singles "Plan B", "Liars A to E", and "Soon". During the rearrangement process, "Soon" was revised into the opening section of "Plan B"; since both songs were written by Rowland and Paterson, the merged songs are just credited on the album as "Plan B".

Release

The album's "Come On Eileen" became a number one hit in both the UK and the US. Dexys Midnight Runners is best known as only a one hit wonder in the United States; it was also the first single that Dexys had released in the U.S. However, in the United Kingdom, "Geno" had previously reached number one. "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" and "The Celtic Soul Brothers" were also hit singles in the UK.

Prior to "Come On Eileen", Dexys' only North American single was the Northern Soul classic "Seven Days Too Long", which Dexys' previous label EMI America had released only in Canada (with "Geno" as the B-side).[8] However, on the strength of "Come On Eileen", Too-Rye-Ay reached number 14 in the U.S.[9] But the U.S. success failed to last;, the best performer in the U.S. of Dexys' U.S. follow-up singles was "The Celtic Soul Runners", which peaked at number 86.[9]

Different releases of Too-Rye-Ay featured different versions of "Come On Eileen." Certain editions of the album featured a version beginning with a violin introduction and then simply fading out at the end (length: 4:07).[10][11][12] This version of the song is the one featured on the single release. Other editions of the album (including many of the "re-releases") featured a version without the violin intro and including a tag of Kevin Rowland singing the folk song "Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms", at the end, while the digital version offered by Spotify includes both front and end "Young Charms" tags (length: approximately 4:32).[13][14][15][16] In addition, the most common release of the album features "Come On Eileen" as the final track, while the original U.S. release features the tune as the opening track on Side 2.[17]

The album was re-released in 1996 on CD with 8 bonus tracks. In 2000 an enhanced edition was released with the music videos for "Come On Eileen" and "Jackie Wilson Said" as bonus material. In 2002 a US edition with bonus tracks was released. Marking its 25th Anniversary, a 2007 2-CD Deluxe Edition was released, which included the entire 14-song album kickoff performance on BBC Radio 1 that had previously been released (without "I'll Show You") as BBC Radio One Live in Concert.

Track listing

Side One[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Celtic Soul Brothers"  Kevin Rowland, Jim Paterson, Mickey Billingham3:07
2."Let's Make This Precious"  Rowland, Paterson4:03
3."All in All (This One Last Wild Waltz)"  Rowland, Paterson4:08
4."Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)"  Van Morrison3:06
5."Old"  Rowland, Paterson5:00
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Plan B"  Rowland, Paterson5:04
7."I'll Show You"  Rowland, Paterson2:41
8."Liars A to E"  Rowland, Paterson, Steve Torch4:10
9."Until I Believe in My Soul"  Rowland, Paterson7:00
10."Come On Eileen"  Rowland, Paterson, Billy Adams4:07

Personnel

The players
  • Seb Shelton – drums
  • Giorgio Kilkenny – bass
  • Kevin "Billy" Adams – banjo, guitar
  • Mickey Billingham – organ, piano, accordion, keyboards
  • "Big" Jim Paterson – trombone
  • Paul Speare – flute, saxophone, tin whistle
  • Brian Maurice – saxophone
  • Kevin Rowland – bass, guitar, piano, director, vocals; digital remastering (reissue)
  • Steve Wynne – bass (not credited on some releases)
"The Emerald Express"
Guest musicians
"The Sisters of Scarlet"
Directed by
  • Clive Langer – director
  • Alan Winstanley – director
  • Peter Barrett – cover design
  • Kim Knott – photography
  • Andrew Ratcliffe – artwork, paintings
  • Tim Chacksfield – project coordinator (reissue)
  • ID – Enhanced CD design (reissue)
  • Philip Lloyd-Smee – CD package design (reissue)

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Too-Rye-Ay – Kevin Rowland / Dexys Midnight Runners". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Harris, John. "Dexy's Midnight Runners: Too-Rye-Ay". Blender. Archived from the original on 27 March 2004. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  4. ↑ Beaumont, Mark (20 September 2007). "Dexys Midnight Runners: Too Rye Ay". NME. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Dexys Midnight Runners: Too-Rye-Ay". Q (170): 130. November 2000.
  6. ↑ Staunton, Terry (November 2007). "Dexys Midnight Runners – Too Rye Ay". Record Collector (342). Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (26 April 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Dexy's Midnight Runners* – Seven Days Too Long". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  9. 1 2 "Dexys Midnight Runners - Awards". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  10. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (Italian version) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013
  11. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (Japanese version) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  12. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (French release) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  13. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (German version) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  14. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (UK and European reissue) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  15. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (U.S. reissued version) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  16. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (Japanese reissue) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  17. ↑ Dexy's Midnight Runners- Too Rye Ay (original U.S. release) @Discogs.com Retrieved 3-16-2013.
  18. ↑ "Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Retrieved 2012-11-03.
  19. ↑ "Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay (CD) at Discogs". Retrieved 2012-11-03.
  20. ↑ "Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay (CD, Reissue, US Version) at Discogs". Retrieved 2012-11-03.
  21. ↑ "Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay (2 × CD, Deluxe Edition) at Discogs". Retrieved 2012-11-03.
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