Let The Record Show Dexys Do Irish & Country Soul
Dexys
- Women Of Ireland
- To Love Somebody
- Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
- Curragh Of Kildare
- I'll Take You Home Kathleen
- You Wear It Well
- 40 Shades Of Green
- How Do I Live
- Grazing In The Grass
- The Town I Loved So Well
- Both Sides Now
- Carrickfergus
The album is a body of work which sees Dexys putting their heart and soul into every track that Kevin Rowland has wanted to do since the mid-1980s. Drawing on Rowland and co-producer/core band member Sean Read’s Irish roots, the album is a combination of their interpretations of Irish songs and other select compositions. Each song has been given at least the same level of attention and care as any of their own songs would be. This record is not a stop gap, or a fill in album. It is not a covers album.
“We had the idea to do this album in 1984 or 1985,” says Rowland. “It was to be called Irish and was to feature songs like ‘Carrickfergus’. ‘Curragh of Kildare’ and ‘Women Of Ireland’ – all of which are featured here. Dexys broke up not too long afterwards, so it didn’t happen.”
“Over the years, I would often think about it,” he continues. “The idea of it never went away. I can recall 10 or 12 years ago thinking, for example, ‘If I do ‘Carrickfergus’, I can try this or that.’ Or maybe we can do 'You Wear it Well’, as the brief had expanded from solely consisting of Irish songs, to songs I’ve always loved and wanted to record. The album was always at the back of my mind. Then just as we were getting ready to record ‘One Day I’m Going To Soar’, I had an inspirational bolt from the blue, a strong clear feeling that this album should be our next project.'
“The album is called Dexys DO Irish & Country Soul: DO it, not BECOME it,” he emphasises. “We’re not trying to be Irish, and we haven’t used too many Celtic instruments on there. It’s our sound. We’re bringing our style to these songs. I’m just a guy who follows my intuition, my inspiration. This really felt like the right thing to do. We have put probably more care and attention into these songs than we might have done with our own songs, because the odds were high. It was important to get them right, and make sure every one of them felt relevant to us.”
Dexys are not a revival band. They are going forward not backward. They changed their name from Dexys Midnight Runners to Dexys in 2012 to say “we’re the same people, but we’re different now!” Dexys is not just Kevin Rowland. It is an eight-person ensemble with a nucleus consisting of Kevin Rowland, Lucy Morgan and Sean Read.
Dexys are immersed in style and are madly passionate about their clothes and as such are leading the way in vintageretro-inspired style. This, says Rowland, is style, not fashion: fashion is for the young, style is for all. Dexys see every photograph, video and every appearance as an opportunity to express their style. In recent years the UK music scene has witnessed female recording artists who have embraced vintage style (Paloma Faith, Imelda May) but never a musical ensemble, or male recording artist. The time is right for Dexys.
