When
Dexys Midnight Runners' 1980 album
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels became a huge success, long-brewing tensions among the bandmembers and leader
Kevin Rowland caused a major rift and the band split.
Rowland was left with the
Dexys name while most of the band formed a similar sounding soul-influenced outfit called the Bureau. Kevin "Al" Archer, who was
Rowland's main musical partner in
Dexys, left to form a new band that would head in a slightly different direction:
the Blue Ox Babes. Archer's idea was to blend the soul influences of
Dexys with a Gaelic folk sound, complete with fiddles and other traditional instruments. He even adopted a new look for his band: a less than fashionable raggle-taggle gypsy fashion that was completely out of step with the early '80s. After a few demos were laid down and Archer felt the band was ready to make its debut, his former
Dexys sparring partner
Rowland caught wind of this new look and sound and fell in love with it. Before Archer even had the chance to make a name for his band,
Rowland and the "new"
Dexys Midnight Runners released "Come on Eileen," and the rest is history.
Rowland even had the nerve to "borrow"
Helen O'Hara, the fiddle player from
the Blue Ox Babes demos, and add her to his new lineup (eventually marrying her!). Needless to say, this was a crushing blow to Archer and his musical vision, and he decided to pack it in before
the Babes even released a note. (To his credit,
Rowland eventually fessed up in the '90s and gave Archer all the credit he was due -- but a decade too late.)
Dexys released the Too-Rye-Ay album in 1982 to great success, but
Rowland eventually lost all credibility when he changed musical direction again and released the truly awful
Don't Stand Me Down album in 1985. (The album was reissued in the '90s to great acclaim, with many critics falling over themselves, praising it a decade after they panned it. But to be honest, the album deserved to be panned.)
Archer reactivated
the Blue Ox Babes in the late '80s, bringing in some former
Dexys members and giving the music business another shot. After a few semi-successful singles,
the Babes were set to release their debut album, Apples & Oranges, in 1988 when fate stepped in yet again: their label, Go-Discs, decided not to release the album at all and dropped the band from its roster. Now, 21 years later, the album finally gets an official release on Cherry Red complete with nine bonus tracks -- and what a release it is. Apples & Oranges is everything you would expect a
Dexys-related album to sound like -- only better. Archer's voice recalls both
Rowland and Liverpool legend Pete Wylie (with a little Marc Bolan quiver thrown in), while the bandmembers are accomplished and energetic. The production is top-notch and the songs are fantastic. This would have been a great follow-up to Too-Rye-Ay, and it makes you wonder why a label would choose not to release an album this strong, but it must not have fit into the then-current musical climate. Standout tracks include "It Could Have Been Love," "Walking on the Line," the instrumental bonus track "The Last Detail," and "There's No Deceiving You." The cover of "Take Me to the River" is a bit awkward, but the rest of the album more than makes up for it. If you are a
Dexys fan or just dig great timeless music, then this is a treat worth investing in. ~ Steve Schnee