DAVE EDMUNDS - Closer To The Flame

DAVE EDMUNDS Closer To The Flame cd 1999
Closer To The Flame / Fallin' Trough A Hole / Don't Talk To Me / Every Time I See Her / Stockholm / King Of Love* / I Got Your Number / Never Take The Place Of You / Sincerely / Test Of Love / Stay With Me Tonight.
Produced by D. Edmunds
D. Edmunds: lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals, keyboards / P. Chen: bass / J. Keltner: drums / C. Leavell: keyboards / A. Love, J. Hale, J. Horn & W. Jackson: the Memphis Horns / A.Hecht, R. Funk, C. Cioe & P. Litteral: the Uptown Horns
+ B. Setzer: backing vocals & L. Rocker: bass on *
"Roots-rockers are seldom as purist as Dave Edmunds. Throughout his career, he stayed true to '50s and '60s rock & roll -- for Edmunds, rock & roll history stopped somewhere in 1963, after the Beach Boys' first singles but before the Beatles' hits. After establishing himself as a hotshot lead guitarist in the blues-rockers Love Sculpture, he launched his solo career by painstakingly re-creating oldies in his own studio, usually recording every track by himself. Through all of his efforts, he learned how to uncannily replicate the sound of Sun, Chess, and Phil Spector records, which not only helped him garner several U.K. hits in the early '70s, but also led to successful production work with artists like the Flamin' Groovies and Brinsley Schwarz. In the late '70s, he hit the peak of his career when he teamed up with former Schwarz bassist Nick Lowe to form Rockpile. For several years, Edmunds recorded albums with Rockpile and toured relentlessly with the band, which resulted in a string of hit U.K. singles. After the group imploded in the early '80s, he slowly disappeared from the mainstream, even as he made his most commercial music with producer Jeff Lynne; Edmunds eventually retreated to cult status in the '90s..." Allmusic
The wait between "Riff raff" and its follow-up was a full six years, so it isn't surprising that "Closer to the Flame" finds D. Edmunds abandoning the new wave flourishes of his J. Lynn productions for a straightforward root rock sensibility. The record still suffers from a stiff production -- the rhythms are extremely mannered, and the sound of the record is slightly sterile -- but Edmunds manages to tear into a handful of driving rockers, including Mickey Jupp's "Don't Talk to Me" and "Stockholm," and his version of Al Anderson's "Never Take the Place of You" is his most affecting performance in years. Allmusic