From Small Things: The Best of Dave Edmunds [Original recording remastered]

Amazon.com
It's one of pop music's most enduring ironies: The caretakers of America's original rock and blues legacy have as often as not hailed from closer to London than to Louisiana. This 16-track collection of recordings by Welsh-born roots-rock acolyte Dave Edmunds deftly underscores the point with ever-upbeat aplomb, spanning four decades and seven record labels (the first such comprehensive anthology of his work) in the bargain. There's a remarkable 32-year gap between this album's opening cover of Rockpile cohort Nick Lowe's "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)" and Edmunds's breakthrough 1970 American hit, "I Hear You Knockin'," but his vibrant performances suggest that not only does the circle remain unbroken, it's scarcely been dented. Crucially, the rockabilly-besotted singer seldom let slavish devotion get in the way of his own considerable creative drive (the exceptions here are a Beach Boys-fetishized cover of "Do You Wanna Dance" and a precious take of the Everlys' "Let It Be Me" from the soundtracks of Porky's Revenge and Stardust, respectively). But his versions of Graham Parker's "Crawling From the Wreckage," John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night," and Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk" amply display Edmunds's innate ability to make a song his own. He even rises above the patent, synth-driven production of Jeff Lynne on "Information" and "Slippin' Away," turning them into unlikely rockabilly-meets-new-wave successes. --Jerry McCulley

From Small Things: The Best of Dave Edmunds,Dave Edmunds,Sony,New Wave,Pop,Pub Rock,Rock,Rock & Roll,Rock/Pop,Roots Rock

From Small Things: The Best of Dave Edmunds [Original recording remastered]

Average customer rating:

Great Collection
You can do better than this odd lot
Edmunds is very underrated.
I like it very much
Gems from one of the greats

From Small Things: The Best of Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Roots Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Alternative Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B0001Z3U5Q
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Tracks:

I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock And Roll)
I Hear You Knocking
Born To Be With You
Let It Be Me
Crawling From The Wreckage
Almost Saturday Night
Warmed Over Kisses (Left Over Love)
From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
Girls Talk (Live)
Information
Slipping Away
Something About You
Stay With Me Tonight
Ju Ju Man Live
Do You Wanna Dance
Run Rudolph Run

Amazon.com

It's one of pop music's most enduring ironies: The caretakers of America's original rock and blues legacy have as often as not hailed from closer to London than to Louisiana. This 16-track collection of recordings by Welsh-born roots-rock acolyte Dave Edmunds deftly underscores the point with ever-upbeat aplomb, spanning four decades and seven record labels (the first such comprehensive anthology of his work) in the bargain. There's a remarkable 32-year gap between this album's opening cover of Rockpile cohort Nick Lowe's "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)" and Edmunds's breakthrough 1970 American hit, "I Hear You Knockin'," but his vibrant performances suggest that not only does the circle remain unbroken, it's scarcely been dented. Crucially, the rockabilly-besotted singer seldom let slavish devotion get in the way of his own considerable creative drive (the exceptions here are a Beach Boys-fetishized cover of "Do You Wanna Dance" and a precious take of the Everlys' "Let It Be Me" from the soundtracks of Porky's Revenge and Stardust, respectively). But his versions of Graham Parker's "Crawling From the Wreckage," John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night," and Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk" amply display Edmunds's innate ability to make a song his own. He even rises above the patent, synth-driven production of Jeff Lynne on "Information" and "Slippin' Away," turning them into unlikely rockabilly-meets-new-wave successes. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Great Collection.......2007-05-02

Excellent collection of songs. I would recommend this CD to anyone who likes traditional rock and roll. My only regret is I never saw Dave perform when he was on the tour.

You can do better than this odd lot.......2007-01-12

Dave Edmunds was a fine songwriter and a capable interpreter of rockabilly classics, but this hodgepodge really doesn't do him justice. A single-disc best-of assortment is easy to assemble from The Dave Edmund Anthology (which I recommend), but beyond his excellent original hits (about half of this album), most people will have little interest in listening to lackluster covers, movie tracks, and Christmas music.

Edmunds is very underrated........2006-02-19

This CD is a great single disc overview of Dave's career. I would have liked to have seen more stuff from his Swan Song days, but beggars can't be choosey. It's a great repesentation of the different types of music Dave has done over the 30+ years he's been doing it. And be sure to pick up Nick Lowe's best of as well as the one Roickpile CD if you lke this one. Both of those collections get 4 stars as well.

I like it very much.......2005-03-10

Dave Edmunds has his own, distinct style and it's nice to listen to. My favorite song by him had always been "I hear you knocking", but I found that there is so much more to him, than that one song. His songs are like a hybrid of the 50's and 70's, very unique and very good. I loved his cover of The Everly Brother's "Let it be me". All of the songs on this disc are very well done, Dave Edmunds has a real talent for taking older-sounding songs and giving them a fresh, updated sound. I think he's quite underrated as an artist. I would very much recommened this disc to anyone who loves music, in general.

Gems from one of the greats.......2004-12-28

Looking back, the rock era produced few artists of originality and excellence. Edmunds didn't invent the twangy guitar or rockabilly, but he honed them to perfection. For the most part, he had a knack for choosing quirky and interesting songs. His production was second to none, as was his guitar work. Since he often played all of the instruments, it must be said that he was skilled on all of them. Dave also possessed one of the best rock voices. Despite being Welsh, he sounded quintessentially American while singing quintessentially American music. I recommend this set in addition to the Anthology because the latter doesn't contain Dave's version of Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run, my favorite Christmas song, and one that captures the essence of Dave Edmunds as well as any other song he recorded. How unfortunate that Dave has stopped recording; he was one of the best.

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