ALBUM: Rockpile (1980)
MVC Rating: 4.5/$$$$
I used to say that if I was limited to one album to play at a party it would be Dr. John’s Gumbo.
Swampy cajun with creole spices, a magical brew of traditional and current dance songs that, even if you can’t understand the words — are forced to dance by the driving zydeco beat. But guess what? In my experimental ‘sell-some-records’ mission linked here, It was one of the very first bought at my booth at the Alabama Record Collector’s Association. I think I sold it for $18. The price was good for me and the buyer. But, I’ve regretted it ever since.
But I had regrets about most I sold — and that’s why this was an experiment to see how I would handle, and how much money they could make. I sold 33 records for a little over $400.
So what I didn’t foretell was that I let go of a very useful album that could be played successfully at a party over and over again as if you had no other selections.
Now, if you’re paying attention you probably realize that you are in the Rockpile post. And you guessed it, it is the new successor to Dr. John. It was a one-album only gig for a couple successful musicians Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds
The album is a frothy brew of American rockabilly, and English pop helping push and shape the new genres of New Wave and Power Pop, who both have extensive catalogs of their solo work which this blog covers (HERE FOR EDMUNDS AND HERE FOR LOWE). The Rockpile album, as a listening experience, is a treasure. It’s kind of like Buddy Holly’s 20 greatest where there are no bad songs and even the sad ones make you happy.
Loved all three