Baxter Dury. He could have been a contender. And now he is. A latecomer this one. I listened to it all the way through for the first time the day before yesterday on the recommendation of Q Magazine and quickly realised that it would need to feature on here and so regrettably Waxahatchee's splendid Out in the Storm has been bumped out. I'm afraid this list is rather arbitrary, to say the least.
But this needed to be here. It sounds quite unlike any other record on this list and is the highpoint of Dury's career and the moment when he finally, and indisputably steps from his father's long shadow once and for all. Baxter has quite a lot in common with Ian. He's clearly his father's son. The tendency to talk rather than sing on occasion and the gravitas and intimacy that instils. The strange muzak qualities of some aspects of their music. And then the ability to suddenly flick the switch and be all Punk menace. Razor blades, broken bottles and bad breath. In your face. The beery tang of the streets of London.
It's a middle aged album. Musing on broken relationships and childhood memories and trying to salvage some solace and strength from it all and frankly not doing a bad job of it. Definitely a 'what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger' record. Sorry Waxahatchee. I'll try to do you justice in time. But Baxter demanded to be somewhere on this list.
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