Dexys - The Feminine Divine

 

Halfway through the first song of Dexys latest album The Feminine Divine I had to pause the track. Oh Kevin! Is this going to be hard work? There's no artist I can think of who requires such constant input and investment from the listener. He always demands your complete attention and generally rewards it.

Such a troubled fellow in many ways  and he's always been unfailingly upfront and almost painfully honest about the state of his soul with every record that he's made. Look up Tortured Artist in your Rock & Roll dictionary and you're going to find a picture  of Kevin Rowland. In his dungarees, in his dockers outfit wearing a wooly cap. Maybe in his new dress. Wardrobe has always been incredibly important to the man and he's almost always worn it well.

Several of the records in his back catalogue are among the most important ones in my collection and of my lifetime. The first two Dexys Midnight Runners albums Searching For The Young Soul Rebels and Too Rye Aye where he and Dexys first emerged and announced themselves as blazing, raging, angry and quite incomparable talents.

Then in 2012 they returned, utterly unexpectantly with a new record One Day I'm Going to Soar and toured it before it was released. I saw them perform it in full in Whitley Bay on 7th May that year with someone who was and remains incredibly important to me. It felt to both of us as if the songs were being played just for us. Rowland and Dexys are the kind of performers who at their best can pull this off in an utterly majestic fashion. Like almost nobody else I can think of. It was a completely triumphant and unforgettable return.

And then..... Not much really.  Kevin seemed happy, and that in itself was a blessing for all of those, and there are many of us who have been rooting for him down the years. He seemed happy to bask in the limelight of his return. But the records he's put out since have frankly not been much good. Kevin skipping down a lane in stylish trousers, impeccable gear and classy hat. Great look, but not albums you really needed to listen to again in the hope that they weren't as mediocre and forgettable as they'd sounded on first play.

Until now. The Feminine Divine, released on Friday is astonishingly Kevin's fifth act. He's such an old ham. But he's also such a talent that it's impossible to grudge him one more last hurrah. He's not one to ever write off and there may be even more to come, a truly remarkable man with an equally remarkable support circle.. His band. To remain in the here and now The Feminine Divine is just smashing and I'm really pleased to be able to say that.

There are parts that will make many cringe. His mannered vocals. The utterly upfront lyrics. It may not be one for everyone, certainly not for the cynic or the judgmental. Also some that some might object to as the whole record is a tribute to everything that Kevin finds divine about women and some will question his right to say and sing everything that he does. I'm not even going to enter that discussion. I'll leave it to others and just enjoy what's great about it. Its joy.

It's a joyous and heartfelt album. It wasn't hard work at all. It has some fabulous tunes that date back to that glorious age of singalong Pop, Soul and Ska that occurred at the end of the Sixties and the beginning of the Seventies when Kevin was becoming a man. A lot of people owe him a lot and it's great to see how many completely deserved curtain calls he's getting at this late stage of his artistic career.. Three cheers for King Kev!