Anthology (1968-1990)

There's nothing complicated about Welsh roots-rocker Dave Edmunds. Beginning with his days with Love Sculpture through Rockpile (with Nick Lowe) and as a solo artist, he's been churning out passionate music which is a product of his fifties influences without sounding like a mere rehash of the country, blues and rock 'n' roll music he so obviously loves.\n\nThough not a gifted songwriter (he co-wrote only 8 of the 41 tracks on this collection--most with Lowe), overall he shows impeccable taste in song selection: Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk," John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night," Chuck Berry's "The Promised Land," and Bruce Springsteen's "From Small Things, Big Things Come" (a song her wrote for Edmunds)--all of which should have been big hits.\n\nIn a perfect world, Edmunds would be known for more than just his lone Top 40 U.S. hit, "I Hear You Knocking," a Smiley Lewis tune he took to No. 4 in 1970. This double-disc set is loaded with should-have-been hits: "I Knew the Bride," which reached the U.K. cart at No. 26, but wouldn't chart in the U.S. until Lowe released his own version of the song; "Queen of Hearts," which went to only #56 (while a note-perfect cover by Juice Newton went to No. 2 two years later!); "Crawling from the Wreckage," or any of a dozen others.\n\nFor some reason, chart success eluded Edmunds, but that's not to say there isn't plenty for new and longtime fans alike to enjoy. Of special interest are the non-LP single "As Lovers Do" from 1979, the duet with Carlene Carter "Baby Ride Easy" from her album Musical Shapes, and a stunning Everly Brothers cover, "Crying in the Rain" with Lowe. [You'll have to buy Rockpile's Seconds of Pleasure to get the other three.]\n\nEven on the handful of tracks from Information and Riff Raff, where Jeff Lynne was brought on board to update Edmund's sound in the 80s, he couldn't bury Edmund's rock 'n' roll heart.\n\nAll in all this is a great place to get familiar with one of the rock world's best-kept secrets. HIGHLY Recommended