I would dearly love to know the consensus on this one, if there is one.
Consensus will almost certainly be classic, I suspect.
The guy’s voice is, and always has been like fingernails on a blackboard to me. Dud. I’d put money on me being the only one who voices a dud opinion.
Dud. You lose.
Though the consensus is classic.
:( / :)
you owe me! this song annoyed me in the early 80s — arrgh that voice — and inexplicably it’s become a retro-nostalgia fave here in the states. too-ray-ooh-raaUPYRBUM. all-time dud.
I vaguely remember vast pots of ink spilled on K Rowlands in the NME glory days, what was up with that?
could be classic, if was not so overplayed
Classic. Don’t listen to the haters, toorayeah.
Classic for four reasons.
john lang otm
I fucking hate it, it’s an Irish minstrel show.
LynnK, that’s EXACTLY one of the reasons I love it!
Classic.
I love the part in the middle of the song where the tempo slows down. Actually, I love the whole song, but I particularly love that part.
Classic but weird. (Or classic because weird, rather.) In a way, it kinda obviates the need for me to care much about Van Morrison (as the cover of “Jackie Wilson Says” makes clear). I’m still surprised it became the success it did over here, actually.
This is a fantastic song. What the feck is wrong with you youngsters?
Ned, the need for you to care about Van Morrison lies herein:
All Van stuff pre-1972 is utterly incredible. If he was American this would never be in any kind of dispute.
Eileen is classic classic classic.
Them I’m fine with. Van Morrison, aside from the contract-breaking bootleg tracks, whatever. I suppose “Brown-Eyed Girl” and “Moondance” are cute enough and I’ll allow for “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” because it made for a great first-dance song at my cousin’s wedding.
Ned Raggett you are Ned Raggett and I claim my five euros.
Depress the dollar further why don’t you.
Hooray!
why do ppl like mundance do much?
Listened to Moondance for the first time recently; kind of a letdown. “And It Stoned Me” is great though, especially the last 30 seconds. More of the record should sound like that.
“Come On Eileen” = totally totally undeniably classic, the clear high point on an album with several rather high ones. Kevin Rowland’s voice doesn’t really bother me — I’ve always found it kind of charming, listening to this weird-voiced Irish dude become a soul singer through sheer force of will.
can we leave van morrison out of this?
i liked eileen when it came out. i bought the 45. it was really catchy. made me wonder who johnny ray was. liked the video. still like shiny shiny better though as far as baggy pants fiddle comedian rock goes.
sorry scott...maybe Moondance is the kind of thing best to be heard when you’re young and impressionable. I was a big fan, always, of the song Moondance, jazzy, sexy, played-out standard that it is. Then got into the whole album early in high school. And can I for a second be your typical record dork and say what about Astral Weeks? which I know usually get’s a few sacred-cow slaying ILXors to pop up with “totally overrated” comments, too which I usually respond, “you’re totally fucking insane”, as Astral Weeks is utterly beautiful and amazing and unique and un-equalled and maybe at times Robert Wyatt has come close to doing something similar but nobody else has, and if you don’t like the more conventional arrangements of Moondance and other Van albums of the period, I mean, Astral Weeks has some top Jazz dudes just riffing on this tripped out romance music, I mean, just listen to the bass playing in the song Ballerina...
And Come On Eileen is classic, the kind of thing that at my age, I was young enough to not care about what’s cool or not when it came out here and loved it when I saw the video then a few years later would be like “duh, one hit wonder, annoying”, but then went to college and had an education in music from a man who spent the better part of the late 70s/early 80s as the midwest’s prime importer of UK pop and thus bow down to Dexy’s particularly the first record and just a few weeks ago I digitized my copy of the song Keep it Part Two (Inferiority Part One) from the 7“(better then the LP version) and I think knowing the earlier stuff and their history and the rest of the second album puts Come On Eileen in a different context, so yes, but yeah totally catchy one hit wonder, and he at least looks better in overalls then he does in a dress.
As a long time hater of Van Morrison, I was rather pleasantly surprised to hear that this song of all things made Ned feel Van Morrison wasn’t necessary.
just a few weeks ago I digitized my copy of the song Keep it Part Two (Inferiority Part One) from the 7“(better then the LP version)
Ah yes?
he at least looks better in overalls then he does in a dress
The memories.
I love how that photo essentially invented St. Etienne.
why the question mark, Ned?
That was my understated attempt to add “...and could you please share?”
Dud. Utter fucking dud. Dud then; dud now. Box it up and bury it in the ground, burn it up and throw it away.
“And It Stoned Me” is definitely classic though.
my legs feel all numb, and my body is shaking
...like jon voight in midnight cowboy
excuse the distortion, it’s an old used 7“.
Too kind of you. :-)
Can I just say, whether Come On Eileen is C or D is immaterial (it is, of course, C), when so much of the album is stone cold C? Specifically This One Last Wild Waltz and Plan B?
in high school i argued with my spanish teacher, saying that this album, peter gabriel’s security, and abc’s lexicon of love would stand the test of time just as well as any of his old rolling stones or sex pistols albums.
classic classic classic. the sound of my childhood—when i was 6 i believed the video was filmed round the corner from me. loved the way they dressed too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKiVTAtgRis
She drives the bus AND sings. Hardcore.
that Save Ferris cover versions sounds like Haircut 100 on speed.
And Matt, you were right!
Classic, of a sort. When early twentysomethings crow about the “eighties sound,” this is usually what they have in mind.
claiming timelessness = classic rockist ploy
OH NOES, YOU HAVE BECOME WHAT YOU HATED!
bliss, whoever you is, I was a LOT more concerned with “timelessness” in high school than I am now!
classic
that wasn’t serious—happy new year, dude
xpost
haha you too dude
Classic.