Riff Raff (album)
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Riff Raff
| type = studio
| artist = Dave Edmunds
| cover = Riff Raff LP.jpg
| alt =
| released = September 1984
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio = Maison Rouge Studios, London
| length =
| label = Arista (UK); Columbia (US)
| producer = Dave Edmunds, Jeff Lynne
| prev_title = Information
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Closer to the Flame
| next_year = 1989
| misc = {{Extra album cover
| header = Alternative cover
| type = studio
| cover = Riff Raff US.jpg
| border =
| alt =
| caption = US/Canada cover.
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r36389}}
|rev2= The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev2score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rs/edmunds,dave-old.php|title=[The New] Rolling Stone Album Guide: Dave Edmunds|website=tomhull.com}}
| noprose = yes
}}
Riff Raff is a 1984 album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds.{{Cite web|url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/dave-edmunds/|title=Dave Edmunds}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdvoZRLEs7EC&q=Riff+Raff+dave+edmunds+1984&pg=PA229|title=Rockabilly: A Forty-year Journey|first=Billy|last=Poore|date=July 6, 1998|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9780793591428|via=Google Books}} The album was his third release for Arista Records (in the UK) and Columbia Records (in the US), following 1983's Information.
Overview
Riff Raff continued Edmunds' collaboration with Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne; Lynne produced six tracks on the albums, and wrote three of the songs.
The majority of the tracks on Riff Raff are originals by Lynne, Edmunds, and band member John David. The most notable cover is the aforementioned "Something About You", originally a top-20 hit for the Four Tops in 1965. Edmunds also covered the Paul Brady-penned "Steel Claw" which was originally recorded, with a tighter, more frenetic hard rock arrangement, by Tina Turner for her multi-platinum comeback effort, Private Dancer, released just four months prior.
Reception
Compared to the Edmund's success with Information (which hit #51 on the Billboard 200 album chart and spawned a top-40 single in "Slipping Away"), Riff Raff was a commercial flop. The album made it to only #140.
"Something About You" failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 (although it did hit #16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart).{{cite magazine|title=Dave Edmunds Chart History (Mainstream Rock)|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/dave-edmunds/chart-history/rtt/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=18 February 2021}}
Riff Raff was the last time Edmunds and Lynne would collaborate on record. Edmunds wouldn't make another studio album for five years (although he would release a live album in the interim).
Track listing
- "Something About You" (Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland) – 3:03
- "Breaking Out" (Jeff Lynne) – 3:26
- "Busted Loose" (Paul Brady) – 4:33
- "Far Away" (Jeff Lynne) – 4:11
- "Rules of the Game" (John David) – 4:10
- "Steel Claw" (Paul Brady) – 4:18
- "S.O.S." (Jeff Lynne) – 3:14
- "Hang On" (Steve Gould) – 3:24
- "How Could I Be So Wrong" (John David) – 3:20
- "Can't Get Enough" (Dave Edmunds) – 3:08
Personnel
- Dave Edmunds - guitar, vocals
- Jeff Lynne
- John David - bass
- Paul Jones - harmonica
- Richard Tandy - keyboards
- Terry Williams - drums
- Gered Mankowitz - photography
Charts
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col"|Chart (1984)
!scope="col"|Peak |
|---|
| {{Album chart|Sweden|26|artist=Dave Edmunds|album=Riff Raff|rowheader=true|access-date=18 February 2021}} |
| {{Album chart|Billboard200|140|artist=Dave Edmunds|rowheader=true|access-date=18 February 2021|refname="Billboard200"}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Dave Edmunds}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Arista Records albums
Category:Columbia Records albums