The Blue Ox Babes - Apples & Oranges

“Lost” album from former Dexys lieutenant

As dictatorial as Kevin Rowland might have been portrayed throughout Dexys Midnight Runners’ career, co-writer and guitarist Kevin Archer was the nearest thing to his right-hand man in the group’s early days. Quitting soon after the release of Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, Archer’s next band projected almost as much passion but with little success.

Go! Discs issued three Blue Ox Babes singles in 1988, but shelved Apples & Oranges despite having already sent promo cassettes to the music press. A disillusioned Archer retreated from the business and it’s only now, more than 20 years later, that his “baby” is making its public bow.

Debut 45 There’s No Deceiving You struts along in the manner of The Chairmen Of The Board, while the title track and She’s So Strong mine the same seams of Celtic folk that Dexys pursued after Archer’s departure. Overall, it falls short of the intensity and aggression of Rowland, but it packs a blue-eyed soulful punch, especially on a cover of Al Green’s Take Me To The River, one of eight bonus tracks.

Cherry Red | CDMRED 401

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
<< Back to Issue 365