A uniquely honest character, Ian Dury could never resist sending up the asinine world of the music industry, or indeed the world itself. His death last year shocked the UK music community, in which he'd made an awful lot of friends, as this tribute album proves.
Re-recording Dury's stellar 1977 album 'New Boots And Panties' with an all-star line-up was an inspired decision, as it conclusively proves that there was more to the man who called himself 'Durex' than 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' and 'Reasons To Be Cheerful'.
Eight of the ten contributors to the album are backed by Dury's band The Blockheads for added authenticity. Sinead O'Connor is up first on 'Wake Up And Make Love With Me'. Her soft vocals bring out the sensual quality, and highlight the fact that this is a love song, albeit one written from Dury's unique down-to-earth perspective.
Robbie Williams races through 'Sweet Gene Vincent', clearly relishing the wicked wordplay and putting on his best 'Cockney Geezer' voice. Paul McCartney, on the other hand, tackles 'I'm Partial To Your Abracadabra' very much in the vein of the rock'n'roll classics he covered on the 'Run Devil Run' album. And rightly so.
Madness suit 'My Old Man' down to the ground, and Suggs effortlessly gets into character. Ditto Billy Bragg on his and The Blokes' version of 'Billericay Dickie'. Wreckless Eric is the third of Dury's contemporaries and his 'Clever Trevor' is suitably downbeat.
Catatonia's Cerys Matthews, like Sinead, oozes warmth on 'If I Was With A Woman' while Grant Nicholas from Feeder manages the most punk rock performance of his career to date on the raucous 'Blockheads'.
Shane MacGowan staggers through the harrowing lyrics of 'Plaistow Patricia', propped up admirably by Sam Brown. And, for a finale, actor Keith Allen snarls and spits through 'Blackmail Man', which shows definitively how Dury could attack prejudice by bringing everyone down to his own lyrical worldview.
The whole album speeds by with barely pause for breath, with everyone putting their heart and soul into their track, and more importantly sounding completely thrilled to be there. A good job very well done. Wherever he is, Lord Upminster is surely smiling down.
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by Simon P Ward