Riff Raff | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1984 | |||
Studio | Maison Rouge Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock, synth-pop | |||
Label | Arista (UK); Columbia (US) | |||
Producer | Dave Edmunds, Jeff Lynne | |||
Dave Edmunds chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
![]() US/Canada cover. |
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Riff Raff is a 1984 album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. [3] [4] The album was his third release for Arista Records (in the UK) and Columbia Records (in the US), following 1983's Information .
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. However, compared to the pair'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. [5] "Something About You" failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 (although it did hit #16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart). [6]
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).
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.
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [7] | 26 |
US Billboard 200 [5] | 140 |
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. During their first run from 1970 to 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group's only consistent members.
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder, and latterly the sole member, of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and has written all of the band's music since 1972. This includes hits such as "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Hold On Tight". He also has had a solo career, with two albums: Armchair Theatre (1990) and Long Wave (2012).
David William Edmunds is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s-style rock and roll and rockabilly.
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Its contrasting movements were composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time.
Mystery Girl is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released posthumously by Virgin Records on January 31, 1989. It includes the hit singles "You Got It", which was co-written by Orbison and his Traveling Wilburys bandmates Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and "She's a Mystery to Me", written by Bono and The Edge. The album was a critical and commercial success; it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Orbison had achieved on that chart, and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on November 16, 1993. It is Petty's best-selling album to date and was certified 12× Platinum by the RIAA on April 28, 2015. The single "Mary Jane's Last Dance" became one of Petty's most popular songs, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The other new song on the album is a cover of the Thunderclap Newman hit "Something in the Air". The album contains no songs from 1987's Let Me Up . However, three songs from Petty's 1989 solo album Full Moon Fever were included.
"Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album A New World Record and was also released as a single. Patti Quatro sang uncredited vocals, particularly the "higher and higher" parts.
Flaming Pie is the tenth solo studio album by English musician Paul McCartney, released on 5 May 1997 by Parlophone in the UK and Capitol Records in the US. His first studio album in over four years, it was mostly recorded after McCartney's involvement in the highly successful Beatles Anthology project. The album was recorded in several locations over two years, between 1995 and 1997, featuring two songs dating from 1992.
The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 is the debut studio album by the English-American supergroup Traveling Wilburys, comprising George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. It was released in October 1988 to commercial success and critical acclaim. Although Harrison had long planned to start such a band, the project came about through happenstance. Harrison was in Los Angeles and in need of a B-side for a single from his album Cloud Nine, which resulted in the participants collaborating informally on the song "Handle with Care" at Dylan's home.
"Birthday" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, mainly by McCartney, it is the opening track on the third side of the LP. Surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed it for Starr's 70th birthday at Radio City Music Hall on 7 July 2010.
"Go" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released in October 1993 as the first single from the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music primarily written by drummer Dave Abbruzzese. The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and reached the top five in New Zealand and Norway. "Go" received a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror .
"10538 Overture" is the debut single by the English band the Electric Light Orchestra. It was released on 23 June 1972 as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album (1971). It is a hard rock song influenced by psychedelic music, with cello instrumentation and lyrics about an escaped prisoner. Originally written by co-founder Jeff Lynne for his and Roy Wood's previous band, the Move, it became the first recording by the Electric Light Orchestra after Wood added orchestral instruments to the song.
"Do Ya" is a song written by Jeff Lynne, that was originally recorded by The Move, which became a hit for the Electric Light Orchestra in 1977.
"Turn to Stone" is a 1977 song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States.
Information is a 1983 album by Welsh rock musician Dave Edmunds. The album was his second release for Arista Records and Columbia Records.
"Cloud 9" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison that was released as the opening track of his 1987 album Cloud Nine. It was also issued as a promotional single in the United States, where it peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart. Co-produced by Jeff Lynne, the recording features guitar interplay between Harrison, on slide guitar, and Eric Clapton. Harrison performed the song in concert throughout his 1991 Japanese tour with Clapton and in 1992. A live version appears on Harrison's Live in Japan album, while the original studio recording was included on his 1989 compilation Best of Dark Horse.
"Slipping Away" is a Top 40 pop song performed by Welsh singer/guitarist Dave Edmunds. The song was written and produced by Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra fame and was included on Edmunds' 1983 album Information. "Slipping Away" was released as a single and became Edmunds' second and final Top 40 single in the US, following 1970's "I Hear You Knocking".
"Something About You" is a song written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and was first released by the Four Tops on their 1965 album Four Tops' Second Album.
The Navigator is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Hurray for the Riff Raff. It was released by ATO Records on March 10, 2017. The album was recorded in 2016 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City and Panoramic House in West Marin with producer Paul Butler, a member of the band The Bees.