40 years on from his debut album as credited with The Blockheads, Do It Yourself gets the reissue treatment (again).
On top of the vinyl, it also comes with two CDs containing all of the singles, B-sides, demos, videos and a live concert recorded in 1979 on DVD.
Revisiting the album captures a vital period in Ian Dury’s remarkable career. From the infectious pub-rock funk of Waiting For Your Taxi to the unmistakable and quintessentially English strut of Quiet, it’s all good stuff.
Dury remains to this day a complete one-off voice in the history of UK music, who at once seems massively of the time yet also retains a timeless essence. Whilst there’s no real arguable need for this material to be put out yet again, there’s little doubting its quality and legacy.
8/10
Daniel Dylan Wray