Subtle as a Flying Mallet
Studio album by Dave Edmunds
Released 1975
Recorded 1975
Genre Rock
Length 37:56
Label RCA/Rockfield
Producer Dave Edmunds
Subtle as a Flying Mallet was the second solo album by Dave Edmunds, principally focused on sound-alike remakes of late 1950s and early 1960s hits. All of the vocals (except on the live tracks) are by Edmunds, and many of the songs are true solo efforts in that Edmunds also plays all the instruments. The album produced two Top 10 singles in the UK, remakes of the Phil Spector hit "Baby, I Love You" and The Chordettes' "Born to Be with You".
Professional Ratings:
allmusic 3.5/5 stars
Robert Christgau B
Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic:
Taking the one-man band aesthetic to an extreme, Dave Edmunds recorded nearly all of his second album, Subtle as a Flying Mallet, on his own, hiring a bassist and a drummer for only a pair of tracks. Edmunds took several years to complete the record, probably because it took a considerable amount of effort to re-create these songs so thoroughly -- he spends so much attention on detail that he refuses to change the sex on "Da Doo Ron Ron." Alternating between Spector classics, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, and a variety of R&B, country, and pop numbers, Edmunds hits on all the styles of the late '50s and early '60s, but he spends so much time on duplicating the sound that he sucks the joy out of the music; it is positively eerie to hear these songs performed by one man, who spent weeks overdubbing himself to sound like his own wall of sound. And the main problem with Subtle as a Flying Mallet is that these are not reinterpretations; they are re-creations, and there's little point in hearing a one-man version of rock classics if he offers no new ideas. When Edmunds works with obscure material, like the Chordettes' "Born to Be with You," or with newer items like Nick Lowe's "She's My Baby," the results are better, because the songs are less familiar, which makes his painstaking production exciting, but his isolation makes Subtle as a Flying Mallet sound less like a revival and more like a creepy science experiment.
Review by Robert Christgau:
Only an Englishman would spend a whole album proving he had great taste in rock and roll. And he does, he does--from cock-strut to girl-group I love every one-man-Spector production. I just don't know why he took the trouble.
Review on The Second Disc:
From the first notes of ÒBaby I Love You,Ó the opening track on Dave EdmundsÕ 1975 album Subtle as a Flying Mallet, the listener is assaulted with a Wall of Sound Ð thunderous drums, sleigh bells, echo, et cetera. But Spectorian pomp was just one tool in EdmundsÕ box. For Subtle as a Flying Mallet, Edmunds brought his stamp of originality to the songs of Phil Spector, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and The Everly Brothers.
Welsh lad Edmunds first rose to prominence as one-third of Love Sculpture, championed by influential DJ John Peel for an audacious reworking of Aram KhachaturianÕs ÒSabre DanceÓ that cracked the U.K. Top 5 in 1968. By 1970, Edmunds had successfully transitioned into producing, helming ShakinÕ StevensÕ and the SunsetsÕ A Legend, and scoring a hit for himself with a cover of Smiley LewisÕ ÒI Hear You Knocking,Ó a No. 1 U.K./No. 4 U.S. hit. It was included on EdmundsÕ solo debut entitled Rockpile, on which he was joined by John Williams of Love Sculpture on bass. The multi-instrumentalist Edmunds played nearly everything else himself, with Andy Fairweather-Low, B.J. Cole and Terry Williams making musical cameos. Rolling stones gather no moss, and the restless Edmunds even took a stab at acting, accepting a role opposite David Essex, Adam Faith, Keith Moon and Larry Hagman in Michael AptedÕs 1974 music-filled film Stardust. That same year, Edmunds was enlisted to produce the band Brinsley Schwarz, and he formed a lasting relationship with Nick Lowe, who shared his revivalist sensibility. Together, Lowe and Edmunds drove the folk-country-rockabilly group in a forward-thinking direction that foreshadowed what would be considered New Wave. In 1976, the two men would also form their own on-again, off-again group by the (familiar) name of Rockpile.
On 1975Õs Subtle as a Flying Mallet, Edmunds again played all guitars along with bass, keyboards and drums, but he was joined by Lowe on bass, Pick Withers on drums and Bob Andrews on piano. Two of the albumÕs tracks, live versions of Chuck BerryÕs ÒLet It RockÓ and ÒNo Money Down,Ó actually featured the Brinsley Schwarz line-up. The studio tracks showed off EdmundsÕ dense, multi-layered production style, influenced of course by Phil SpectorÕs groundbreaking work. A number of the LPÕs songs had already appeared as singles for the Rockfield label, so named for the studios Edmunds called home. Rockfield single ROC 1 was ÒBaby I Love YouÓ b/w a revival of The ChantelsÕ ÒMaybe,Ó produced in a similarly cavernous style. ROC 2 followed with ÒBorn to Be with YouÓ b/w ÒPick Axe Rag.Ó A fascinating article reprinted in the booklet for RPMÕs reissue describes Edmunds as Òa one-man hit machine out to kill the Spector myth.Ó The producer-singer-musician confirms that his take on The ChordettesÕ ÒBorn to Be with YouÓ was built around Ò74 individual performancesÉeight piano tracks, 14 vocals, ten acoustic guitars, three maracas, two drums, it just goes on and on.Ó He was rewarded with a Top 5 hit in 1973. And in 1975, ÒBorn to Be with YouÓ would become the title track to a Dion DiMucci album produced byÉPhil Spector.
Of those four single sides from ROC 1 and 2, only ÒPick Axe RagÓ wasnÕt included on the original Subtle LP, but itÕs been appended as a bonus track on RPMÕs CD along with the B-side of ROC 6, ÒSome Other Guy.Ó (The A-side was EdmundsÕ recording of Webb PierceÕs ÒI AinÕt Never,Ó featured on the album.) Subtle displayed EdmundsÕ versatility; he was equally comfortable with the twangy country of ÒLeave My Woman AloneÓ and the retro Crystals style of ÒDa Doo Ron Ron.Ó In addition to ÒPick Axe RagÓ and ÒSome Other Guy,Ó RPMÕs reissue adds six selections from the U.K. Stardust soundtrack including an alternate mix of ÒShot of Rhythm and Blues.Ó (ÒShotÓ was issued as ROC 4, b/w ÒLet It Be Me,Ó with both songs appearing in Stardust and on Subtle. Got that?)
In his fine new liner notes, Roger Dopson straightens out the albumÕs convoluted history: all told, Subtle included EdmundsÕ four A-sides, one b-side (ÒMaybeÓ) and two tracks from Stardust (ÒDa Doo Ron RonÓ Ð albeit in an alternate version presented here in the bonus section Ð and ÒLet It Be MeÓ). Five ÒnewÓ tracks rounded out the LP including the Brinsley Schwarz live songs and Nick LoweÕs ÒSheÕs My Baby.Ó
Subtle as a Flying Mallet was so named for a favorite expression of Keith MoonÕs.
Review by Terry Staunton of Record Collector:
EdmundsÕ 1975 album was a masterclass in recreating bygone styles, evoking the spirit of Phil SpectorÕs Wall Of Sound on hit singles Baby I Love You and Born To Be With You, or the country-rock of the Everly Brothers on Leave My Woman Alone and Let It Be Me. The major selling point of this latest reissue, however, is the bonus tracks on which multi-tracked Dave becomes a one-man 60s beat group.
Immediately prior to the recordÕs original outing, Edmunds was tasked with providing the music purportedly performed by David EssexÕs Fabs-like band The Stray Cats in the film Stardust: half a dozen cuts not heard since the release of the vinyl soundtrack in 1974. You Kept Me Waiting, CÕmon Little Dixie and Some Other Guy pull off the clever trick of being good but intentionally not great illustrations of the beat era, as required by the movieÕs storyline.
SubtleÉ also boasts EdmundsÕ earliest work with soon-to-be full-time collaborator Nick Lowe, on the ballad SheÕs My Baby (the first-ever cover of a Basher-penned tune) and two scorching Chuck Berry numbers recorded live with LoweÕs band Brinsley Schwarz. DaveÕs subsequent releases for Swansong cemented his reputation as an inspired and dextrous retro-rocker, but hereÕs where he laid the foundations.
LP track listing
Side One
1. "Baby, I Love You" (Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry) - 3:33
2. "Leave My Woman Alone" (Ray Charles) - 2:39
3. "Maybe" (Richard Barrett) - 2:55
4. "Da Doo Ron Ron" (Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry) - 2:22
5. "Let It Be Me" (Gilbert BŽcaud, Mann Curtis, Pierre Delano‘) - 2:47
6. "No Money Down" [live] (Chuck Berry) - 3:52
Side Two
7. "Shot of Rhythm and Blues" (Terry Thompson) - 2:44
8. "Billy the Kid" (Trad. arranged by Dave Edmunds) - 3:36
9. "Born to Be with You" (Don Robertson) - 3:33
10. "She's My Baby" (Nick Lowe) - 3:38
11. "I Ain't Never" (Mel Tillis, Webb Pierce) - 3:16
12. "Let It Rock" [live] (Chuck Berry) - 3:01
Personnel:
* Dave Edmunds - vocals, all guitars, bass, keyboards, drums
* Nick Lowe - bass
* Pique Withers - drums
* Bob Andrews - piano
* Ian Gomm - guitar, vocals
* Billy Rankin - drums
* Brinsley Schwarz - guitar