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> Login to your account > RegisterDave Edmunds’ Rockpile
From page 107 of Classic Rock Magazine August 2004
Cover of August 2004 issue.
Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
‘There are some things you can’t cover up with lipstick and powder,’ run the opening lines of ‘Girls Talk’. And tonight’s major blemish was the absence of guitar and vocal foil Billy Bremner alongside
Dave Edmunds. Only Nick Lowe was missing from Rockpile’s reunion late last year, this time Edmunds alone carried the show on his shoulders.
The sparkling harmonies of the original quartet in their late-70s prime surfaced only on the aforementioned ‘Girls Talk’ and ‘Queen Of Hearts’, where drummer Bob Richards successfully chanced his arm. More, please...
The sell-out Empire audience seemed happy enough with a set that clearly favoured perspiration over inspiration, Chuck Berry over the Everlys.
No band that includes pianist Geraint Watkins will ever lack effort, yet the zing and zap of old proved hard to recapture despite the ever-willing Edmunds, now an astonishingly youthful 60, covering most lead vocals and all guitars. As the Dave Edmunds Band, this lineup amply sufficed. It’s just not quite Rockpile.
Michael Heatley
