''Riff Raff'' is a 1984 album by

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh 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 alwa ...

. The album was his third release for

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

(in the UK) and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

(in the US), following 1983's ''

Information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

''. ''Riff Raff'' continued Edmunds' collaboration with

Electric Light Orchestra 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, classical a ...

frontman

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...

; 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. " Something About You" failed to crack the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (although it did hit #16 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart). ''Riff Raff'' was the last time Edmunds and Lynne would collaborate on record. Edmunds wouldn't make another studio album for six 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 The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

in 1965.

Track listing

# " Something About You" (

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit ...

) – 3:03 # "Breaking Out" (

) – 3:26 # "Busted Loose" (

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

) – 4:33 # "Far Away" (Jeff Lynne) – 4:11 # "Rules of the Game" ( John David) – 4:10 # "Steel Claw" (Paul Brady) – 4:18 # "S.O.S." (Jeff Lynne) – 3:14 # "Hang On" ( Steve Gould) – 3:24 # "How Could I Be So Wrong" (John David) – 3:20 # "Can't Get Enough" (Dave Edmunds) – 3:08

Personnel

*Dave Edmunds - guitar, vocals * John David - bass * Paul Jones - harmonica *

Richard Tandy Richard Tandy (born 26 March 1948) is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra ("ELO"). His palette of keyboards (including Minimoog, Clavinet, Mellotron, and piano) was an importan ...

- keyboards * Terry Williams - drums *

Gered Mankowitz Gered Mankowitz (born 3 August 1946) is an English photographer who focused his career in the music industry. He has worked with a range of artists from The Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix, and in other divisions of the photography industry, i ...

- photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control Dave Edmunds albums Arista Records albums Columbia Records albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Jeff Lynne Albums produced by Dave Edmunds