Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Dexys, 100% Records 2023.
The Feminine Divine is the title track of Dexys (formerly Dexys Midnight Runners) latest album which is due for release July 28.
Yes the creators of Come On Eileen are still going strong and producing music that is as vital and relevant as their classic early hits.
The Feminine Divine is a concept album that charts the awakening of the central character, Kevin, to the fact he has been conditioned into the traditional ‘male’ role and response to the female of the species.
This position is verbalised in the opening track, The One That Loves You. It’s the standard macho position dominated by possession with statements like ‘you’re mine’ and ‘how could you treat me this way’.
In the second track, It’s Alright Kevin, he admits that it was a position that was phoney and in the following track, I’m Going To Get Free, Kevin commits to change.
This change in realised in track four, Coming Home, where he rediscovers the loss of innocence, the openness and wonder, of his youth.
Songwriter/vocalist Kevin Rowland explains track five, The Feminine Divine and those that follow thus:
“Overcome with regret and at last glimpsing how women might actually feel, the man gets honest and admits how afraid of women he has been, and how fear has driven so many of his actions. He now sees and acknowledges women’s inherent power: if anything, women are superior; they are goddesses.”
The album has been produced by Pete Schwier in conjunction with acclaimed session musician and producer Toby Chapman.
The album is musically divided between the music-hall swagger of the pre-awakening first half, much of it written with Dexys original trombonist Big Jim Paterson, and the second half which is completely different to anything Dexys have done before.
It’s a sexy, saucy, steaming and funky cabaret. A love letter to the women in our lives.
These tracks: The Feminine Divine, My Goddess, Goddess Rules, My Submission, and Dance With Me, were written in collaboration with Sean Read and Mike Timothy and they provide the perfect counterpoint to the macho posturing of the first few tracks.
The Feminine Divine is an ambitious album and if you don’t try to read too much into it I find it works well.
