However, Too-Rye-Ay wowed the critics (“On this record, Rowland does the impossible – makes me believe he’s found some young soul rebels,” gushed The Village Voice’s Robert Christgau) and it tore up the charts – peaking at No. 2 in the UK and No. 14 on the Billboard 200, with platinum discs to follow. In fact, in 1982, you’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone who wasn’t deliriously happy with Too-Rye-Ay – except for Kevin Rowland himself. It is with huge regret that Dexys have had to cancel the "Too Rye Ay as it should have sounded” UK Tour planned for September and October 2022.

You suggest that it sounds punchier now – but that’s only half the story, as it has a lot more dynamics and a lot more emotional depth. It sounds a lot more pure for want of a better term,” he says. “It’s a very musical mix. It lets the vocals breathe, and also we were able to deal with a few of the studio treatments and production techniques. They were of their time, but I didn’t like them, and they didn’t reflect the dynamic range of the music.” Beaumont, Mark (20 September 2007). "Dexys Midnight Runners: Too Rye Ay". NME. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016 . Retrieved 15 June 2016. So, I was absolutely delighted to get this opportunity to remix the album with the masterful Pete Schwier who has worked with Dexys since 1985 and Helen O’ Hara {Original violinist on the album}, is also helping. She was really good when it came to correcting the balance of the strings on stuff like Liars A To E, turning the organ down so that the violins came to life more. Basically, she helped rectify my mistakes. Since 1982 there have been a few different versions of the record. In 1996 it featured eight bonus songs, and in 2007, when a 25 year anniversary record was released, it included a 14-song live performance at the BBC. ‘Come On Eileen’ itself exists in many versions, some feature the solo fiddle playing the first line of the folk song ‘Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms’, and some begin with that inimitable bassline. Even the fact that these versions exist suggest Rowland couldn’t let it go. “The songs and performances are great, but I always felt the mixes could be better. It's my most successful album, but it doesn't sound as good as the others,” he told Retro Pop magazine.A project like this can resemble a conjuring of a central spirit, and a kind of rejoindering. And while it is fair to say that Rowland and Dexys can never be accused of being complacent, they have always been “searching for something” (to borrow from ‘Plan B’). Raggett, Ned. "Too-Rye-Ay – Kevin Rowland / Dexys Midnight Runners". AllMusic . Retrieved 15 June 2016. Well, I was never gonna actually badmouth the album, ’cause it’s not bad, the songs are all good. We put a lot of time into them, a lot of care, and the performances themselves worked. We never fell below a certain standard, it was just the mixing didn’t always do them justice, it didn’t have enough light and shade. There were too many hard edges, too many high frequencies, and it was too synthetic in parts. It was supposed to be a much purer, more soulful record.

When all is said and done, the changes are largely cosmetic. The original release, produced by Rowland with hitmakers supreme Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, was a triumphant return for a band whose previous few singles had failed to make much of a noise, its pristine sound perfectly attuned to a summer that had already served up such elegant sonic pleasures as Elvis Costello’s Imperial Bedroom and ABC’s The Lexicon Of Love. The deluxe sets also include non-album B-sides, “Soon”, “…And Yes We Must Remain The Wildhearted Outsiders, Love (Part 2)”, “Dubious” and non-album single “Let’s Get This Straight From The Start”. Christgau, Robert (26 April 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved 15 June 2016. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th conciseed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.

He came to the studio and the plan was for us to sing it together, but he listened to what was only meant to be my guide vocal and said, “You’ve already got it, there’s nothing I can add.” Clive told me later that when I’d nipped to the toilet Van was mumbling [affects Irish accent], “It’s an interpretation, it’s an interpretation.” If we’d got that on tape we would have used it as the intro! This speaks to something more philosophical, more fundamental – is anything ever truly finished? Is a song ever really finite? Having had forty years to muse on it, surely Too-Rye-Ay As It Should Have Sounded is the definitive statement of Rowland’s and Dexys’ original vision?

Swedishcharts.com – Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners – Too-Rye-Ay". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2022. I never want to repeat the same thing, because ultimately, you’ve got to be true to the music and the inspiration behind it,” Rowland says today. “It’s your job to honor the music, wherever it comes from. It’s not something where you should put it before a committee, and they decide how it should sound, though if you don’t do that, you probably won’t enjoy sustained success.” There is no way on earth I would be doing this tour or even promoting a normal 40th anniversary re-issue, if it wasn’t for the opportunity to remix it and present it how it could have sounded.This is the crux of Rowland the artist, a man whose radical commitment to an idea forsakes all else – sometimes even common sense. It’s made him one of pop’s true originals. Before ‘Come On Eileen,’ we’d had a couple of singles that didn’t do so well, so their opinion held sway. If I said I really didn’t like the sound of something, I’d be told not to worry, it was fine. I could never pinpoint exactly what the problem was with the way [the album] sounded, but I was never happy with it. Then, when it was finished, I was told the budget was spent, so I’ve had to live with it – until now!” The new version Too-Rye-Ay is now finally living up to Kevin Rowland’s vision, with extras showing the battle to get it right, here’s our review…