Dave Edmunds: “I’m Comin’ Home” (1971)

Edmunds g-drops another hit featuring skiffle, rock & roll and arty production effects.

Kronomyth 0.2: Opportunity knocks twice.

Dave Edmunds was (and probably still is) an unusual cat. He was a throwback in the sense that he had a clear affection for skiffle and American rock & roll yet, at the same time, he was a visionary in terms of his musical production techniques. So, you had this long-haired guitar player with one foot in the past and one foot in the future. “I Hear You Knocking” captured that conundrum almost perfectly. His second single, I’m Comin’ Home, wasn’t quite so revolutionary but it’s still left of normal. The song starts out with a faraway sound and then gets chugging with multitracked guitars that feel like a bee buzzing in your brain. The novelty of it is still striking today.

The B side is an Edmunds original, Country Roll. Again, there must be about four guitars playing at the same time and the vocals are filtered through some strange effect reminiscent of “I Hear You Knocking.” The obvious reference point is Johnny Otis’ “Willie and the Hand Jive,” but Edmunds gives it a shiny new paint of coat and a novel approach. “I’m Comin’ Home” was a minor hit in the U.S., although I can’t recall ever hearing it on the radio. Both songs were later added to the expanded compact disc edition of Rockpile.

Original 7-inch single version

A1. I’m Comin’ Home (adapted & arranged by Dave Edmunds) (3:00)
B1. Country Roll (Dave Edmunds) (3:09)

The Players

Produced by Dave Edmunds.

The Plastic

Released in April 1971 in the UK (Regal Zonophone, RZ-3032) and the US (MAM, 45-3608). Reached #75 on the US charts (charted on May 1, 1971). Also released as promotional 7-inch single in 1971 in the US (MAM, 45-3608DJ) feat. A mono on flip. (First appeared in 4/24/71 issue of Billboard.)