August 15 2007
The Dancing Did – And Did Those Feet
Would it be wrong to describe The Dancing Did as a Greco-Roman wrestling match between Ausgang and Dexys Midnight Runners? Not that it matters, as that is exactly how I would describe them. The Dancing Did don’t necessarily sound like a collision between those two groups, but there’s something in the comparison that captures the spirit of And Did Those Feet. Sonically, The Dancing Did are difficult to pin down. The post-punk skiffling folk of “The Dancing Did” bears only a passing resemblance to the keyboards-and-dirty-guitars of “Badger Boys.” And none of it really connects back to the pounding and chanting of “The Rhythm Section Sticks Together.” That’s the beauty of The Dancing Did–every song is a new face, but they all grin like madcap fools. Weirder than weird and following no discernible plan, The Dancing Did were both ahead of their time and completely out of joint with the slipstream of popular music. And Did Those Feet is also quite a bargain; it not only collects the original album, but a ton of other tracks and live versions are thrown in. It’s a shame that And Did Those Feet was out of print for so long, but this reissue is well worth the wait.
