1997 Creation CD
In the 1990s,Rowland purchased the rights to Don't Stand Me Down from Mercury and decided to license a digitally remastered CD reissue of the album to Creation Records,which was releasing his current material. The album was issued by Creation in 1997 (CRECD154),and the cover of the album was changed to a shot of just Rowland and Adams from the same photo sessions as the original cover. Rowland's new sleeve notes,entitled "Foreword to the Second Edition",discusses the changing of two of the song titles from the original release:"Knowledge of Beauty" became "My National Pride",and "Listen to This" became "I Love You (Listen to This)". "My National Pride" was the original title of the former song,but Rowland "didn't have the courage to title it that when it came around to the artwork." In addition,the writers of the Warren Zevon song "Werewolves of London" were given co-writing credit on "One of Those Things",which uses the Zevon song as a background theme. Finally,two extra tracks were added to the release:"Reminisce (Part One)",recorded in the spring of 1983 prior to Don't Stand Me Down (and released as the B-side to the reissue of "The Celtic Soul Brothers" that year),and a version of "The Way You Look Tonight".
2002 Director's Cut
During the mastering process for the Creation release,a stereo enhancer was used,which both Rowland and original recording engineer Pete Schwier felt "ruined the dynamics." As a result,Rowland ultimately licensed the tracks to Dexys original label,EMI,to release a third and definitive version of the album in 2002,subtitled The Director's Cut. The tracks were again digitally remastered,but without the stereo enhancer,and the CD featured new artwork,further notes by Rowland,and the additional track "Kevin Rowland's 13th Time",but excluded both of the extra tracks on the Creation release. The cover photo was changed to a photo from a contemporaneous but different photo session of Rowland,Adams,and O'Hara strolling in a park wearing "preppy" clothes (which had been used as the back-cover photo on the Creation reissue). According to Rowland,the album now sounded to him "as it was intended to sound." According to Rowland,"Kevin Rowland's 13th Time" had originally been intended to be the opening song (with the introductory lyric "My name is Kevin Rowland,I'm the leader of the band" and,in a later verse,a "joke" of sorts,to "kick off the proceedings"),but was left off the original issue of the album due to his perception at the time of a "dodgy drum beat" at one point;it was restored for The Director's Cut.
Rowland penned two pages of notes relating to the track,as well as a new "foreword to The Director's Cut",while also including his sleeve notes from the Creation "Second Edition".
A limited-edition version of The Director's Cut had a DVD disc included,featuring videos for the songs "This Is What She's Like","My National Pride",and "I Love You (Listen to This)",directed by Jack Hazan. Rowland penned another page of notes regarding the videos. The booklet shows,in a two-page spread,a photo from the video shoot,with Dexys as an eight-piece band,with Rowland,Adams,and O'Hara in the foreground. All three videos feature footage from this set. While "This Is What She's Like" includes footage of Rowland and Adams walking the streets of New York City,and "My National Pride" shows the band in pastoral scenes evocative of Ireland,"I Love You (Listen to This)" is shot entirely on this set,dark,with a single spotlight on Rowland,no other band member visible,just various angles on Rowland singing the verses and choruses—the majority of the song—until the final instrumental ride-out,when Billy Adams,Helen O'Hara,and the rest of the musicians are finally seen for a few seconds.
