Tracks on Wax 4 is the first official
Rockpile collaboration and its hard-driving, unified sounds make it one of
Dave Edmunds' very best records. Like
Get It,
Tracks on Wax 4 relies primarily on originals and contemporary pub rock songs, leaving behind the classic oldies; the older songs on the record are obscurities like
Chuck Berry's "It's My Own Business" and
Jan & Dean's "Thread Your Needle." Built on such fine songs as the rockabilly tinged "Trouble Boys," the
Everly-esque "Never Been in Love," "Television," "Readers Wives," and "Deborah,"
Tracks on Wax 4 is a tight, snappy rock & roll record that is only derailed by a version of
Nick Lowe's classic "Heart of the City," where
Lowe's original vocal is stripped away and replaced by a new take by
Edmunds. Only then does the record recall
Edmunds' perfectionist nature. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine