"Dominoes" by Robbie Nevil

“Steam was rising in the Asian quarter, as she stepped out… in the street. Voices dropped and every eye was on her, as she braved the midnight heat.”

So begins Robbie Nevil’s “Dominoes”, tonight’s intriguing musical tale on Kyle’s Radio Dial.

“Dominoes” introduces us to Dominique, a devastatingly beautiful woman whom makes men swoon upon first sight. She could literally have any man she wishes, but she longs for a specific mate she cannot have, and remains morose and unfulfilled. The implication is that the singer, (Nevil’s character), is the one Dominique longs for.

“And no one sees the tears that I see falling, urgent whispers calling me.”

However, the lovely lady and the target of her affection will soon be reunited as Nevil conveys in the chorus…

“Dominoes… dominoes… I'm coming back to find you…
Don't let the shadows blind you from love when it's mine.”

And what of the dominoes that are referenced throughout the song? This clever game piece metaphor is actually a reference to Dominique’s swooning suitors. Derisively identified as “soldiers of fortune” and “conquering heroes”, the idea being that even those macho men who tend to view women as conquests find Dominique completely irresistible, hence, they all fall like dominoes when she’s around.

“Dominoes” peaked at US #14 and UK #26, and was extracted from Nevil’s 1986 self-titled LP. Dominoes was Robbie’s second single, following his signature hit “Cest La Vie”, which peaked at US #2. 

I was always taken with Dominoes’ funky bass line, the brief Asian styled interjections (heard best at 1:24 and 2:35), and its interesting sound collage effects, in particular, the descending notes which kick off the song, and the occasional “creaking” sound heard throughout. Nevil’s masterpiece sounded like nothing else on top 40 at the time, and his lyrics are marvelously descriptive in setting up the locale and mood of an oppressively hot summer city night.  

After Nevil charted three LPs, he shifted his focus to writing and production for others, including… Melissa Ethridge, Smashmouth, Mark McGrath, Jessica Simpson, and Jesse McCartney. No word on whether any of these folks plan to cover Nevil’s Dominoes, but no doubt it would serve as an interesting shout out to a prior collaborator.

“It's one more night of Dominoes (dominoes)
every heart is falling, but something else is calling her into the night”