his debut album, New Boots and Panties!!, Dury's music is at its best, and even that is a bizarrely uneven fusion of pub rock, punk rock, and disco. Still, Dury's off-kilter charm and irrepressible energy make the album gel. Reviewing the 1998 reissue, Tom Doyle of Q believed that "New Boots and Panties!! remains the creative yardstick he [Dury] can never quite measure up to", while in 2012 BBC Music stated, "Dury's work quickly mellowed (well, relatively), but the combination of cheeky ire, libertarianism and jazzed-up music hall punk on New Boots... was defiant, original and, 35 years later, stands as a mighty missing link between the Kinks and Blur." The Encyclopedia of Popular Music calls New Boots and Panties!! "the late Ian Dury's greatest album; rarely has a musical artist been so loved and respected ... He should be remembered for his dynamite band the Blockheads and this necessary album". Critical reviews of the 40th anniversary box set in 2017 continued to praise the album. Terry Staunton of Uncut called New Boots and Panties!! "a calling card that dabbled in jazz, music hall, retro rock'n'roll and Kinks-ian character studies. [Dury] could have been dismissed as a Dickensian cartoon, were it not for the eloquence of his lyrics, his sly humour and the formidable musical range of his partner Chaz Jankel, whose playful arrangements brought depth and ballast to the odd-looking bloke at the mic." He concluded that neither of Dury's following two albums on Stiff Records "could match his debut's invention and charm". Record Collectors Daryl Easlea described the 40th anniversary edition as "a joy to behold" and that New Boots and Panties!! "remains a truly singular album full of magic and wonder. No small thanks to its coterie of characters, real and imaginary, that Dury brought along to so capture the imagination." Mark Blake of Q said, "You can hear late-'70s London all over these songs... Yet New Boots... is more than a period piece. It has endured. Punk's DIY ethos and rejection of conventional pop star glamour enabled Ian Dury rather than dictated to him. The man and his songs were too contrary to fit into any box or era." Summing up the record, he stated, "Forty years on, New Boots and Panties!! has lost few of its brilliant imperfections". Accolades New Boots and Panties!! was ranked at number 2 in the NME writers' list of the