Little Miss Queen Of Darkness What a cool little groove. Buoyant, but in a sort of understated, melancholy way, as is befitting the lyric. Excellent blend with the chord progression. Very cool acoustic bridge. Lyrically, nothing overly deep, but still a great early character sketch for Ray. Really, there's a lot to like about this ditty that would at first seem so light with just a surface listen. Top marks from me. You're Looking Fine Now this, on the other hand, seems like something Ray could have scribbled on the back of a napkin in about 10 minutes while sitting in a pub. The lyric here is about as nondescript as it gets. That said, I do like the blues construct and delivery, and this was a good choice of song for a Dave vocal. Filler... but keeper filler.
Little Miss Queen Of Darkness - a nice little ditty with a bit of a countryish twang or swing to it. As others have mentioned, this song is recorded extremely well. I think that's the other main breakthrough with Face to Face... the quality of the recording and production is miles above the previous albums, as if they weren't forced to record an album track in one take live. Am I crazy, or could this fit on Muswell Hillbillies? At least sonically? I don't think the title and lyrics necessarily fit with that album, but I'm specifically about the music and instrumentation. I feel like I can pick it up and put it over there and it'd fit in. You're Looking Fine - I'm er, fine, with this on the album, but I am not fine with the placement between the previous track and the next track. This probably should have gone after Sunny Afternoon, or could have just been a B-Side. I'd prefer if one of the non-album singles were in it's place, but I really like this song. A bit of a throwback in style, but a nice change of pace, with good vocals from Dave and that honky tonk/saloon piano again from Nicky. Like Mark stated, I always just assumed this was written by Dave. Although I think we have seen that Ray can really get into a character, and I suppose he wanted channel Dave and write something that Dave would write.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of acclimation after decades of listening to the album, but I think the way You’re Looking Fine ends with a descending line creates a great lead in to Sunny Afternoon.
"Little Miss Queen Of Darkness" Often overlooked great Kinks' song. I've really liked this one from the first time I heard it a few years ago. Very early almost-gothic song. "You're Looking Fine" Lyrically not their best but the music itself is great. I don't mind the lyrics but they just seem like the would be on Kink Kontroversy instead of this album. But all in all I still really enjoy both the songs we are covering today.
You're Looking Fine Mark i feel you really nailed it here and it will be hard to add anything. A decent track yes but sounds a rock/blues throwback for the band that would certainly would fit the Kontroversy LP much better so here on Face To Face iam happy to take it or leave it. Dave's vocal holds some appeal in it's plead and fragility and it does absolutely sound as if it was written with the view he would sing it.
I don’t know how many of you watched the documentary that Mark posted (was it Sunday?) but there’s a guy that says The Kinks were pretty much the worst blues band and that if they’d continued in that vein they’d be long forgotten (paraphrasing).
I'm a newbie here @ the Forum, as well as this thread, which I've been following advidly these past few weeks. The Kinks have been my favorite band since 1977 & I got to see them 6 times, the last time in 1995 one town over from me in Beverly, MA, as well as seeing Ray solo 3 times. I do enjoy reading this thread, which are full of interesting insights. I hope to contribute a little bit myself. In fact, I do have a question regarding Little Miss Queen of Darkness. It seems that I hear a glitch whenever I hear Ray sing the last line. It's like a pop. My first 2 copies of Face to Face were the bootleg stereo & the Spainsh PRT versions, so I thought it was just a inferior pressing, but I have the deluxe CD version & it's still there, although reduced a bit. Finally, as for why Face to Face got its name, there was a BBC TV show with the same name in the early 1960s that was an interview show where the subject, who was usually someone well known at the time, was grilled about his/her work, viewpoints, etc. I know that one episode featuring the author Evelyn Waugh is on YouTube. Ray probably thought that it was an appropriate title for an album full of character sketches.
Little Miss Queen Of Darkness Another very well thought out post by our humble host! Another excellent mini vignette from Ray with a brilliant title, particularly when weighed against the development of the storyline. I really enjoy the amalgamation here of vaudeville and the more contemporary musical styles of Jazz, R&B and Pop. Ray at times seems fascinated by flawed or broken characters and of course this is something which he excells at, both in the wide scoped storytelling and even moreso in the emotion and psyche at play for the characters and why do I feel this but also the listeners. Thanks Ray.
It is, in fact, from just after the release of Kontroversy. The same December 1965 session that produced "Sitting On My Sofa" and "And I Will Love You" (probably). Then, "I Remember " is an actual Kontroversy outtake. Even though this puts them just a few weeks before "Dandy," the stylistic difference is dramatic. I like them well enough as songs, because I like earlier Kinks. I'm so used to them on the album that I accept them. But they do feel out of place. Given that the far more thematically appropriate "End of the Season" is likely an outtake, I have to think they included these songs so certain fans wouldn't think they'd given up on rock n roll. But they are a little jarring.
Little Miss Queen of Darkness-- Again, others have covered this well. This is another one where the stereo mix lacks all nuance. The electric rhythm guitar, which adds a climax in the third verse of the mono mix, is pushed to the front of the mix from the beginning, in the stereo version. It drowns out all that cool acoustic guitar work and ruins the delicate mood of the song (IMO). Avoid the stereo unless you've experienced the mono!! It's not the real album!! It is assumed that this is the same song as "A girl who goes to discotheques".
More on "Little Miss Queen of Darkness"-- This is yet another song (like "Dandy" and "House in the Country") that starts out as a detached character study, but then feels the intrusion ( or expansion) of another character into the mix. Just after a song including the line "No one can penetrate me," we hear the line "She'll never understand you when you're kissing her goodnight." Now, we don't know who this "you" is, but one could hear it as the narrator either talking to himself, or warning the listener based on his own experience. I hear the former, and I hear the pain of an inability to make an intimate connection with her. Come to think of it, putting "You're Looking Fine" right after this keeps us in the discotheque, moving on to a more receptive partner. Is that too much of a stretch? Probably.
That stereo version was the only one I knew until I heard the Castle CD re-issue. Then, I had incorrectly assumed Ray had taken advantage of CD-era technology to lay a new scat-style guitar on top of the track I was familiar with...and I didn't like the way a classic was being messed with, kind of like what George Lucas did to later cuts of "Star Wars." I later came to realize I was wrong, of course. Also, the stereo version lopped off the harpsichord solo intro to "Session Man." I hadn't the slightest inkling that I had been living with and loving Face to Face for nearly 20 nears without knowing it was a flawed version that was not how it was intended to be heard.
I was reading once somewhere about Cale and Reed listening to "Lazy Old Sun" and trying to figure out how the groaning sound was made. It's there in the stereo, panned to one side.
The "Daydream" chord progression (G E7 Am7 D7). He'd use something similar five years later for "Holiday." This was the group's first shuffle, a type of meter that would be explored further on the next two albums. It's worth noting that for all the variety there was in Pete Townshend's songwriting over the decades, he somehow never managed to compose a full shuffle, although the bridge of "I Don't Even Know Myself" slips into that sort of rhythm. The overall feel of this would inspire countless Donovan tunes over the next three years. Lyrically, I'll just say that Ray obviously takes a much more sympathetic view of all the female characters that populate his songs than Jagger & Richards. The less said about this, the better. It foreshadows Ray's more tuneless output of the 1970s. Remove it and insert OH WHAT A DAY IT'S GOING TO BE in it's place, and the LP suddenly gains a whole lot of points.
I'm a day behind so I start with yesterday. "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale" is my least favorite entry in the Face to Face House Trilogy. A lot of side 2 seems to be a musical throwback to earlier Kinks, just with better production and a different lyrical approach. Even the least notable songs on the album have a memorable chorus, though. I wouldn't skip this one but I wouldn't seek it out either. "Fancy" - I find the most successful songs on this album are the ones like this that try and do something new. It's slow and droning, but it feels like a very nice and welcome change of pace.
"Little Miss Queen of Darkness" is a real deep cut. In fact, I hardly ever remember how cool this song is. The oddly brief freak-out in the middle in lieu of a solo or anything. Then the 30 seconds at the end to close things out. Very unique moments in the Kink Katalog thus far. It's musically bouncy with dark subject matter. "There was sadness in her eyes." "There was something missing from her carefree little life." "Might as well have died." The music keeps it interesting. "You're Looking Fine" - I hate the word but this seems like filler to me. And it didn't need to be. Ray had the goods. We got this instead. There's not much to this musically or lyrically and it would probably work better being a little faster. Also, placing it between "Queen of Darkness" and "Sunny Afternoon" is going to make it pale even more.
First Kinks album purchased in 1966. Played on my own portable record player! Great memories! What a wonderful thread!
"Little Miss Queen Of Darkness" On an album filled with highlights, this has always been near the top for me. Fantastic songwriting and a song that probably doesn't get as much recognition as it should. I love everything about it. @Fortuleo and @mark winstanley summed it all up beautifully. Dig that jazzy drum break! "Your'e Looking Fine" I have to go with the general consensus on this one. It would have been better placed on the last album. I guess they probably thought they should have a little carry over sound for fans of the last two records. It's a perfectly fine tune and I like the bit when Dave sings "And I feel alright, yes I feel alright". I actually think this might be Dave's best vocal so far. It's just stacked up against more interesting and exciting songs. On its own I think it's a solid tune, but on this album it's most likely the weakest song.
LITTLE MISS QUEEN OF DARKNESS If this is the kind of music they play at Ray's discotheque then I'm not going. Sounds so out-dated to me. And what's with the flailing drum solo in the middle? The guitar tries to bring some tension to proceedings but just ends up sounding over-dramatic. As for the compassionate character sketch, I find Ray demeans the girl more than anything else. This little miss with her little life dancing sadly with sadness in her eyes. Yeah, sure, Ray. The only part I like are the false eyelashes being a disguise meaning the girl is playing a part in her own downfall. Definitely a skipper for me. YOU'RE LOOKING FINE Even worse ! A kind of lazy blues jam that loads of groups could come up with. And as for the lyrics ... what lyrics? Some nice guitar soloing and piano but that's not what I buy a Kinks album for. And it all eventually slows down to make way for the next classic track from the real Kinks.
Interesting. I never really thought of it as demeaning. At least no more so than any song about anyone who hasn't recovered from a traumatic end to a romantic relationship. This is not an uncommon theme in songwriting and I think Ray does a pretty good job of giving it a little extra dose of pathos without actually making it pathetic. I also find this song interesting as it's our first glimpse into Ray's fascination with dancing and the role it plays in the lives of various girls/women. Right on up through "Come Dancing" and "Don't Forget to Dance" (much later tunes with some rather brilliant pathos as well), Ray handles this theme with deftness and great appropriateness to each individual story. One must wonder if this isn't itself rather biographical about Ray's sister. Maybe this is how she got started spending all her time "at the local palais" in the first place.
[QUOTE="All Down The Line, post: 26962725, member: though?[/QUOTE] I have the mono copy. Very decent sound. Solid soundstage.
