Yep. I think Dead End Street, or even See My Friends, signals the time when they were becoming difficult to market. In retrospect neither of those two songs even seem like obvious singles - She's Got Everything would have been a more marketable choice.
So we move into 1967 Mr Pleasant. Release info: Produced by: Shel Talmy Release date: 21 Apr, 1967 Record label & catalog #: Pye 7N 17314 Country: UK Format: 7" vinyl single, 45 RPM Release type: Regular release Description/Notes: exported to the Netherlands mono mix (3:00), recorded Mar 1967 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London Oh Mr Pleasant, how is Mrs Pleasant? I hope the world is treating you right, And your head's in the air, And you're feeling so proud, 'Cause you're such a success, And the whole wide world is on your side, hey hey. How are you today? People say Mr Pleasant is good, Mr Pleasant is kind, Mr Pleasant's okay, Mr Pleasant don't mind. As long as Mr Pleasant's all right, hey hey. How are you today? How's your father, how's your mother? How's your sister, how's your brother? How's your brand, new limousine, Twenty-four inch TV screen? Did you like prosperity More than you liked poverty? Life is easier, so much easier, Life is easier now. Oh Mr Pleasant, how is Mrs Pleasant? Did you know she was flirting around With another young man, And he's taking her out When you have to work late? And it's not so pleasant after all, hey hey. How are you today? People say Mr Pleasant is good, Mr Pleasant is kind, Mr Pleasant's okay, Mr Pleasant don't mind. As long as Mr Pleasant's all right, hey hey. How are you today? Mr Pleasant is good, Mr Pleasant is kind, Mr Pleasant's okay. Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music/Carlin Music Corp. We get another track that has a real opening. One thing I have noticed that had previously evaded me, is that the Kinks generally had some kind of introduction to a song, and again here we get a little guitar motif to introduce the song. The piano pounds and we get this really nice guitar riff, that runs on repeat, and pretty much perfectly sets up this really interesting song. Musically this is really very interesting, and it seems hard to dissect the music from the lyrics. We have this almost circus, or carnival-like music, that comes bouncing in. Again we have Nicky Hopkins playing a very important part in how this song sounds. Lyrically this is another stab at those who are better off than the working class plebs. There is a certain mix again, from my eyes and ears at least, of jealousy and scorn. Initially we get the idea that Mr Pleasant is ok. It gets reinforced several times, as if to say, this isn't one of the super oppressive wealthy sorts, but he has a certain amount of arrogance about his situation, "As long as Mr Pleasant's all right" ... but there is an undertone, that this is a facade. There seems to be a sort of sarcastic linking to How's your father, How's your Mother etc, counterbalanced with How's your brand new limousine, hows your big screen tv .... see things haven't really changed that much, humans have a tandancy to judge life's success via what folks have, rather than who they are ..... but anyway this all seems to point to the idea that this is all just a facade, and Mr Pleasant only appears to be pleasant due to his circumstances. This is why I think the circus/carnival styling of the music is so apt, because it is all just a sideshow, a facade to create an impression, and I think that is what ends up being quite brilliant about this track. Anyway we learn that no matter how special Mr Pleasant may be, the negative things in life can still touch his life, as we learn that his wife is having an affair, and perhaps Mr Pleasant isn't really so pleasant, isn't really so lucky, things aren't really what they seem.... This song seems essentially to be an exercise in satire, and on that level I think it works extremely well. So from that opening riff we move into the bouncing oom pah type of thing, and it really brings to mind eighties band Madness to me, I could see this being on The Rise And Fall. We get a horn coming in ( a trombone again?) and again it is very effective, but this time it is adding to the sarcastic layers that this song is putting forward. I think the general set up of this song is quite perfect for what it has set out to do. All the elements here add perfectly to the idea being put across..... even more so, I think that it is veiled well enough, that a non focused listen leaves these things unseen, but the closer you get, the more biting this track is. It kind of makes it a perfect single in that regards, because one could easily miss all the sharp criticism within. So for me another magnificent piece of writing that shows a unity of style and message not often achieved.
Mr Pleasant (alternative version) This is quite different musically, although all the musical themes are in place. I assume this is an earlier take, before they fully fleshed it out to get the final version. We get the guitar just slapping those chords with a kind of offbeat glee, and the piano is pretty much the same. Ray's vocal is also delivered in slightly less forward way. This ends up being a nice alternative look at the track, although the finished version is perfect.
Didn't realise it was a single. There's a few things I'm learning in this thread. I don't think The Kinks could do much wrong at this point. They were maturing their sound at a rapid pace, arrangements becoming more complex and as you suggest, more closely linked to the lyrics. There is a lovely element of sarcasm in Ray's phrasing of the words here, we know he doesn't really mean it when he says everything is ok/all right etc. and it's no surprise when Mr Pleasant gets his comeuppance. Another perfect piece really.
This is the one ! In the Well Respected/ Dedicated / Dandy satirical English portraits vein the Kinks were perfecting at the time, Mr Pleasant is BY FAR my favorite, the one where Ray’s musical genius is on par with the lyrics – or even better than them (and god knows they’re great !). I admire the former songs, I think they’re brilliant little sketches, cleverly dressed as novelty music-hall numbers. And so is Mr Pleasant. But it’s also something else altogether: sheer musical inspiration, overflowing with melodic, harmonic and arrangement ideas, beautiful chord changes, major to minor melancholy, and one of the longest melody any pop band had come up with at the time (or has ever since). The verse is one seemingly never-ending melody (because it’s so cleverly circular), then the “How’s Your Father/How’s Your Mother” bridge pushes it even further on. And after the bridge, the second part of the song is even more extraordinary, with the backing singers' sublime counter melody. I like everything about this track, the barrel house piano, the trombone, the opening guitar chords, the tongue in cheek delivery, the band's confidence and tunefulness. I know this is no Sunny Afternoon or Dead End Street or Waterloo Sunset or Days. But I don’t care. For me, this is the one. The one song usually neglected but I’m so deeply in love with. My own personal most cherished Kinks nugget.
This Is Where I Belong. mono mix (2:25), recorded May 1966 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London I can't think of a place I'd rather be. The whole wide world doesn't mean so much to me, For this is where I belong, This is where I belong. Tell me now if you want me to stay. It don't matter, 'cause I'd stay here anyway. For this is where I belong, This is where I belong. Well, I ain't gonna wander, Like the boy I used to know. He's a real unlucky fella, And he's got no place to go. I won't search for a house upon a hill. Why should I when I'd only miss you still, For this is where I belong, This is where I belong. This is where I belong. Written by: Ray Davies Published by: ? Here we have the b-side for Mr Pleasant, and it appears to be an outtake from the Face To Face album. Lyrically this seems to be an acceptance of who and where someone is. There is no interest in going out and seeing the whole world. There is no interest in being in the mansion. This is a sort of song of contentment or resignation to the reality of the world and where we are in it. Musically this is a more straight forward track in many ways, though there are still some nice things going on here. The organ in the background really adds to the feel, and helps accent the vocal phrasing, which has a nice drawn out feel to it. The bass also does a really good job of following and embellishing the vocal. I like the little guitar lick at the end of each phrase also. The bridge comes in nicely and has a nice variation in melodic theme, and we move really smoothly in and out of the bridge back into the main theme. So we get another really solid track. Not a stand out track to me, but a solid track that fulfills its role as a b-side well.... it could also have been a decent album track too, in my opinion.
"Mr Pleasant" This wasn't an A-side in the UK - just about the only place where it wasn't! Brits had to wait until later in the year when it turned up as the B-side to "Autumn Almanac". Consequently I've always placed it as coming after Something Else - it's always felt a bit more 1968 to me. It's Ray in ultimate vaudeville mode - it's a very fine track - there's very little of the Kinks 1967 canon that isn't, but to me it's a little below the a-sides that came before and after. Its brush strokes seem a little too broad to sit alongside "Sunny Afternoon", "Dead End Street", "Waterloo Sunset" and "Autumn Almanac". To be clear, it would still be a 4/5 song. "This Is Where I Belong" Brits didn't get this one AT ALL! Didn't reappear on a b-side anywhere, didn't appear on any compilation, didn't even get onto the "Well Respected Men" late 80s compilation that collected every other non-album track. Consequently it's the Kinks 60s track that I'm least familiar with. Listening to it now, it's obviously an excellent b-side, sounding closer to Face To Face than to later albums (maybe even has a bit of the Kontroversy sound). A fine example of the garage-y Kinks sound, and a great lyric and vocal from Ray.
For the longest time, This Is Where I Belong was the most elusive Kinks song of them all for me. It was the only B-side that wasn’t on any European CD. I had them all (even King Kong or Berkeley Mews) but not this one. Its cult status was becoming bigger and bigger by the minute, especially since I knew it had been on a mysterious Mr Pleasant EP in my own country. I never owned it but it was the stuff of legend (no doubt we’ll discuss tomorrow). Imagine what it was like to see the songs listed on this EP : Mr Pleasant (perhaps my favorite Kinks single), Two Sisters (my favorite song on Something Else), Village Green (my favorite on VGPS) and… a song I’d never heard in my life!!! It drove me nuts. I could never get a hold of Kronikles either, another legendary release. So my first encounter with the song was the fantastic cover Frank Black did in 1994. Then Ron Sexsmith did it beautifully on the 2001 tribute called… This Is Where I Belong. For a while, it seemed to be the most chic Kinks song to cover! And you said it all, @mark winstanley, when I finally heard it in its original form, I heard a little gem, a slightly dylanesque 1966 track already sounding like a Something Else outtake. But maybe because of my own history with it, I’ll admit it's the one Kinks song – and I mean the only one – where I almost prefer the covers. I love Frank Black's manic take, or the Mother Hips' live one and especially Ron Sexsmith’s, who retains the original’s carousel sound but sings it in his own voice, like a sweet caress.
Great post. I think too often this one gets underplayed cos it's just seen as a production line character song by this point and the line is that the subtler thematics of 'Waterloo Sunset' was where Ray was really at by 1967, but that misses the point: the Melody and the Music are just so intoxicatingly good on 'Mr Pleasant': I think it's significant that it was a huge hit almost exclusively in non English speaking countries: it was that tune and that sound that sold it. (also the fact that it verges of Schlager beerhall music probably didn't hurt in the Germanic territories) Just a masterfully constructed pop music composition.
The Kinks miming Mr Pleasant on Beat Club (with Dave Lee Travis miming trombone and I think Robert Wace miming keys?) Youtube tells me this video isn't actually available here in the UK for me, (I've seen it tons of times before tho) but hopefully it works for some folks residing in other places though. It's a fun clip, and the only surviving performance footage of this song.
It's really interesting that this wasn't a single in England..... I wonder if Ray, or the record company thought the lyrics were just too cutting, and may alienate the band from the public.... Were records and singles mainly something that more well to do folk were buying? and therefore the song seen as a bite the hand that feeds type thing? I don't know, just speculating. It's easy to forget just how different the world is now.... most people have fancy TV's and such these days, that never used to be the case.... and so I wonder if records and singles were the domain of the middle classes and up in 1967?
The Kinks apparently only performed ‘Mr Pleasant’ live once, in Queen's College Flushing New York on March 27th 1971, when student Ben Rosenblatt approached Ray before the show and asked if he could sit in on piano for 'Mr Pleasant' and 'Autumn Almanac', neither of which they'd ever done live as far as is known before. Perhaps admiring Rosenblatt's chutzpah, Ray agreed, and The Kinks pulled out a very credible off the cuff rendition of the song given they hadn't played it for 4 years! (Autumn Almanac was... er.. less successful, but we'll get to that). Note that this was even before the release of Kronikles, so Rosenblatt must've been a seriously hardcore American Kinks fan to even know these songs in 1971, let alone have learned them on piano! Forum member @amcaudio was actually present at this show!
Don't think The Kinks ever played 'This Is Where I Belong' live (they did mime it once on European TV though, currently missing) but Ray responded to the songs cult status in the 21st century by adding it to his solo sets:
I think it was all set to be the next UK single until Ray came up with 'Waterloo Sunset' and it got bumped for that.
I concur.. there's not a Kinks single (or even song) I dislike in this era but "Mr Pleasant" is probably not quite top rung for me. Possibly a combination of factors - the queasy barrelhouse sound, and a lyric that's maybe a little mean spirited. Though perhaps that's the point.. I do like it overall though. The middle eight in particular is tremendous. Then again.. is there a sense of pity for the character? Quite noncommittal, as a few of Ray's character songs are. Are we meant to mock, or sympathise? I think it's songs like this that REALLY influenced Blur in their pomp, who could be similarly gaudy at times. "This Is Where I Belong".. I usually know these b-sides and rarities from the extended albums, and after hearing the albums proper, I love the scattering of random tracks, that often have a slightly folky atmosphere like this.. Mr Reporter etc. Also they always seem to be sung by Dave! A pretty cool number.
On this day in Kinks history; The Kinks appear on TOTPs to promote Come Dancing from the album State Of Confusion, released on this day in 1983.
the uk 45 of mr pleasant/this is where i belong clearly influenced the buzzcocks with records artwork on their 45's!
Mr Pleasant: I remember when I first heard this track, I think on a Kompilation, or the Something Else CD, I was immediately hooked. That intro is brutally harsh, but the lyric is a lot of fun. It's scathing of a character, but also almost feels gently tongue in cheek, especially the 'other young man' section. I prefer it as the B-Side to Autumn Almanac, but I can see why it was an EU A-Side. This Is Where I Belong: I did have this on the FTF CD early on in my Kinks Kanon, but strangely (probably due to it's elusiveness on vinyl in the UK) it took me a while to be familiar with it. Once I got the "Til Death us Do Part" RSD EP I was sorted, but now have it on the RSD and FRA Mister Pleasant EPs too, I got more familiar. It's a nice song, and I enjoy the little keyboard riff in the track, but I don't come back to it too often. A solid song that would've worked well on FTF It's worth noting TISIB was recorded May 1966, the same month as Fancy, which was May 14th 1966 (according to Anthology). Mr Pleasant is then March 1967, and rushed out in April.
