i feel one of my periodic kinks immersions coming on after following this thread ! just listened to the two ray solo americana records during my drive home from work over the last week or two.
Although a little better these days Waterloo has always been a shabby part of London and a favourite among London's homeless community. No surprise that most people you see there seem to be in a hurry to catch a train. Typical of Ray to write a beautiful song about such a drab area. I work 5 minutes away down the Waterloo Rd. Berkeley Mews is a much nicer locale and Berkeley Square even better. Don't think anyone has mentioned the claim that the Terry and Julie refer to Terence Stamp and Julie Christie who appeared in the film 'Far From The Madding Crowd', which was popular at the time. I think I saw Stamp make this claim on tv once and almost certain Ray has debunked it.
Yea Ray did say it was nothing to do with them... that's essentially why I didn't bother including it
Don’t blame America. Blame NBC and the IOC who awarded them a long term contract to cover the Olympics. U.S. coverage suffered a profound loss of quality when ABC lost the broadcast rights to the same network that presided over the Leno/Letterman and Leno/O’Brien fiascos.
Waterloo Sunset Yet another song I don't want to dissect and just enjoy it for what it is: one of the best songs of the 20th century. Yeah, I'm going there! But obviously this is simply my opinion. And Rasa's background vocals add a special and necessary feminine touch. As far as this recording is concerned, I think it would not be as good if this was just Dave doing them. No way. So thanks again, Rasa. We hear you! A song for the ages. Act Nice and Gentle I think this is a great song. Love the 50s jangly guitar. The song is not a classic for the band, but damn, still a toe-tapper and makes me happy to hear.
Here is the Olympics performance. I think you can see it if you click on the vimeo. At least I didn’t have any issue. ( The YouTube one identified as Waterloo Sunset turned out to be A Day In The Life!):
Speaking of Damon Albarn and Blur, I always thought one of the B sides of their hit Song 2, ‘Polished Stone’ owed a lot melodically to ‘Waterloo Sunset’. See what you think:
I was listening to the anthology and was impressed at how consistently good the song writing is. I would have liked to heard what George Martin might have done with them. I wish the recordings were stronger.
"Waterloo Sunset" OK...time to try to write something about perfection. First heard it some time in the mid-80s, and probably the first thing that struck me is the lyrics. They illustrate a scene of London in the late 60s that I wanted to live in. And then there's the wonderful melody, beautifully sung by Ray - it's a harder song to sing than you might think. And the backing track - so simple, yet it contains everything the song needs. Dave's lead guitar parts on this might be the single greatest use of lead guitar on anything - not just the tunes, but the tone of it. Not to forget the majestic backing vocals. It's just the whole thing which is so great that it's beyond analysis, really. It's just something to sit and enjoy as not just one of the greatest songs by The Kinks, but one of the greatest songs by anybody. "Act Nice And Gentle" Yes, it's a lesser Kinks song, even a throwaway maybe, but at this stage even those are worth listening to. A thing I find interesting is the contrast between the general easy swing of the song and the greater level of urgency in Mick's drumming, almost as if he's trying to drive it to speed up. It does what it does well, and although it's not one I often seek out to play, it's enjoyable when I do hear it.
Waterloo Sunset Oops I nearly missed commenting on what is probably my favourite song - or at least commenting in the right place. Here’s my detailed review: Perfect Peerless Impeccable Poignant Beautiful Celestial Wistful Loving Magnificent Inspirational
Light bulb moment: crossing the river is a metaphor for separation - emigration in this case. Ray doesn’t want to leave so he can only watch. That I guess is why the song was so personal for him.
Lists are inherently subjective. It’s almost pointless critiquing them. I’m very familiar with most of the songs in their top 40 - and I love some of them dearly - but, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan- they are no Waterloo Sunset.
Ray Davies - The World From My Window I think this is where the short form above comes from. It covers stuff we haven't done, but it seems appropriate as we look at the sheer brilliance of Ray's writing...
Confession: I searched for my copy of Dr Johnson’s dictionary in the belief that my be an old word that has fallen into disuse. I should have checked the internet first
"Waterloo Sunset" is definitely the Kinks' best song. It's a shame that it was basically unheard here in the States & only reached #2 in the UK single charts (I believe "A Whiter Shade of Pale" prevented it from reaching #1). Again, it's great to read what everyone has written about this song. As for "Act Nice and Gentle", I really didn't hear it until the late 1980s when I picked up a bootleg LP called Kollectable Kinks, a 2 record set, which had stuff like the demos from 1965, as well as this song. As several people here have commented, it does sound like the Lovin' Spoonful, a nice, laid back song in the John Sebastian mode.
What a fantastic thread! If you fall behind a couple days you will have a lot of catching up to do. I found the time to finally read up on the last few days. I felt like I dug a ditch for myself that I had to climb out of. An hour or two later and I made it back to the top of the discussion. It's hard to write much about these past songs after everyone has pretty much covered the bases, so I'll just add a few thoughts. "Mr Pleasant" Oh the shame! I don't believe I have this song, although I have heard it many times and love it. Excellent use of horns that creates a circus type atmosphere. I picture Ray as a crazy ringleader of a traveling circus when I hear this song. You can see him with his evil grin and his whip while the elephants and clowns circle around him. I thought I wonder if anyone else said it sounded like a carnival or a circus and sure enough the excellent intro by @mark winstanley talks all about it! A great song that could have fit in on either album that surrounds it. "This Is Where I Belong" It's been mentioned a few times about this being very Dylan like, and I agree. It has a Blonde on Blonde or even Basement Tapes vibe. Also, Ray sounds a lot like Dave on the vocal. I can hear both of them singing, but they blend so well at times that it sounds like it's more of a song for Dave to sing. Again, it's yet another song that would sound right at home on Face to Face. They certainly had a lot of A side material that got pushed to the B side. I completely agree. "Two Sisters" I'm not familiar with the EP, but think this is a key song on Something Else. Parts of the melody remind me of Simon and Garfunkel. I want to say "Richard Cory" but I'm not positive that's the song I am thinking of. This is another stunning song that picks right up where Face To Face left off. More harpsichord and brilliant lyrics set to a lovely melody. "Waterloo Sunset" I would move this from #41 to sit somewhere in the top ten. I may like other Kinks songs more, but there is no denying the brilliance of this song. If you only had this song to listen to every day it would make life worth living. It's one of those perfect songs. If you know anyone who hates this song, run far away from them. I'm sure that would be a rarity because Ray has written a song that anyone with at least half a heart would fall in love with. "Act Nice and Gentle" The acoustic guitar strum at the beginning is a small hint at the future and the opening of "20th Century Man". I do think the Muswell Hillbilles tune is far superior. @Fortuleo accurately mentioned this sounding like the beginning of the alt-country or 90s Americana movement. It does sound like it could have come out in the 90s or even like it could be a new song. It's easy to see why Ray used The Jayhawks on a couple of his recent albums. This would be the perfect song for them to play together. It's a weak song if compared to 60s Kinks, but it's a better song if compared to current Ray. He should have gotten Wilco to play on those Americana albums!
I thought I was caught up! I forgot "Village Green"! I had no idea this was recorded so early. It's one of the first songs that made me fall in love with the album. It may be the song that turned me into a Kinks fanatic! Ray has slowly been developing this world that he lives in while also making a place for all of us Kinks fans to reside. Here he has completely created a village for us that we can all relate to. A brilliant reflection on life and no matter where you grew up you can always feel like you lived in this village. A masterpiece among masterpieces. I'm so happy that he decided to write an entire album around it. One of the most brilliant moments is musical history.
Waterloo Sunset- Just want to comment on this a little more. I just love Dave’s guitar here. The first inclination on this is that this is a pop song more so than a rock song, so you would think a smooth, clean guitar would be the obvious approach. But that’s not what’s here. This tone is dirty, gritty, and dare I say, a touch sloppy, but damn! It’s just perfect. I only wish it was a little louder in the mix. The instrumental backing track on The Anthology helps scratch some of that itch.
