The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Apr 4, 2021.

  1. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

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  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  3. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
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    Ah, sorry! There was also a promo CD single of the track. I think that's it.
     
  4. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    :righton:

    It's all good
     
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  5. Vagabone

    Vagabone Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I do feel that all the tracks on the album, as well as the other tracks recorded around this period, share a mood. And a production style. I can feel that much. They go well together. What I don't feel so much is the lyrical concept: to me it still feels just like a bunch of generally unrelated songs, despite a few recurring preoccupations like memory, photographs, preservation and the village green. Which means I can't really relate when people feel so strongly that A) the songs have to go in any particular order, as if they were telling a story and B) that the album had to be these particular songs and not other equally strong songs from this period.

    By "grand finale" I didn't necessarily mean anything huge-sounding or bombastic. Nice and gentle is fine. Just something that feels a little more like a resolution. But I realise I'm in a minority in feeling "People Take Pictures of Each Other" doesn't deliver that.
     
  6. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Given that I don't own any deluxe versions of VGPS, quite a few of the songs we're going to discuss over the next week or so will be new to me. "Mr Songbird" is one of those.

    So I thought you might like to know that my first hearing of this track was while sitting on a park bench by the river in Berwick-upon-Tweed, surrounded by squawking seagulls!

    I don't know whether it would have fitted on the album, but it is of course a delightful song that most other bands would kill to release as an A-side. Being The Kinks of course, it's left on the shelf. It's instantly catchy and memorable, and at the very least should have been a B-side.
     
  7. Vagabone

    Vagabone Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Mr Songbird
    A nice song that would have fitted very well on the album. Or a b-side. Probably not a single though. A little too sugary to be a favourite of mine.
     
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  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I completely understand your perspective on this.
    I think the album has a theme, but isn't a story. To some degree, for me at least, there could be some order shifting, without losing too much at all. I just think it would be a delicate task to undertake, because I think it is the subtleties in this album that make it work so well for me.
     
  9. FJFP

    FJFP Host for the 'Mixology' Mix Differences Podcast

    Well, as one might have expected, I've been more than a little busy over the last 2 weeks, but let's see if I can throw in some thoughts I wanted to add to what's been said:

    Animal Farm is a fantastic track, and was an early highlight for me. The main LP mixes however, especially the mono, do lack a certain punch when the main track kicks in IMO due to the volume of the drums, but after a little while this naturally remedies itself. Still a highlight.

    Wicked Annabella and Phenomenal Cat I remember reading as being fairy stories read to the children of the village green, and this is how I have always heard them myself.

    Starstruck was also an early favourite due to it's immediately poppy nature, but as others have said, I don't come back to it on it's own all that often.

    All Of My Friends always amused me, and felt like an odd number. The explanations of the tale here have brought a few more parts together on this one for me, though I still say it sounds a little out of place on the LP IMO.

    Monica is a decent track, and yes, the I, I hook is the very definition of an earworm. Definitely about a lady of the night who can't be won by no man.

    People Take Picture of Each Other is fantastic. Funny, Jovial, Sad, Bouncy, Memorable, and a perfect ending. Couldn't ask for more.

    As for Mr. Songbird, it's always felt like it should have been included to me. Definitely in the 5 tracks I'd pick for Ray's planned 20-track double LP. It's just so light hearted and breezy, and impossible not to smile when heard. A highlight getting the 12-track LP in the SDE and having a version of the album with this included.
     
  10. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Mr. Songbird

    I am also hearing the stylistic similarities to songs like "59th Street Bridge Song" and "Daydream". This could have probably been a hit for a sunshine pop band like Spanky and Our Gang. If this was a double album it would slide in beautifully, but I'm not sure if it's good enough to replace any of the songs that made the album. It's a sweet song that Ray seemed to have endlessly pouring out of him. Once you have heard this song you will be feelin' groovy and whistling it all day.

    @Fortuleo Now that you mention it, I can easily hear Jeff Tweedy singing this song. We already know he likes to sing about birds. I'm surprised Jeff hasn't shown up on any of the Kinks cover albums.
     
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  11. Luckless Pedestrian

    Luckless Pedestrian Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    It’s a sweet little song but I can’t help myself, each time I hear Mr. Songbird I try to break down the “ba da ba da ba da” part into measures; best I can come up with is 4 measures of 7/4? Or maybe 3* 3/4 and a 5/4 feels better? Or 4 3s and a 2/4 per section? Only thing I’m sure of is it counts out as 28 total beats lol. The subtle complexity of that along with the Devil being brought up unexpectedly at the end keeps the song fresh for me.
     
  12. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    For the record..... yes Mr Songbird is still swirling round my head :)

    With the 3cd Village Green album having been the version I have had, it seems like part of the album anyway.
     
  13. LX200GPS

    LX200GPS Forum Resident

    Location:
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    Mr Songbird

    First heard it on the vinyl GLKA and, when I heard it, I was certain I had heard it before. Then I realised I couldn't have and it is just one of those simple tuneful, wonderful, and uplifting songs that makes you think you heard it before! Ought to have been on the album and really puzzling why Davies wanted this kept hidden away. Mind you, it's not alone in that respect.
     
  14. LX200GPS

    LX200GPS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Somewhere Else
    I had a spare copy of the 3 cd set. A member here from US couldn't obtain a copy anywhere so I posted it to him. I know he is still a member and was hoping he would contribute to this forum but he hasn't.
     
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  15. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    That's a shame.

    I think some folks just don't really like these kinds of threads (or maybe just me lol) because I see a lot of Kinks fans on the forum
     
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  16. Adam9

    Adam9 Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I was first acquainted with Mr. Songbird from The Great Lost Kinks Album. I liked it then and I like it now.
    Having said that, I don't think it's a better fit than any of the 15 tracks on the album. (I haven't listened to the 12 track withdrawn version enough to make a judgment on its inclusion there but surely the 15 track album that we all know and love is the definitive version of the record).
    It's a very whimsical song to my ears. Looking at the 12 track album listing I might guess that Sitting By The Riverside with its similar theme of contentment (not with a bird but with a lady friend and some wine but both in a pastoral setting) replaced Mr. Songbird.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2021
  17. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    MR. SONGBIRD

    Nice to know I have a few more days to come up with my alternate track sequence for the album.

    And maybe even using the odd track from the extra stuff being proposed.

    Today's song is pretty light and I can't see in any way how it fits into the theme of the album.

    It could have made a decent B side though..
     
  18. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    People Take Pictures of Each Other - I've always enjoyed the catchy oom-pah feel of this, and assumed "Don't show me no more, please" was about getting bombarded with someone else's photos. I had not previously caught the lyrics about how old photos bring up feelings of loss, so it adds another layer of meaning to that line. I lost my Mom in April, as well as other loved ones over the past few years, and looking at old photos just brings up more feelings of loss than happy memories right now. So I have a much deeper appreciation of the song than I did when I was younger.

    As far as closing the album (figuratively and literally), we have basically been looking back on old snapshots of the village green and various characters and memories from Ray's past. Finally, it gets to be too painful. "Don't show me no more, please." And he closes the album. Makes sense to me.

    Mr Songbird - very light, but pleasant enough. Melodically and lyrically makes me think of something McCartney in pastoral mood might have done in the early 70s.

    Thanks again to Mark and everyone's insightful comments that are making the Kinks catalog so much richer for me.
     
  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I'm sorry to hear that mate. Big hug from me.
     
  20. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    Thank you, Mark, I really appreciate that.

    I just had another thought about People Take Pictures.. If I recall correctly from "X-Ray," Ray was 3 years old when Dave was born, and it was a major blow for him because he no longer had the full attention and adoration as the only boy in the family. That dynamic of resentment against his brother seems to have played out their whole lives. That may be why he chooses to look back on a picture with his Mom by the old oak tree when he was three..because after that, his life was never the same.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2021
  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    That's a really solid point.
    Sadly it is all too common as well.
     
  22. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    It’s not just your ears, anyone listening through a reasonable speaker system will hear the same thing and your version actually makes sense.

    The otherwise undistinguished cover by Lord Russ is even clearer.
     
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  23. idleracer

    idleracer Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    :kilroy: I'm afraid you got the timeline wrong here, Mark. Simon & Garfunkel's "Parsley Sage, Rosemary & Thyme" album came out in November of 1966. If anything, it's the other way around.

    I also first heard this on "The Great Lost Kinks Album." It would've been Village Green's one shuffle, and I think it's sorely missed. There's so much variety crammed into it. I particularly love the slightly bluesy bridge, "Mr. won't you sing me a song...?"

    While the obvious other comparison would be SKIP-ALONG SAM I think it more likely would've taken some inspiration from this:


    The Hollies / Wishyouawish

    This was from an era when there were a lot of "skipping down the road" shuffles of this nature, ON A BEAUTIFUL DAY being another prime example.
     
  24. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    If anyone hasn't watched this excellent documentary yet, then there is still time.

    It's called "Echoes of a World: The Making of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society".

    Mark posted it on page 202 and today we're on page 269!

     
  25. The Turning Year

    The Turning Year Lowering average scores since 2021

    Location:
    London, UK
    Preservation Society
    Finally got round to listening to the Preservation Society album 1.5 times! Hooray! Well... hooray that I managed to make the time. Not so hooray for the album so far, as I'm not hugely enamoured with it at the moment. Therefore, I think I'll save my comments as it either needs more time or I'm just not going to get it! If it does appeal to me more with time, the discussion will have raced ever onward (like progress...!).

    I will say that John Betjemen's 1966 poem Inexpensive Progress seems to have said a fair bit of what the Kinks were trying to get at here. Perhaps one difference was in this nostalgic, preservationist attitude coming from someone in their early 20s?

    Also not helping me out is that I defaulted to presuming that the album was a bit of a dig at the 'Betjemen' view published a couple of years earlier until I read a few articles about it...

    It sounds pretty good musically, and there are some nice songs there which I think I might enjoy more out of the context of the album. I think the songs that paint portraits of specific people are in general stronger than those trying to make a wider point, but marks for Ray writing about what mattered to him!

    I should say I'm yet to read others comments on here, which may help me get more out of it! But its not giving me much of a reaction just listening (except winding me up a very little tiny bit... ;))
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2021

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