The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    It was Pete in his 1998 interview. Mick got on with Ray (and didn’t get on with Dave) too much!
     
  2. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Not me, and I don’t know! Interesting though: will have to give it another listen with that in mind.
     
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  3. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Mick giving Keith Moon (or maybe Kenney Jones) some smashing competition. Fantastic!
     
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  4. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    That’s it! You nailed it!
     
  5. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "Mindless Child Of Motherhood"

    I love the Dave and Mick performance on the BBC version, but it's missing the excellent intro and the bass parts stand out more on the studio version. I have never even paid much attention to this song. I never had Kronikles, so it is just an extra track on my Arthur CD. I am definitely hearing a very strong Small Faces or Who vibe. I didn't realize this was such a favorite of you Krazy Kinks fans. I was even playing it today for my closest friend and she was singing along with it. I knew she loved The Kinks, but even I was surprised at her knowledge and love of this song. This would have worked excellent on Arthur and it should have made the cut.

     
  6. jethrowup

    jethrowup Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Well, I just listened to the 2020 remaster in head phones, and it sounds like it could be Ray singing in a deeper voice in some parts, but then other bits of it don't sound like Ray to me. It's probably Ray though. I'm curious to hear your thoughts when you get around to it!
     
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  7. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    Well, for all its cryptic mystery, this phrase/title has a kind of iconic, progressive feel to it. Before getting a chance to listen to it, I could only read the title in some articles for years. And it always felt like an important piece. So yes, I guess you're right, nobody would dare calling a bubblegum tune "Mindless Child of Motherhood"…
    I have (yet) another slightly different interpretation. Maybe it's not her mother but "motherhood" itself that made her a child with no freewill ? Becoming a mother herself, that's what made her a mindless child.
    Could it be him on the piano ? It's interesting how Ray tends to take a back seat on Dave's songs. I can almost never pinpoint his contributions, or even be certain of his presence, be it instrumentally or vocally. Even the famous Ray/Dave vocal blend is seldom heard on Dave songs…
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2021
  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    "Hold My Hand"

    [​IMG]
    Single by Dave Davies
    B-side
    "Creeping Jean"
    Released 17 January 1969
    Recorded 1968
    Genre Pop
    Label Pye Records
    Songwriter(s) Dave Davies

    mono mix (3:18), recorded late Dec 1968 at Polydor Studios, London
    stereo mix (3:15), recorded late Dec 1968 at Polydor Studios, London

    Today, when she comes in,
    I'll be standing at the door, and I won't say any more.
    I know that she's been there.
    It's not the way I look at her, it's the way she looks at me.

    Yes you can hold my hand any other night,
    Hold my hand, it's gonna be all right.
    Hold my hand any other night of the week,
    It's all right.

    Hold my hand any other night,
    Hold my hand, it's gonna be all right.
    Hold my hand any other night of the week,
    It's all right.

    Hold my hand.
    Hold my hand.
    Hold my hand.

    When she lays on my bed,
    It's not me she's thinking of, it's just me that really cares.
    My time, I know is out,
    And she'll be walking through that door,
    And she'll lie again tomorrow night.

    Yes you can hold my hand any other night,
    Hold my hand, it's gonna be all right.
    Hold my hand any other night of the week,
    It's all right.

    Hold my hand any other night,
    Hold my hand, it's gonna be all right.
    Hold my hand any other night of the week,
    It's all right.

    Hold my hand.
    Hold my hand.
    Hold my hand.
    Hold my hand.

    Written by: Dave Davies
    Published by: ?

    Dave Davies said in an interview prior to the song's release, "if 'Hold My Hand' does click, I'll be free to do my own cabaret act if I want. I would use all new material, except maybe, a couple of the Kinks' hit records, but given a different treatment so that it suited a solo voice. Probably work with a small group. I'd love to have a go at this sort of act, but you know how things get talked about, then flop off." The single did indeed flop, receiving scant promotion from PYE and only modest airplay, not helped that the off-shore pirate radio stations had been taken off air by then.

    This is a pleasant song, and it has a nice structure. The opening somewhat reminds me of Octopuses Garden for a brief moment, with the piano and the lead guitar playing the opening melody.
    The lyrics are slightly unusual, because it seems like the relationship being sung of is somewhat farcical. "I know that she's been there" seems somewhat innocuous, even with the follow up lines "It's not the way I look at her, it's the way she looks at me". Then in the second verse we get the picture more focused. "When she lays on my bed, It's not me she's thinking of, it's just me that really cares" ..... In this song, Dave is a doormat .... So this comes across as another Sue song in some regards. It appears to be the outworking of that emotion of betrayal. I gave you all my love and truly cared, but you had someone else all along.
    The chorus lyric " You can hold my hand any other night of the week", in this context, seems to imply Any other night you're not with him ....???

    I think this was the wrong song to release as a single personally. I like the song well enough, but to me it is more of a decent album track than a single. To me if they wanted to release a single that had ballad-like qualities, a couple of others are stronger songs.
    I guess they thought the extended chorus was a memorable sing along type chorus, but it seems like it is a little too much.

    The piano is nice in the song, and does most of the driving, with a mellotron in the background.
    We get a couple of key changes that work pretty well. In fact the second verse sounds like a bridge coming in at first due to the change.

    I like this track well enough, but for me it is one of the weaker songs .... by the same token though, I know that it is hard as a writer to disconnect yourself from what a song means to you, and actually how good it is.
    I also think this isn't the best mix or arrangement. The vocal kind of drifts in and out, and it seems a little unfocused.

    So I reckon it's a good album track, but not a single, and sadly this is likely the song that set Dave on the back foot, and may well have been the catalyst in making him move away from the idea of making a solo album, because it seems he had high hopes for this track, based on his statement prior to its release.

    To me, in spite of any of the shortcomings, it seems to me the opening two tracks are the most likely singles, and for me at least, the best songs on this album. It was surprising to me that Lincoln County didn't do anything. I think Are You Ready? is a much better song, but not really a single...... but anyway, we'll get to that one soon enough.

     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2021
  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Demo version

     
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  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  11. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    Hold My Hand -- Yeah, this is probably my least favorite of all the Dave Davies recordings he released on singles. The verses are decent enough, but the strangled chorus vocal is actively grating. I like the instrument backing well enough, but even there, the whole thing is cluttered and compressed sounding. This is one of the few 60's Kinks songs I actively skip over a chunk of the time. (I have it on a Japanese singles comp called "Kwack Kinks", and it is conveniently at the start of the side.)

    Now, the B-side, which I guess we'll talk about tomorrow, is a whole 'nother story. I love that one.
     
  12. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    We're going to follow the Hidden Treasures tracklisting.
    Wednesday - Do you wish to be a man
    Thursday - Are You Ready
    Friday - Creeping Jean
    Saturday - Crying .... and perhaps Mr Reporter, as Crying is quite short, and we've looked at the original of Mr Reporter already.
     
  13. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    Hold My Hand sounds uncannily like a Badfinger/Iveys outtake. The chords structure and verse melody, for starters, but even Dave’s delivery sits somewhere between Tom Evans’ and Joey Molland’s songs from the same time period. Stylistically, the spectacular tunes we discussed yesterday and the day before were paving the way to the next decade. On the contrary, this one is very much at home in the sixties. I agree the chorus (and Dave’s singing of the chorus) is a little off putting. Recycling The Village Green Preservation Society gimmick is also a baffling move, so close after the release of the Kinks album! Why would Dave choose to do that for such an important make-or-break solo release? Musically, this heavy handed chorus is quite frustrating as the song felt so inspired and natural up until that point. Then again, the way that same gimmick is then expanded, turning and turning like a carousel, ultimately proves pretty efficient, especially when it sets up this excellent key change near the song’s end. We all know it was a big flop, which is understandable, as this is really no hit material. But as an album (that never was) track, it’s still pretty damn good.
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2021
  14. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    The intro of Hold My Hand would fit on Everybody’s in Showbiz.
     
  15. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "Hold My Hand" sounds a bit strange at first but kind of improves with further listening. It's one I've owned for a long time, but it's on the rarely-played "Album That Never Was" CD. It sounds very much like a 1969 track. The chorus seems to go on for ever, however it has a sort of rustic, shambolic charm about it. Difficult to see how it could have been a hit single, but I think it would have fitted nicely on the album, maybe at the end of Side 1.
     
  16. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    I agree with all of this - the vocals on this track are a good example of why a whole Dave album gets a bit much for me.
     
  17. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    Hold My Hand

    An ok song, I don’t like the production or mix. First time really hearing it this week. The chorus is nice at first, but then yeah, it repeats as if the song is ending, but it’s only the first chorus! Interesting choice, I guess. But maybe people figured it would fade out around 1:35.


    I can hear that. I also hear some the Band in that intro too? I could be wrong about that.

    I think I agree with you? It’s an odd lyric choice. Essentially, “you’re sleeping with me tonight, but other days maybe you can try holding my hand instead of sleeping with those other guys”
     
  18. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    What are you referring to?
     
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  19. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Hold My Hand

    A weak single and mediocre album track.
    Interesting how beginning at 0:42 we get a propulsive piano lick from the song Village Green Preservation Society which here incidentally propels little and feels gimmicky in it's stop start going nowhere imparticular fashion.
     
  20. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Hold My Hand: I really like this song. I like its plaintiveness, the rawness, heart on a sleeve-ness. It’s an easy song to sing to and so I can see why it was released as a single.

    It seems like Dave’s songs oftentimes changes the sound levels on the chorus...which is a bit strange. This tune doesn’t do that. It has a normal flow.
     
  21. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    "hoold my hand / any oother night" (du-du dudu-dudu) That's note for note the distinctive VGPS guitar+organ hook, but played on the piano.
    This. Du-du dudu-dudu !
     
  22. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Hold My Hand
    I can't listen to this song without thinking of Dave's ill-fated performance of it on German television - at a time Dave knew it had already flopped. He arrived at the TV studio 'stupefied' after drinking with a friend on the trip from London. Rather than sober up, Dave drank wine, smoked hash and did other things with two large blonde German women his friend invited to the dressing room. Oh dear! The song itself reminds me a bit of Ronnie Lane and I can only speculate that it was chosen as single over its superior B-side because of a roots-folk trend at that time. I agree with @ARL that the song has a rustic, shambolic charm and with @Fortuleo's criticism that the chorus is a heavy-handed and a bit repetitive. Weirdly, I also think someone singing 'rattle snake rattle snake rattle snake rattles me' 50 times over 8 minutes is pleasant repetition.
     
  23. joejo

    joejo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    toronto
    Ya, I never hear it either.
     
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  24. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I first heard "Hold My Hand", along w/the 60s Dave songs that didn't end up on either Kronikles or TGLKA on a bootleg called Kollectable Kinks, which came out in the 80s. To me, it's a pleasant enough ditty that to me sounds like it could have been on Blonde on Blonde. A bit Dylanesque, maybe a bit too much, probably why it wasn't a success.
     
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  25. Steve E.

    Steve E. Doc Wurly and Chief Lathe Troll

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    Just heard this version for the first time. It's less developed, but a much more enjoyable listen. Not overworked. The backing vocals and slower tempo did this song no favors.
     
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