I'm reading these lyrics and thinking "oh, MY. How could I have been raving about this song in this thread? I'm embarrassed. Terrible non-rhymes or forced rhymes, awkward lines. This song is idiotic." Then I play the thing. This fawking RAWKS. And the lyrics sound fantastic. A perfect example of the truth that lyrics aren't necessarily made to be read. If they sounds great sung, they are great. One of Dave's most awesome songs. The stereo mix is the same basic track as the mono. It's running faster, and some of the vocals are mixed out later on in each chorus. In the mono mix, the chorus vocals run longer, and are gradually faded back and overwhelmed by the guitar parts. The stereo may be missing some of the guitar parts, too.... I didn't check carefully. I saw Dave play with a band at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was a fantastic show, and this was a highlight. (Was this his 1999 show there? Please tell me it was more recent than that -- oh lordy, maybe it wasn't. Time flies. )
If I could go back in time and be alive in 1972, this is the day I would want to go back to. Apparently the Kinks played a lot of Muswell Hillbillies at these shows, and the Beach Boys were a fantastic live band and in no way the "nostalgic" act yet in 1972.
Creeping Jean I enjoy the chorus vocals though less so those in the verses but I do find it to be an interesting miasma of sound that does sound a bit oddly mixed. I like the instrumental backing and find the Zoom Bass effect sounds not unlike the one used on Slim Harpo's I'm A King Bee. Also it has often been said on this thread that our young David anticipated 90's Americana but here I get a feeling of him arriving a few years early for Glam Rock!
I recall a conversation with a co-worker when the name of Mick Jagger came up. She revealed her tastes in music was a very narrow range in gospel and show tunes. She said she appreciated some rock music (which she defined specifically as The Carpenters) but the large majority of it grated on her, mostly because “rock and roll stars can’t sing.” I said “rock and roll isn’t a medium for singers. It’s for vocalists.” “What does that mean?” she asked. I couldn’t articulate an answer for her then, nor could I do it today. But it’s how I feel when I think of Mick Jagger. He vocalizes. You want rock and roll by a singer? You get Pat Boone…and then it’s not rock and roll anymore. Anyway, she’d probably hate the Davies brothers. And God bless ‘em for it.
I was mostly preoccupied w/a family matter yesterday (a very happy one indeed), so like Arthur's son, I had nothing to say about the Dave song being analyzed yesterday. Today's Dabe song is a different matter, since I loved "Creeping Jean" ever since I first heard it on Kollectable Kinks. While yesterday's song did have it's charms, especially w/that background organ & late night woozy vibe, "Creeping Jean" is just one of Dave's almost great songs, w/a great guitar riff & a great angry vocal. I think it's one of his underrated songs. As for Ray & Dave's vocals, Ray can & does get too cute w/the vocals & Dave can be a bit rough & cracked at times. Again, if Ray sang the songs he wrote on Rock Botton, it would have made a great Kinks live album.
It's a perfect example of how great rock music, doesn't generally have any resemblance to great poetry
Creeping Jean This is pretty new song for me. I wish I had known it as long as I know "Mindless Child" and "This Man...". It's really grown on me over the past week . I think I prefer the Stereo mix. Like "This Man He Weeps Tonight", this song doesn't really have a bridge. Just Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus. But they are both so good, I am fine with it. If he added a sub-par bridge, we might complain about it in comparison to the verses and chorus. Things I absolutely love: -The clean guitar at the beginning intro, and then the almost immediate shift to the grungy bass and guitar tone -that bass slide-up part is SUCH a neat hook on this -the way the bass kinda resets a new foundational base in the 2nd couplet of the verse, and then it goes back to the original feeling for the 3rd couplet of the verse -This little line stands out and I love it: "So don't look back, it is too late, no story to be told." Short little lines that say so much. -Dave's vocals are killer ("promise to be hooooome")... his little growl on "You don't know what I mean..." -That lead guitar part echoing the vocal chorus is a great add to the production Other quick thoughts: -I wish this had a solo break in it -Should we read this as "(dirty friends) and underwear" or "dirty (friends and underwear)", which by the distributive law of math equates to "dirty friends and dirty underwear" ? -I actually saw Dave perform this live in 2018, but back then, I was not familiar with the song at all! That might have been the first time I actually heard it... live, by Dave, at a show 15 minutes from my house. Amazing. Here's the set list from that show.
That how I heard it, but interesting point. I get the feeling the viscous assault of the lyrics leads me to interpret it that way
Two of my passion bands in their best ever live incarnation, both running on a seven years worth of sublime albums… I’d like to see the set lists, it would be almost too much for me if they’d played both Country Air and Oklahoma USA on those dates, two of my all time favorite songs, by anyone really.
Yeah, I know it was a character, but that voice is just grating to me. Thankfully, he doesn't do it too often...maybe 5 songs that I can think of.
"Creeping Jean" is great! Definitely in my top 10 Dave songs. Great guitar, great drumming, good bass, sleazy lyrics that are actually interesting/work. Dave's voice works well here, the delivery really serves setting a sense of atmosphere. I get this sort of drunken, claustrophobic feeling with this track. I love the sea-sick sounding slide and the power chords. This is a fun song.
Next best thing... Here's a Kinks setlist from the Felt Forum in New York, NY, November 16, 1972. This is now called the "Hulu Theater" at MSG. Here's a Beach Boys setlist from the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ, three days later on November 19, 1972. I think at least a song or two from these shows in Passaic was included on the "In Concert" album.
Welp, guess I was big fat wrong when I (repeatedly) stated that The Kinks didn’t revive the two VGPS ‘Picture’ songs till 1973 earlier in this thread! Looks like they were indeed already playing them in 1972! Apologies to the thread!
Kinks setlists are so interesting to me ..... and I think the primary reason for their change of style later on...... but we'll get there.
Interesting comment about Neil Young. When I recently played Face to Face I thought that the song "Rainy Day in June" was giving me a definite Neil Young vibe, but more in its vocal delivery (I could really hear him covering this!) than for any garage-y guitar sounds; of course, that one was Ray singing, but I've got a feeling ole Neil was listening to the Kinks, perhaps including some of these more obscure Dave tunes. Anyway, on to "Creeping Jean" - I basically agree with all the positive comments posted above regarding this song. What a rocker! Easily one of Dave's best, particularly that line which gets me every time: "Your dirty friends and underwear keep hanging 'round my room."
Well, you can always take the live portion of Everyone's In Show Biz or better yet, Disc 2 of the 2016 Legacy version & The Beach Boys In Concert, flip a coin to see who goes first & you're almost there. I have soft spots for both albums, Show Biz being my very 1st Kinks album (hand me down from big brother) & In Concert one of my favorite Beach Boys albums, especially in the car.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Neil Young listened to The Kinks. I also wouldn’t be surprised if The Kinks listened to Neil Young. Apparently Ray and Dave loved The Byrds, Lovin’ Spoonful, and at least Ray loved Hendrix. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they were familiar with Neil Young, if at least through Buffalo Springfield. Come to think of it, the arrangement of the 90s “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” with Ray on vocals sounds quite a bit like Neil Young to me, like the extended opening lead guitar.
Another song I learned via the "Kollectable Kinks" bootleg, but this is my first time hearing it in stereo. It doesn't change my opinion of it much. I can see why a lot of people like it, but it's just not my cup of tea. The most interesting thing about it is just how much it sounds like "Born On The Bayou" which was recorded at around exactly the same time.
“When I was just a little boy Standin' to my Daddy's knee My Papa said "Son, don't let the man get you And do what he done to me? 'Cause he'll get you 'Cause he'll get ya now, now" Fits the beginning!
Once again playing catch-up, I was off the grid for a few days having a medical procedure (elective and all went well). This Man He Weeps Tonight: I think this is a fantastic, rocking track. I think it doesn’t really sound necessarily like a Kinks song, but since I like to shake things up within my playlists, Dave’s songs with the heavier guitars and different lyric styles fit in very nicely for me and this will be high up on my playlist. Mindless Child Of Motherhood: Cut and paste from above, another great rocking song! Hold My Hand: I do like this song, but it is a significant step down from the first two. I actually like the acoustic demo better and would probably include that on my playlist before I would include the more widely released track. Do You Wish To Be A Man?: Not a favorite, but I suspect with a few listens it’ll make its way onto my playlist, albeit towards the tail end. Are You Ready?: As has been repeatedly noted, addressing these three mellower, acoustic tracks one after another does feel like a letdown. I like all three of them enough that I would weave them into a playlist, making sure to have more aggressive tracks surrounding them. As also noted, this one’s a bit long and trancelike and will probably find its way to the very tail end of the playlist. Creeping Jean: wow, back on track, this one rocks! I’m not sure if Dave really had a good enough collection of songs to release a smash solo LP, but this song as well as the first two are great numbers that will get played regularly by me and will reside towards the beginning of my playlist from this period.
I don't want to hear a Dylan song or a Neil Young song sung by Steve Perry, so I think it is not only the songwriting, but the delivery. I am getting the feeling that you don't like Dylan or Neil Young. If you don't like the vocalist, it's a tough sell no matter how good the song is. A vocalist is probably what divides people the most when it comes to any artist. Ray puts on a vocal character on many songs throughout the years, but I can't say many of them bother me. I love "Supersonic Rocket Ship"! "Creeping Jean" Here we have a song that I think is better suited for Dave's voice and playing. A rock n roll nugget! I love the way this grooves along. Kind of in the same vein as "Wicked Annabella". I would have been all in on a heavy garage rock n roll album from Dave. This would have been the time to do it! The drums on this tune are killer. I would have made this the A side.
