Me and the book in the Arthur box disagree on this one: this is the same show as the set of contact sheets I posted earlier. The book says it’s ‘Shangi-La’ on the Sarstedt show, I think it looks slightly earlier and is ‘Drivin’ on Top Of The Pops. I should probably defer to the authority but it just looks more like June 1969 to me somehow.
It's really funny isn't it. My second Christmas Day in Arkansas was wonderful and hilarious. On Christmas eve of my second Christmas it started snowing and put down a foot of snow overnight. Aside from seeing a little dusting when I went to the Grand Canyon in 2008, it was the first time I had ever seen snow. I don't recall if I ever really saw snow as a puppy in England, I may have done, but I certainly don't remember it. The funny side of it was when my boss called me, after I had had a chance to walk around and look at it a little, and saw cars off the side of the road and all that. Boss "Can you come in today?' Me "If someone comes and picks me up I can" Boss "What do you mean? Why does someone need to pick you up" Me "It put down a foot of snow last night, I live on a big hill, I'm from Australia and I've never even seen snow before" "click" Turns out snow is pretty easy to drive in. Ice is another thing altogether though lol I was wandering around in the snow outside for an hour or so, just enjoying the peaceful, beautiful surroundings. Even funnier, I just had on shorts and a tshirt, and some guy yells out, "you must be from the north", I'm laughing, saying "nah mate" lol
Ahhh, I probably missed that. I can have strong opinions on some things, so I need to avoid a lot of threads like that
"Shangri- La" Yep. This is a masterpiece. I would say it may be Ray's best vocal so far. I at least love to sing along with it. This is the top song on the album, and after this I feel the album starts to slip a bit. Not every song can be as great as "Shangri-La" or "Some Mother's Son". I enjoy what's coming up next, but this seven song run is truly astounding. The part that comes in with "The little man who gets the train" is so brilliant. After the beautiful and sparse opening we get some bass and horns to join in. Ray's vocal and lyrics can give me goosebumps on many sections of this song. Then we get the rocking section about suburbia and close to the end Mick Avory comes alive and gives the song an incredible ending. I get why Dave said they could go any direction after this song. It's like every strength of the band displayed in one tune. It can easily sit among the greatest songs of the 60s. The genius of Ray Davies is on full display. I love this song so much.
That would be fantastic and quite the task. If you included solo and side projects it could go on for years.
I'm not sure I could include the side projects. I actually don't have and never even heard any of them that I'm aware. Kilby was quite prolific too, so with The Church it would likely be just the band's releases.
I agree that the songs lapse in strength a bit after this one. Although “Young and Innocent Days” is sublime.
I agree. To take on the side projects would be monumental and would add at least 50 albums. Many great Kilbey solo and side albums. It’s a lot to navigate.
He’ll turn gray before his time. He’s already juggling three threads (I think). This one will run another 18 months.
I don’t know how he does it. I have faith in him to bring us The Church thread. what are the other threads @mark winstanley? I am bummed I missed out on his Elvis thread.
Shangri La. In my focus on the song this morning, I missed probably a very important reference point. I'm sure many if not all are familiar with, but just in case and for a more full reference .... Shangri La is a fictional place described in a James Hilton novel called Lost Horizon. It is described as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a Lamasery (Monastery) enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Closely connected to Tibetan imagery, and hinted at, by other names, in written works over the ages. Generally associated as being a utopian type society where people live to extraordinary ages, and seem to never age. Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty described such a place in his work The Tale Of The Peach Blossom Spring. The story goes that a fisherman from Wuling came across a beautiful Peach Grove, and he discovered a happy and content people cut off from the troubles of the outside world. Some believe that the story owes a debt to the Tibetan Shambhala, a mythical kingdom in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which was sought by explorers of the east and west. There are a lot of interesting connections to this for the interested reader. In the New York times in 1936, Hilton did state he used Tibetan material from the British Museum, particularly a travelogue of two French priests, Evariste Regis Huc and Joseph Gabet, to put together his idea for Shangri La. The Shangri La history, seems very connected to these seemingly mythical places and could well have roots in a Garden of Eden type scenario also. Apparently folks are still looking for this place, even in modern times Academic scholars have discounted the existence of such a place.... but it is still a really interesting story, from the versions and variations around the place.
I made a thread for the threads a while ago, so I could remember them, and for those folks who post saying they need to find a way into a band, or need a new band to try out or whatever. I think I remembered all of them Album/Song threads - Bands/Music to explore - Ref. guides I've had some pretty good ones, but certainly early on, I was sort of fishing in the dark. They have become a little more refined and less fly by the seat of my pants, though I generally always fly by the seat of my pants I think I can safely say, that so far this is the most thorough and focused, I think, in terms of looking at the songs themselves. Most of them follow the same kind of format, as it came together over the last few years. There were a few where I was almost journeying on my own, and I ended up being a bit lazy, and not going very into detail lol At the moment it's just the Kinks and Bob Seger. On Sunday there's the Surround Sound thread, and I sure hope one day I can get some Kinks in Surround, but I have eased back on the surround thread a little bit. I needed some unscheduled time lol. Last year I did way too many, and they serve their purpose, but I had to race through the songs each morning, and I wasn't as thorough as I wanted to be. Lesson Learned there! I often suffer from over enthusiasm, and love way too much music
Shangri-La. It's 1969. Ray is 25. I'd guess he's doing pretty well financially, if not commercially. He's sorted out the US ban and is preparing to tour there once more; new horizons, new opportunities. And yet, he's still able to write a song from the convincing perspective of an average, middle-aged, lower-middle-class 'anyman,' something he's have never and will never experience firsthand. Quite something! As with all the songs on Arthur, the band are on top of their game here.
A Day at the Zoo with Ray Davies November, 1967 A couple of weeks after the release of the "Autumn Almanac" single, Ray Davies takes Penny Valentine from Disc & Music Echo magazine to the zoo. This is neat little article from Penny, that seems to touch on Ray the person from her perspective of him, as they wandered around the Zoo. There is Zoo footage and a little snippet of Ray, but predominantly, I assume it is someone reading Penny's article.
Here's the link to the Disc & Music Echo issue of 11/04/1967 that has the article: https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Disc/1967/DISC-&-Music-Echo-1967-11-04.pdf
Shangri La is easily the best track on Arthur IMO, and probably in the top-5 Kinks songs ever. Certainly in the top 10. It's just sublime. What a great song to enter our rest day with!
Great story Mark your boss was perhaps pricelessly perplexed? Growing up I had seen snow and skied several times in Australia at Thredbo & Falls Creek but of course this was of course closer to August than December so it was unique and beautiful to finally experience at 39 a winter Christmas holiday!