This Time Tomorrow stereo mix (3:20), recorded 19 Aug 1970 at Morgan Studios (1), Willesden, London This time tomorrow where will we be On a spaceship somewhere sailing across an empty sea This time tomorrow what will we know Will we still be here watching an in-flight movie show I'll leave the sun behind me and watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by Seven miles below me I can see the world and it ain't so big at all This time tomorrow what will we see Field full of houses, endless rows of crowded streets I don't know where I'm going, I don't want to see I feel the world below me looking up at me Leave the sun behind me, and watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by And I'm in perpetual motion and the world below doesn't matter much to me This time tomorrow where will we be On a spaceship somewhere sailing across any empty sea This time tomorrow, this time tomorrow Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Noma Music, Inc. - BMI We open with the sound of a jet plane, and it introduces the theme of the song for us. This song sounds very much like it could have been a single to me, it just has this really catchy melodic sound that seems like it would be hard to resist. We open up with some solid down strums on the guitar, and then a sort of countrified lead lick comes in, and Ray rolls into the vocals. Ray’s vocal has a disconnected melancholy about it. Lyrically we have a somewhat poetic description of being on a plane, and in context with our album we assume this is about touring after our hit single, and a need to expose more of our material to the general music loving public of the world. Ray said “I felt that I'd lost contact with my family. Because I'd been in a pop music bubble for five years, and I didn't know the people around me anymore. 'This Time Tomorrow' was about transience, and an ephemeral world. Clouds, and where do we play tomorrow, and what am I doing as a person tomorrow? It's a floating song, and I was floating into a different era. Going with the flow for a while, until I work out where I want to be.” He also said to Rolling Stone "The song is about going into the unexpected, unexplored territory, what does the future hold for us?" The first verse ponders the why’s and where’s as far as whether the guys will be on a plane watching an inflight movie, on this spaceship sailing across the sea. Then we move into a pre-chorus, and Ray is still in his somewhat poetic reflection mode, coming to the conclusion that the world “ain’t so big”, particularly from the plane. The melancholy is palpable, and the melodic structure is wonderful. This moves us into the chorus and the raising in dynamics of the vocal for the “this time tomorrow” hook line is extremely engaging, and it seems we can feel everything Ray is trying to share. Then we hit the bridge and again it is a melodic beauty. This takes us into a restating of the opening, and it works melodically and also dynamically to enhance the track. Then we roll back into the pre-chorus and the chorus. This is quite a lyrically sparse track, but it isn’t lacking because of it. It says exactly what it needs to without getting too lyrically involved. Musically this song has a lot of elements in it. A little country, and little pop, a little rock. The melodic flow is beautiful, and we weave through the three sections with smooth key modulations, or perhaps they are just modal changes, I’m not sure, but they work so smoothly and beautifully. Meanwhile the song itself just grows and grows, from the mellow country pop opening building and building. Mick rolls a nice fill to get us into full drums mode, an organ joins in adding texture and tone. Backing vocals that spread it out even more. If I had any criticism, it would be that the vocals themselves could be a little higher in the mix. After the bridge we get a sort of reprise of the opening that is very short, but very sweet. Again, all the guys are contributing wonderfully. The drums have a nice blend of straight beat and rolling fills, the guitar from Dave is really excellent, the bass is holding it all together and Ray delivers a really heartfelt vocal. We end on an odd sound, that almost sounds like a sample from an early casio keyboard, but this is at least ten years before that even gets made, so I am at a loss at to what it is. This is a really excellent song and it draws me in deeply. It is easy to see why Wes Anderson chose to put this in his movie… I’ll need to see this movie at some point, even if it is just to see the context in which he used the three tracks. So far for me this album is just another batch of great tracks, with not an ounce of fat. The flow of the theme, that I had never really noticed before the thread, is really very good, and up to this point it is almost flawless in its storyline. This track would likely get on a compilation album, if I were to put one together.
Another excellent track. The Money Go round continues as they now seemingly embark on a tour to help cement their position after having a hit. But, as with so many tracks on this album, this works on its own without needing the narrative context of the album. I guess that's why I enjoy Lola and VGPS more than Arthur - for me most of the Arthur tracks need the context of the album, but those on Lola and VGPS can pop up on shuffle and still be great. I know that most won't agree
I have a very personal memory with This Time Tomorrow. Indulge me, please, as it’s not even an anecdote, just a sensation I’d like to share. Some thirty years ago, I was on vacation at my girlfriend’s family house in the countryside in Normandy. One night, we realized we forgot to get milk from the farm nearby, for the next day’s breakfast. I hopped on a bicycle and went there putting that song on an old Walkman. To this day, I still remember the feeling, surrounded by forest trees, just the cold wind and the bike’s light lighting up the muddy path before my wheel, in an otherwise pitch-black night, and that sublime piece of recording soaring in my ears, making me feel alive like only the greatest songs can. This was truly magical, I must’ve been 20 years old at the time and since then, this gorgeous track invariably gets me back to that blissful village green moment of mine.
'This Time Tomorrow' is as mentioned by Mark above, the second LVPATM deep cut that Wes Anderson magicked into being a latterday hit via exposure in The Darjeeling Limited. Not quite up there with 'Strangers' 21st century revival but still a sizeable bit of fresh exposure. (Poor old 'Powerman' meanwhile, didn't seem to gain any new fans through its inclusion ). As Ray explained pretty definitively in the quote in Mark's write up, 'This Time Tomorrow' is strongly evocative of the liminal space of air travel (esp when it was a fairly novel phenomenon to the non jet setter at the dawn of the 70s) and the new horizons and uncertainties that come with it, however it also works well in it's use in the film, as two men race to get onto a moving train and only one manages it, 'This Time Tomorrow' breaks in like a ray of sunshine as he realises he's made it on board, he's can relax, he's going somewhere...
Unlike 'Strangers' which had some exposure at time of release as The Kinks actually played it live, this one seems like it really was the definition of a fans only secret until Mr. Anderson came along. Don't think The Kinks ever did it live at the time, but in 2010, perhaps as a nod to it's growing rep, Ray re-did it as part of his 'See My Friends' collabs album with millennial troubadours Mumford and Sons, in a mash up with 'Days' which is kinda novel but also just makes me wish they'd done the 1970 song straight. Live version from Later..., With Jools Holland here.
This Time Tomorrow: in a word, pensive; a beautiful song that brings out a bit of a feeling of longing in me when I hear it. (Unfortunately, now that I know that the manager had to sit in a middle position between pairings of two...and I go through the calculation: Dave can’t sit next to his brother and he can’t sit next Mick. Etc etc. Not so pensive anymore!)
The Moneygoround Rather than dwell on the injustice of record contracts I thought I'd note that the title is a play on merry-go-round - an amusement ride for young children which goes around in circles - also known as a carousel or roundabout. This Time Tomorrow This is a beautiful song in both its lyrics and music - where the keyboards and harmonies stand out. It's a song that deserves to be known more widely. Paradoxically, if I was ever asked to do a playlist or compilation of the top 20 or 30 Kinks songs this wouldn't make the cut. Their multitude of great songs in the sixties would crowd out nearly everything else. That's probably why songs like this (and a few others on this album) are relatively unknown beyond Kinks fans. But I would put this song on a best of the Kinks in the seventies, which would be a damn fine compilation in its own right. P.S. I like RCA....
Tbf, LVPATM was still on Reprise/Pye, so RCA wouldn't have had the rights to release anything from it on their greatest hits. I believe the 'Lola' on 'Second Time Around' is the version from 'Everybodys In Showbiz' which is just 1.40 of the outro chorus!
"This Time Tomorrow" This is a genuine Kinks Klassic, a fantastic song with plenty of memorable hooks and forward momentum. The strummed guitars and the banjo-like picking are great, as is John G's tinkling piano line. I would have ranked it alongside "The World Keeps Going Round" as great unheralded Kinks side two openers, but it appears it's not as unheralded as I thought! Even so, it would have made a great single and it works just as well on its own as within the context of the album. We have Radio 2 playing in the background in our office, and it was a definite bonus to hear this played last week (in amongst the endless plays of the latest Sting and Rod Stewart tracks).
Thanks for pointing this out @ajsmith. Mentally I associate this album with the new period in the Kinks career and forget about the contract. oops! In a parallel life I would have been a hopeless musician - though like my hero I would at least have written some bitter songs about the injustice of the music business. [Note: I've edited my previous post to make me look better retrospectively.]
This Time Tomorrow: An astonishingly beautiful song. Leave the sun behind me And watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by I'm in perpetual motion And the world below doesn't matter much to me Just wow.
This Time Tomorrow The strumming The picking The piano The vocal The drums! It all comes together so amazingly well! This song almost defies analysis in how well all these parts come together. On paper, there's no way it should work. Retro strumming and contemporary piano links. Bluegrass banjo style picking and Moon-esque drumming. The detached vocal and the instrumental momentum. Nothing should fit, but it all does. Amazing. And definitely a favorite.
Radio 2 playing "All Day And All Of The Night" at this very second! I strongly approve if they want to play a Kinks track every day.
This Time Tomorrow As soon as that intro strumming starts, followed by Dave's country lick, you know this is going to be a special song. The sound of those guitars together worked so well for the intro to Lola, and I'm glad Ray used it to such great affect here again. It's a hard, clean sounding acoustic strum, and it balances the sublimely smooth piano lines by John Gosling. I think the piano lines are my favorite part of the song, and I was fairly disappointed by the 2020 mix/alternate take where they really buried the piano in the mix. But there do appear to be some additional backing vocals here: I greatly prefer the original 1970 mix. Not only is the theme/concept of this album incredibly strong, but the production and general "sound" of the album is pretty consistent -- even though the styles of songs are so different - ballads, blues rockers, country, hard rockers. The piano foundation... Ray and Dave singing together... the resonator guitar.... the drums doing exactly what they need to do, and it is all recorded so cleanly. Lyrically, there is such sadness... I want to highlight this section: "This time tomorrow what will we see Field full of houses, endless rows of crowded streets I don't know where I'm going, I don't want to see I feel the world below me, looking up at me Leave the sun behind me, and I watch the clouds as they sadly pass me by" Usually when you are flying 35,000 feet, you mostly see forests or empty fields or farms. You see those squares or circle patterns of the farms. But here, all Ray can see is the busy world. Fields of houses, endless rows of not just streets, but crowded streets. He obviously cannot literally see the streets crowded from cruising altitude. It's less what he sees, and more what he feels. He feels the pressure of the crowded, busy world. He confirms this in the next line, "I feel the world below me, looking up at me". Also note that he says "I don't want to see", which I would argue is a similar sentiment to the "Don't show me no more, please" from People Take Pictures of Each Other. He can't take it. All he can see is the sadness of the busy world, even the clouds don't just pass by, but sadly pass by. And continuing with Ray's use of the sun as hope, he leaves the sun behind him. Back when I used to fly for work trips, this song was the anchor of my flight playlist of songs about being in an airplane. The "seven miles below me" meant that this had to be played mid-flight. (side note: I did have "Airplane" by the Beach Boys towards the end of the playlist, as that song contains the line "we've only got 15 minutes to go"). I agree this is absolutely single-worthy, and stands incredibly well on it's own -- in context of the album or not.
I get up in the morning, turn on the old iPad (it really is old, about 7 yrs.), get on this thread and see my most of my fellow Avids already giving their opinions on the latest Kinks song such as this one in such great and loving detail. What does one do? In the case of "This Time Tomorrow", the current song under review, you just join the others in saying what a great song it is. I always thought it was a great song even when Wes Anderson was playing w/View Masters & had it in my mind when I flew to Calfornia a few times in the late 1980s early 1990s to visit friends. It truly is a great, moving song & also a great one two punch to begin Side 2.
I was going to say that Tony Blackburn plays the Kinks on Sounds of the Sixties, but that comes on Saturday mornings & you're probably sleeping.
This Time Tomorrow A fantastic start to side two, another great song from Ray, and another great performance by the band. My only criticism is the jet engine in the beginning. The panning is awful and sounds a bit glitchy to my ears which is surprising as Davies was no stranger to the use of sound effects. I have read that the song was also inspired by Ray's numerous transatlantic flights for the Lola edit. According to Rogan, Ray bought a return plane ticket to LA before Christmas 1970 so that he could concentrate on finishing some lyrics. The new mix is good but I still prefer the original despite my comments above. On my Kinks Greatest.
Me neither! Perhaps I should have said “unfairly long forgotten by the masses”. I was critiquing modern radio and fair weather fans. In some ways, that’s the point of this Kinks thread isn’t it? How in the world is a band like The Kinks, with arguably twice as many great songs as many better known 60s and 70s era bands (whom I shan’t name here so as not to start fisticuffs) on the verge of being unknown to the general public. They should be equally revered. Without my Granny and her super cool taste on rock, odds are good I may not even know many those bands I listed. Radio certainly wouldn’t have helped. …and did I mention the day she took me to buy the Stones’ Some Girls album at the time of its release and the dude behind the counter in the local record store looked at her and me with such a look of confusion! A 60 something woman and a skinny prepubescent kid buying the latest Stones joint. I am sure he went home and had stiff drink that night!
Money-go-round: You know, at this point I’ve come to the conclusion that the kinks can do no wrong. Had I listened to this song as a teen or in my 20s, I would’ve pretty promptly shied away. No crazy guitar work, a chorus repeated exactly one time, what am I supposed to with that? Now though, and I must say, it’s due to the intense concentration, song by song, demanded by this thread, I think this is a really great song. It gets the job done in no time at all, progresses the story, and has a really cool set of lyrics that are fun to sing along to (when you’re driving alone in your car). I’m not sure yet if LVP&TM will end up as my favoritist (yes, it IS a word) kinks’ album but it sure is going to be up there and one big reason is that every single song is fantastic and makes a great contribution to the overall whole.
