I honestly don't know why they took that section out. I can only assume it was something to do with perceived flow
It's possible that I knew most of these stars from watching Bugs Bunny. Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes were a great way to understand the first half of the 20th century in terms of early movie stars.
George Sanders, for those who unfamiliar: George Sanders - Wikipedia Interesting background and life story. As some mentioned earlier, the fact that he'd recently died probably led to him being included in the song, very in character suicide note and all ... "Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck."
At this stage, I don't know how it would be feasibly possible to make a list... there would be twenty songs in my top five lol
Ah, thanks! My vote - maybe do two a day and throw in (or throw out, perhaps. LOL) the silly songs as extras.
Right? I almost become physically ill if I try to sit down and number my favorites for the Kinks. I feel like the songs lower down may be offended and I just can't do that to them. LOLLL
Oddly that is how I feel.... it's pleasing to know I am not the only person with this particularly weird issue
That's some suicide note! yikes. I see he was in All About Eve...and I probably need to watch this one. Seems to be considered an utter classic. Also it stars Bette Davis...and she and I have the same hometown.
Ha! I do think I used to say "jewelry" that way as well. I think I recall someone even pointing it out and me feeling slightly embarrassed. When I hit college I decided to get rid of the accent. It's actually jarring to my ears. My parents still have a heavy accent though.
Personally, I won’t mourn unless and until we reach UK Jive and Phobia, and only then if they are as bad as y’all are saying. Thus far, right thru Showbiz (which was new to me) I see only a small drop in quality. I have been starting on Preservation Act 1 and, though there are a few duffers in there, it still has some stellar tunes. And even if Pres 2 and Soap Opera are as bad as some have insinuated (I haven’t heard them at all yet), I know a strong rebound comes with Schoolboys and then just heads into the stratosphere on a supersonic rocket ship with Sleepwalker thru at least Give the People (and probably State and Word since I know and really like a few off of those even if I don’t know them in whole). C’mon, every great band has some weak albums, songs or failed experiments. You don’t just write them off. Sure, Misfits ain’t Village Green, but I wouldn’t want it to be, when it has Live Life and Rock and Roll Fantasy and the title track among others. Those of you who want to mourn them at this point, have at it, it’s your loss, but I personally have a lot more rocKinks to do! … and just know that swords will be drawn if you bad mouth Sleepwalker or Low Budget, which are damn fine rock and roll albums with Ray’s wit and Dave’s scything guitar licks well on display.
For the record. I see the question of how we're going to cover the live tracks has popped up..... For this live album, and particularly with so many extra live tracks, we won't be doing one a day. This is my proposed layout, Monday Top Of The Pops - Brainwashed - Mr Wonderful Tuesday Acute Schizophrenia - Holiday Wednesday Muswell Hillbilly - Alcohol Thursday Banana Boat Song - Skin And Bone - Baby Face - Lola Friday Til The End Of The Day - You're Looking Fine Saturday Get Back In Line - Have A Cuppa Tea - Sunny Afternoon Monday Complicated Life - She Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina - Long Tall Shorty Tuesday History (studio outtake) Note 1 - There is another studio outtake called Sophisticated Lady, which is essentially an early version of Money Talks, and it seems perhaps we should look at that one there. I'm sure if I forget @ajsmith will remember. Note 2 - Muswell Hillbilly, Brainwashed, Acute Schizophrenia, Holiday and Alcohol all have two versions on the expanded set, and I do believe they are different recordings, so it seems it would make sense that anyone who wants to compare them can do when we run though the version on the original album. I hope that works for everybody Then we would be looking at Wednesday The Great Lost Kinks Album Thursday Dave Davies - Cradle To The Grave (Decade) Friday Dave Davies - Midnight Sun (Decade) Saturday Dave Davies - Mystic Woman (Decade) Monday Dave Davies - The Journey (Decade) Tuesday Dave Davies - Shadows (Decade) Wednesday Golden Hour Of The Kinks Vol 2 (for reference) Preservation Act 1 introduction etc I hope that works for everybody. If there is some grievance let me know
Bravo, Mark! I was reading your post while listening to the song and had tears welling up also. A perfect song in everyway.
In many if not all of his roles (even as the unforgettable Shere Khan tiger in Jungle Book), George Sanders was the epitome of suaveness and, yes, style, with his caustic/cynical attitude, posh British accent and distant/superior stance. A wonderful, wonderful actor, and definitely a cinephile darling. And it's a tale of fame and ambition, too… Bette Davies plays the biggest star in American theater, overthrown by an ambitious newcomer played by Ann Baxter, who first introduced herself as Bette's biggest fan. Baxter is "Eve" and the movie tells us all about her and her devious plans to take her idol's place. Sanders plays Addison DeWitt (what a great name!), the theater critic who witnesses her ploys unfold and tells the story in a supremely well written voice over. He did get a well deserved Oscar for this. Marilyn is also in the film, in one of her earliest little roles… Which clearly makes All About Eve our winning film of the day! (below is a clip of a few scenes with them all)
Well I certainly won't be lol Low Budget is among my top ranking Kinks albums, even with the quirky production that took me a minute to digest.
Celluloid Heroes...This is a special song, that any songwriter would probably consider his or her masterpiece. Ray is a master and of course this is one of his many masterpieces. Definitely top tier Kinks. I went through a faze, where I would just play this song over and over...and it never got old. You can feel the atmosphere, the sadness and the gravitas so beautifully expressed by Ray. Bravo! Celluloid Heroes never die and Ray Davies' brilliance will never die as well...it lives on, on every CD, Album & Tape the Kinks created, that we get to enjoy again and again throughout our lifetimes.
@mark winstanley says "To me this is one of the most touching and human songs Ray ever wrote," That is also my #1 observation. I've never been much of a Hollywood guy, and most of the names cited hold zero or negative interest from me. But somehow and most ironically, Ray takes the most seemingly plastic of beople in the most artificial of environments and makes them utterly, completely human. This is a song that runs counter to everything I like, and yet even after all these years, it still never fails to bring a tear to my eye. I'd also be remiss at this point if I didn't point out the parallel to a famous song from another fantastic Mark-led song-by-song thread: Rush - Limelight All the world's indeed a stage and we are merely players Performers and portrayers Each anothers audience outside the gilded cage
You have it mostly right. Ray used the experience as a basis of one of the short stories in his 1998 book Waterloo Sunset (I think the title of the story was actually "Celluloid Heroes")