The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    That's how I feel too.
     
  2. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
  3. Allthingsmusic

    Allthingsmusic Forum Resident

    History
    This is new to me. As Mark said I believe also it could have fit on Showbiz. I would have felt no sense of lose if it had edged out one of the "food" songs and we got one of the "food" songs this many years on!
     
  4. Martyj

    Martyj Who dares to wake me from my slumber? -- Mr. Flash

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Really? Where did you live? Where I lived in the late 70’s I searched high and low and found bupkis…which I detail below. I logged in mid-morning expecting to read about “Sophisticated Lady” only to learn that TODAY, not tomorrow, is the day I have to skip lunch to type up my tale of The Great Lost Kinks Album. Oh well, no biggie…except that I’m juggling this with work deadlines…anyway….

    For anyone born after, say, 1985 or so, acquiring previously hard-to-find bootlegs, outtakes, unreleased tracks, etc, has often been an easy matter of booting up the computer and googling. Not so for a guy born in the waining days of the Eisenhower Administration, who came of age during a music consuming era when to own a piece of music one had to do the footwork of scouring record bins near and far, large and small.

    I have great memories of building a complete Kinks collection one purchase at a time during my college years and continuing into my later twenties. Some were easier to find than others. Preservation Act 2, I recall, took some effort. Each new addition was a cause of personal, internal celebration. Between 1978 and 1985 I managed to acquire it all…EXCEPT…one stubborn Melvillesque-‘White Whale’ of a record that confounded me time and again. (Guess where I’m going with this?)

    Let me put it this way:

    Imagine discovering the Kinks as I did just as the Arista period began. The golden, beloved Pye/Reprise era was in the rear view mirror. So too was the adventuresome, risky RCA period. The band that was creating new music post 1978 was—outside of two brothers who answered to Davies and a drummer named Avory—emphatically different. Sonically, visually, and philosophically. Imagine within this milieu knowing that, having built as complete of a back catalog collection as possible, there still existed, yet unknown to my ears, music in a record store in some corner of the world that promised to deliver the band I longed for: the Kinks of “End of the Season” rather than “Summer’s Gone.” I wasn’t crazy about the direction the band was headed. I wanted to turn back the hands of time for the Kinks. This is how obsessions are born. Finding The Great Lost Kinks Album was my obsession, circa the Arista years.

    My search started near home (at the time) in places around Indianapolis and central Indiana (including a shopping expedition to the four hour away Chicago.) In 1982 not too many months after the release of “Give the People What I Want” I joined the US Navy. The experience promised travel. I’d be disingenuous to say I signed up just to facilitate completing my Kinks collection, but it did become a collateral mission of the four years I spent in uniform.

    Wherever Uncle Sam sent me, foreign or domestic, when the opportunity presented itself (often times it didn’t) I poured through phone books, newspapers, guides, etc. for the addresses of area record stores—especially used record stores—to try my luck. (In fairness, it should be pointed out even if I wasn’t shopping Kinks, finding and hanging out at record and book stores was pretty much my off duty lifestyle in those days anyway.) I can’t count the number of cities and stores I looked for it. I was nearing my last year in the Navy when I finally hit pay dirt: a shop in San Jose, California. When I inquired with the clerk he said, “yeah. I’ve got five copies. How many do you need?”

    Having final captured my elusive prey, listening to it was a whole other quest. It bears mentioning I was stationed on the west coast—on a ship, no less—over 1000 miles away from my turntable at my parents house in Indianapolis. Every vinyl purchase I made (this Kinks LP was far from my only treasured LP acquisition I made during my travels. I was getting into Lovin’ Spoonful and low-press run Slash Records releases, too) would need to remain stowed away in my locker on the ship until my bi-annual leave to visit home, at which time I would bundle an arm load of vinyl as carry on items for a cross country flight.

    Acquiring the Great Lost Album took place not long before my ship departed for a 6 month deployment to the Indian Ocean, before I had the chance to visit home. So, Ray, Dave, Plastic Man, Rosemary Rose, Maria and her daughters, et. al traveled with me to the other side of the globe, port calls in Hawaii, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Australia. Every so often I would open my locker to gaze at the LP back cover, taunting me with unknown song titles*, whetting my appetite for when I could finally hear them. Alas, this is the sailor’s lot—men at sea dreaming of that which is denied them: familiar haunts, a home cooked meal, getting laid, etc. For me, it was to finally learn just where the hell “..Did My Spring Go?”

    (*I’ll point out here that I did know one song: I had Plastic Man from a Ronco compilation)

    Eventually the time came when the cruise was over and I got my vacation leave to Indianapolis. This was almost a year after I had bought the album. My flight arrived around 2:30 a.m. so I took a cab and my parents had left a key for me in a hiding place. I had fantasized plugging in headphones and putting the disc on first thing, but I was bone tired and decided to do it in the morning after I slept. I was quietly climbing into bed when I noticed—SON OF A BITCH!!—where was my turntable?! Then I remembered…several months earlier I had given my youngest sister permission by letter to borrow my turntable for her first semester at Northwestern until she could buy her own. But she had yet to do that, and now my only way of hearing the GLKA was in a dormitory four hours away!

    I was nothing if not resourceful when I came to listening to the Kinks: the next day I called my old college roommate Bob, a friend sympathetic to my tastes in music, who had moved to the city after graduation and lived with a new roommate. I asked if I could come over to listen to it on his stereo. Bob was a teacher who also coached track so his time was limited but, yes, in two days he said he’d have an open evening. So I waited another 48 hours and showed up at the appointed time, disc in hand. But Bob didn’t answer his door. Not there. I waited in my car. These were the days before cell phones so I had no way of knowing what was up..but I was cooling my heals for about an hour and still nothing.

    Then a guy parks next to me, gets out and lets himself into Bob’s apartment. It was his roommate, who I had not yet met. So I knocked on the door, asked if he knew why Bob didn’t come home (he didn’t) then explained why I was there.

    “The Kinks?” he exclaimed. “(singing) ’..Paranoia will destroy ya…’! I love that band! Come on in. You can listen to it. I’d love to hear it myself. I’ll grab us some beers while we wait for Bob”. So FINALLY after searching for years and traveling the country… the globe, even… I put needle to vinyl.

    Regarding my reaction to the music, I won’t repeat sentiments that echo what have already been shared in this thread over the past 500-plus pages. But I do have one final memory of the experience. This roommate—he who professed to love the Kinks—had fixed in his mind the band of Low Budget/One For the Road arena rock kind of sound. He was more of a big-hair heavy metal type, I suspect. When he heard those opening horns on “Till Death Us Do Part” he must have thought I had brought the wrong album. He sat through the first three tracks sipping his beer, noticeably less enthusiastic by the minute. Half way through “Lavender Hill” he seemingly had enough. He wander off into his own room as if he just remembered something else he had to do that was more important.

    I just sat and basked in this new music by myself. Bob finally turned up half way through “I’m Not Like Everybody Else.”

    “The Kinks?” he asked walking into the room. “Yep,” I said, grinning wider than an opened double LP gatefold sleeve. Bob knew my love of the band and my quest to find this record. He gave me a thumbs up. It’s a great memory.[/QUOTE]
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2021
  5. Martyj

    Martyj Who dares to wake me from my slumber? -- Mr. Flash

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Nice post.

    I'll add that outside of releasing into the world previously unheard Kinks music, TGLKA most enduring legacy is label misinformation regarding song author credits. The damage it did in 1973 persist to this day. Back when discussing “Groovy Movies” I shared my frustration. I wish I knew how to link it…but, nah…reviving it is not that important
     
  6. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow

    Wow. Post of the thread? Definitely a contender. Thank you for this amazing piece of writing. I was honestly on the edge of my seat (or to be more precise a step halfway up our stair) throughout. Bravo.
     
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  7. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    [/QUOTE]

    Avid Martyj, another great story about obtaining TGLKA. It rivals Avid Fortuleo's story. I almost feel guilty about picking up my copy so easily back in the day.
    Also Avid Martyj, I do appreciate your service.
     
  8. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    [/QUOTE]
    Great post indeed!

    It makes me long for that time when music was rare, and enclosed in physical objects.
     
  9. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Might as well mention that I had a noteworthy Kinks record store incident just this day: I walked into Glasgow’s independent store Love Music, and they had an original Pye debut Kinks LP (marked ‘fair’ and priced £15) on the wall. I looked inside and,,, it wasn’t the debut disc within, but ‘Kontroversy’!!! I took the LP to the desk, enquiring if maybe there had been a mix up and at the back of the shop they had a Kontroversy sleeve with the debut disc inside, but they looked and they didn’t, so… the owner generously suggested I could have the mismatched Kinks sleeve/Kontroversy disc combo free! I was pleasantly stunned, and not about to query this most unexpected gift horse. Only thing now is, I’m on a quest to find a sleeveless debut disc and an empty Kontroversy sleeve…
     
  10. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    A fantastic post.

    I had a 'discussion' not so long ago about how things were so much more difficult in the past without cell phones ... meeting up with people, changing your plans at the last minute, apologising for unexpected delays and problems etc.

    If I'd been able to show him your story, maybe he would have begun to understand how things really happened in the not so far away past.
     
  11. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    bravo @Martyj ! Actually one of the best short stories I have read in recent memory. It’s incredible how things like this can be a quest and change our lives. I am in that born post-1980 boat, and my college experience was searching for mp3s on the college network or peer-to-peer sites. I do recall listening booths at the Sam Goody at the mall, but I don’t think they had been operational in some time. Certainly a different era, and thank goodness your travels led you to find your holy grail. Just too bad Bob’s roommate didn’t appreciate these lost great 60s nuggets. And thank you for your service!
     
  12. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    What a wonderfully-written, edge-of-my-turntable account! I suppose all of us geezers here have our "white whale" stories, but yours is exceptional. And yes, with the internet, the thrill of the hunt is usually a short-lived experience. (Frankly, there's not much I even want anymore, other than cheap used Kinks CDs. There was a pre-pandemic record show here in Houston where the dealer had a dozen or so sealed Konk/Velvel reissues for $5, and since this thread started I have been kicking myself for buying only 3. But there's another show this Saturday, so fingers crossed...)

    After reading the accounts of @Martyj and others who expended great effort to seek out this album, I feel rather spoiled to say that I stumbled upon and bought TGLKA on 8-track cartridge (probably a cutout) sometime in the mid-70s, possibly around the time of my serious Kinks exploration in 1977. And I feel downright ungrateful to say that only a couple of songs were flat out winners for me ("Till Death Us Do Part" and "I'm Not Like Everybody Else") and that I liked only a few others. Sadly, I have never warmed to most of the VGPS outtakes. But no matter, there's plenty of other Kinks material I do love, including those two songs.

    Since I had the 8-track, I only read Mendelsohn's liner notes years later. Particularly compared to those in the Kronikles, which were so positive as well as edifying, they read like they were written by a bitterly disillusioned spouse ("You've changed!! You're not the man I married!"). But I still appreciate those he wrote for Kronikles, as well as what he did to bring The Kinks to folks' awareness in the early 70's.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2021
  13. [/QUOTE]
    I just read this aloud to my wife. She loved it.
     
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  14. malco49

    malco49 Forum Resident

    the great lost kinks album , and i still have my original copy extreme ring wear and all! TGLKA is one of the records that
    in a sense cemented my love of the kinks music. it seemed like such an obscure object to behold ,an album of unreleased tracks that may or not have been sanctioned by the band and to top it all off it was true to it's name GREAT!
     
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  15. idleracer

    idleracer Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    :laugh: To folks of a certain age who grew up in Los Angeles like me, that opening song is an institution:

     
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  16. pablo fanques

    pablo fanques Somebody's Bad Handwroter In Memoriam

    Location:
    Poughkeepsie, NY
    TGLKA was a Holy Grail item for decades for me as well and I had given up on it though most of the tracks were in my collection. Then, one fortuitous day at Darkside Records, there it was for like $8 or something. I snatched it up immediately and am proud to say it made my four year old daughter an instant fan of ‘Misty Water’ when I played it on the turntable she ‘got me’ for my birthday this past August. Those Kinks! The gifts never end
     
  17. kch27

    kch27 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Texas, USA
    I had bought The Kink Kronikles soon after it came out and it changed my life (only had the Reprise "Greatest Hits" till then). But somehow I was unaware of the existence of its follow-up (TGLKA, of course) until it was already withdrawn or out-of-print.

    If I had found it in a record store at the time I would have been thrilled beyond words. In fact, to experience that thrill, I'd go back if I could only find a way.
     
  18. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Sophisticated Lady

    A bit generic but fun, i get a Tulsa Time feel amongst other things.
     
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  19. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    Don’t short sell yourself, it’s >2000 miles.
     
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  20. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    In the words of one of Ray's ex-partners ...

     
  21. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    You found indeed Money Talks!
    Glad you got the GLKA cheap on Discogs as whenever I see it on EBay there is always solid competition driving the price upwards and I remain the bridesmaid.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2021
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  22. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Next up Konsider Konverting your Kwerty Keyboard to Kontain Kinky Kontrols!
     
  23. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Touche!
     
  24. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    We have a local store called Record Tailor, it too is run by a man called Skip but I have never even sighted a Kinks album within a 100 metre radius of his shop!
     
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  25. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    You have clearly cornered the market, no wonder I can't get a copy!
     

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