The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I can imagine lots of non-UK listeners were wondering exactly how you soak up a bun anyway... possibly by vigorously dunking it in your tea?
     
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  2. LX200GPS

    LX200GPS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Somewhere Else
    Happy to say this was the second new Kinks single I shelled out for. And, together with the previous year's Supersonic Rocket Ship, there didn't seem to be any let up in the quality of Ray's writing. Here was one of my heroes telling me, and the world, that it was okay not to have a job or money in the bank as long as you could enjoy sunny afternoons spent admiring the girls looking their best in their summer clothes. Great summer single, great production, and deserved far greater success. One of my favourite Kinks records and an automatic selection for my Kinks Greatest playlist.
     
  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Cheers mate, I completely missed that lol
     
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  4. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Thanks to this thread, I finally checked what a currant bun was. I still don't get why Syd Barrett would set a candy on one of those, but I guess I'm a bit closer now.

    Set in England, this song is pure science fiction. I guess it's proof the whole story takes place somewhere else.

    @Fortuleo : it seems to me that the chorus adds a fourth chord, that one would expect minor, and the fact that it's a major brings a very specific feel to the song.

    And it's pretty rainy in Bordeaux too. It's been English for too long, I guess.
     
  5. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Sitting In the Midday Sun: I do think this is an obvious single as it is pleasant and melodic. Having said that…this is a bit of a ho-hum sort of song to me. I don’t think I’m normally the contrarian on this thread, and I guess I’m not this time around, either, as it’s not like I dislike the tune, but one part I do dislike is the flute.

    As part of the storyline, coming right after ‘Here Comes Flash’, I don’t see it at all. “There's no way that you can win
    You must obey his every whim
    Or else he's going to do you in
    Here Comes Flash
    Here Comes Flash”

    And then the flute?
     
  6. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Not a big fan of flutes myself (though I wouldn't go as far as Nico did and cry when I heard them) but they work occasionally.
     
  7. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    As the other Avids have pointed out, the Tramp in "Sitting In The Midday Sun" is like the protagonist in "Sunny Afternoon", two characters enjoying the midday sun. But they also have something in common. They both have nothing. The protagonist in "Sunny Afternoon" had it all, but now has nothing (the taxman took away his dough), while the Tramp never had anything in all in the first place. Both characters are blissing away in the hot sun, neither one having anything & not caring a bit about it as long as they are under the sun like a contented cat.

    The song itself is glorious, classic Kinks to me, especially the part where it goes "Who needs a job when it's sunny......" It's too bad that this wasn't a hit on either side of the Atlantic, especially considering what did make the hit parade then. Also, it seems that the Tramp got the lion's share of the truly brilliant songs in this album, along w/Johnny Thunder.
     
  8. Fischman

    Fischman RockMonster, ClassicalMaster, and JazzMeister

    Location:
    New Mexico
    Sitting In the Midday Sun

    Is there really anything new here? I mean, have we not heard a few versions of this already in the Kinks kanon?

    You know what.... I don't care. Wonderful, delightful song. We can always use a little more of this.
     
  9. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Sitting In The Midday Sun

    Only read one review aside from Mark's but want to ramble before I soak up more.
    An agreeable pleasant song for me, perhaps as it has so many pleasant ingredients?
    Yes i too was promptly reminded of Dylan's Watching The River Flow, the Kinks Sitting By The Riverside & the Beach Boys backing vocals in God Only Knows.
    Add to that Gosling's light cascading fills that combine a West Indian melodic and percussive feel with wind chimes.
    I wonder how much Ray identified with or even perhaps envied the tramp given his current fragile mental state?
    Edit: I almost forgot to mention some brief though very neat and sweet tom work from Mick Avory!
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2021
  10. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Well one did have ownership of an ice cold beer.
     
  11. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    The Tramp’s more of a room-temp (or open-air) ale guy. (And now watch the thread detour into a vigorous discussion of the proper serving temperatures of beer/ale! :D )
     
  12. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    Sittin' in the Midday Sun

    A solid melody that wouldn't seem out of place on Something Else or Village Green Preservation Society. I think that is due to those wonderful backing vocals as mentioned by @Fortuleo:

    Those high harmony "wooh ooh" background vocals are VERY Beach Boys circa the Today! album. But, this may be another self-reference to their earlier Beach Boys inspired backing vocals from the "We'll surf like they do in the USA" section of Australia.

    Lyrically, in Waterloo Sunset, the narrator admits he's lazy. But here, he's saying that everybody is calling him lazy. But I don't think this narrator considers himself lazy.

    And this verse...

    I haven't got a steady occupation
    And I can't afford a telephone.
    I haven't got a stereo, radio or video
    A mortgage, overdraft, a bank loan.


    ...again makes me think of some of the lyrics to Shangri-La and Brainwashed. that to be happy, you don't need all that pressure to conform to what society tells you you need to have. Life ain't so happy in your little Shangri-La...


    Also agree with @All Down The Line here with regards to Mick's tom hits:

    Mick's great in those spots, and then his straight beat during the bridges and the fills (back in the mix) during the buildup of that bridge before they are in the front of the mix at the end of the bridge.

    Gosling's rolling piano lines add to the relaxing atmosphere. Dave's guitar tone during the "everybody thinks I'm crazy" verse is very well done.

    The overall smoothness of this record, I almost wonder if this is the closest the Kinks ever got to Yacht Rock :hide:
     
  13. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    :righton::cheers:
     
  14. malco49

    malco49 Forum Resident

    yeah i just thought he meant he was enjoying his pastry!
     
  15. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    That's what I thought too, though the line always bothered me. I'm happy to at least learn the actual meaning, even if I don't really get that whole Cockney rhyming slang thing...
    I agree that the bridge makes the song, which I like, even it's not in my Top 25. @mark winstanley made a valid case for its placement in the sequence.

    This was Ray's opinion in 1973: "'Sitting In The Midday Sun' is great if it was the first thing I'd ever done of that sort. But I did 'Sunny Afternoon' and it's not in the same room as that one...although it extends 'Sunny Afternoon' and it has a slightly different outlook." (New Musical Express, Oct 20, 1973, from Uncut Ultimate Music Guide)
     
  16. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    that seems about right. maybe we can invite ray into this thread for analysis!
     
  17. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "Sitting In The Midday Sun"

    The type of song you would expect to find on an album like The Great Lost Kinks Album. It has that sunny 60s Kinks vibe. "Oooh Oh look at all the ladies looking their best in their summer dresses." What a beautiful melody. This part gets me every time. Of course @Fortuleo already mentioned the similarities to The Beach Boys Friends era. The flute and the arrangement also makes me think of the album Bryter Layter. I love these lyrics and can totally relate. "Who needs a job when it's sunny?" I never knew about the slang for the currant bun. I always just pictured him "Sitting by the Riverside" in the midday sun, having a picnic and munching down on a bun. Just like in the song "Drivin'" when he had plenty of gooseberry tarts.

    I love any song with Ray singing in the sun. As I type this, the sun is shining in through the window on the coldest day in Seattle in over a decade at 17° F. We also got 5 inches of snow yesterday which shuts down this hilly city until the snow melts, which looks like at least a week away.

    Imagine writing a song this good and feeling like it's a pale imitation of much better sunny songs. I think the Ray quote is him being too tough on himself. This is a beautiful tune in its own right.
     
  18. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    But what about the "sitting" songs ? This track is a rare beast, in that it's part of two different groups of Ray Davies compositions : @Wondergirl's own favorite "sun" songs and the aforementioned "sitting" songs : Sittin' on My Sofa, Sitting by the Riverside, Sitting in My Hotel and Sitting in the Midday Sun. For what it's worth, here's my ranking of the sitting ones (and the competition is fierce):

    1/ Hotel
    2/ Riverside
    3/ Midday Sun
    4/ Sofa
     
  19. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Very fierce! I’d say your top three are all worthy of first place, but I’ll take Riverside at #1.
     
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  20. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I did send Dave a message on twitter lol
    No idea how to contact Ray.
    Sadly I doubt they'd join us, but it would be very very cool
     
  21. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    Your a bit mixed up. It’s Lucky Dan in the third at Riverside.
     
  22. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    You’ve got the spelling correct, but it’s pronounced Mangrove Rock.
     
  23. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Sitting in the Midday Sun
    "But who needs a job when it's sunny?" - indeed. Another sunny day - another day in which everything is all right.

    This song is pop perfection. Along with Sweet Lady Genevieve and this one, WHY wasn't this album a smash hit? there have been albums by other artists with a few excellent songs and then crappy filler for the rest of the album that killed it in the charts. Not that charts are everything, but these two songs in particular are hardly known even by those who are so-called fans (I didn't know about them all these years until about a year ago). How did this get bungled so badly?

    I know there are comparisons with Sunny Afternoon and maybe his other "sitting" songs, but this one is different enough that it stands out as stellar Kinks song.

    And it doesn't hurt that there is the 'video' they shot at the time available to us. I have watched it a ton this year. Ray is lookin' good despite the fact that his marriage was falling apart. Shows you can't judge a book by its cover.

    Anyway, whatever positives that others have mentioned already, I agree with wholeheartedly so need to repeat them now. Well done, boys!
     
  24. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    I was worried about him getting food poisoning...should you really leave food out in the midday sun? I say No! :laugh:
     
  25. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    I had to look up your Sting reference. Haven't seen that movie in a long time.
     

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