The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Yea, it seems the Preservation album is generally considered to have come across better live.
    I believe that it was more focused and also the reports I hear are that there was a humour and lightness to the live shows that isn't as apparent on the album..... and I am assuming that this version is probably more in line with the live stuff that followed.

    I reckon we will set one day aside to talk about the live shows that followed the album, due to the vast differences in the way they seemed to be received.
     
  2. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Great rock finale, with a preview of Act 2's finale. About this closing section, I remember telling my brother they used the same chord pattern as Hey Jude and Bowie's Memory of a Free Festival, and he pretended it was not really the case - meaning they're "facially" similar but have a different relation to the key, or something like it. I never knew if he was just being contrarian or if he was right, and my knowledge of music theory was always very patchy. If someone has an informed opinion I will take it (EDIT: especially if it says my brother was wrong, of course). Anyway, Ray's song changes the chord pattern before the end to introduce a coda.

    I agree with those who compare Preservation Act 1 with Arthur and VGPS. I will demonstrate that Act 2 is on the same level if trimmed down to a single record.

    I have been experimenting several spots on Act 1 to insert History. I think I will settle for just before Demolition. I never liked the transition between Midday Sun and Demolition anyway.
     
  3. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Demolition:
    I spy with my little eye
    Anything here that I can buy.
    I see a little thatched cottage
    Looking so neat
    ——
    Begins with a musical, as in on-stage, rap…that once again causes me to visualize the scene.
    The lyrics are very clever, setting the scene and, very quickly, propelling the plot line.

    Flash’s sales pitch, “The deeds are in my pocket,
    I've got a contract in my hand.
    An opportunity for luxury living.
    I'll arrange the mortgage
    To be repaid a hundred percent.
    I can't wait around so make your decision.”
    It’s the hard sell. Make up your mind…now!

    “It's time to make some money,
    It's time to get rich quick.”
    And it sounds like The Who swooping in with Dave’s fantastic vocals.

    The horns, backing vocals…all-in-all a terrific song, one that I immediately, with no hesitation, put onto my playlist.
     
  4. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Oops I fell behind again - my thread alerts stopped working so I thought Mark might have been taking a break!

    Sitting in the Midday Sun
    There’s nothing I can say that can add to the excellent comments by Mark and others. This is another top-shelf ballad by Ray. Not second class at all. I listen to it and I feel happy.
    Demolition
    This is more of a rocker but with some very nice orchestration which provides a fitting climax to the album. I admit I’m a sucker for nearly any song with la la la in it somewhere and this is no exception. I can’t say I’m that invested in Ray’s plot. I just like the tune.
    The album
    When I listened to this a few weeks ago I wondered why I hadn’t played this record for the best part of 20 years. The songs are mostly very good and the pacing is excellent.
    Ray’s divorce
    I understand how the breakdown of Ray’s marriage would have affected him emotionally. But I have trouble finding much sympathy for him because he was the destructive force in the marriage. Ray had affairs and apparently compartmentalised them as work-related. Maybe this was his way of bringing the marriage to an end. As bad as it was for Ray I think it must have been even harder on Rasa.
     
  5. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Preservation Act I re-cap:
    Well, it’s been a blast to listen, analyze and discuss with all of you here on the thread. It really has. And for me this has been my first exposure to the album so, yet again (like it or not!) you are all now part of the Preservation Experience.

    I’ve enjoyed the album and am still waiting to stumble upon an album in the Kinks’ discography that has leaves me throwing up my hands in disappointment.

    If I were to try and transport myself back to 1973, when I was 15 years old, would I have liked this? I think so. Would I have raved about it and played it repeatedly? Probably not. There’s too much of having-to-listen-as-a-musical except when it’s-just-a-song-on-a-record. And I don’t accept this as a rock opera. It’s a musical, and not in Tommy or Jesus Christ Superstar’s league. Maybe compare to Godspell? Anyway, Preservation I is unique.

    My playlisters:
    Where Are They Now?
    One of the Survivors
    Sweet Lady Genevieve

    I did have Demolition on my playlist…but it ended up sounding like it came from left field when I played it as part of a greater whole. Ultimately, it didn’t make the “shuffle” cut.
     
  6. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    I agree with your moral commentary, though somehow I feel a special kind of pity for people who messed up, know they messed up, hurt a lot, wounded loved ones and know it's their fault. A sorry and lonely hell this must be.
     
  7. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    "Demolition" is actually pretty prophetic about the UK property market and the UK in general! Arguably what the plot really needed was lots of middle class professionals from London descending on the village to buy up the properties and price the villagers out of their own village! Maybe Ray can cover that in Act 3.
     
  8. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Interesting that Ray's vocals are being described as rap here - I think there is a track on Act 2 where Ray appears to invent Gangsta Rap.
     
  9. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    LOL
     
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  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Lol ... nah
     
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  11. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Do you mean Second Hand Car Spiv? I always thought of it as proto-Devo. Whatever it is, it’s seriously singular stuff for a British Invasion group to be doing in 1974.
     
  12. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I just remembered what I kept on thinking I needed to put down on the Preservation I re-cap. This album shoulda-coulda been put out as a Ray Davies solo project. Under his name. And then he could have still used the band as his backing musicians. In terms of reception, I bet fans at the time might have been more accommodating as it was pretty much a given that a songwriter had songs that might not be group-appropriate and many artists released such solo side projects.
     
  13. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    Yeah, maybe this record’s reputation as a failed experiment is because it works a bit like the recent Dune film : it’s a “first act” that isn’t even an act at all, just an exposition of context, a long scene setting intro.

    But I also think the stunning variety of musical styles and points of view could be the real explanation for this frequent (and terribly unfair) assessment of this LP not quite holding together. It’s easily the most varied collection of music the band ever did (and I mean ever), even more varied than Something Else. On Preservation, they don’t preserve anything from one track to the next (and sometimes within one track, from one section to the next).

    To sum up the way the songs were described here by us all in the last two weeks, we got:

    - orchestral cinematic music leading to a Broadway meets Disney intro
    - an irresistible Days/Almanac Kinks mid-tempop lost klassik
    - Hendrix guitar-rock meets Viennese oompah dance music with mariachi trumpets (!)
    - a melancholic piano ballad
    - a glam Lou Reed backed by the Who rock'n roll pastiche single
    - some sort of British Dixieland religious music-hall (if such a thing can exist at all)
    - a Celtic prog- folk medley
    - a slice of Black Sabbath heavy rock
    - a Beach Boys-like sunny Kinks nugget with flutes
    - and then today's groovy punk’n rap gospel rocking finale.

    This is almost too much to take for any casual listener ! I enjoy variety just as much as the next guy but I often put my records on to fit a certain mood or to create a certain atmosphere. Act 1 clearly doesn’t work like that, it doesn't work in the singular form : it’s plural to the extreme, a roller coaster ride of styles and musical ideas, it never settles in any comfort zone for itself and never creates one for its listener. If you wish to introduce Muswell Hillbillies, Lola or Village Green to a friend, just pick a favorite tune from any of them and if the friend’s hooked, there’s a good chance the rest of said records will appeal to him/her. But Preservation Act 1 ? I don't think so… If you manage to draw someone in with Sweet Lady Genevieve, that someone might (= likely will) be taken aback when exposed to There’s a Change in the Weather. Same with Midday Sun and Here Comes Flash, Where Are They Now? and Demolition, Daylight and Cricket, Money and Corruption and I’m Your Man, even ! Only the three Tramp songs are in line with each other and with the general public’s idea of what the Kinks should sound like. It’s a daring record and it dares the listener to be up for its constant changes, to bare with its idiosyncrasies, its craziness and its all over the place musical inspiration/aspiration. Whenever I play a Kinks record at home, there's a good chance my wife or kids won't mind it or will enjoy it. But if I'm playing Act 1, they'll say “oh, nice song” while going to the toilets and then “what is this awful crap you're imposing on us” on their way back to their rooms. I don't blame them. I guess some records have to remain extra-marital affairs. In a way, this whole thread feels like one, sometimes. Not that I know anything about extra-marital affairs, mind you. But you see what I mean.
     
  14. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I do, I do. :D (Excellent post.)
     
  15. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Heck, Avid Vangro, it can also apply across the sea. It seems that there's always a new condo and/or apartment complex being built in my town or in the neighboring towns. There's a street the next town over from me which looks like NYC now w/plenty of high rises for people who can't afford Boston these days. I also have a relative in the next state over who's in real estate & he's doing quite well.

    Back to the Kinks. "Demolition" is again a song that fleshes out the Mr. Flash character w/it's description of his lust for making money above all else. We know more about him than Mr. Black, who basically remains a cipher. I really can't add any more than what the other Avids have said, especially Avid Fortuelo to this song, but note that it's great to hear Dave's vice, erm, voice & there is no other song where the phrase "gas fired central heating" is sung w/passion.

    As for Act 1, it is a bit underrated, probably because it seems unfinished being an Act 1 & all and needing an Act 2, but there are a clutch of good to great songs which are right up there w/the usual Kinks classics. Perhaps whoever in WBCN that put it on the Classic Album Hour in 1977 was right.
     
  16. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    Demolition

    Excellent intros and posts today by Headmaster @mark winstanley and Avid @Fortuleo. That intro sounds like some sort of 60s/70s soul/R&B sound. I can imagine them really opening up that bass riff in a live setting and just exploring that space. Then the heavier guitar riff comes in. This is definitely theatrical soul/rock fusion. Very unique! Dave's vocals are perfect for him. He's got this urgency to his vocals and it works so well in this context. I also hear this as described by @ARL:

    In fact, the horns here are used in a very similar fashion to how they are used throughout the Arthur album. The structure/sections reminds me of how Shangri-La is arranged with some heavier riffs, quickly delivered vocals about cookie cutter houses. And another song with "Village Green" in the lyric sheet! How can you not like that?

    One question I had was what does "Treble the profits" mean? I had thought he was saying "triple the profits", but after searching online I learned it also means 3x the profits, so I guess it means the same thing.

    What a biting satirical line: It's the wonderful world of capitalism.

    And then ending with that coda that foreshadows the Salvation Road melody that appears plenty of times over the next album. Obviously at this point, if you haven't heard Act 2 yet, you won't get this foreshadowing. Yet another example of how these albums really need to be heard numerous times to fully absorb. And perhaps that is why they don't land with the general population. And I love Mick's drumming as this coda starts. Are those bongo drums or something else?

    All in all, this should be considered one of their golden era albums for sure. The variety is nuts, but the melodies, backing vocals, horns, piano, guitars.... all add up to a great album with some definite lost Kinks klassic songs that should be way more well known than they are.
     
  17. Luckless Pedestrian

    Luckless Pedestrian Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    Brilliant closer, love the jackhammer guitar riff, punctuating horns, background singers, and the great contrast between Ray's spoken-word Dave's high-register vocals. Excellent lyrics are a given at this point - there are so many syllables packed into each verse, reflecting the haste to tear down, rebuild and profit!
     
  18. markelis

    markelis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami Beach FL
    Demolition: I love demolition. It really is the one song on the album that comes close to being a balls out rocker. I love the use of the different voices, as though there’s a dialogue going on. …and it’s always great when Dave chips it, whether on vocals or guitar!

    I can’t recall if we covered the stray song, Preservation, yet, but to me it’s a great bookend with Demolition, though it really is not the right way to open the album up. I can see the conundrum that they faced, a great song that would’ve made a great opener, working nicely with the closer Demolition, but it just didn’t fit as the opener. I’m glad it got released ultimately, although I think the decision to place it as the first song after the fact by the record company is an error.

    I like this album a lot. It really is chock-full of good songs. I understand the argument that some of the songs don’t really operate alone, but since my plan is to create a playlist which covers only the theatrical era (ha ha, I was dictating and it thought I said “error”- as some folks might agree it should be called!), I think I can mix and match them all in a very interesting way.
     
  19. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Demolition

    Dave's vocal presence is greatly welcome here as is the repetitive riffing that partially recalls The Band Of Gypsys (Message To Love IIRC).
    The horn arrangements work really well here and I get a Sam And Dave feel with a just touch of Sly And The Family Stone.
    I might be mad but the vocal vamp at the end has me recalling Wilson Pickett.
    Ray throws in the (stainless steel?) kitchen sink but for performance alone i can't give him the MVP so fortuitously he is also an ace writer and arranger!
     
  20. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Yes as for that Peel session version i enjoyed
    it's bass-icality!
     
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  21. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Absolutely agree but all the same of course really hard for him when she took the Ray babies!
     
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  22. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Apple Music is streaming the 2014 Sanctuary Records version. This has ‘Preservation’ as track 12, the closer. This is why I referenced 5/12 in our preliminary-thoughts stage. I had no idea it wasn’t a part of the original and, then, had no idea that there was a subsequent version that placed it as the opener.

    I think it fits as a closer, wrapping things up in a nice lyrical summary. Plus, it’s the best song on the album.
     
  23. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Great post as usual.
    Maybe the extent of what Black & or Flash are doing is an extra-martial affair?
     
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  24. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    ???
     
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  25. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    "Demolition" I knew from live tapes and then getting the album but I have to say I had not paid it much attention until today. And it's pretty epic in my view. I said earlier I did not care for Dave's lead vocals but that's not strictly true. I like when he shares the lead with Ray as "Hatred (A Duet)" is one of my favourite Kinks recordings. Lyrically, it actually seems to have plot development so it is part of the larger set of songs in a specific way. But it has a self-referential nod to village greens. I love the arrangement. Glad to have got more acquainted with this song.
     

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