Ordinary People I guess it needs the spoken introduction to get the story going, without the effort of another song. I wonder if those during the song detract, but if the aim was to make a first listener to spit out their cuppa tea laughing, they work quite well. No sacrifice is too great for art... At least he had the decency to wear pyjamas with Norman's wife within a few short hours of knowing her. I don't mind a fifties pastiche, even seen Showaddywaddy and Shaky in concert over the years. But Ray seems to be using this particular device quite a lot in the '70s. Better than going all-out Bee Gee Disco I suppose. It would have been nice to have a studio version of the 'reprise' we've heard live, a bit more of Dave vocally on this album would go down a treat.
I wish I could have seen this show live. What fun! Ray is having a blast hamming it up. Dave is killing it even in a Kinky wig. And such infectious music. Sorry if this has been asked already, but does a better copy (or a color version?) exist of this Beacon show?
As I said before, my friend Jimmy actually saw this in a movie theater in Boston (where the live Soap Opera never played for some reason) & it was in B&W. So, I'll just have to say "I hope Ray has a better copy at Konk"
Rush Hour Blues Another winner!! I love all the different parts of this song. It just comes together into a catchy as heck, delightful song. The bass is very heavy on the tracks...in my headphones, it's drowning out Ray's vocals - so that's a small complaint. and sometimes Andrea's voice is pretty annoying. But that's me being picky. Love the very end with Mick playing the cymbals and then the (bass?) drum sounds with an nice echo - the end. Fun stuff through and through. I've been listening to this album at work. I am an office paper pusher (well, more so electronic paper pusher), so it's interesting to hear Ray's take on those of us caught up in that lifestyle. Is there contempt there? or is it more a basic not understanding how anyone could sign up for such a thing? Still trying to parse that out.
We really gotta storm the gates at Konk and grab some videos/film. It sucks that Ray has hoarded this stuff.
I also enjoy Rush Hour Blues - the female vocal can be a bit annoying, but it's perfectly in character.
Yes, like that "Unplugged" session that they did back in 1994. There's only a poor looking scrap of video of that on YouTube. Let's be grateful that Ray isn't like Dave Clark. Could you imagine not having any Kinks albums available other than an occasional "hits" compilation?
I've noticed that the three live tracks added to the end of the 2010 edition of Soap Opera all come from the same show in London, so I presume that the whole concert was (professionally?) recorded? If so, it would make a nice addition to an expanded edition of Soap Opera...
Haha. Me too. I was disappointed I couldn’t find any of those famous rude shopkeepers in France. I find her annoying too but it’s sort of the point: she’s filling the ‘nagging wife’ trope. I don’t think Ray ever had contempt for a particular occupation or social strata- even his songs featuring upper class toffs had a sympathetic edge.
Trade unionists? People who work for the "Welfare State"? Town planners? Government employees in general?
You're right, of course. That's the thing that makes his political leanings so confusing (i.e. self-proclaimed socialist). Ray's a really sharp guy but I don't see how it all adds up.
A front-on zip-up suit was famously worn by Graeme Garden of The Goodies in the early 70s. I could only find it on one of those annoying ‘reactions’ videos. It’s around the one-minute mark. It’s a shame they never took off. Very handy.
Rush Hour Blues: The entrance of June Ritchie „Darling are you ready, you’ll be late for the bus!“ cuts like glass through the speakers. In fact when I played the SACD on my system, my girlfriend asked me how the voices sounded so realistic, like they were in the room. Great mixing decision to mix the bass way up while eliminating most of its low end, and everything is nicely bubbly and dry. Who knows what monitors they were mixing on. My guess is John Dalton used a Rickenbacker with the middle position between the two pickups which will cancel the low end. Ray‘s acting is phenomenal how he plays it cool to his wife, while whining about the actual work conditions. Being „Part of the machinery“ is a theme he would explore again in State Of Confusion, Working At The Factory and many more. I do however ask myself whether he really ever had to wake up at 7 o’clock to work from 9 to 5…
If he was taking public transport, he probably needed to get up at 6:30, that's why he was running late
I don’t love the last couple of tunes, but they were funnier than I’d remembered. Again I don’t dislike them really, but am unlikely to go back for further listens.
Which makes it remarkable how accurately he can express the feeling of being trapped in this kind of life! “Deciphering data for mechanical minds … he’s starting to lose his mind” - feels like Ray is my therapist lol.
ha, the one that got me was "checking a list that's been checked out before" in the same stanza... it really is uncanny, how do you know this stuff, Ray??? I feel like the only other writer with their finger to the pulse of this sort of thing is Roger Waters, and even then, his stuff is much more bitter and hyperbolic. Ray sure was blessed with the gift of empathy.
I’ve been waiting for someone to orient that section for me- yes I can definitely hear the Dead there! I was thinking it had a New Orleans funk/soul feel, the bouncy way the piano is played there, but couldn’t come up with a specific example.
The attitude dripping from “Cool it baby, I got plenty of time” shows that Ray is ultimately a primo rockstar, whether he’s playing Norman or Ray or whoever. This is the biggest hook for me on the whole album, the moment (s) I remember first and most. Fantastic.
Here are some songs with I-vi-IV-V progression that are hardly doo-wop (not that there is anything wrong with doo-wop): "Every Breath You Take" - The Police "Poker Face" - Lady Gaga "When I Come Around" - Green Day "Capital Radio" - The Clash
Rush Hour Blues The opening lines phrasing and music have me thinking of a duet with Peaches and Iggy Pop and then we are again straight into 50's rock mode. I appreciate the songs changes though i more easily notice and enjoy the work of Dave and Dalton though am still undecided on the merits of June Ritchie. The best part for me is when Ray is in the office and things get all funked up courtesy of the horns and inparticular a 5 note lick that would not at all be out of place gracing an Albert King album of the time!
Rush Hour Blues The opening lines phrasing and music have me thinking of a duet with Peaches and Iggy Pop and then we are again straight into 50's rock mode. I appreciate the songs changes though i more easily notice and enjoy the work of Dave and Dalton though am still undecided on the merits of June Ritchie. The best part for me is when Ray is in the office and things get all funked up courtesy of the horns and inparticular a 5 note lick that would not at all be out of place gracing an Albert King album of the time!
