The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    It was the lightest of Chinese beers, followed by some sort of Chinese saké (for Chinese new year), in very moderate quantities, but my body had forgotten about alcohol !
     
  2. Fischman

    Fischman RockMonster, ClassicalMaster, and JazzMeister

    Location:
    New Mexico
    You Make It All Worthwhile

    This is about heaviest on the dialogue, which means it should be my least favorite song on the album.... but it's not.
    There's a ton of wonderfulness happening here.

    No need to overanalyze why that is. If you do,
    It can make a nervous wreck out of you,...
     
  3. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Beer+Saki x no booze lately = :nyah:

    Speaking of the Chinese New Year, I remember reading something when I was a kid around 1974 in Time Magazine about a French movie about the Chinese Army taking over France. Have you ever heard of it?
     
  4. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Good luck with that when you get to my house. I'm a very relaxed, peaceful person until someone touches my music :)
     
    Steve62, Wondergirl, markelis and 5 others like this.
  5. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I wonder if it was to avoid confusion with Olaf Stapledon's epic 1937 sci fi novel?

    [​IMG]

    Star Maker - Wikipedia
     
  6. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    Yeah, well, it will come at a very bloody cost. I can tell you that much :D
     
  7. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    You Make it All Worthwhile

    Oh my gosh, how I love this song! I am now used to the bits of dialogue throughout the album, so I don't mind it now. The shepherd's pie bit recalls the comedic nature of the Norman's pajamas being awful. But hey, sometimes you gotta eat shepherds pie "for the sake of art". The "What's the point of cracking up all because of shepherd's pie?" is just wonderful how it seems to linger. "What are we doing here? Why are we sweating the little stuff?" It makes me chuckle, along with the "come on, darling, let's go have dinner!" Incredible.

    I said earlier I think this whole Norman/Starmaker thing comes across as a role-playing game to spice up their life, and Andrea is 100% into it and playing along. And to me, THIS song is the heart of the album. It's Norman appreciating the little things and the time spent with his wife. When going through the album the past few weeks, I always think this is the penultimate song of the album, because it seems like it SHOULD be. But there are still 2 more songs to go before the final song of the album.

    Musically, I love the transitions from the gentle intro and "You Make it All Worthwhile" chorus to the thunderous "I mustn't stay in this job too long" and "You mustn't blame yourself like you do" sections. These thunderous sections are Norman's last throes of being Starmaker, the quintessential rock star jumping into a scene with intensity. And the the stage suit goes away and Norman is now singing the "and when I come home you make it all worthwhile"...

    I think my favorite vocal/musical moment of this entire album occurs in the transition between these two lines around 2:05:

    Baby, you won't believe it but it's true
    What a boring occupation can do,


    It just seamlessly joins the intense "break my back and sweat and slave" section to the next "What a boring occupation can do" section. It just marries those two ideas so well, and how Ray's vocal goes up to a near falsetto on "occupation can do" and "nervous wreck out of you". The energy release there and emotion is just out of this world.

    The final two choruses are just beautiful too... What a song!
     
  8. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    And we all know who will be to blame for that now, don't we :unhunh:
     
  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    This album has so many little nuances...
    We have the comedic Starmaker character, and the apparently dull Norman. The over the top, yet supportive Andrea....
    Three characters that are only actually two.... this could make a good stage play.

    Ray explores delusion via Starmaker.
    The feelings of insignificance via Norman.
    The frustration of being supportive via Andrea.
    The mechanics of relationships, from just about every angle.... sharing, compromising, fighting over stupid things, infidelity or the possibility of...
    Disillusionment.... which seems to generally be seen as a bad thing, but having illusions removed is a good thing.
    Workplace drudgery.
    Socialising.
    Being drunk.
    Daydreaming.
    It really is a very broad spectrum of the human experience crammed into a forty minute record....
    I think I love it..... shhhhh, don't tell anyone :)
     
  10. Luckless Pedestrian

    Luckless Pedestrian Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    I think the Shepherds Pie moment is important because it shows us that while Andrea puts up a good front, in reality she is also struggling and on the edge of a breakdown, just like Norman. He realizes how self-centered his thinking has been, and that their love and compassion for each other is the key to their survival, not a vacation fling or another drink. And, Ray being Ray, he gently mocks this legitimately touching moment with Soap Opera styling and comedy. Norman's triumphant "Let's go have dinner!" just kills me every time. I really enjoy the dialogue on the album, I think Ray and Ritchie do a great job with it.
     
  11. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    In the live version of Soap Opera, the reprise of "Ordinary People" w/Dave singing occurs after "You Make It All Worthwhile". Then Norman and Andrea get into an argument about whether he is really Norman. Ray insists that he's Ray and that the Kinks and the audience are also there. He then goes, "back in 1966, I wrote this...." and sings "Sunny Afternoon." When Andrea is still not convinced, Ray turns into a B-52 F-bomber, saying that he hates the f***ing, house, hates the f***king food, hates Andrea, but most of all, he hates those f****ing ducks!, going into "Ducks On The Wall"
     
  12. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Beginning at 4:45-ish for the Andrea-Norman argument (taking you through Sunny Afternoon).
     
  13. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "You Make It All Worthwhile"

    "Ello love" :) The dialogue on this song cracks me up. This and the next song are the comedy peaks of the album. They both have had me laughing quite a bit the last few days. The "Soap Opera" organ is used to great effect. "All right, all right, I'll eat it". I never knew pizza was fancy stuff, but back in 70s England it probably was. He mixes this silly dialogue with a beautiful song. It could have been a good single if it was edited without the dialogue. A nice use of strings which gives it a 60s pop feel. Is this also one of the last to Kinks songs to feature strings so prominently? If so, these last two songs are the end of two favorite Kinks styles.

    I agree. This is a beautifully performed vocal and my favorite part of the song.

    Here is a clip of them performing the song.

     
  14. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    He's Sam Brown's father, isn't he?
     
  15. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    You see, Ray's acting is so much better in this clip, more naturalistic, I've got no idea why he felt the need to ham it up on the record, it just detracts from the song. June Ritchie is still terrible though, I find her over-enunciated RADA Cockney accent quite painful.
     
  16. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Yes
     
  17. markelis

    markelis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami Beach FL
    My day job (when I am not spending hours on this thread) is that of an SEC attorney. I take companies public. For the last 20 years one thriving part of my practice has been taking companies from Asia (mainly mainland China) public here on the Usstock exchanges (typically NASDAQ). I have been to China probably over 100 times in the last 20 years and have spent sometimes up to a third of the year traveling to different corners of China to meet with clients etc.

    All this background is to simply say that I pity you. I’ve had my fair share of Chinese wine, and none of it’s good, sadly. As to Chinese “sake”, I suspect that you are referring to the Chinese liquor commonly referred to as bi zhiou (sort of pronounced “by joe”) (which translates to White liquor). Bi zhiou is a noxious smelling, extremely high alcohol content (think grain alcohol) drink which is usually consumed as a shot. I have had clients make me drink this equivalent to rubbing alcohol hundreds of times and I have been sick on it more times than I can count. Just the smell now makes me nauseous.

    If that’s what you were drinking, my heart goes out to you. Doesn’t sound like a good way to come off your month on the wagon to me!
     
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  18. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Weeeeee! That gets not one but TWO dancing bananas.
    :bdance::bdance:
     
  19. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    You Make it All Worthwhile has a great melody and Ray delivers the vocal really well. The dialogue is really funny and works when you're listening to the album, but from personal experience I can say that it comes as a wtf moment when the song pops up unexpectedly on shuffle when I'm out for a walk.

    As for shepherd's pie, which in our family used lamb or mutton, I've always thought that the shepherd's would soon be out of a job if they were eating a lot of shepherd's pie!
     
  20. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Now I am looking up recipes for shepherd's pie. The album should have came with the recipe. I don't think I have ever had shepherd's pie, but may have had cottage pie or something similar eons ago.
     
  21. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    It is indeed bi zhiou! That's how my Chinese-speaking wife calls it, but I didn't know how to write it. And of course they call it saké. Served as a free-on-the-house digestive in kitsch erotic mini cups. Not a great idea for breaking one's alcoholic fast indeed.
     
  22. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Holiday Romance
    I'm not sure what to say here. Generally, I'm not overly keen on the pre-rock 'n' roll stylings that Ray has occasionally thrown our way, and I don't think it should have been a UK single. However, it is an evocative piece. I am spirited away to some Art Deco styled hotel ••☑️ The Midland Hotel Morecambe | Direct Deals 2022 ‎✔️ perhaps like this one, where of course, the staff would be immaculately dressed, Noel Coward types would take afternoon tea, before a promenade on the seafront. As our Avids have said, this is our final look back to this time. It's a bit sad on that account. End of an era.
    You Make It All Worthwhile
    Something of a centrepiece to the story, as Starmaker and Norman blend into one for poor Andrea - one can no longer tell the difference between what was pig and what was human. I don't know if the clearly intentional hilarious lines add or detract. Musically it is quite beautiful in its melody. Lyrically, we have the juxtaposition between the hilarious food related excerpts with the drudgery of a boring job. I know about boring jobs, and don't like them. I do like Shepherds Pie though. Not to mention steamed pudding and custard! What I don't like is Andrea's spoken word. Does anyone actually speak like this? It's enough to send anyone off to the boozer...
    Funnily enough, only yesterday at the school where I spend my working day, a class was making Shepherds Pie. Anyway, something went wrong with one students attempt, and you can imagine what line was going around in my head. It amused me anyway.
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2022
  23. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Certainly lamb mince around here. Nicer than cottage pie too.
     
  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Shepherds pie and cottage Pie are essentially the same thing.

    Chop up some onions, fairly finely, start frying them. Put some crushed or finely chopped garlic in with them.
    If you want more veggies in there, peas and finely chopped carrots are good.
    When that's about ready stick ground beef on there, or lamb if you prefer it.
    Use your spatula to press it flat and thin, and put your herbs and spices on the ground beef.
    Then just roll it and fold it and stir it until it is cooked.

    Prior to that boil potatoes ready for mashing...... or boil the kettle when the ground beef is almost done :)

    Some people like to put a gravy in the ground beef mix.... just be careful not to put too much in, so you don't get soup :)

    Put your ground beef mix in a casserole dish leveled.
    Put your mash potato on top of it, somewhat leveled.

    You can put it in the oven like that, about 325f.... until the mash is golden brown.
    You can smooth a little butter on the mash if you like.
    You can put some grated cheese on the mash, if you like....
    It'll be good whichever way :)
     
  25. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    The day I start referring to dessert as “afters” is the day you’ll know I’ve been listening to too much of The Kinks.
     
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