I once saw a list article in one of the guitar mags "50 Great Guitar Solos In Crap Songs." My Sharona was on the list.
Hardway The Kinks return to their proto-punk roots and it works like a charm. I'll go against the grain and say I prefer the live version, but I'll save commentary as to why for when we get to One For the Road.
And his mum ran a hotel in Manchester(s), rumoured to be a place where George Best came to dry out, hide from his various scandals or get drunk again.
I'm guessing there's probably some overlap in Kinks/Knack fandom. Around the time I was learning to play The Hard Way, I was struggling through the chords of Good Girls Don't.
So as a heads up, this is how we're going to roll over the next few days. The poll was almost a tie, just one vote in it, and it was in favour of not doing a section with thoughts on the Arista change.... Wednesday - The Last Assembly Thursday - No More Looking Back and Finale.... and any summaries of the album folks may want to do. Friday - The Kinks Greatest Hits, Celluloid Heroes - most of the alternate versions have been posted, but if anyone knows of something that hasn't, feel free to post it. I won't be doing a track by track. With the Greatest hits marking the end of the RCA period, I'll be doing a summary of my thoughts about the RCA era, and everyone else is also welcome to. Saturday - I'll be trying to put together something about the actual change to Arista, and also my thoughts about the upcoming direction of the band tied into it. I will also be introducing the Sleepwalker album. I'm not sure if I will do that in one or two sections yet..... but I have already typed up all the intros for the rest of this week, so hopefully I can put something worthwhile together for Saturday morning. Then Monday will be Life On The Road, and so forth we go. I hope this works for everyone. I know it gives us a tight couple of days, but hopefully with a heads up anyone who particularly wants to comment on the extra bits and bobs will have time to put something together. Cheers Mark
Just before we moved to Australia I was going to school with scousers, so I always went for Liverpool... Kenny Daglish and Ray Clements are the names that immediately come to mind.
“The Hard Way” - No wonder this became a live staple: it rocks! Again, welcome back, Dave! As others mentioned, it is like an updating of their early style. It's an outstanding repurposing of the “I Can’t Explain” riff (“Open My Eyes” by Nazz is also awesome). Sometimes Ray’s affected vocals go off the rails, but this staccato, weird sounding delivery is fun. I particularly enjoy his delivery on “when you’re only fit to sweep the streeeets,” and his hiccup on “killer’s touch” predates David Byrne and Talking Heads by a couple of years. It's a killer track and one of my favorites. Rating: 5/5
King Kenny. Well before my time but my father always talked about him and has shown me videos and clips of him more than once Scousers, Mark? You've lived in England as well? I thought you were an OZ in the US.
Half the US does corporal punishment?? Maybe some private schools...I seriously don't know. But I started school in 1970 in a city public school and the idea of having a teacher or the principal placing hands on a student was just not a thing... AT ALL.
The Hard Way What an intense, fun, hard rocking track! The way that riff screams across the right to left channel is incredible. I don't know if the response in that call/response riff is a saxophone, synth, or what, but it almost sounds like AC/DC would do with bagpipes. I'm glad I'm not the only one who picked up on this preview of what David Byrne would deliver vocals a few years later! I just love that little lick that Dave plays after the "dust away the cobwebs of your mind". This is a great track for a live setlist. It has the punk energy and anger that can really get a crowd jumping. It looks back yet also seems ahead of its time.
In 1970? Wow... I remember in year 8 (1981) the social studies teacher picked a guy up by the hair, and I think the kid touched the floor once on the way out of the door lol He threatened to kill me LOL.... but I had spent six months manipulating his class and teaching, he was a bit pissy when he realised
The Hard Way A great short sharp shock of rock, or perhaps punk, but too well played! Might well be the best track on the album, looking forward to the sound of a re-energised rock band, which arrived fully formed on the 'Low Budget' album a few years later. Remained in the set list for concerts for many years, with masturbation replacing vegetation.
I don't doubt it for one second. And in the streets the garbage lies Protected by a million flies With roaches so big they got bones They moved in and made themselves at home Nice boys...don't play rock'n'roll That's what passes for poetry around those parts