To me "Full Moon" is kinda like a sequel to the title track, in which the protagonist explains how and why he is what he is, prowling through the streets at night. There's a bit more emotion than the preceding song. The line about a broken man has a bit more resonance to me when I first heard the song some 45 yrs. ago, since now it seems whenever I talk to my friends, it seems that we talk about our physical ailments. Also, what our Headmaster said about the full moon reminded me when my father passed away very early in the morning with the moon out in full force.
Full Moon This is one of those songs that seems longer than the 3:52 running time. The opening chords and band intro sounds like it could be off Percy. And the return of the resonator guitar! So yes, that one does absolutely sound like the Kinks. Ray's singing is fantastic. The only critique I have is the "like a great white balloon" line and how that is delivered... Is that the best analogy? I just noticed that the lower register piano intro seems to have the same melody as the "la la las" toward the end. The walking Hey Joe melody line towards the end also reminds me of a slower version of the Last of the Steam-Powered Trains rave-up... and if that was any inspiration, then it would make sense since that song was essentially a re-working of Smokestack Lightning by, err, Howlin' Wolf. Ok, perhaps a bit of a stretch! Anyway, this is definitely in the upper tier of songs on Sleepwalker. As others have noted, while not a concept/narrative album, this is turning out to be a bit of a concept/THEME album isn't it?
"Full Moon" I am happy to say that the last three songs save the album for me. In the end we have an album that is 50/50. I can now confidently choose five songs for my Sleepwalking Misfit album. "Full Moon" kicks off what I would call the Tom Petty song trilogy. Tom Petty eventually even names an album Full Moon Fever! This is getting weird. His debut album came out a full three months before Sleepwalker. Were The Kinks aware of him at this point? It turns out that Tom Petty played on the same bill with The Kinks in 1978, so someone must have known they would make a perfect pair. You get the old with the new and sometimes it's hard to tell them apart! I originally thought the next song was the most Tom Petty sounding song, but you can make a strong case for any of these last three songs. I'm no massive Tom Petty fan, but I do love his first album. Ray's melodic talents come to the rescue. We can even go back to some Ronnie Lane comparisons. The Kinks I love are still hanging in there. I don't think this sounds far off from being on Lola or Muswell. The sky has cleared and the "Full Moon" is shining like a National guitar. I wrote my review last night and I just realized that I was including “Artificial Light” as the last album track. Too bad it’s only a bonus tune, but it makes for a good album closer. I’ve been listening in my car and thought it was a ten song album. Now after listening to it so long like this it’s hard to drop the bonus track. They could have easily found a spot for “Artificial Light” so I will add it for them!
Okay, Avids, So I've been following this whole does or does not sound like the Kinks line of discussion for a few days not saying anything because I've not been able to fully form my thoughts on the subject. I think now I've settled. First, let me start by referring to their contemporaries (at least early on), The Beatles. Although not a fan myself, I have always acknowledged that the fabs were highly adaptable; very adept at evolving, changing style and sound, and incorporating and blending just about any influence into their music that they wanted to. Now I am a huge fan of The Kinks, and that in mind, it should come as no surprise that I see that protean quality even more so in them. Now nobody says "that doesn't sound like the Beatles" because really, The Beatles could sound like just about anything..... I think we need give the Kinks the same respect. Now with regard to the song of the day, Full Moon: I do like this song a great deal.... but maybe not as much as some Avids who have given it the highest raves, even placing it atop this deceptively strong album. In trying to pin down why, I think I've decided.... it doesn't sound like the Kinks. Now I know that's a total contradiction against what I just said above! I think for me the distinction ties into the other discussion we recently had about the Kinks going commercial. the key point is not whether or not they've abandoned artistry in favor of trying to make a buck, but rather whether the sound or mood that hits our individual ears feels like that. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. So to me, sounding more commercial means sounding less like the Kinks. Without passing any artistic judgments here, sometimes a song just doesn't quite hit me and maybe my individual perception of commercialism is playing into that. Still a great song, never a skip.... just not atop the formidable heap that is the Katalog. In fact I would add that the Kinks never went totally commercial.... they just occasionally go Kommercial, which like every other style or phase they do, is really okay with me.
Am glad you explained this because I was scratching my head because I’ve written up tomorrow’s song as the last one. Was about to look again at the track list to see if I missed one.
Sorry! I’ve been listening to the album for the last few weeks on my iPod and thought the album ended with “Artificial Light”. Now that I think about it “Life Goes On” is probably the more appropriate closer, but I’ve come to appreciate “Artificial Light” as the last song! That’s the problem with bonus CDs! I have the Sleepwalker vinyl, but have not played it in years.
Headmaster, you are correct in surmising that the moon has an affects on each of us: Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation states that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force directly proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. So the moon most definitely exerts a force of attraction upon each of us, and each of us exerts a force of attraction on the moon in return. It's a very small force but it can be calculated - in 1687 Newton figured out the equation: G*(Mass of Moon * Mass of @mark winstanley ) / (Distance between Moon and @mark winstanley)^2, where G is the gravitational constant: 6.674*10^-11. Whether or not the moon can drive us mad has yet to be proven scientifically, but empirical evidence suggests that existing as a self-aware being in the reality of this universe can have that affect!
I understand completely. Apple Music included the song ‘Preservation’ as the final track of Act 1. And so that’s where I think it belongs.
I'm not sure if it's the best analogy for the moon @donstemple, but apparently it's one that Ray is fond of using with celestial objects - see UK Jive's Loony Balloon, the title referring to our own planet. This latter analogy may be more fitting!
I’m not positive, but doesn’t it sound like they once again use the National guitar on this song? In the live clip, it looks like Ray starts using the dreaded Ovation guitar? Is this one of the first times we see him playing it? I wish he would have pulled out the National more often for live performances. I question Ray’s use of the Ovation for so many years. I love this line in “Full Moon” and the way Ray sings it. I also think “Loony Balloon” is a lovely tune.
Nice... Just one thing.... this Mass of Mark thing.... I'm feeling sensitive about this belly growth..... ya know.... I don't know where it came from, but it's quite annoying ... less of the Mass thing dude lol
Full Moon: This one, as well as yesterday’s delightful Stormy Skies, benefited most from this song by song exercise. As a young tyke, I sought out the rockers mostly, so Brother, Full Moon and Stormy Skies were largely ignored. Now as a (slightly) more mature adult, I enjoy the mellower side also. This one is great. Love the piano, love the multiple levels the lyrics operate at (werewolf or just a sleep starved insomniac?). Very melodic with some great vocals from Ray. Going into Sleepwalker, I had not realized how much I had ignored the three aforementioned ballads in my younger days, to the point that I realize now I really didn’t even know these songs. Stormy Skies and Full Moon have really received the benefit of this re-exploration, as I would rate both very highly. Brother is still a bit of a struggle for me. It’s a very well done, well constructed, melodic song, it just doesn’t grip me the same way Stormy Skies and Full Moon do. It may be that it is just too perfect, I like my kinks to be a little flawed I guess.
Full Moon "It's only juke box music"; but then again it isn't -- it's a powerful, irresistible force. Full Moon seems to go through three distinct phases (catch that): A soothing bit, where he's telling his interlocutor not to worry about all the strange things he's doing (which ends with the incredible, high mooooooon vocal); a baffled, enraged section, where he's lamenting/freaking out about the curse he's under; and then, abruptly, a part where he seems to be directly addressing the listener, leading to the scariest bit: if the face in the mirror/isn't you at all. But whether soothing, baffled, terrified, enraged or... dire... it's always "just" another full moon. Sensing a theme here, or maybe more of an idiosyncrasy (considering it showed up in our deep dive into Schoolboys as well) -- Ray isn't writing a lot of songs that make definitive statements about his subject -- no "life on the road is great" or "life on the road sucks," no "my god a terrible storm is coming" or "the storm's going to pass"; no "get lost in the music" or "just dance and forget about it." Even numbers like Brother and Mr. Big kind of fit into this.... analysis which should be saved for the full-album thoughts. Getting carried away, sorry. Agree with previously stated observations about the pull of forces beyond our control. Which fits with [juke box] music, storms, blood-relationships.... sorry again. Love the end of this song where everything gets thrown in; love the little guitar stabs and doodles throughout; mad about Ray's voice here. As a guy who sang in a few cover bands long ago, I internalized a habit of knowing the range of a singer, basically to see if I'd be able to hit most of their notes w/ my limited range (Morrison and Lennon and Dylan, check; Elton and McCartney and Bowie, no). & it feels, when Ray hits that high mooooon note that then deliciously blends in w/ the synth, like he's going out of his range, or that there should at least be a transitional -- thing -- moment -- but no, he just glides into it, and it's so beautiful, and I'm so glad he does it again at the end, and I'm even happy it's kind of buried in the mix that time, because it's almost too beautiful. Yes, absolutely. Dylan in his own way does something similar, well hell let's start with Woody, or how about a Paul Butterfield sound, or Nashville, or gospel, or Christmas songs -- picking up and losing fans in droves with each transition -- but bringing his singular sensibility through every change. Side notes: This is another song my wife immediately added to her massive Kinks playlist, with the now-familiar comment: "why didn't you play this one for me before?!" Yes, I hear werewolves and vampires (coincidentally, my wife and I are re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with our 12 year old), but I also get a distinct Jekyll and Hyde feeling from lots of these songs -- two sides, fighting for control of one person.
Agree. That Juke Box Music was the shorter single edit and I'm not sure it appeared on anything else. Fortunately I have it on cd.
An album highlight, and I really like the sequencing that has the character in the second track Sleepwalker seemingly return in the second-last track. Great piano (could be on an Elton album), and I don't mind the brief bits of shouty Ray. Edit: Having now just read through the three pages of discussion on this track, I note that @Fortuleo had already mentioned Elton, and @DISKOJOE mentioned the theme aspect.
Full Moon I'm not going to comment on the theories about the gravitational influences the moon exerts on human beings. The piano in the beginning brings to mind a silent horror movie with B Karloff or B Lugosi and leaves us in no doubt that trouble is brewin' and we are headed for a very dark tale. However, the darkness never really materialises because Ray does his usual and writes a very funny song instead. This one always brings a smile to my face. Is the character depicted in the next track the same one who is affected by the lunar phases? Has he had enough and decided to take his own life? Nice clean recording for this one. Quite a few tracks on this album, this one included, would sit very well on Misfits and I tend to play them together like a double album.
Mark, I appreciate your response. I have some really strong opinions about this whole “the Arista period sucks - it doesn’t sound like the kinks” topic, and I have attempted several times now to put them into words but thus far I keep failing. Thus, this response is just a small smidgen of what I really want to say. I am really responding more to AJ Smith’s comment, but hitting reply to yours because I appreciate your response. At a minimum, I wonder, does every song a and releases need to be a classic for a band band to deserve to continue? Does every album a band releases need to have at least one classic on it? Sure, I don’t like Full Moon as much as YRGM or Lola, and those ARE the songs that first drew me in. Does Full Moon qualify as a classic Kinks song? Ehhhh, Probably not, but it does qualify as a damn good song by the kinks that I’m happy to hear over and over. Meanwhile, I have recounted several times now how I heard a different song off of this album, Juke Box Music, on the radio and I proceeded to drive with great haste (aka recklessly- knowing me as a teenager) to the record store to get it. I can tell you that that would have happened even if I didn’t already know who the Kinks were and didn’t already know and love Lola or YRGM. That song is a classic and would have made me an instant fan. Live Life, which I used to hear on the radio when Misfits was released (thank youWCCC in Hartford), as well as Rock and Roll Fantasy also triggered the same sprint to the record store. To me they are classics, equal to the earlier classics. …and Destroyer off of GTPWTW would have absolutely done the same thing even if I wasn’t already a fan. Not every song needs to be a classic to justify a band’s continued existence (at least in my humble opinion).
Full Moon I'm full of love for Full Moon! Would hate to catch Ray when he's experiencing insomnia while it's a full moon. And this song even features a second or two of a Ray silly voice when he sings "like a loon". Yay. Lots of great stuff to keep your attention, from the beginning with the deep piano coming in. Enjoy when Ray hits the real high notes with "moooon" and "ooooh". They're extra lovely. Shouty Ray is used appropriately. The synth(keyboard?) is used sparingly and well. and to hear the definite steal of the "lala"s from "Johnny Thunder" is lovely. I hadn't noticed that until Mark pointed it out. I'm moony-eyed for this song.
I know I'm walking a dangerous line here, particularly given my avatar, but I just did a low-rent mashup by playing this song in one window and Full Moon in another, since both songs have been going around in my head at the same time anyway. sort of works.
I just realized that it was not AJ Smith‘s comment that I was responding to, my apologies. Furthermore, I meant no umbrage to the poster that I was referring to. We are all entitled to our opinions, we don’t need to agree on which songs or albums are good or bad, we are all here because we love the kinks. Frankly this thread is filled top to bottom with people with great, knowledgeable and incisive thoughts about the kinks.
Full Moon Kicks off like a song that you could shoehorn into the Lola/Muswell era. It hints at some of the more idiosynchric songs featured on the next album. Vocally it offers a taste of the shouty Ray debuting more fully in couple of years on Low Budget. I like shouty Ray, however, I don't think it fits here. It bludgeons the tender piano-driven melody at the heart of this song. I like how the song's intro lyrics sort of sets up the Sleepwalker on his next phase of his night or providing the reason he is sleepwalking. There are some nice moments on the song and I like the instrumentation and lalala's. I just don't like his choice to shout/bark some of the lyrics. The song has a power of its own and would be better served by a lighter touch vocally. Ray does a nice job of bringing different elements of the 60s-early 70s Kinks into Full Moon.
Full Moon is another one that’s not bad, but fails to completely grab me. I want to like it more than I actually do. Which is sort of a theme for me on this album. Had hoped the deep dives would get me more invested in it, but despite all the fantastic thoughts and analysis from the group here, it’s not really happening. Ah well, you can’t love them all.
Ah, here we are in the waning hours of the day. Work isn't over, but I've got a brief reprieve so why not comment on Full Moon. This one never grabbed me as a whelp, but that live 2011 version Mark posted hooked me in several months ago when I first heard it. Ray still does the falsetto! (or at least he did in 2011, I know his range has weakened considerably since) It forced me to take another listen, and I absolutely love it. My favorite Sleepwalker track used to be Stormy Sky (which I still very much enjoy -- though I think the consensus of the forum said all that needs to be said on that one) but Full Moon has very much supplanted it. The piano intro, the transformation (transfiguration here, surely) of Ray's vocals from sweet yet ominous to manic yet reconciled (with the wolf howl in the middle), the pound pound pounding home of this "creatures of the night" theme; there's just so much to like. I'll be honest, I used to be much more of a Misfits fan than a Sleepwalker fan, but this thread is very close to winning me over (if everybody keeps it up and helps me reappraise tomorrow's song, the process will be complete). Anyway, Full Moon gets a ringing endorsement from me. I'm glad Ray has it as a personal fave, he really got it right here IMO.
