The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    The intro to "Pressure" sounds like it comes off of some obscure Chuck Berry recording from Chess Studios in the 1950s. But once the tempo kicks in, we are in punk/new wave territory (or what the Kinks thought was punk/new wave). All bands adapt with the times (Some Girls has three songs played at a faster pace than typical Stones fare) and in England, punk was making an impact. Most British bands of this time played at a faster clip. So there is an element of using one of the current trends in music and adapting to the times (in order to survive - any long lasting band usually does this). Of course, "Pressure" is crafted by a songwriter who knows a thing or two about making a song catchy etc. I recall this song from the live shows around this time - it makes a lot of sense in a live setting. It's revved up - it's fun. On the album, it is less so, I think, but I certainly do not mind it. I think it fair to say that there is nothing legitimately "punk" or "new wave" about "Pressure" - those influences have merely been dabbled in here. To a certain extent, "Pressure" is dated, I find.
     
  2. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "Pressure"

    Short, sharp and to the point, this one is a relief after the length of "Catch Me Now I'm Falling". Seems very straightforward with its thrashing rock & roll/new wave-ish riffs and handclaps, but the ascending "whenever I am close to you" bit throws in a bit of variation. We get some of the "exaggerated cockney" voice in the chorus, but otherwise this is a fine vocal from Ray with relatable lyrics.
     
  3. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    The verse is fairly catchy and quite 60s-ish but the chorus.... please don't do that, Ray.
     
  4. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Pressure

    Another one I spotted on One For The Road. The studio version is great too. I don't hear an A G in the chorus though : to me it sounds like F D F D, back and forth, which is more unusual, a riff built on 2 chords set 1,5 steps apart. It's clearly been written by the hand that created You Really Got Me and all of its parent tunes.

    All in all, I love this tune, and am beginning to really like this album. It's got a consistency that was missed on the last 2 records, even if those contained some better songs. Consistent but diverse. Good.
     
  5. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Pressure
    I've always liked this song. It's direct, purposeful and like all good rock'n'roll, doesn't take itself too seriously.
    What I didn't know until I listened to The Low Budget Interview is that the song was recorded in one take (that's Ray playing the lead-in) and that Ray is really proud of the lyrics and the song:

     
  6. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Pressure:
    Starts out in Chuck Berry basic rock and roll mode, then a quick switch to a punk stylings and a call and response “oh, yeah (oh, yeah)”. And then into the early 60s Beach Boys with claps. I do like the switch at the end of this segment when Ray sings “whenever I’m…close..to you.”

    The bridge is great, “all together now”, and has a really nice bass line.

    All in all a good song. Short, to the point, rock and roll.
     
  7. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    There is a Billy Joel hit with the same title and theme 3 years later, with a cool synth riff and a bit of shouty Billy. Maybe you secretely hoped I wouldn't mention it but here it is.

     
  8. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Live video, I think 1983:

     
  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Interesting that folks are hearing this as punk..... it is straight up Status Quo, who are not even remotely punk lol
     
  10. Endicott

    Endicott Forum Resident

    Pressure

    This is where Low Budget hits its stride. "Pressure" is a compact eruption of punk-style energy, complete with a Chuck Berry jumpstart intro. It's got an unorthodox structure, opening with the shouty chorus, but the very hummable verses flow well; this song coheres much better than the similarly-styled opening track. This is the first cut on the record that does full justice to Dave's guitar tone on the album -- it's especially effective when it subs for the refrain midway through. Lyrically it covers familiar Davies territory -- the emotional pressures and stresses of it all -- but his girlfriend offers an escape valve. (Could this be an oblique ode to Chrissie?) Love the sudden ending -- did the pressure finally push him off the cliff, or did it dissipate altogether?

    If the Buzzcocks had ever covered a Kinks track, this would have been it.
     
  11. pantofis

    pantofis Senior Member

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    "Pressure"

    One where Ray makes it extremely easy for him, but then again why not. It is short and entertaining, gets the album going in the right direction and that's what counts.
    I also hear the New Wave thing and what I also hear is how a mid-30es Ray Davies declares, "See kids, I can do this as well." I'm not too familiar with the Ramones or the Clash, but it's a nod to those kinds of groups as well?
    Overall though I do prefer the Billy Joel song of the same title.
     
  12. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    ... just not very well.
     
  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Great song off probably Billy's best album
     
  14. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    100% agreed.
     
  15. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    I'm not a Billy Joel fan but I do remember that song. It's pretty good but those heavy-handed synthesisers forever carbon date it to the early 1980s. Personally, I find rock songs that went all-in on the synth trend of the day are close to unlistenable now. Personally.
     
  16. rfs

    rfs Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lansing, MI USA
    Muswell Hillbilly is a great closing song - one of their best!
     
  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Makes no difference to me
    Like art, I don't care if someone uses oils, acrylics or water colours
     
  18. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Ray would be flattered - he thought his intro was "really bad if you listen carefully". And those Chuck Berry intros aren't as easy as they seem: here's Chuck giving Keef some tips :D
     
  19. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Don't get me wrong - I'm not anti-synth. I thought Queen used them judiciously in the 80s, they outshone the guitar in Van Halen's Jump, and they were integral to one of my favourite Sabbath albums (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath). It's the cheesy pop synths of the early 80s that I think, in hindsight, detract from the song rather than improve it.
     
  20. Martyj

    Martyj Who dares to wake me from my slumber? -- Mr. Flash

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Pressure

    (Setting: New York City, Spring, 1979. After midnight. In a hotel bedroom near the Power Station recording studio, an unusual visitor approaches a sleeping Ray Davies)

    Martyj: Cooee. Cooee. Ray. Ray…

    Ray: Who is this?

    Martyj: Wake up Ray. Can you hear me Ray?

    Ray: Who is this? Who dares to wake me from my slumber?

    Martyj: Need I announce myself? Am I such a stranger to you?

    Ray: Say your name! Speak!

    Martyj: I am a fan.

    Ray: A fan? Oh…you must be Dan the Fan. I wrote a song about you. You live for our music. It’s the only thing that—

    Martyj: No..not that lazily-named alliterative loser. I’m Martyj, a 62 year old, pale skinned, out-of-shape, Stan Laurel doppelganger who has been granted a Genie’s wish to travel time backwards from the year 2022 so as to change the course of history. I was given the choice of visiting 1889 Austria to smother the baby Hitler in his crib, or to 1979 Manhattan to stop you from what you will do tomorrow. It was a tough call, but ultimately came down on the side of NYC because it has better restaurants.

    Ray: Me? Ray Davies? Change the course of history?

    Martyj: Well on the scale of major stuff, is not like making sure COVID never happens..but as far as Kinks history goes, it’s basically to stop you from embarrassing yourself. You see, tomorrow you will enter the studio with your band to cut a new song for your next album.

    Ray: Oh yes. The one called Pressure. A fast one. A bit punkish. A bit new wavish. It should shut up our critics who say we can’t keep up with the times.

    Martyj: You will not succeed.

    Ray: Why not? The 80’s are here. I know, I’m starring right at them. Just look at me: the hippie locks have been clipped. I’m wearing a skinny tie with my suit. And look down here…tennis shoes! How edgy is that? Tennis shoes with a suit!

    Martyj: Ray…Its not your make up, or the way that you dress…

    Ray: Hold it right there! make up…way you dress.. I can use that line in another song I’m writing. I need to jot that down—-

    Martyj: (Interrupting) Ray, just listen…

    Ray: …help me find a pencil…

    Martyj: Ray, please. About Pressure. It’s not necessarily a bad song—it rocks, it’s short with a 60’s vibe in the verses—but it’s the presentation. There’s nothing wrong with adapting punk/new wave elements to Kinks…but why the need to wrap it all in stylings to purposely put the Kinks on the same level as…oh, I dunno…just to throw out one name, let’s say the Buzzcocks? You are better than the Buzzcocks. Recording a song in their style just to point that you can keep up with them on their own turf kinda reeks of desperation.

    Ray: You bet I’m desperate! Someone needs to remind these kids who invented the sort of stuff they are getting all the attention for.

    Martyj: That’s just pandering. It’s a very unflattering look..

    Ray: But..but..when I play Pressure live I plan to jump around the stage like I’m on a pogo stick when I sing the chorus, lead a call and response chant, and pump my fist in defiance. I may even contort my face in an angry grimace so people will have no doubt that I’m against being under pressure. You see? I’m taking a stand! People will hear that and say “Gee, how about those Kinks behaving like all those angry, edgy bands that stand for something? That means they must be angry and edgy, too. Don’t you see…it’s rock and roll!!

    Martyj: Ray, your band has been rock and roll all along simply by following the beat of your own drum. Well, technically, Mick Avory’s drum…or Clem Cattini’s drum…or Bobby Graham…or—anyway, my point is I’m starting to worry that the direction you are taking the Kinks is to simply react to whatever someone else is doing that creates buzz, rather than following that unique Ray Davies muse. This Pressure song is the most egregious example. But there’s still hope. This new album is not all like that. You can save yourself…

    Ray: (looking into the mirror, ignoring Martyj) Hmmm. What if I start wearing sunglasses like that new wave band I saw in the NME…?

    Martyj: I can see I’m not getting through to you. I suppose there’s no chance I can change your mind, is there? Get you to call in sick tomorrow? Rethink the whole thing…?

    Ray: No. We’re done here..

    Martyj: Aww, phooey. (sigh) Before I go back to 2022, can I at least give you a heads up to avoid doing an album in the future titled UK Jive?

    Ray: I SAID we’re done here…

    (aaaaaaannnndddd….scene.)
     
  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I understand that....
    I suppose for me it is more a case of, I don't watch Casablanca and get bothered that it's in black and white. I don't watch the original Star Wars and get perturbed that the effects aren't up to the current standards.... that kind of thing.

    When synths initially started hitting the scene in a big way, I hated them. There was a lock in my brain that said, there's a synth on there, so it's rubbish....
    But I ended up hearing some songs that I liked, and it softened me to the idea of synths.... and gradually I tore that bias out of the equation.

    I have a tendency to lean towards more organic sounds, aside, of course, from electric guitars, which we try and rationalize as organic sounds, but they aren't, they are processed as well .... but because those sounds were familiarized over decades, so we look at them a different way, but I enjoy too many different styles and sounds to get too bothered about it.

    It's like the narrative about this album being dated.... to me that's a bit of a furphy really, because it isn't as dated as Village Green Preservation Society, which is very obviously a sixties sounding album....
    This sounds exactly like an album made in 1979/80.
    Village Green sounds exactly like an album made in the mid to late sixties.
    Nevermind sounds exactly like an album made in the early nineties.
    Flo Rida Low, sounds exactly like a song made in the 2000's...
    The idea that an album or song is dated means nothing to me, because the sounds, recording styles, trends, lyrical content, production etc all to varying degrees date music.... people just like to grab certain things they love and pretend that they haven't dated, and rationalize why. As soon as something is recorded it is dated, it's unavoidable
     
  22. Fischman

    Fischman RockMonster, ClassicalMaster, and JazzMeister

    Location:
    New Mexico
    So what we're saying is that (ironically) "Pressure" alleviates the stress caused by its predecessor?

    Just wait until tomorrow when we really let out the tension...
     
  23. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    This song is nowhere near as good as the Buzzcocks, by the way!
     
  24. Endicott

    Endicott Forum Resident

    At that particular point in time, the Buzzcocks were better than the Kinks. The same way Ray Davies was a bigger star than John Lennon at that moment.

    Marty's apparition was funny as heck, though. And yes, nuke UK Jive and replace it with a War Is Over/Looney Balloon single.
     
  25. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Well, yes, I don't really want to get into comparisons - I mean, this song has absolutely nothing to do with the Buzzcocks so I don't know why they were mentioned in the first place. The chorus is more like the Cockney Rejects!
     

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