The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    If that Yardbirds Raven CD has 28 tracks and spans 1963-'68 I know it and had the first one in QLD (via Bruce Anton's advance copy at Kent Records prior to any going for sale with retailers.

    The Goats Head Soup Super Deluxe CD Set is absolutely worth it and not just for the live Brussels, 5.1 studio stuff, book, posters, video Clips or Recipe!
    The Giles Martin remix of the album proper is a nice alternative (Still the only Rolling Stones album ever permitted a remix) & The bonus tracks are great.
    3 new songs of which 2 i quite enjoy and the 7 GHS outtakes (some mixed by Glyn John's no less) are rarely less than fascinating especially a piano demo of 100 Years Ago which is truly majestic!
     
  2. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    That's the Raven CD I had. As for the Stones box, I noticed that it's from the library in the town next to me, so I'll see if I can get it soon.
     
  3. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Cool.
    Hey I am at work and it is 11am here what is the time at your library now?
     
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  4. Boom Operator

    Boom Operator Shake hands with yesterday's tomorrow

    Location:
    Sherman Oaks, CA
    The CD material is compressed as heck and Giles’ Atmos mix on the Blu-ray sounds like a clueless clown (who didn’t know the songs) was indiscriminately sliding faders up and down for no apparently reason.

    Oh wait, that’s exactly who did the surround mix: a clueless… well, you know who I mean.

    It’s awful.
     
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  5. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    It's 9:23 PM here. I was doing the night shift at the library from 4-9 PM. I'm home now, typing this out and listening to The Troggs Hit Single Anthology.
     
  6. Geoff738

    Geoff738 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Love the Gurus. Saw them once. The new one is pretty good, imo.
     
  7. Geoff738

    Geoff738 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    I will also say that if I ever get another band together, Bittersweet will be on the set list. Ok, enough Gurus, back to the Kinks!
     
  8. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    The first two albums are classics. My next two favorites would be Blue Cave and Kinky. I don't love all their music, but they usually have at least a few good tunes on every album. The new album has three or four songs I like. I also think that some of their material comes across better live.

    My vote for best Australian band is The Church! I hope that @mark winstanley decides to take on that song by song thread! The Easybeats would be another great Australian band for a song by song. There was an album by album thread, but that was nearly ten years ago.
     
  9. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Another great band that deserves more recognition outside of "Wild Thing"! I love the debut album. Their other 6os albums also have a lot to offer.
     
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  10. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    I am not set up to experience 5.1 and my go to preference is the vinyl double album but either way I think it's a very worthwhile set for @DISKOJOE to check out, for free no less also.
    Edit: Can You Hear The Music is a very interesting remix any day of the week.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2022
  11. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    That used to be my favourite song!
     
  12. Boom Operator

    Boom Operator Shake hands with yesterday's tomorrow

    Location:
    Sherman Oaks, CA
    You’re absolutely correct… and I should have prefaced my remarks with an “in my dopey opinion” at the very least! Sorry.

    There actually isn’t a 5.1 mix on the Blu-ray despite all the marketing material (and the hype sticker on my set) claiming so. There is only a 7.1 Atmos mix which doesn’t downmix to 5.1 very well. I can listen in Atmos but a lot of customers were pretty unhappy about the dedicated 5.1 mix being MIA.

    The 7.1 mix is pretty muddy with really odd mixing choices like the horns BLARING out of the side and rear speakers on Heartbreaker. It’s tough hearing the rest of the band! There are lots of similar strange anomalies throughout the remix. Weird.

    Anyway, glad you enjoy your set! How about that book being glued into the box, itself? What in the what?!? Sheesh. ;)
     
  13. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Lola
    The tease false start seems lame when you've heard it a hundred times but I expect many in the audience at the time would have fallen for it - therefore encouraging Ray to keep doing it. As for the song itself, it's a spirited, exciting version of Lola. We get shouty/live Ray which I think is appropriate for energising the crowd. The only weak link in my opinion is the "disco version" part of the sing-along, which hasn't aged well. A thoroughly enjoyable live rendition.
    Pressure
    Here we have was was a fast, exciting two minute studio song played even faster to come in at just 1:37. It's a fantastic follow-up to Lola but more of a "palate cleanser" for what is to follow.
    Great live album so far.
     
  14. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    The shocking part is that given all that you have said (and i presume researched in advance) you own it!
     
  15. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    It's been good to see the love for Hoodoo Gurus among our American friends here. If I can be excused for posting this non-Kinks clip, here is a duet between Dave Faulkner and Courtney Barnett on an Australian TV show Rockwiz 9 years ago which wouldn't be that well known outside of Australia. The guests always did a duet and this is one of the best I remember seeing. Dave Faulkner may have lost his long hair but he's such a pro on this - knocks it out of the park, as you might say. The backing musos are the house band - all having played in good Oz rock acts of the past.
     
  16. Boom Operator

    Boom Operator Shake hands with yesterday's tomorrow

    Location:
    Sherman Oaks, CA
    I preordered and then received the box set before any reviews had appeared.

    I don’t know anyone who wasn’t disappointed by how smashed and brittle the CDs and records sounded (the Blu-ray material is only slightly less compressed) but I’m glad you enjoy the set.

    I had to put on my original ‘73 Goats LP just to make certain I wasn’t losing my hearing… and, yes, that album was muddy as ever but at least there were dynamics and everything wasn’t the same (loud) level. My ancient bootleg Brussels LP sounds better, too!

    Oh, well… live and learn, I guess! ;)
     
  17. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
  18. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Hi Joe, thans for your concern.. I'm still a little better (and for that at least I got to be thankful) but not where I want to be. I'm going to try and get a Drs appointment tomorrow to disucss my medication: I've been on the same stuff for years now and it's clearly not working well enough (insert thread appropriate 'National Health' reference here).

    Interesting to see that WTAI clip in higher res presumably from an original tape rather than a kinescope? WTAI is a show I find very frustrating as it hosted very rare appearances by acts you hardly see vintage moving pictures of anywhere else like The 13th Floor Elevators, ? And The Mysterians, Love, The Sopwith Camel, Chris Clark and I'm sure others, but the available footage always seems to be in very lo res and often in undynamic mid shots, I guess due to the early OB video nature of the show. (see example below). Hope there's more original tape to be discovered so something like this can be upgraded:

     
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  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    All Day And All Of The Night.

    live, stereo mix, recorded 3 Mar, 1979 at The Barn, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

    One of the things about this live album, for me, is the sequencing is just spot on.
    You can see that they thought about how they were putting this together.

    Side one is jam packed with a variety of Kinks tracks that would likely have caught people's attention, I would imagine.
    We get good stylistic variety, a cool little jam at the beginning. A track from one of the theatre albums. A longer tack with a dynamic arrangement, and a slower, more moody section. A track from really early in their career. The big hit single. A blast of energy from the latest album.

    Then we start off side two with one of the big, high energy early singles. Then we get the sort of epic, thinking man's song from Muswell. A Ballad from a couple of albums ago. A b-side for goodness sake.... They are throwing in a lot of variety here, even if the Sunny Afternoon, Dedicated Follower, Days, Village Green type stuff is MIA.
    Then side two closes out with the recent Pretenders hit, which is a cover from the Kinks debut album.
    Side three, which has generally been my favourite side overall, has a showcase for the Low Budget tracks, and we also get some nice jamming from the guys, which sets it off even more.
    Then on the closing side we get a hit from 65. One of the band's best songs, and a song that in some quarters is somewhat of a fan signature song. The band's first hit from 64. The lead track from one of their most famous albums, which was also somewhat of a hit. Then we close with the lead track from one of their most famous sixties album, and a song that wasn't a single, but probably should have been, and should have been a hit, and was recently covered by one of the hip upcoming bands, and was a minor hit for them.....

    This album often gets criticised for all the things it isn't. One of those things is, it isn't a nostalgia or legacy artist album. This is a band at the height of their popularity. As much as most, if not all of us feel that their peak period was probably 66-69/70, that period wasn't as successful as it should have been. Sure in 66 and 67 they were still releasing successful singles, but the albums weren't really selling, and by the time we hit 68 the singles weren't doing much either. For better or worse, this is the height of the band's popularity right here, and an objective look can see exactly why.... subjectively most are always going to say, well they sold out and they weren't as good as they were when I liked them... but for the most part this album seems to be put together in such a way as to completely discount that.

    As I have said for quite a while now, this period that many aren't as fond of, for all sorts of reasons that I personally don't understand, is the band reclaiming their crown as pretty much the creators of hard rock.... and however you slice it, this band, on this album, show just how good they are at it.

    We have songs from every era of the band, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77, 78, 79....
    That's pretty comprehensive coverage of the band's career, even if people don't necessarily think it is the best selection of songs, for their personal taste, or favourites or whatever... but the argument that this is just "the new songs", or just the Low Budget songs, doesn't stand up under scrutiny.
    What this album actually does, is put to bed any of the Kinks sold out notions. this idea that the band were suddenly playing something they weren't really known for, or something along those lines.... All these songs that cover every era of the band fit together perfectly. There isn't one track that suddenly sounds like it doesn't belong with the other songs here..... and sure the sound is the sound of 79/80's Kinks, but why wouldn't it be, it is 79/80....

    That's why this is among the greatest live album releases ever. It is the band at the height of their powers. For a short time they have shaken the monkey off their back and toured without imploding. Made a brilliant and coherent live album, and video! that perfectly captures the Kinks circa 79/80, and yet it covers virtually every year the band had been alive at the same time, while still managing to be what it was, a promo tour to get Low Budget out to the people, on a stage, with all the showmanship the band showed through the seventies, and no obvious fights, no songs that don't fit.... just one of the world's best ever band's firing on all cylinders and kicking ass.....

    Anyway, this song is obviously one of the band's most famous tracks. We open with Ray saying "rock band's will come, and rock band's will go, but rock and roll is going to go on forever" ... now when I was 12 or whatever I was, that was one of those "YEA!" moments, now it is, I suppose, a sort of quaint memory of a time that it felt like that may, and probably should be true. Rock music is certainly not dead, because I have plenty of recent great rock albums, but it is not the king of the road anymore, so it creates a sort of reflection hearing Ray say that, and remembering how it felt when I heard it....
    I guess I'll get to the song soon..... lol

    It is sort of funny, because we know this song comes near the end of the set in reality, but here it is midway through ... in fact closer to the front of the show, and the energy is palpable, from the band and the crowd. They absolutely nail this on the album version, and I'm sure the folks in New Jersey loved it.

    Dave delivers a fantastic lead break ....
    That's another interesting point to.... Remember all that bollocks about Dave not playing the lead break on You Really Got Me.... I'm pretty sure that this little urban myth was very big in the late seventies and early eighties. So if anyone wants to try and understand why Dave is playing the doo dah out of his guitar.... there you have it. When people attack your integrity in that way, there are a few things you can do - sit in the corner and cry - make a scene and look like you're guilty - get on with it, and make them look like fools ... in my opinion Dave did the latter.

    This is a fantastic piece of live rock music.... and it may not be the greatest song ever, or the greatest performance ever, but for me it is an iconic moment in rock music, as the band deemed dead in the water, take back their crown with gusto, attitude and class, in an uncompromising blast of rock and roll that few could match..... I love The Kinks sixties contemporaries, and I have all the albums by the three main ones, and in 1979, not one of them in their band or solo could do what the Kinks are doing right here. This could be a group of well rehearsed teenagers. They are kicking ass all the way "round the dial".

    The video version is good too, but somewhat different.
    Again the album version is from March 79, and the video version is from Sept 79. Again six months earlier.
    On the video version we have a couple of little slip ups, but nothing that matters in a rock music context. It's nice seeing Dave getting right in amongst the crowd. It is the perfect picture of the band and the crowd feeding off each other.

    This is the Kinks rocking as hard and fast and brilliantly as any of the younger contemporary bands, with a song that is about 15 years old, from an age where rock was a very different beast.

    All the blathering I do up there is one of the reasons the Kinks are so important in my world.
    Sorry if it's too long winded :) ...

     
  20. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    For some reason the video version of All Day And All Of The Night seems to have disappeared. If someone can find it, please post it.
    Cheers
    Mark
     
  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    20th Century Man.

    live, stereo mix, recorded 3 Mar, 1979 at The Barn, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

    This is where I fell in love with this song. It was disappointing to me that this wasn't on the video, but I still hold out hope that a full version of this concert will come out on video at some point.

    Again, the intro instantly got my attention "This is for all the imaginary heroes, from Muswell Hillbillies, 20th Century Man".... for some reason that always grabbed me.... I think it still does.... and as you know from the album write up, I absolutely love this song.

    In tone and texture this is quite a different version of the song, but it isn't a lesser version of the song..... just different.

    When I first heard the album version, I was really disappointed, because for all the nuance of the album version I have grown to love, this live version is so intense, and the album version just doesn't produce that. Don't get me wrong, the studio version with the bridge and the more laid back quality, that doesn't actually fire up until the last little bit of it, is wonderful.

    If I was trying to be objective or whatever, it comes across like ....
    The studio version is the band laying back and saying we don't really want to be this modern age 20th century man.... in a thoughtful reflective way that suggests it isn't super urgent, but we need to look at this, and a change in direction is possible.
    The live version is a beautifully aggressive railing against the fact that the 20th century people won, yet I refuse to submit .... I'll go out with a holler and a scream.... a sort of it's better to die on your feet than live on your knees kind of attitude .... personally I love that.

    Ray still opens us up with the acoustic. We still come in with the drums.
    Whereas the studio version has a sort of semi-depressive Ray vocal, that is high on reflective thought ....
    Ray opens up with that acoustic, but a little quicker, and his vocal delivery here is stunning. It is authoritative. This isn't the Uni student full of ideals mumbling about what he thinks would be better. This is the educated working class man standing up and grabbing the idea by the throat and giving it some home truths. I am guessing we will get some "I don't like shouty Ray comments, but there is way more to this vocal than shouty Ray.... for the most part shouty Ray is implied more than delivered.... This is a stunning vocal that demands the listeners attention and keeps it.
    Whereas the studio version is a sort of country rock track, that manages to build a certain amount of intensity via the arrangement...
    The live version is an incredibly powerful piece of rock music. It is easily on par with any of the Who's most powerful rock statements...

    Now seriously, I am not saying one is better than the other, because as I say, I think both versions have so much to offer the listener, and from completely different perspectives...
    I actually kind of wish at some point there had been a version that sits in the middle of the two, just to see how that worked out, because there are things in both versions that I would prefer not to do without, but both versions fully engage me.
    I have always had a leaning towards harder edged music.... even in my old boy years.... I have mellowed significantly, in some ways barely recognisable from the teen, but the core is still the same working class boy trying to stand up on this sinking ship called life... so I probably lean towards this live version, and Dave Davies is part of the reason.

    Dave commands his part in this song, in a way that the word on the street would suggest he wasn't capable of.... but here Dave is in perfect control of the way this song goes.... and damn it goes well.

    Initially the song seems like it is just an uptempo version of the studio version, but when we get to the "Ain't Got No Ambition", Ray spits it out like the bitterness of being this trod upon 20th century working class man will not be tolerated, and Dave comes in with the power guitar, and it is a beautiful moment, as the studio version of the song starts to morph into its evil twin...

    We get the ritard of "I'm a twentieth century man and I don't want....." and we get this wonderful layered harmony vocal that adds a lot of musical colour to the track, and the song powers forward like it is itself trying to break down the walls being constructed.
    In the background we have a synth playing a fluttery kind of riff... almost like the twentieth century's resistance, working its way into the song like a battle between the old world and the twentieth century.

    Again we have Dave crunching through the chords as Ray delivers the next verse with a power and passion that apparently older men aren't supposed to have....
    Now here is the spot that may be contentious for the old school fans .... the bridge doesn't come in.
    Instead of moving to the bridge we have Ray singing "we gotta get outta here, we gotta find a solution" and we move back into the "I'm a twentieth century man, and I don't want ..." again with those wonderful backing vocals.
    Dave gives us some wonderful lead guitar...
    In the background Ray starts to chant "I don't want 20th century man".... we get this aggressive rebellious bit for a minute, and then in a beautiful use of dynamics we start dropping down.... the keys in the background come back to the front, as Ray's chant dies away, almost like the 20th century is winning...

    Then Dave comes in with this beautiful stuttering, but powerful piece of lead guitar gives us another focus point..... then we get Ray coming in with the acoustic.... This is perhaps the best jam between Ray and Dave that I can currently think of.
    the keyboard swells back up again ... the 20th century will not be denied ..... this is such a wonderful piece of live rock music.

    Then we get a musical stand... like a resolution to stand, and the keyboards and guitar pump it up to the next level and it is one of the most powerful pieces of rock music going.....
    We get this ebb and flow of power and then move into the rave up ending ....

    This is honestly one of my favourite ever pieces of live rock music. The band is so commanding, so in tune with each other, the song is already a classic, and yet they manage to ratchet up to the next level just by sheer power of will. Between the vocals and the arrangement and the dual between the guitars this is one of Ray and Dave's finest moments on tape together...

    I could just finish off with a stream of superlatives, but I think you get the idea of how I feel about this track ....

     
  22. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    "All Day And All Of The Night" - it was important that this song was included on the live album because it reprises a major Kinks 1960s hit and it got the new audience ready for what would follow on the next album and the radio hit "Destroyer" with its use of the "All Day" melody.

    "20th Century Man" was an important find for me because hearing it on the live album, it struck me as a major song (to me, the greatest example of Ray's "lost in the modern world" persona) and it led me to Muswell Hillbillies which would become my favourite Kinks record.
     
  23. Normally, I like my Kinks songs played straight, but I do prefer "All Day and All of the Night" as the second half of the medley with "You Really Got Me." Its entrance in that configuration never fails to take me by gentle surprise; coupled together, the songs barrel along like a freight train.

    Ray's opening comments are something of a low point on the Kinks timeline for me, but who am I to carp?

    "20th Century Man" may be my favorite thing on this album. It augments the original nicely. I've never quite understood the remark about "imaginary heroes."
     
  24. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    The revved up All Day is great fun with Dave’s dirty guitar and good harmony vocals.

    It might be a bit shouty in parts, but I much prefer the energy of the live version of 20th Century Man. It’s interesting that @mark winstanley briefly mentions The Who in the write up, as the synth part in the instrumental section towards the end of the song reminds me of Baba O’Reiley!
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2022
  25. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    he he, I knew you'd take the bait! (and that's why I mentioned the Mike Love hall of fame story :cool:).
    Definitely. And also… a true star…

    All Day and All of the Night is a fantastic piece of blistering high octane garage deflagration. It can't fail and I understand how, after this tour triumph, Ray would soon decide to re-purpose the song for a new decade with Destroyer.
    20th Century Man, live. Beautiful. I love to hear Ray’s acoustic playing, I’m always moved when I get a sense of him as a musician. This take is fantastic in many ways, but especially for Ray Davies performance, his singing, his intensity, his musical presence. We get throaty Ray (another variation, @ARL ?) and a lot of little sonic pleasures, the tack piano on the left channel, heavy Dave on the right, and a great sense of structure, just like there was on the studio Muswell cut, but in a very different way. When the tack piano gives way to the synth, we get what I see as a very conscious Who tribute/pastiche, with Dave doing a few Townshend power chords and Ray launching into his best Pinball Wizard parody strumming since Juke Box Music. We almost expect some Won’t Get Fooled Again drum solo and screaming but (thankfully ? regretfully ?) it never happens… I love this track, I think it’s really brilliant and I’m glad Ray always came back to this song, even solo, as a tribute to my beloved early RCA era of the Kinks. About the bridge being cut out of the song… I’m not sure how I feel about that. In all fairness, I don’t think this version lacks anything, but at the same time, it’s one of my top 5 Kinks moments ever we’re talking about. So there, brilliant song, brilliant version, brilliant everything, with an interrogation mark in the middle of it.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2022

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