Good question. Coincidentally, Mick and Keith learned to play Chicago blues in England - years before they got to visit 2120 South Michigan Avenue.
They first arrived at Chess Studios in June 1964 which to me was the most important event of their 1st US tour!
Thanks for sharing the good, nay, excellent, news Avid Ajsmith. Keep on keepin' on. As for Dave's look on the cover of Glamour, he looks like the younger brother of the Spiv character that Ray played in the video for "Come Dancing". I think he did probably dress like that in the video. As for Glamour itself, all I have, like his Ford Falcon Oil Filter Album, are the tracks that appeared in my UK edition of the Unfinished Business compilation. I noted that the songs were a bit different from the Ford Falcon album in that his vocals are a bit clearer. The song under discussion today does have some good bits in it, but isn't exactly my cuppa meat. I was doing my morning exercises this AM (basically walking around my basement) when I heard "A Well Respected Man" play on the radio. It's a great feeling to hear a Kinks song on the radio. Anyway, I was lurking when this song was discussed in this thread, so I would like to comment on it. It was the first flowering of Ray's satirical style, written after his Faulty Towers vacation in Torquay. It was probably one of the first "social observation" songs to make it big on the charts. The funny thing was that it was only an EP track in the UK and was a Top 15 hit in the US after they were banished from touring. It was also the first step away from the riff rockers that made their name and pointed towards future triumphs such as "Waterloo Sunset" and the VGPS.
I don’t detect that in the first song, but I hope you are right. I love that Siouxsie era and really like the early Gary Numan and Devo albums. The cover is even reminiscent of Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle where he is also looking dapper on the album cover. I have never heard this album. The first song is a slight improvement over the first album. It’s still not anything that made me jump for joy, but the move towards more of a new wave sound is somewhat apparent. The guitar solos are toned down and we get better drumming and more thought out production touches. I’m leaving on a short holiday tomorrow. I may fall behind, but I will try to check in everyday. I swear I didn’t plan it to coincide with this Dave album.
So do you believe Keith's story that he saw Muddy Waters actually paint the walls of Chess Studios when the Stones first came there?
just popping in to say that one of my favorite things about Trust Your Heart is the song's smashing ending. Why oh why did DD start doing these aimless fade-outs? Hopefully this doesn't go on for the entire Glamour LP.
Glamour I've listened to this exactly once last week. This kind of music is not really my favorite, but overall it did seem more consistent and polished than AFL1. I do like the cover, and agree with the 80s Film Noir vibe it gives us. Not sure if it fits the sound of the music at all, but perhaps the idea of a "glamour shot" that covers up our insecurities is alluded to in some lyrics? We'll see if any of these songs end up growing on me. Is This the Only Way Some ok melodies here. Not a bad power riff in the chorus sections. And lets say some tasteful synth that fills in the sound, but doesn't overpower what is really a layered guitar song. What sticks out to me is the occasion temple block (?) that comes up every now and then in the percussion. I liked the solo near the end, and sort of wish that would have last a little longer.
I think you might pick up the Numan and Devo as the album progresses, it’s not really there in the first two numbers. As for Siouxsie, it’s more the overall vibe and production values. I could be mistaken. I just remember once playing Kaleidoscope and Glamour back to back and thinking they complimented each other. Hope you are well, friend. Sorry about that! I was going to post that upon hearing Cynthia had passed but forgot. Bob’s birthday yesterday reminded me. Cynthia and Uber-groupie Pamela Des Barres both would grouse over Ray through the years, the one neither could bed. They both claimed Ray was too much the English gentleman, which is heartening to hear. Not that I believe for one minute that Ray was a choirboy on the road. I just don’t think he had a penchant for groupies. Stay well too, friend.
Is This the Only Way I really like this song musically Alas, though, it is also a prime example of Dave's voice not being able to fulfill the promise of the song. More than just a range/power issue, that odd timbre of his voice just isn't going to get it done here.
So far my experience listening to Dave's Glamour has been similar to my experience with his AFL1: Day 1: Hmm I don't like this <proceeds to enumerate a long list of everything wrong with it> Day 2: Nope, I really don't like this ... although, there are a couple interesting bits here and there. Day 3: My report for Kinks school is due soon! I ought to give Glamour one more listen ... <listens> ... hmmm, some of these songs aren't that bad actually. <Overnight, some mysterious process forges a new network of neural pathways in brain> Day 4: Time to make dinner - think I'll put Glamour on ... <listens> ... you know what? this is actually a pretty good album!
I reckon Dave's albums... these first two anyway, are like those Magic Eye books, if you just give it a cursory glance, you don't see it.... if you look too closely it goes away .. if you get the right focus, it's just right. I followed exactly the line you plot out there..... and when I looked really closely at the songs, it held out for a while and then fell away. Though that's more Glamour, than AFL1... I actually like AFL 1 quite a bit lol
I’ve had a few albums like that - 3rd or 4th play (decades apart in some cases…) and something clicks. Rather than try to fit Dave into our individual musical wavelengths maybe we need to adjust to his unique wavelength?
That’s a great analogy, one thing I’ve done is ignore the lyrics as far as investigating them for meaning; as I mentioned previously, for me the words he uses and sings are enjoyable and work well in the songs, similar to another instrument. Great point! Dave has a unique way of doing things; it’s deceptive because it’s not way off the scale like Beefheart so there’s an awkward phase where the songs aren’t working as you expect them to and just sound off - then you realize they are following their own logic.
Although I have this, I have no recollections of the tunes. Perhaps not a great sign. I do remember, and like, some of Chosen People. We’ll get there soonish I guess.
Glamour. Glamour, Today, Glamour, Today, Illusion all around me, And it's hard to tell, Such bewilderment, Can't tell a truth from a fallacy, Can it be, Clouds what we think, What we do, What we say, Glamour, Today, Although we struggle and fight, Can't see the wrong from right, Glamour gets in the way, AII that we say and do, Always it's fooling you, Glamour, Today, Oh, you can't cut it with a knife, It will rule your life, Glamour, Ooh, ooh, oh, I believe it's true. Oh, look at all the people, That still fall in the trap, Strain their eyes to see, Somebody else's make believe, Can it be, It's what's inside, What you feel that is reality, Glamour, Today, Oh, I believe it's true, Always it's fooling you, Glamour, Today, Destroy it with your mind, And let the truth unwind, Written by: Dave Davies Published by: DABE Music Limited, London, 1981 We open up with the drums and drop into a slowish grinding rock type song. This seems to be a dig at commercialism and the world of make believe that it creates. This fakey kind of idea that certain things are glamourous and special, that are lures to the general public to follow as guised for a fulfilled life or something along those lines. Musically it is a pretty straight forward rock track, that keeps it all on the down low. There isn't much of the way of fancy writing for the most part, but we do get some nice changes that infuse a bit more interest for me. About a third of the way through we get a nice lead break, and then it pretends to move back into the Glamour Today section, and we get a little more lead. Then we move into another verse. Musically it almost seems like the feel is putting across the idea that glamour is drudgery. After the last verse and chorus we move into a nice lead break again, and then we move into a really nicely written part. It moves through several sections of changing feels and dynamics, and we have little bits of lead, and melodic harmonised sections.... and it brings the song into a zone of a bit more interest for me. This is again a pretty good song, that is made more interesting for me by the second half instrumental fade out.
Reveal Yourself. Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself. Life on earth is so bizarre, We must find a way to fulfill, What we really are, Yes it's true, I love you, And there's nothing you do that's wrong, Find values of your own. Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, On the living room floor, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Till there isn't anymore. Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, For there are places even you don't know. Reveal yourself, For life is nothing but a movie show, Or free yourself, Your heart, Your mind, Your soul, Your sanity, Just got to see it, Smell it, Know that it's reality. Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Doesn't matter anymore, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Till there isn't anymore. There are no rules where life is concerned, Our past must be burned, For there's nothing we have learned, And it's true, I believe that we must all be free, Immortal you and me. Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, On the living room floor, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Till there isn't anymore, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, And maybe you'll go down in history. Oh, how much longer must your life remain a mystery, It doesn't matter if you're thick and fat or thin and long, You must find out exactly where it is that you belong. Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Doesn't matter anymore, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, On the living room floor, Reveal yourself, For there are places even you don't know, Reveal yourself, For life is nothing but a movie show, Reveal yourself, Your heart, Your mind, Your soul, Your sanity, Just got to see it, Smell it, Know that's it's reality, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, Reveal yourself, It doesn't matter if the world thinks you're right or wrong, Reveal yourself. Written by: Dave Davies Published by: DABE Music Limited, London, 1981 This is the song... first song? that kind of makes me think of Devo, and I think it is just that stiff rhythmic feel in the chorus sections. Lyrically Dave seems to be exploring the idea that we need to be comfortable with who we are, find our place in the world, because there is one, and we must live more openly. To some degree I think we are looking at the idea of not wearing masks. Not putting yourself behind a Wall, and wearing a mask.... I think that's part of the reason for the Living Room Floor line... even in the quietude of your own house, you tend to have a facade that doesn't really speak to who you are. Dave also revisits the Ray idea of life being nothing but a movie show, and in his usage it is about being character actors with no script. Again with the idea of having facades and masks, rather than transparent realities. It takes courage to be our real selves, and even when we are at our most transparent there are still things we hold back. Musically this is somewhat odd and a little strange in the choruses, with a sort of robotic delivery, and Dave, sort of doing a Ray type of vocal with it being sort of acted, as much as sung. Interestingly the verses are really quite nice melodic structures, and rest heavily on the synth bed that smooths out the jagged quirky chorus sections. It works as a nice contrast. We open with this staggered guitar riff, and as we move into the more solid beat of the song, we get these jagged chords delivered in a very staccato way, and I think they have some half step bits, and in this style it ends up giving it that almost Devo type style. Whereas the verses have long drawn out vocal lines over the smooth keys that move through some really nice progressions. I quite like this, but I feel it sort of needed a bridge to break up what becomes, for me, a little monotonous.
World Of Our Own. stereo mix (6:09), recorded Mar-Apr, 1981 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London Ooh, you're a mirror, And all those feelings inside you, Oh they're not all your own, Ooh, I see clearer, All your thoughts are so close, I can't make it on my own. I see all you really are, And it's not so very far, No need to feel ashamed, Together we'll rearrange, A path of our own, All that's true never dies, In a world of our own, Each child a star for his own. Ooh, my love's getting stronger, And though we are asleep, My heart it will not wait, Ooh, you feel so much closer to me now, If I could reach out and touch you, And hold you in my arms. It's goodbye to yesterday, No time to run away, It's getting closer to the day, And it's not so far away, No need to run and hide, Trust what you feel inside. Chorus: Build a world of our own, All that's true never dies, Oh, in a world of our own, Each child a star for his own, Oh, in a world of our own, All that's true will survive, We'll make a world of our own. Written by: Dave Davies Published by: DABE Music Limited, London, 1981 So track four moves in another direction again, and seemingly unusual for Dave, we have a sort of atmospheric type track, that is about smooth flowing textures, and somewhat reserved vocals. The opening lyric here is very interesting to me... Ooh, you're a mirror, And all those feelings inside you, Oh they're not all your own... I find this very interesting, because particularly when we are younger we tend to reflect the opinions and "knowledge" of people we are fond of, and/or hold in high regard. We have no point of real context for some of those beliefs, and merely mirror the ones that come from sources we trust.... Our thoughts and feelings interact inside us, on a level somewhat beyond our own understanding, though we would profess to understand, because otherwise that would make us stupid, surely? .... Well, I don't really think so... but anyway, the inner workings of the human brain and mind and feelings and actions and reactions, and interactions, in my opinion, are beyond examination, because we are generally neither consistent, nor particularly rational..... So that's partly why I reckon this is such a great opening line...... I have no idea where Dave is going here, because well, it's Dave, but that line got my attention. Then we move into some typical Dave meandering that suggests a relationship and moving forward on a new path .... His love's getting stronger, and that's nice... and then we get more interesting meanderings about being asleep, and his heart won't wait, though they feel so close to him, he wants to reach and touch them.... However they get there, and whatever is actually going on they are going to build a world of their own, and that's sweet. I love Dave, and I feel more sure with each attempt to break down where he is going that he just likes the way words sound... and there isn't anything wrong with that. It is like some form of code. We open with a nice mellow synth pad, and some Roxy Music, later years, type percussion. Some nice guitars play little melodic lines with the synth, and then we get a nice easy going rhythm guitar come in, as the dreamlike scene opens up. Again the vocal is mixed quite low, and this is a relaxed Dave vocal to match the predominantly mellow vibe of the music. There is a nice easy flow here that follows a few nice patterns, and then we get to A Path OF Our Own, and we get it emphasised by some crunchy power chords, and the drums kick in. It's a nice dynamic. The drums stay with us, and we still have this cruisy vibe going on. We move into what is essentially the chorus, which is pretty much the same as the Path Of Our Own Section. Then we have a sort of country rock coda, and it fades out. It's a quite interesting song. It goes for about 6 minutes, but it is pretty cruisy and unobtrusive, so I don't feel too bothered by the length.
