The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Add it Up

    A splendid kiss-off to a young Bernadette? On this one Ray has had enough and is getting out of Dodge. The poor sap in ‘83’s Bernadette is in the same pickle, but reluctant to leave the payroll, now that the money-go-round is paying higher dividends. With Ray’s penchant for taking one song idea and then writing it in numerous ways, mostly due to his own uncertainties and indecisiveness, this could be an answer song to his own declaration.
    A short and snide power-pop Kinks song to end a side is mighty fine by me, thankyouverymuch. Ms. Hynde cooing like a new-wave Zsa Zsa and that dreamy outro that could neatly segue into a DD Glamour bonus track. Never noticed the Billy Idol connection but now it’s been brought up I can’t shake it. Great observation, that’s what makes this thread essential reading for Kinks fans old and new. I believe there is video out there of Idol/Stevens covering I’m Not Like Everybody Else recently so I guess they’re hip to our boys.
    Lastly, does anyone remember hearing Add it Up on a sketch comedy show in the early eighties? I seem to recall it as a skit about accountants running around set while this was the incidental music. It wasn’t SNL, or even Friday’s, it was in prime time. Or maybe it was only a dream?
     
  2. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    "Add It Up": Kinda, sorta the same sentiments as "A Long Way From Home", but w/fangs and claws. The protagonist would do well to run away from the former beau who's obsessed w/luxury brand names and let her alone in her spoiled little world. The fact that my fellow Avids can see Billy Idol and Madness in this song is possibly a tribute to Ray's genius as a song writer.

    Also, it's too bad that this song is probably the only example of Chrissie Hynde contributing to a Kinks song w/the "Gucci, Gucci, Gucci" line. It would have been interesting to have a full blown Ray 'n Chrissir duet like the cover of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" that they did in a concert. We had to wait over 20 years, long after their romance died out to get that duet (even then they were recorded seperately):

     
  3. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    ??!! This actually happened with Ray and Chrissie? Was it at a Kinks show or a Pretenders one?
     
  4. Zerox

    Zerox Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I rate this song very highly; it's punchy and melodic, perfectly suited to the new wave vibe of the time.

    The first thing I thought when I heard it many years ago was 'White Wedding' had musical parents, so I'm glad others have picked up on this.
     
  5. Fischman

    Fischman RockMonster, ClassicalMaster, and JazzMeister

    Location:
    New Mexico
    Add It Up
    I always liked this one, but never really put the level of thought into the lyrics that Mark did here..... I think I like it even more now.
     
  6. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Add it up

    I also thought Chrissie was saying "coochie coochie", and I'm also disappointed it's not the case, even if I hadn't any notion of what the song was about before today. I wonder if some language has a word for the particular category of meaning that a song projects on you when you don't understand/don't pay attention to the lyrics. It's not "no meaning", but it's nothing you could really articulate ; and it's a bit more focused than the meanings instrumental music creates. There is a guy, or a girl, saying something there, you don't really know what but you have a notion of it. Edit: more often than not, a wrong notion.

    Anyway, I like this song. It's catchy, it's got a lot of energy, and the simplicity of the structure is relieved by the smartness of the melody. Ray sings it effortlessly and it's not that easy. I really like the way Ray's voice sounds and acts on this record.

    I still haven't posted my introduction on the album, I'll keep it for closing time, but it's getting a rather spectacular reevaluation. Which is not that difficult, it was buried deep down at the bottom of the ocean before.
     
  7. Paul Mazz

    Paul Mazz Senior Member

    Definitely has that 80s “new wave” vibe. It took me a second, because I don’t have any of their records, but it definitely reminded me of the Cars “Shake it Up,” which was evidently released a few months later. Probably a lot to do with the meter of the chorus, but I just played those two songs back to back and it made for a nice segue. “Add it Up” is another of the songs that caught my ear the first time I listened to GTPWTW all the way through for the first time because of this thread.
     
  8. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I definitely prefer 'Gucci' to 'coochie' and I'm glad it's the former! I think a high class brand referential suits the theme of the song better than some nonsense baby talk.

    Total curveball here as I get back on the 'tangential relations to archive British TV in Kinks songs' horse, but the 'Cartier' mention (even though it's obviously a reference to the jewelers) can't help but bring to mind for me Rudolph Cartier, the Austrian director most famed for the pioneering early sci fi he worked on for the BBC in collaboration with writer Nigel Kneale in the form of the 'Quatermass' series and the original (and still never bettered) 1954 production of '1984' (finally out on DVD this year folks: trailer below!)

     
    Last edited: May 13, 2022
  9. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I knew that you were going to comment on that, Avid Ajsmith:laugh:!

    Doug Hinman, You Really Got Me, page 252:

    [August 31, 1981]

    "Ray takes the 11 hour flight from London to Los Angeles, where along with guitarist Nils Lofgren and an impromptu four piece horn section, he joins Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders at The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the encore of the band's hit 'Mystery Achievement' and the Jackie Wilson hit 'Higher and Higher'. "
     
  10. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Just a thought on this "Gucci" v. "coochi" business. Maybe Ray deliberately chose "Gucci" because it sounds like "coochi" and it would show the woman's infantile obsession w/luxury items.
     
  11. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
  12. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

  13. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Wow!, just on first skim, on page 27 there's a note about the 16 track version fully sound effect linked version of 'Face To Face' as announced to the NME in July 1966 with some fascinating details I'd never heard about before, check it out:

    'more sounds between the songs, 'Whistling Rufus' by Mick Avory on a Shepherd's pipe, a clicking metronome, bongos, studio chatter (Shel Talmy 'Ok boys, let's try that one again') Grenville Collins secretary Marilyn Davies speaking, bath water running down the drain, a cheering crowd'

    'Whistling Rufus' appear to be a dixieland jazz tune. representative version by Chris Barber below. So Mick does an inbetween song link version of it on a Shepherd's Pipe? Fascinating! Said it before and I'll say it again, forget the various versions of VGPS, WHY AREN'T MORE PEOPLE OBSESSED WITH THE ORIGINAL FACE TO FACE??!!! It seems so out there! What am I only finding this stuff out now after 26 years of fandom? Crazy!



     
  14. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    And p. 36, bottom right:
    ‘76 proposed lp with following tracks:
    The Poseur, Child Bride, Everything Is Alright, One Woman Man, On The Outside, Lazy Day, Back To ‘64 and
    266: Get Up
    260: In A Foreign Land
    257: Hay Fever
    262: Black Messiah
    (Zeki note: The latter four are all later released on ‘Misfits’. ‘Sleepwalker’ came out instead of the proposed LP)
     
  15. Luckless Pedestrian

    Luckless Pedestrian Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    This is an astounding document! The index of first lines is a lot of fun to read through. Wish I had a hard copy, my computer can barely handle it.
     
  16. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    Add It Up

    This song, along with a few we still have yet to get to, has really grown on me over the past couple weeks. Yeah, it comes from the same idea as A Long Way From Home, which was (prior to this thread, and I think still is?) my sentimental favorite Kinks deep kut that nobody knows.... It's nowhere near as beautiful of that song, but then again it's not trying to be. It's trying to be a contemporary early 80s new wave pop/rock song, and it absolutely succeeds at that. This doesn't *sound* like an aging band, even if it might be. It seems to fit right in to what other "new" bands of the late 70s and early 80s were doing in this genre arena.

    Repeated listens uncover some cool things in the stereo mix... like this:

    Symbols of (guitar stab in right channel) perversion and insanity
    Symbols of
    (guitar stab in left channel) social immorality
    Symbols of
    (guitar stab in right channel) economic cruelty
    Symbolize
    (guitar stab in center channel) all what you did to me

    All that said, after listening a few times, I had thought there were more lyrics to the song than there actually is when reading them... if that makes sense? But I really enjoy listening to this song, and it sounds great on that live recording too.

    A few other thoughts... One of the reasons I think this band is so unique is that they really went off on their own kwirky path and did things that no other contemporary band of the 60s and 70s was doing. There's nothing like a Klassic Kinks song. Anywhere. But sometimes, they did genres and styles that do sound very "of their time" (I recall a few outtakes like Anytime that could have been a long lost Badfinger song).. So, come the early 80s, and they were doing what other NEW bands were doing, while at the same time, doing something completely different from all of what used to be their contemporary bands of the 60s and 70s were doing. Most of those 60s and 70s rock bands either broke up, went 80s power ballad (Chicago, Heart), but I can't think of another that really changed with the times as much, and remained relevant and kept up with the newer groups (in fact, reached new heights of relevance?). It really is like a re-invention, a re-invigoration of energy that recalls the energy of their younger days. I've been re-listening to Til Death Us Do Part a lot over the past week (that and No More Looking Back are I think newly discovered entries in my top 10 Kinks rotation, thanks to this thread) and how can you say that is the same band even though it is the same band? I'm rambling, but the same kwirky elements are there as the genres and sounds of the band evolved into the early 80s. As we continue, we'll see if all those elements remain through the rest of the 80s...
     
  17. Brian Doherty

    Brian Doherty Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA
    Add it Up is great, others already noted how genuinely snarly new wave it is. I can "hear" Blondie covering it in my imaginarium and it sounds great.

    Things I learned this week about it: that Hynde sings on it, and that weird post chorus is saying "Gucci Gucci Cartier" Not sure what I would have said I thought was being said, tho I think I took "Cartier" for a more weirdly barked version of the title? I often let rock lyrics just BE the mystery they hit my ear as.
     
  18. Brian x

    Brian x the beautiful ones are not yet born

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Came on these forums because I don't know enough Beatles obsessives IRL who are obsessive enough to discuss the granular minutiae of the Get Back documentary. Was about to depart when I discovered this thread, which must be one of the few where a quote from one of my favorite 19th century philosophers doesn't seem at all out of place.
     
  19. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "Add It Up"

    A strong ending to Side One. Along with yesterday's song, this is also in my top three on the album. I wonder what the other one is? I was waiting for everyone to mention the Billy Idol riff. So, this song came out a year earlier than "White Wedding"? Ray is back in his over the top accent and it works perfectly for this song. I never realized that this was Chrissie singing the back up. I also never knew what she was singing. It reminds me of Yoko on Double Fantasy. Not too far removed from her new wave stylings on songs like "Kiss Kiss Kiss".

    Side One ends up being a pretty solid set of tunes. As of today, I don't feel like Side Two continues this trend until we reach the very end.
     
  20. Brian x

    Brian x the beautiful ones are not yet born

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Add it Up

    Love, love, love. Inevitably started singing "hey little sister, what's that you've done" before the vocals came in.

    Thematically, yes, A Long Way From Home, but the same theme comes up in Powerman, Mr. Pleasant, and Mr. Big.

    & this song takes things a bit further -- it isn't just "bad bad bad, you got corrupted by power and money," it lays out a pretty precise socio-economic reason to condemn its antagonist's materialism: Symbols of perversion and insanity/symbols of social immorality/symbols of economic cruelty.

    Yes, as @mark winstanley suggests, I hear 3rd world child labor. I also hear a pretty explicit indictment of a heartless economic system that exploits human nature to offer shiny status symbols in exchange for willful ignorance of the suffering and oppression that *create wealth* in this age of fallen man.

    As our brave, soulful, tactful Headmaster delicately avoids bringing his religious convictions into this thread, I will resist expounding further on my political principles. Suffice it to say that this song does that rare and wonderful rock and roll trick of shaking you awake to the harsh realities of the world at the same time that it's making you want to get up and dance.

    So, playlist.

    Side notes: I wonder why that little later-day Who keyboard trill was tacked on at the end?

    This is not *arena rock* by any stretch. Agree with @ajsmith that it would slot right in with Suburban Lawns, etc.

    Special guest appearance: The 12 year old forgot her lunch today, and Rowan x persuaded me to drive back to school with her to deliver it. I agreed, under the condition that she give me her analysis of today's selection...

    "Hey, same name as the Violent Femmes song! There's a kind of a ska/Clash groove...I like the gucci, gucci thing... and then it gets all revolutionary!... I'm not sure about his voice, though -- he's kind of shouting, isn't he? -- but I like how there's a kind of echo or something on it. Makes sense that it was the early '80s. I like it!"
     
  21. Michael Streett

    Michael Streett Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    Add It Up

    Not a skip track for me as I don't skip anything (ever!), but this is not one of my favorites from the album. Something about it just doesn't add up. Not a fan of the Gucci Gucci Cartier stuff.

    However, I do like Jim Rodford's bass work on this track and indeed the whole album. It's an unfortunate result that really started in this era, but the louder, reverbed, gated, warehouse drums that lots of bands started using in recording and mixing at this time caused the bass guitar to take a back seat in terms of mixing and performance. The Give The People What They Want drum sound always makes me think of the Triumph album Allied Forces, also recorded and released in 1981, when they first started using this warehouse drum sound in their newly modified studio with a drum room that was an actual warehouse built for just this purpose and sound.

    I remember Rob Kopp from the Mailing List days. Always a great source of minutiae info and details as this document shows. I've said before that mailing list back then was a precursor to exactly what we are doing here today.

    Turns out the recording of Bernadette released two years later in 1983 dates from these same 1981 sessions, so Ray was writing and recording both concurrently it seems.

    Fan created mix, so not official.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2022
  22. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    Nice song.

    For you lyric freaks, I think Ray sings "And you talk so upper crust" at the beginning.

    Here's a defintion for "upper crust" from Merriam Webster : "the highest social class or group : upper class, the upper crust of American society".

    Crust also rhymes vaguely with bus.
     
  23. Brian Doherty

    Brian Doherty Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA
    Re drum sounds around this time....for some reason I have always remembered (or think I did, maybe I'll be proven wrong if I checked) ray making some comments in a MUSICIAN interview about drum sounds of the time, and him (joking?) with or about SPringsteen about how the key in drum recording mixing was APPARENT loudness.

    Now, I do not undertanding recording well enough to even know what he was trying to get at, and of course maybe this entire memory is invented but well....I have no idea why I'm even posting this except it struck me as weird when the drum sound brought up above that I had this weird half-memory of something I read when 14 or so still in my head.
     
  24. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    Add It Up
    I had forgotten how this song went and thus figured it probably wasn't that good, but in this case what I am hearing is better than I remembered. The beginning reminded me a lot of Blondie (PARALLEL LINES era-a good thing!). Not a great song, but a nice short uptempo new wave style song!
     
  25. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    You’re mind is not playing tricks on you. A couple days ago I posted what Ray said on a radio interview, verbatim, in 1988, which was basically the Springsteen anecdote. However, when you mentioned apparent sound, that rang a bell. I do remember reading that in a Musician Magazine (probably) interview, if I had to guess it’s the one with Ray on the cover in ‘83. I’ll try and track that down over the weekend as tonight my hands are full (hopefully) with a poker tournament in Jersey.
     

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