The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    I like the verses, bridge and piano, but the way that Ray delivers the chorus is really grating.
     
  2. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "Destroyer"

    When I first picked up this album and looked at the song titles, I imagined that "Destroyer" would be some kind of heavy metal anthem - imagine what a song with this title by, say, UFO or Saxon would sound like. Of course - thankfully - it is nothing like that! It's The Kinks ripping themselves off for a change, instead of other bands doing it. The "here we go again!", "and it goes like this!" and "gimme some paranoia!" asides are perhaps the apotheosis of "Shouty Ray", the very thing I was thinking of when I coined that phrase.

    It's difficult to take this one too seriously, although there could be some genuine autobiographical content in Ray's lyrics here. It's just a bit of kick-ass rock 'n' roll reusing one of the greatest riffs of all time. The band sound like they're having a blast and that translates to the listener, who can't help but be swept along in its exuberance.
     
  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Oddly I'm not sure I ever watched The Don Lane Show... It was certainly in my tv era as a youngster... but I think I was over at the park playing lol
     
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  4. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    This song has the distinction of being the only Kinks track to be referenced in 2010s Netflix women's prison comedy/drama series 'Orange Is The New Black' in the season 3 episode 'We Can Be Heroes', where it's quoted by the character Alex Vause:


    Alex: Pipes, I'm losing it.

    l am totally spinning out.

    Well... like the Kinks say,
    "Paranoia, the destroy-a."

    Well, "There is a red
    under my bed...

    ...and a little yellow man
    in my head."


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2022
  5. Rockford & Roll

    Rockford & Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midway, KY
    Well, I'm enjoying more of his record than I thought I would. After the great one-two opening, I'm still not enthralled with "Killer's Eyes" but the folks pointing out the Big Star nick and the friendship between Ray and Alex made my day! I hadn't thought of "Predictable" since the old MTV days. It reminds me of some of the goofy Greg Kihn vids of that era. Good pop fun. "Add It Up" and "Destroyer" are two more excellent songs coming from completely different musical spectrums and these guys have the chops to pull it off with panache. I must say, I'm a music first guy, but I've really enjoyed the focus on the lyrics that we're getting on this thread.
     
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  6. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    "Destroyer" was a pretty big radio hit - I always liked the self referential aspect of this song. It namechecks "Lola" and includes some of the "All Day" melody worked into it - not many performers have done something like this - later, John Fogerty's "Old Man Down The Road" would reference CCR's "Run Through The Jungle" (but Fogerty did not own the copyright on the song and was sued for ripping off his own song!). Not a song to be taken very seriously but it is a lot of fun. I remember seeing the Kinks perform this on SNL. It was certainly a crowd pleaser in concert. Lightweight material but catchy as anything.
     
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  7. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I can't even being to describe how much I loathe this track, it's an abomination. Strikes me that this whole era of the Kinks is a textbook example of You Had To Be There and I wasn't.
     
  8. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I got to admit I'd love to see you expound on this!
     
  9. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I would have to listen to it again and that's not something I feel like doing.
     
  10. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    It's a shame that The Kinks second Saturday Night Live appearance for this song doesn't appear to be easily available online.. I'd love to see it: the Kinks 3 SNL appearances (1977, 1981 and 1984) were probably their biggest TV moments stateside and from the evidence of this thread seem to be well remembered by those who saw them go out but the only bit of any of them I've ever seen is the medley from the 1977 show.
     
  11. ThereOnceWasANote

    ThereOnceWasANote Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cape May, NJ
    No Dave! Overslept? Fight with Ray?
     
  12. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I wonder if this type of thing is what started the Dave left the band rumour we talked about earlier.

    Because it seems appropriate

     
  13. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Destroyer
    It's not surprise that this song is instantly appealing because Ray recycles one of the Kinks Greatest Riffs. He could have read from the phone book as the lyrics and I'd still like it - riff, riff, lead guitar break, chorus and repeat. Probably my second favourite song on the album - this ranking may change as we go on. One thing I'd observe is that there was no coherent theme to the songs on side 1 of the original album but you could make a case that there is a theme for side 2 of relationships in their different forms.
     
  14. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Great performance. We used to watch that show so I can't believe I missed it.
     
  15. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    You’ve described exactly how I feel. If this was something done live, a variation on the infamous Lola 1:42, I’d give it a pass (actually, I wouldn’t as I’d be reminded of the 1:42 and become enraged! :D ). But it’s not. Cutesy, cutesy, cutesy; so no, no, no.

    The first hard pass on the album making the count: 5/6.
     
  16. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Nicely argued. While I like the song, I will concede that the lyrics and the recycled riff sound a lot like Ray was trying to write a hit song - made to order for radio. In Australia this was at a time when a current Kinks studio song hadn’t been played on commercial radio since Lola was a hit. They just weren’t played. So I was very happy to finally hear a current Kinks song on normal commercial radio.
     
  17. pool_of_tears

    pool_of_tears Searching For Simplicity

    Location:
    Midwest
    Which songs feature the alternate takes/mixes?
     
  18. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Destroyer

    Twelve year old me loved this song. Twelve year old me also loved Dukes of Hazzard. Enough to write in asking for the autograph of James Best, who portrayed Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, my favorite. Number One ranked network CBS responded by sending back a letter claiming Mr. Best does not grant autograph requests. How’s that for a kick in the head? I wish I could find that letter today.
    Anyway, it’s time to set aside childish things. I have no quarrel with Destroyer in its live incarnation where the tempo and energy level gets pushed into the red. Live, it’s a great vehicle for Showman (Shaman?) Ray. In fact, this song was consistently on their set lists for the rest of their career. Only on the first leg of the Word of Mouth tour was it played sparingly, but by summer ‘85 it was back as a regular (and in semi stripped-down form, too). For me, this song, through the decades, and paraphrasing Orson Wells, ‘started at the top and worked it’s way down.’

    And special thanks to @DISKOJOE, a kind soul, for stepping into the breach while I was shirking my duties. My poker night ended just before midnight. With my chips dwindling I knew I had to take the next decent hand dealt me and go all in. Ace-King off-suit came my way and the chips were pushed in. The flop was Queen-Ten-Five, of which my opponent had a Queen and Ten in the hole. A Jack on the turn or river and I complete my straight. Not on this night. I finished 50/148; you need to be top-ten to be in the money.
     
  19. Martyj

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

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    I hate having to play catch up on the weekend as I really wanted to engage in GTPWTW but unanticipated detours with work as consumed much of my time recently…

    Anyway, picking up where I left off after “Around the Dial…”

    Give the People What They Want - The shouty, repetitive, virtually melody-less chorus is evocative of my least favorite characteristics of “Low Budget” tracks (and no surprise it was conceived during those session) and yet I like it nonetheless. Maybe it’s the verses that won me over—arguably Ray finally getting his history lesson into a song where it doesn’t feel labored, e.g. “History,” “Nobody Gives,” “Education.” It rocks whereas those three don't, though as Kinks rockers go I rank it mid-pack among very strong competition. Perhaps it succeeds for me simply because it’s among a collection of strong tracks, elevating it somewhat in a sort of high-tide-lifts-all-boats kind of way.

    Killer Eyes — Musically it’s almost like a demo, fleshed out with a bed of synthesizer under it to make it feel more polished. I don’t mind the demo-sounding part. Not so crazy about the synth. No knock on Mr. Gibbon’s talents, but I wonder how different—and possibly better?—the music would be if the synth was replaced with Pye-era harmonies or RCA-era horns. Anyway…minor quibbles because subject-wise…
    …welcome back, Ray. Don’t let the surface topic of a killer distract you from the power of this song. This is a layered lyric, the depth of it being not about the killer, but about the parents of one. The heartbreak of having a child who grew up to turn into this. Note how Ray doesn’t need to overly say ‘I’m the parent.’ He reveals it in the details: the insight into the killer’s childhood that only a parent would have (“you cried the way other children cried.”) The little sister still in the household. These are the kinds of detail writing the past few albums have largely lacked, so welcome back subtle Ray the lyricist of 1966-71 where detailed touches conveyed empathy in such winners as Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home. Big Black Smoke. Two Sisters. Some Mother’s Son. Oklahoma USA. Killer Eyes doesn’t have that kind of poetry, of course—the wording is pretty stark—but it comes closer to my favorite version of the Kinks than anything else on this record.

    Predictable - For all Clive Davis’s radio-friendly marketing savvy, how does he determine this offbeat number is a single? After trying to steer the band into syrupy ballads like “Brother,’ or encouraging the aping of existing formulas on Low Budget, maybe…just maybe…now Clive is starting to ‘get’ the Kinks, opening the door to releasing things like “Come Dancing’ that don’t hew to rock radio expectations. “Predictable” is different—that chugging, plodding pace. There’s nothing else on the record quite like this one and God Bless the Kinks for it. It teases like it is going to go ska at a few places but never commits, which makes its address that special Kinks-ian place. It’s a great track that I didn’t appreciate at first. It has grown on me over the years. Another winner.

    Add It Up — One of those rare Kinks tracks I have zero strong thoughts one way or another. It’s just sort of ‘there’ without leaving an impression. I suppose if I had to ID a weak link on side one, I’d say this is it. But it’s not a weak song…which simply points to what a great first half GTPWTW is.

    Destroyer — It’s gimmicky in its employment of a classic riff, but beyond that my take on this is pretty much identical to my take on another classic riff appropriation, “Catch Me Now I’m Falling”: a number that highlights the band members going through their paces—which they do well—but not much substance beyond that. This one hasn’t aged well for me. Probably my least favorite on the disc. Combined with the next song—coming Monday—side two’s beginning is the least interesting section of GTPWTW for me.
     
  20. Luckless Pedestrian

    Luckless Pedestrian Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    Destroyer captures my attention from start to finish, every single listen, due to the narrative (and Ray’s dynamic performance of it) which puts you on the edge of your seat; the protagonist is a ticking time bomb and we are waiting for him to explode. The band is locked in perfectly, and the sound recording is one of their best imo, clean but somehow claustrophobic. I’m always impressed with how the piano comes through so clearly among all of the heavier elements in the mix, and it’s a nice accent to keep things rolling along, undercutting the heaviness just a touch to prevent the song from getting too dire.

    I look at the return of ‘the riff’ and Lola as the aging of the protagonist. When he was young, life was simple, he just wanted to be with his girl; things get a bit more complicated when he moves out into the wider world and meets Lola; finally his childhood is over, he has a job and responsibilities, aging and modern life is taking its toll, and he’s starting to suffer from anxiety, stress and paranoia: in short, things are not like they used to be!
     
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  21. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    Destroyer
    Now we're getting to the good stuff I remember from this album! I think I must have listened to side two more than side one.
    This is a cool song that gives homage to the Kinks past both musically and lyrically. It was fun to see live too as when Ray sang, "Stop..." the whole band kind of froze in place for a bit. This certainly got a lot of radio play in my area-more than what its #80 chart position indicated for the entire USA.
     
  22. fspringer

    fspringer Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Destroyer: For better or worse, this song served as the template for their 80s success, sounding new/of its time while demonstrating a strong self awareness of the band's legacy. I was going to make the same reference that stewedandkeefed made with John Fogerty and "The Old Man Down the Road" on Centerfield, and the strange fallout that ensued. As I noted earlier, with the doofuses partying in the parking lot of Stabler Arena back in early 1982, this seemed like the only Kinks song they knew. FM radio was playing this to death 1981-82, and it surely wore out its welcome. But I can still listen to it now!

    This whole era - this, the next two albums and Return to Waterloo - really sits well with me now. Ray seemed invigorated by the band's success, the advent of video and a strong desire to tour continuously. While I was deep diving punk/new wave and soon falling in with the American indie scene, The Kinks were one of the few older bands who seemed to move in time with this era.
     
  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    The Kinks 1981/82 Touring.

    Give The People What They Want was recorded between May and June 1981, and released in August in the US, and January 1982 In Europe... as we already spoke about, due to wanting to do a full video album... which of course never happened.

    The 1981 shows started on the last two days of April 1981, in Ireland.
    Over the course of May the band were touring around the UK. They also did 4 UK shows in June, and their first US gig of 1981 was August 5th in New Orleans.

    August was a fairly intense US focus with 14 US shows and The Reading Festival in the UK on Aug 3oth.

    Aug 14 - The Forum, California
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Bird Dog
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Yo-Yo
    Tired of Waiting
    Killer's Eyes
    Lola (tease) / Blues
    Lola
    Back to Front
    Too Serious
    You Really Got Me
    Misfits
    Cabaret
    You Really Got Me
    Gallon Of Gas
    Celluloid Heroes
    20th Century Man
    All Day And All Of The Night

    encore
    Give The People What They Want
    Pressure
    Twist And Shout

    2nd encore
    Low Budget
    Stop Your Sobbing
    Batman
    Superman

    Aug 19 - Hollywood Palladium
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Where Have All The Good Times Gone
    Bird Dog
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Yo-Yo
    Lola
    Too Serious
    Back to Front
    Misfits
    You Really Got Me
    A Gallon of Gas
    Celluloid Heroes
    All Day And All Of The Night
    Give The People What They Want
    Come On Now
    Low Budget
    Twist And Shout
    Destroyer
    Pressure

    Aug 21 - Greek Theater, Berkeley
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Bird Dog
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Yo-Yo
    Lola
    Where Have All the Good Times Gone
    Tired of Waiting for You
    Too Serious
    Back to Front
    Misfits
    You Really Got Me
    Gallon Of Gas
    Celluloid Heroes
    20th Century Man
    All Day And All Of The Night
    Give The People What They Want
    Twist And Shout
    Waterloo Sunset
    David Watts
    Better Things
    Pressure
    Low Budget
    Superman

    Aug 30 - Reading Festival
    Till the End of the Day
    Victoria
    All Day and All of the Night
    Plastic Man
    You Really Got Me
    Waterloo Sunset
    (the only songs listed)

    In September it was back to the USA, and also quite a few gigs in Canada.
    October had a few more gigs in the US, and then they seem to have had a short break.
    The guys end up in Ireland again Nov 20th for their only November gig.
    Then in December they played eight shows in Germany between Dec 1 and Dec 10.

    It's interesting that most of the shows seem to have Too Serious from Dave's glamour album.

    Sep 21 - Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus Ohio
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Lola
    You Really Got Me
    All Day and All of the Night
    Give the People What They Want
    Yo-Yo
    Too Serious
    Destroyer
    Art Lover
    (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
    A Gallon of Gas
    (The only songs listed)

    Sep 25 - Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Destroyer
    Yo-Yo
    Lola / Toronto Blues
    Too Serious
    Art Lover
    You Really Got Me
    Back to Front
    A Gallon of Gas
    Till the End of the Day
    Celluloid Heroes
    20th Century Man
    All Day And All Of The Night
    Give The People What They Want
    Misfits
    Low Budget
    Batman/Superman/Shakin' All Over
    Little Queenie
    Twist And Shout

    Oct 3 - Madison Square Garden
    Opening / Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Destroyer
    Yo-Yo
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Better Things
    Lola / NYC Blues
    Too Serious
    Art Lover
    Waterloo Sunset
    You Really Got Me
    Back to Front / Get Back
    Gallon Of Gas
    Till The End Of The Day
    Celluloid Heroes
    20th Century Man
    Killers Eyes
    All Day And All Of The Night
    Give The People What They Want
    Misfits
    Low Budget
    Add It Up
    Superman/Shakin' All Over
    Pressure
    Village Green Preservation Society
    Twist And Shout

    I'm assuming the MSG gig was a pretty big thing for them, and they seem to have really thought about the set list.

    January 1982 and the band was back in the USA
    In February it's nice to see the lads went to Australia playing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth .... I scratch my head and wonder how I could have missed them, but I was 13, so I probably couldn't afford it or something. They played 10 Aussie gigs all up.

    Feb 19 - Hordern Pavillion, Sydney (final Aussie gig)
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Where Have All the Good Times Gone / Tired of Waiting for You
    Come On Now
    Destroyer
    Yo-Yo
    Lola
    Dead End Street
    A Gallon of Gas
    Low Budget
    Add It Up
    Art Lover
    Celluloid Heroes
    Till The End Of The Day
    Bernadette
    All Day And All Of The Night

    encore
    Give the People What They Want
    Pressure
    Twist And Shout
    Stop Your Sobbing
    David Watts
    You Really Got Me


    February rounded off with 4 shows in Japan.

    In April we have the Essen show that would be the Rockpalast gig.
    April 4 - Grugahalle, Essen
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Where Have All the Good Times Gone
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Come On Now
    Destroyer
    Yo-Yo
    Lola
    Dead End Street
    Add It Up
    Low Budget
    Art Lover
    Back To Front
    Gallon Of Gas
    Celluloid Heroes
    Till The End Of The Day
    Bernadette
    All Day And All Of The Night
    Give The People What They Want
    Pressure
    You Really Got Me
    Stop Your Sobbing
    David Watts

    The next set of gigs are in June and it's back to the USA.
    2 gigs in August
    Then the US Festival in September
    Sept 4 - US Festival
    Around the Dial
    The Hard Way
    Where Have All the Good Times Gone
    Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    Destroyer
    Yo-Yo
    Lola
    Entertainment
    Low Budget
    Back to Front
    Art Lover
    Celluloid Heroes
    Come On Now
    Gallon Of Gas
    Till The End Of The Day
    Bernadette
    All Day And All Of The Night
    You Really Got Me

    The last shows in 1982 were in December with one show in Scotland and the rest around England. It's here that Come Dancing enters the set, and they were probably trying it out, perhaps refining it for the album they were recording over this period.... perhaps testing if it was a single.... which we know it was.

    One of the interesting things about the sets I see, is that Destroyer and All Day And All Of The Night were generally both in the sets... Which is pretty interesting in itself... Definitely different songs, but obviously very similar, but the spacing in the set probably made it work ok.
     
  24. Zerox

    Zerox Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Against the odds, Destroyer transcends its derivative origins and becomes a worthy entity in its own right, for me anyway. The whole 'keep calm' section rings painfully true.
     
  25. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I mentioned this weird setlist when we covered 'Plastic Man' as it's the only instance I could find of the song being played live: but I'm highly doubtful of the veracity of this set: would they really do only 60s songs, even at a British festival? I really doubt it. I'd also really like to know if there's anything to this suggestion that they whipped out 'Plastic Man' out of nowhere 12 years after it's release as a flop single, and if there's not where that idea came from. Surely someone somewhere taped this show (being a big festival appearance) so what they actually played can be verified? We live in hope.
     

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