In the 1982-83 period I was working at Streetside Records in St. Louis (so, discounts, fights over who got to spin next, broadening tastes), then having my heart broken for the first time, then landing in San Diego with said broken heart and listening broken-heartedly to my walkman as I drove my moped to UCSD (3rd college of 4). New-ish stuff I got at the time: REM/Murmur (absolutely loved) EC/Imperial Bedroom (still swoon) Earth, Wind & Fire/Raise X/Wild Gift & More Fun in the New World Prince/Controversy & 1999 (listened compulsively) R&L Thompson/Shoot Out the Lights (still holds up) Quarterflash (Ha!) Motorhead/Iron Fist Police/Synchronicity (has really gone down in the rankings) Also got a bunch of 12 inch singles at the record store: Apache, The Message, Get it Up, etc. Bought Lou Reed's Blue Mask but gave it to a girl - Almost bought Tug of War, Big Country, Bauhaus, & Men at Work but was on a low budget - Was also exploring older stuff: Joni Mitchell; Dylan's Christian trilogy; Jonathan Richman; P-Funk; REO Speedwagon (guilty as charged!). The one I bought and immediately regretted: Culture Club/Kissing to be Clever.
It's funny that several Kinks veterans here say they "got off the Kinks bus" at around this time. State of Confusion was the one Kinks album I experienced as brand-new and I really enjoyed the singles from it. 1982 had been my first year of getting deep into classic rock; by 1983 I had moved into top 40, soul & Rhythm n' blues, and "New Wave" interests. The Kinks' 1983 material sounded fresh to my ears.
I was too young to be buying albums in 1983. Music growing up was the oldies station (mom's choice), Elvis, and 8 tracks with songs like "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Lightnin' Strikes". It would probably be 1986 when I started pooling my paper route money with my brother to buy a weekly cassette. One week he got to choose and one week I would choose. Some of my early choices were The Ramones, PIL, The Smiths, The Cure, They Might Be Giants, and The Cramps. This probably didn't last long, but it's how I remember buying my first few cassettes with my own money. In 1983, I was a kid enthralled in the world of Thriller and breakdancing. A few years later, when I entered high school, I was wrapped up in skateboarding, cutting class, The Ramones, The Cure, and other punk/new wave bands. It was a couple more years until I became obsessed with the 60s and going to record shows with my older cousin. I love so many albums from 1983 that I discovered a little later in the 80s. They are mostly in the punk/new wave genres. I still listen to all of them. It's kind of amazing to see how many of my favorite albums are from 1986-1987. These are the years when I started my own music collection. The Kinks must have entered my collection around 1989. The first might have been a compilation, but the first proper album was The Village Green Preservation Society, which still remains my favorite. I doubt I would have cared for State Of Confusion at any time in the 80s. "Come Dancing" was well known and it was ok, but I don't recall ever wanting to choose that as one of my weekly cassettes. There was a recent thread "1983...in 10 Songs". A few of us here made a list if anyone else wants to check it out. 1983…in 10 songs
I hadn't cottoned on to them all yet, bands or albums, but somewhere around this period in time I bought Nursery Cryme and And Then There Were Three... being the weirdo I am, I loved both..... I personally love prog, but I don't like the attitude many prog-heads have.... Although I'm a guitarist, I have always been a drums kind of guy, and would jump on a kit anytime I could.... My love of drums is what won me over to Rush.
I remember listening to 'Roundtable', the BBC Radio 1 Friday evening show in which three guests from the world of pop would review the week's singles releases, along with the DJ presenting it, around this time. Ian Dury was one of the guests and they reviewed both 'Don't Forget To Dance' and the reissue of 'You Really Got Me'. I seem to recall Ian glossing over 'DFTD' in order to express his love for 'YRGM'. I guess there is a bit of a contrast between the two... Regarding Mick leaving, I read an interview with Ray where he said that he'd been working on a track ('Good Day'?) and realised that it was just easier to use a drum machine. I have no idea if that is an accurate depiction of events or even if there is a drum machine on that record (my Kinks collection gets a bit messed up with the mid '80s releases). There again, I'm sure he also said something about including him in the 'Do It Again' video as a kind of farewell gesture. You never know with Ray! As for 'State Of Confusion', I'm looking forward to this discussion. I haven't listened to it for about thirty years but I remember it as being one which grew on me after a couple of listens to the point that I have it stored in my bonce as one of their strongest albums from that period.
LOL! Then I would have been one of those prog snobs you’re referring to back in those days from a playing standpoint. From a listening standpoint I’ve always had a wide variety and eclecticism that runs the gamut. I’ll play with anyone now that wants to have a jam. The snobberitus has long since vanished. I don’t post much in those threads here however as the childishness factor of some of the people there rubs me the wrong way. “My favorite drummer is better than your favorite drummer” etc. Oh boy… And correcting my spelling in my last previous post: Neil Peart (not Neal). Inexcusable mistake there.
I think as muso's we all go through a phase like that.... I remember sometime in the late eighties, early nineties, I started to think I knew a bit, and could do a bit, and I'd go to a concert, almost with my arms folded... "ok, impress me!" Lol
Twenty years before then I was a one year old listening to the radio and my first intelligible words (though subject to debate) were "yeah yeah yeah". Extrapolating from my experience, would your first words have been "uptown girls" or "Africa"?
My Kinks collection began in earnest in 1989 too. I had the 'Ultimate Collection' for perhaps a year, but it was 'UK Jive' which got me on board that year. I may have been the only one...
I didn't mention my love for Yes. In 1983 I bought 90125 but I already had a few of their albums and had been transfixed by the Yessongs movie in a dingy cinema in Brisbane's the Valley. Fast forward nearly 30 years and I got to see them live for the first time at the State Theatre in Sydney. I had a fantastic balcony view directly in front of Alan White and Chris Squire - still at that stage an incredible rhythm section. I feel so lucky to have seen that show as it was one of the last they played together - as well as being a great show. Coincidentally, a few years later at the same venue I saw Prince, which turned out to be one of the final shows he played before he died. So my advice is to try to catch that live show of a favourite artist you're in two-minds about because it might be the last time you have the chance to see them.
RIP Alan White. Yes 90125 was one I remember listening to a lot in 83. We didn’t have cable yet, but I our music teacher in school used to record videos from MTV at his home and then play them back for us in class. Owner of a Lonely Heart was probably the first music video I ever saw, and it really captured my attention. thanks Mr. Martel, what a cool guy! Later I saw them on the 90125 tour, my first rock concert. I was intrigued by some of the songs they played, especially the “bluebird” one - which after buying Classic Yes I realized was called Starship Trooper, not bluebird lol. So Classic Yes was kind of a bridge to older music I was already investigating at the time thanks to the influence of my older sisters, like The Doors, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd. This eventually led me away from contemporary music like Def Leppard and Quiet Riot which I recall getting a lot of playtime at home those days, U2, Duran Duran and Huey Lewis also. Thanks to Synchronicity I was heavily into The Police and had all their albums, and I still really enjoy all those songs today, especially Andy Summers, he’s always doing something interesting and creative with his guitar parts. Compared to many of you, the music I was exposed to in the suburbs of Connecticut in 1983 was pretty vanilla!
Hey, they still could have been “yeah yeah yeah!” But for the longest time, I would guess they were “wah wah wah” with a followup harmonized “wahhh” (double tracked, of course).
Oh, I didn't think you were being critical. Did you check out any of the Creem issues on the site yet? I was just read Lester Bangs' semi-positive review of Houses of the Holy from a 1973 issue.
I never got off the Kinks bus. Some albums are better than others but there’s always something worthwhile.
I didn't mention Yes because I didn't get 90125 until about 85... Another unpopular choice for me, I consider 90125 and Close to the Edge as Yes's two best albums... Alan White is another sad loss
He had quite a career even before joining Yes. 90125 is a damn fine album. I remember when WMMR in Philly debuted individual tracks like City of Love (which blew me away) preceding the album release. I bought the Owner of a Lonely Heart 45. Loved the B-side Our Song. I got Close To The Edge on cassette the same day as Zep I with the reverse A and B side. I played them on this handheld Panasonic cassette player I had gotten for Xmas.
Yes (ha), 90125 is a damn fine album. Bought it upon release in 1983 and cut my teeth on this. Put the cassette in and play along from start to finish. Thank you Alan. Stewart Copeland was another early influence of course. Master of the top kit. So here’s how we bring it back to the Kinks using stupid trivia. We’ve already discussed how the cassette release of State Of Confusion had the extra non-LP tracks Long Distance and Noise appended to one side of the cassette each. I’m sure there were others, but because I still have it, the cassette release of The Police Synchronicity, also in 1983, springs to mind. This cassette had the non-LP single B-Side Murder By Numbers appended to it. The eventual CD bonus track trick started around this time with these cassette releases.
I remember buying the SoC cassette to get the extra tracks, but I no longer seem to have it. I do have the Come Dancing 12 » single promising an extended remix with an extended mix of Noise on the b-side. Saw them on the Toronto gig with INXS opening. Still have the shirt. No, it no longer fits. Must’ve shrunk or something.
