That Warner Brothers 1960-69 is probably the best two disc Everly overview of their '60s output on that label. You do need a Cadence Collection for the earlier period too though. (although for me you need all their albums, right up to 1990s 'Some Hearts'). From the Warner era the 'Two Yanks In England' album recorded with The Hollies in 1966 is one of their best. I'm still hopeful that there's another album buried in the archives. May be sacrilege on this page, but they had the best brotherly harmonies.
"Heart Of Gold" Joining in late to the conversation and I just sound like a broken record. I agree with all the praise. This is my favorite song on the album, and the one I return to the most throughout the years. The production on this song is also miles above anything else on the album. "Watch Out! Don't caught in the crossfire." I always loved this part. It definitely has a touch of The Pretenders. It also (free) falls right into Tom Petty's wheelhouse. This would have been a perfect song for him to cover. It makes me happy that Ray can still manage to knock one out of the park. This is my "Better Things" on State of Confusion. It feels like familiar Kinks and could slide onto a number of different Kinks albums. One of their best songs of the 80s.
I'm behind a few but anyways... Property The sister/brother song subjectwise to Labour Of Love but instead of grungey guitar we get glistening synth and vocoder washes. It's plaintive Ray here and Sir D has created a true earworm. Dave adds some nice angular riffs and funky flourishes. Some Beach Boys harmonies here and there. The bridge is very effective adding a sense of urgency to it all then Ray goes all Freakazoid meets Mr. Blue Sky with vocorder vox. I find this song very Pretenders-esque but I don't feel its a Ray rip-off or anything. This is the third of the 5 mature Kinks tracks here and maybe the best of the bunch. Lyrically it reminds me of all the dividing up and I Me Mine going on when my parents split. The lyrics here reflect that vibe quite well. Ray was writing some very personal songs on this album yet making them universal at the same time. This is a very, very good song. State of Confusion side one is eclectic and flawless: The sort of sixties Britpop throwback title track, then some quirky Ray new wave, followed by country arena rock, dancehall carribean pop, and the synthpop meets Motown of Property.
I’m late posting about it and it’s pretty much all been said, but Heart of Gold is a classic of 80’s era Kinks. Great lyric, tune and performance by Ray. Lovely. The highlights of State of Confusion, including the songs that didn’t originally make the album version, probably make it for me my favorite of the Arista period.
As I said before, I do have the Rhino box set which has a great selection from their whole career. I also have the Two Yanks In England album, w/plenty of great Hollies songs, as well as Roots, their 1968 country rock effort which is just as good, if not better, then Sweethearts of the Rodeo.
Heart of Gold I don't like the "Dance" songs, but I love this one. I don't know why. Theoretically, if I was faithful to my usual nevrosis, I should be deploring the simplicity of the chorus, but the fact is I love it. Someone must have put something in my tea when I first listened to it, or there is a subliminal message hidden in it that turns me on (though I'm no dead man yet) (I don't know how widely known is this reference, it's part of the great mythologies of my youth). I like "Young Conservatives" too. I much prefer side 2, even if I don't like the first track. I am working on a mixed State of Chosen Confused People album that I'm 100% sure will only suit me of all living creatures. This period of the Kinks is one where I really regret the brothers were not able to work together. Words by Ray and music by Dave would have been really great in 1983.
Young Conservatives I like the tune. Very new to my ears. Very Kink-y in many ways, but where is the BITE of the Dave's guitar? It starts off pretty promising and then the guitar gets drowned out in a muddy mix. Ray's voice sounds nice and strong though. Obviously the lyrics are commenting on the feel of the times - Thatcher, Reagan, conformity. Ray is not a conformist is I'm sure he bristled at some of what he saw. But just like in the 60s, everyone wasn't a hippie. and in the early 80s, every wasn't Gordon Gekko. But that's part of what that decade was stamped with for better or for worse (for worse!!) Sounds like Dave was pretty hands off with this album...and I would say, overall, he is missed. I FEEL his absence. Anyway, this track has some good bones, but needs some meat!
I was an early MTV adopter. Not sure if I saw its launch, day 1, but maybe by day 30 of its release, I was there and didn't leave the TV room for about 5 years (exaggeration). I was at the right age (mid-teenage years) and MTV hit the spot! At the very beginning, the channel just needed MORE videos. So they took anything and everything. I heard stuff I probably would never would have heard on the radio...annnnd of course some cool British music that tickled my fancy being a long time Anglophile (which started with Tom Jones and Davy Jones...and Jimmy from HR Puffn Stuff) And I don't think MTV initially saw itself as influencers. It seemed like it was all about the music, maaaaaaan. Obviously it gradually became more successful and then it got more formulaic. The first 5 years of MTV was cool overall. It felt like I was watching a magazine...they had updates a couple times an hour with announcements of tours, albums, news, etc. And then as they got more well known: interviews with singers/bands and in studio music (maybe not as common). They would play full concerts (I seem to remember Saturday nights being a time when that would happen). I know they played a lot of clips from One from the Road...maybe they played the entire video, but can't swear to that. But like so many things, MTV got incredibly corporate and boring...and gradually became NOT about music which is pretty damned ironic. so MTV was a blessing that became a curse. Like so many initially great things.
Nice. It was cool because I was music director at my college radio station WFSE when Earth-Sun-Moon came out then a couple years later in commercial radio I was playing So Alive which was a huge song that crossed over to CHR.
I understand that... I was watching Beatbox - a Saturday Morning music and.... ahhm, youth culture show, they played all sorts of stuff. Rock Arena - late night, generally concert show, but sometimes a sort of spotlight on certain artists.... found Little Feat, Motorhead, XTC and a few others there. Countdown - like the pop chart hits show... At some point Rage started... Friday and Saturday from about 10 at night until 5 or 6 in the morning... Mainly I spent every cent I could scrape together on records.... random records, just to see what was on them, in those magic grooves lol
There was also something called Night Flight on some cable network(USA Network?). Each Friday and Saturday night, it would play edgy music and movies(they used to play the little known movie called Ladies and Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains, with a young and gorgeous Diane Lane starring...and it had some members of the Pistols and the Clash in it) and crazy stuff until the wee hours. So if MTV was lacking, I had another new world opened to me and my love of film began.
You triggered a memory of something I’d forgotten all about. I used to watch a Saturday morning show in the dorm, in Tokyo, called Beat Pops. Just as you describe. I recall seeing The Bee Gees ‘Lonely Days’. And ‘In the Year 2525’ by Zager and Evans.
Well, I actually found audio! If anyone is interested (at least you can see the program logo). On this particular one I hear them introducing Blind Faith ‘Presence of the Lord’, Lennon’s ‘Cold Turkey’ ,etc.
Wasn't there an early-ish MTV promo advert playing up the generation gap where a dismayed father is wanting the news and wondering what on earth his noisy kid is watching MTV and the kid emphatically tells pop; "This IS The News!"
There were some good music shows on Japanese TV. I first saw "Sultans of Swing" on Japanese TV, as well as a full Earth, Wind and Fire concert.
Yes Mark I recall all those shows well and each had their individual place but Beat Box being morning didn't suit this night owl as much and felt some on it were sometimes trying to be too cool for school.
Very Likely... I saw Beat Box much less, for the same reasons... whatever the show, I was rarely interested in the banter, unless it was announcing new albums or tours lol
