The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    That is likely a savage comparison!
     
  2. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Ok but was this early enough for Clive to remove the pu$h behind WOM?
     
  3. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Word Of Mouth

    I don't recall being aware of this LP in real time though I did first see the lead singer's video clip on my Oz DVD (that was coupled with Ray's Return To Waterloo) and later bought To The Bone.
    Living On A Thin Line ironically i did discover late one night watching The Sopranos, it was atmospheric and detailed smoothly with the series visuals.
    I was interested enough to check the end credits and only then found out it was the Kinks.

    I Probably bought the Come Dancing CD Compilation 15 years ago but more importantly to the conversation I bought Word Of Mouth 6 months ago on Japanese Vinyl so heard it in full for the first time and replayed just yesterday.

    Disclaimer: I just recalled that many moons ago i bought a used WOM on cassette for .50c and it was missing it's felt pad and playback was accompanied by a near constant whooshing sound that was akin to listening to an LP whilst in the same room someone was dragging a washing machine across a tiled floor!

    I don't think i had any particular expectations though my belief was that this was meant to be a step down from State Of Confusion.
    I guess it sounded very contemporary and a bit generic but going on my last spin thought several things..........

    A) It's better than i last remembered and side 1 has some real Konsisteny!
    B) Why are they doing Start Me Up?
    C) This seems somehow refreshingly breezy and a less heavy listen than their previous albums.
    D) Why are they reminding me of The Archies Sugar Sugar?
    E) Side 2 (And despite my best intentions not too) Has my mind wandering and my engagement waning somewhat so hoping the Avids amend it!

    Edit: By joves i found that Konfounded Kassette!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2022
  4. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    1984 Japanese vinyl release of Word Of Mouth
    with Obi and Insert.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2022
  5. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    I've had both the book and the album for about 35 years, and never noticed the similarity before!
     
  6. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    "Do It Again"

    [​IMG]
    Single by The Kinks
    from the album Word of Mouth
    B-side
    "Guilty"
    Released 4 December 1984
    Recorded June 1983 – September 1984 at Konk Studios, London
    Genre Rock
    Length 4:14
    Label Arista
    Songwriter(s) Ray Davies
    Producer(s) Ray Davies

    stereo mix (4:09), recorded Aug-Sep 1984 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

    Standing in the middle of nowhere,
    Wondering how to begin.
    Lost between tomorrow and yesterday,
    Between now and then.

    And now we're back where we started,
    Here we go round again.
    Day after day I get up and I say
    I better do it again.

    Where are all the people going?
    Round and round till we reach the end.
    One day leading to another,
    Get up, go out, do it again.

    Then it's back where you started,
    Here we go round again.
    Back where you started,
    Come on do it again.

    And you think today is going to be better,
    Change the world and do it again.
    Give it all up and start all over,
    You say you will but you don't know when.

    Then it's back where you started,
    Here we go round again.
    Day after day I get up and I say
    Come on do it again.

    The days go by and you wish you were a different guy,
    Different friends and a new set of clothes.
    You make alterations and affect a new pose,
    A new house, a new car, a new job, a new nose.
    But it's superficial and it's only skin deep,
    Because the voices in your head keep shouting in your sleep.
    Get back, get back.

    Back where you started, here we go round again,
    Back where you started, come on do it again.

    Back where you started, here we go round again,
    Day after day I get up and I say, do it again.
    Do it again.
    Day after day I get up and I say, come on do it again.

    Written by: Ray Davies
    Published by: Davray Music, Ltd.

    "Do It Again" was written by Kinks front-man Ray Davies about his strenuous touring schedule and anyone who has a busy schedule. Davies later said of the song,

    "I think it applies to everybody who gets up in the morning and has to go out and do their job. Sometimes it’s not great being on tour. It’s a cliché now, but everyone knows what happens on the road. You have very little sleep, I usually go to sleep about four or five o’clock, then I have to get up at eight or nine o’clock, get a plane and go somewhere else and play. When the knock comes on the door, I know I have got to get up. It’s not just in my job, people who are electricians and work in Woolworth’s have to do it."

    Do It Again was the lead single from the Word Of Mouth album, and it did pretty well.
    Billboard Mainstream Rock chart - 4
    Billboard Hot 100 - 41
    Canada - 91

    This is certainly a song I can relate to ... The routine is set in, and I have no idea how to break from the routine, and perhaps it is better to have a routine, but I can still remember when life was more freeform and spontaneous... these days, somewhere between 9 and 10pm get to bed, alarm goes off at 3:30 am, get up and do it again.
    There is a certain groundhog day feel about it all, and ... well, it is what it is.

    The song stays pretty true to the idea of the perpetual loop.
    The second verse acknowledges that this is not a situation unique to Ray, he sees all the people around him caught in the same cycle.

    In the third verse we get the idea put forth that we all look at the idea of breaking the cycle and shaking it all up, finding another way to go about this, but generally we don't actually break the shackles. One way or another we will end up in a cycle, even if it isn't the same cycle, this is our lot. Get up and do the tasks that need to be done, come home and eat and shower, chill for a bit, go to bed, get up and do it again. However we dress up the in between sections, the basic pattern is what it is.

    We get the bridge exploring the idea that we do some things to try and make it feel like this is all worthwhile ... "make alterations and affect a new pose". Then he acknowledges again that noi matter how we go about it, it ends up in the same cycle, even if we get "a new house, a new car, a new job, a new nose" ... I like that Ray throws in that last bit, just a humourous look at the growing fad of plastic surgery... it was growing in the eighties, and it makes me think of Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees", probably my favourite song of theirs...
    These days we seem to have a whole slew of people who have reconstructed their whole face, and with no disrespect to anyone who may have done this, so frequently folks end up looking like aliens or something ... It is so sad that after all these thousands of years people are still not comfortable with who they are.... anyway, that is for another day I guess lol

    To me this is somewhat of an alternate take on the touring idea, and it doesn't wallow in self pity, it just observes that whether touring, working as a plumber, a lawyer, a housewife, whatever, there is a routine.... a seemingly unbreakable circular path we follow everyday in order to do what we need to do, and no matter how we try and mix it up, we will be caught in this cycle pretty much all our lives.

    Musically we open with some reverse reverb on the cymbals, and the cymbals beautifully swell into an open chord that rings out.... We get a pause, and a synth/keys pulse comes in and leads us into Ray vocal.

    Ray's vocal is clean and clear. The music gradually builds, and we have cymbal and drum accents, and then we break into a nice punchy rock and roll song.

    We get some nice lead guitar after the second chorus .... and I don't know why, but the sound of it makes me think of The Church.
    This leads into a lower riff guitar that takes us into the bridge.
    We get a chorus and then head into a reprise of the lead break.

    The piano has a sort of Jerry Lee/old school rock and roll feel.

    As we have found with Ray, he likes to occasionally mess with structures, and here we get an extended bridge, and I think it really works well with Ray's vocal.
    A chorus comes in, but this time we have a more lean musical approach. It doesn't drop out as such, it just pulls back a bit. Then we get a full chorus, and that chorus rolls into a really excellent full "Do It Again", with Ray and Dave blending beautifully.

    The guitar plays an excellent descending line and we roll into the lead again, and a final line from Ray and we sort of fade on the last chord.

    Personally I have enjoyed this since I first heard it.
    I think the video was the first I saw of this, and looking now, there are a few interesting things about it.
    It opens with Mich and Ray sharing a smoke, as a couple of bums in the subway/tube station.... but the interesting part is the somewhat significant opening picture of Ray walking away from Mick....
    Ray is done up as the archetypal one man band, and we get train passengers coming and going, and showing signs of robotic conformity...
    We get Ray turn into a jester, and we see playing the drums, and eventually we get the full band, dressed up like jesters...
    At the end we have Mick carting his drums away.....
    There is probably more to it than that, but I'm a little caught for time.

    Anyway, a great track, a poignant kind of video, and I think it opens the album really well.

     
  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Frankfurt 1984

     
    DISKOJOE and All Down The Line like this.
  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Interesting Charlie Chaplin Modern Times/Do It Again overlay

     
  11. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    The Hard Day’s Night chord merged with the Won’t Get Fooled Again synth hook for a song named after a Beach Boys classic… I'm on board!
    All of this is intentional of course. You will get fooled again and you will work like a dog once more today and then numbly do it again tomorrow. Here comes yet another (hard) day… The song tackles approximately the same subject as the old Show-biz opener, except it's not just about touring musicians but also the everyday bloke.

    This tune's yet another proof that Ray is sometimes more a “hook” guy than a “chorus” guy. As @Brian x remarked, this thread has seen a lot of “is this the verse ?” or “what about this pre-chorus that works like a bridge ?” discussions and it's because Ray knows how to write tons of pop hooks. Here, we get a case in point. Melodic hooks, lyrical hooks, sonic hooks, phrasing hooks, guitar hooks (honorable mention to the chromatic lead just after the solo, very Wings era McCartney!) + the ascending über-kinksian guitar riff that recycles the She's Got Everything's dododo dodo dodo's note for note… it goes from one hook to the next and back again, in different combinations. Ray arranges all those little bits expertly and stitches them together in a very seductive and cohesive way, but the song doesn’t have the simplicity of a Come Dancing to become the hit it should’ve been. Also because the whole point here is to create a swirling musical labyrinth for the listener to lose himself in.
    My favorite thing is the rebirth of Ray’s higher pitched voice and smooth phrasing, like it’s never gone anywhere since the Misfits poppier/peppier tracks. Another welcome return : Dave’s non-metal not-too distorted almost sixties licks and solos. Which I LOVE. All in all, the song’s excellent, upbeat and fun but lest we forget, it's really a panic attack disguised as a triumphant and innocuous "let's do it again" pop number.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2022
  12. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    "Do It Again" - I have always liked this song. Why? I like guitar-driven songs filled with hooks. Sure the lyrics are not particularly revelatory but the song is about the hooks. Interesting to hear this song today because I never noticed how much the opening guitar chord references the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night". But once the song gets off and going, I just love how it is built musically and how it is built on some pretty great guitar riffing. This doesn't sound like a 1980s record to me though it may have the odd contemporary production technique. Lyrically, I really like the near monologue that ends in the "get back" sequence (another Beatles reference). Dave rules on this song. Listening to it this morning, it just felt good.
     
  13. pantofis

    pantofis Senior Member

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    "Do It Again"

    The precise start-stop riffing with the dry and drums is kind of timeless. I first heard this around 2001 and thought, this could come out today and still be a hit. The main hook seems to be the echo effect on the title phrase, though I assume some echoes are actually sung. Some are a digital delay, those are more strident than analog delays. Anyway it seems delays are among Ray's favourite production tools around that time.
    It feels like the tune is the end product of searching for the perfect hard rock track of the last 5 years. And yet, it failed to become a big hit, what a tragedy and injustice.

    Thematically it seems to pick up the "Soap Opera" conceptual continuity which via the video and its underground theme is continued in the "Return To Waterloo" film. There's also a cameo from the spiv from the "Come Dancing" video. All in all it appears that the Kinks were not only on a roll, but establishing their own universe. There's Dave in clown make up, probably addressing his own solo hit. And the way Ray mimes the drumming is bizarre and I believe he wears a false nose. The video also makes me think of Magical Mystery Tour for some reason.

    Overall, fantastic song and video, sdaly also the end of an era.
     
  14. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "Do It Again"

    It's a great track. I'd class it as a "60s throwback" because of the obvious re-use of a trademark chunky Kinks riff, but there are also bits that sound more like 70s and 80s rock. What I like most about the re-use of the chunky riff is that it sounds so light and agile - no hint of arena stodginess to it. The song structure keeps things interesting throughout with variations on the verse melody and phrasing, interspersed with solos and some twangy riffing. If there is a criticism, I feel it may be too long - and this may be why it came up short of being a hit, as people were tuning out by the end. Lyrically: well, we should have become accustomed to one of these repetition/routine themes on every album by now, and there are still more to come.

    I'd never noticed any Beatles or Who references before - probably showing how little those bands are ever at the forefront of my mind - similar to tomorrow's Stones lift that I've never picked up on before.

    The video seems to have a crossover with Return To Waterloo - particularly Ray as a busker on the Tube. It also brings back the spiv character from "Come Dancing", this time in his natural wartime habitat. Also the reference to Muswell Hillbillies, which I doubt many people picked up on.
     
  15. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    The title of a hit Beach Boys song, the opening of a hit Beatles song... was Ray being typically subversive? Anyone, this is a good song, especially the opening, and a promising start to the album.
     
  16. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Do It Again:
    After reading the Bob Henrit interview, that was posted a few days ago, I found myself looking through the Argent discography (and history). I listened to a bit of ‘Hold Your Head Up,’ finding myself transported back to 1972 and feeling as if I were alone in my room listening to a.m. radio.

    So what does this have to do with ‘Do It Again’? Immediately after listening to the Argent song I decided I needed to cram for The Thread and get ready for Word Of Mouth. I began listening to ‘Do It Again’ and I was startled to hear so many similarities in the two songs (‘Hold Your Head Up’ and ‘Do It Again’). They sounded of the same time…though they’re far from it, coming out a dozen years apart. Anyway, I found it quite remarkable and immediately began typing out these thoughts in my music notes folder.

    As for the song ‘Do It Again’? Catchy, seemingly familiar, an excellent choice to lead off the album. Two thumbs up.
     
  17. markelis

    markelis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami Beach FL
    Do It Again:

    This is an easy one: Ray strums us in, caresses our ears with his sweet croons, then, wham! a nice drum fill and we are hit with that great riff. ...and all that before the stellar chorus has even raised its hand to say hello. Several nice solos from Dave and then Ray is "back where he started", strumming and crooning. It sounds like magic.

    Lyrically, this seems to me to be one of a trilogy of songs about life and its day-to-day redundancies, started last album with Predictable, continuing here with Do it Again and then closing out with next album's Repetition. Is there earlier precedent that I am forgetting? Maybe. Will the topic rear up again after Repetition? I haven't gotten that far ahead, but considering how concerned Ray is with the subject, I would bet we haven't yet heard the last of Ray's thoughts on the matter.

    I must have really not liked State of Confusion (the song) more than I realized. My prior practice was to head straight to the local vinyl dispensary THE MINUTE I heard a new Kinks single. Jukebox Music, Rock and Roll Fantasy, Superman, even Lola live. Destroyer from GTPWTW also caused the correct and expected reaction, just as (the record company ) planned. Yet SoC did not trigger that Pavlov's Dog type response in me. Nor did anything else on the album. This song is a great lead off single, all I can say is that I think the song State of Confusion, while I still enjoy it, was clearly not successful at triggering my Kinks lust like it should have, breaking the chain and causing this song to miss the mark too, even though it should not have.

    How this lead single didn't perk my ears enough to get me to buy Word of Mouth straight off is beyond me, this is a fantastic single that has pretty much everything of what I could want from a kinks rocker.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2022
  18. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Do it Again

    Where to start and when to stop on this one? I was over the moon with this song, this really hit the sweet spot. This is how the Kinks should sound, nearly-fifteen-year-old me mused, and I may have been right. Their sixties sound updated for the eighties. This was a record that could compete in the marketplace, that sounded contemporary. It was in heavy rotation on rock stalwart WNEW and Top 40 powerhouse Z-100. I was thrilled to have a new Kinks song I could share with all my friends; metal heads, new wavers, classic rockers, everyone. This song opened many a Kinks concert and I always enjoyed when Ray would goof with the echo effect live, like at the end of the SNL performance. We get some Beatles references with the opening chord of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and the ‘get back’s’ in the final verse. Lyrically, it’s a universal message told simply. In other words, klassik Kinks. One would think that with a great song, a great video, synchronized with an SNL appearance (usually a sales booster) and lengthy tour, we’d be talking about a big hit today, not a US #41.
    The video is another Julien Temple masterpiece. The old punks at the seaside, Mick Avory panhandling, Ray as the one-man band, Dave as conductor. The highlight for me is the ass-grabbing, newspaper rustling commuters. That scene is my runner-up for all-time best choreography in a music video. The best, by far, being the troupe in the Wedding Present’s ‘Brassneck.’
    We still didn’t have MTV in my household, but there was always Friday Night Videos, and other syndicated programs over the broadcast channels. I remember scanning the TV Guide listings, hoping. But in Jersey, it was the UHF Channel 68 out of Newark which had the rights to maybe 200 videos and aired them in continuous half-hour blocks. Their real claim to fame (and the reason it was essential to me) was they were the home of the legendary Uncle Floyd Show. @DISKOJOE, this aired up and down the east coast, on WSBK Channel 38 for you; were you watching? Remember ‘Don’t avoid, watch Uncle Floyd?’ Anyway, once you watched the videos for a few days you would notice a pattern; they were always in the same order but you wouldn’t know where each show would start from. So once you knew what the first video was, then you could decide to keep watching or come back in thirty minutes. They had ‘Do it Again’ in the rotation, and it always came on after an Alarm video, either ‘The Stand’ or ‘Sixty Eight Guns’. The things you remember!
     
  19. fspringer

    fspringer Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Do It Again: That was the feeling I had when I heard this first track on the album. Not a bad feeling. The formula from Low Budget on was to come out swinging. Having recently spent roughly two years laid off during the worst of Covid, I can tell you what happens when you don't have that daily routine: not a lot! You stretch out your time, convince yourself you're as busy as you've ever been, when in reality you're going to bed an hour or two later and getting up later in the morning! If you feel like getting off the merrygoround, go right ahead. Unless you're financially independent, things aren't going to be as rosy and free-form as you're imagining! An age thing? Responsibility? Whatever it is, and I learned this in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 when you couldn't do anything in this city for roughly a week, routine serves wonderful purposes in terms of mental stability and self discipline. The recent bad employment spell (not something you want to experience anywhere over 40), I did stay disciplined, but it got to be a struggle as time wore on. Sure, now I complain about workday stress and the usual stuff - but I also find myself singing in the shower and feeling more relaxed in my down time. That sense of youthful freedom does not age well as you get older!

    Then again, we'll never hear a Kinks song praising the virtues of work and structure, unless it's cloaked in mild sarcasm!
     
  20. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "Predictable" is two albums ago now. "Cliches of the World" was on the last album. Not forgetting "Here Comes Yet Another Day", much of Soap Opera...
     
  21. markelis

    markelis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami Beach FL
    Ahhh, yes, Predictable was 2 albums ago, wasn't it!?!? In fact, it was probably "predictable" that I would not double check before I said that!
    Here Comes Yet Another Day, and yup, Soap Opera as a whole (and especially the trilogy itself starting from Nine to Five) are all more great examples. Avid ARL for the A! I should probably go study up, I should not have missed those! :hide:
     
  22. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Do It Again
    A hundred or so pages ago I said the Kinks did power pop so well that it's a shame Ray didn't write more songs in that style. Here's a good example. Energetic riffing, good vocals, catchy chorus (or pre-chorus?), nice guitar breaks. Tick, tick, tick, tick. This is a really good, crisp power pop song. I loved it the first time I heard it and still love to hear it today. As an added bonus we get a very good music video. There's nothing here for me to dislike. Great opening song.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2022
  23. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    That's a good pick-up. I'm embarrassed to say I only saw Dave wearing a clown outfit. :sigh:
     
  24. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Once again, never heard this before. I think this song might actually have done pretty well in the UK if anyone had heard it, maybe they just weren't listening. Good song, good singing from Ray, although it doesn't particularly sound like him.
     
  25. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I didn't really get into it much in the song intro, but the video is an honourable, poignant and ultimately sad tip of the hat to Mick.

    The opening with Mick and Ray sharing a smoke, like they probably did on a dead end street when they were pups.
    Then we get Ray walking away from him, somewhat symbolic of the necessity for him to do this to keep the band together. As he's walking away, he looks back over his shoulder and shakes his head... like a "what could have been" moment, or a "how did it come to this" moment.

    Mick is left in the background seemingly not sure what to do with himself, then Ray slams his knees together almost angrily crashing the one man band cymbals.

    To keep in context with the video Mick is still around the place with his cap out, trying to get a few coppers for a cuppa, while Ray bounces around putting on his little one man show. A picture of Mick in the Konk offices while Ray is in the studio.

    The busking vagabond and the Come Dancing spiv sort of face off against each other.... could be symbolic of traditional Ray and the foofed up Ray required for the industry, facing off against each other, and trying to come to terms with each other and find a balance.

    Then Ray seems to go on a ride, not sure where he's going to end up, wandering with his guitar, looking around, seemingly trying to get his bearings.

    Then we get Ray playing the drums... dressed as a court jester, a clown, an entertainer, not to be taken seriously, fake nose, fake clothes, playing the drums, as his buddy from his youth is behind him, because he wasn't on that part of the journey.

    The jester pokes his tongue out at vagabond Ray and mocks him.

    We see the band now, and Jester Ray is on the drums, vagabond Ray is the frontman, and Dave is in clown makeup.... Mick is nowhere to be seen.

    We end with the Muswell Hillbillies, and a shot being fired at them.

    I probably missed a lot, but it's rush rush rush at the moment.

    I'm not generally one to comment much on videos, I don't hate them or anything, but they are generally just promo tools that mean little to me.
    Here though Temple captures so much, and manages to dress it up as a video about the song, but it is a video about the parting of two lifelong friends subliminally, or perhaps not so much, telling a story aside from the facade the video presents in regards to the song.

    I don't know if Ray gave Temple directions or pointers or whatever...
    But in it's own way, this video is a poignant masterpiece
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2022

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