Live at the Roxy Atlanta, April 26 1993 . Live COLOUR video registration from the audience from the Phobia tour in 1993. A great performance with their raw energy, which they kept till the last tour. Thanks to Jurrien Schadron for providing this tape and Henny Stahli for his magical touch to convert it and keeping the colour! Time-stamps are below. God Save The KinKs! 00:00:00 Intro Around The Dial 00:01:22 Destroyer 00:04:42 Give The People What They Want 00:08:48 Misfits 00:12:22 Low Budget 00:17:52 Phobia 00:24:27 Only A Dream 00:30:30 Still Searching 00:32:50 Hatred 00:38:42 Alcohol 00:40:48 Celluloid Heroes 00:46:10 Wall Of Fire 00:52:00 Sleazy Town intro 00:55:00 Till The End Of The Day 00:57:40 Where Have All The Good Times Gone 01:00:20 Scattered 01:04:35 Drift Away 01:08:34 All Day And All Of The Night 01:12:40 Lola 01:20:00 You Really Got Me
Two good songs in a row! The Kinks were still pretty good when they weren’t trying to compete with younger hard rock bands. I wonder why it wasn’t called Don’t Look Down? As soon as I see Don’t I think of the Elvis hit single from 1958.
This song’s a bit of a mystery to me. The lyrics are fine (you’ve got to appreciate the “thing might start looking up” clever line), but it’s the music I find almost strange, very close in style to previous (How Are You) and future (The Deal) Ray songs. Same mid-tempo pop ballads (it seems it's the pace of Ray walking in the city streets), same bed of acoustics, little throw back to the Tired of Waiting for You / Set Me Free chords templates. We get some more typical Ray Davies “the verse becomes a chorus that stands in for a bridge” structure. But the real, er, key to the feeling of uncertainty and unease provoked by this song is the fact that the key changes dramatically throughout the song. Every iteration of the chorus is in a different key, which is extremely unusual. And of course, it’s all but incidental, as the chord patterns ascend to come closer to the guy up there or to make us feel the height more and more, as we’re trying to figure out how he came to that extremity. I think it’s clever, I like the melody and structure, but it’s almost too clever, it’s a mid-tempo ballad that you’re never completely comfortable in, a mid-tempo ballad that does none of the things that mid-tempo ballads are usually supposed to do (soothe, move, touch and calm you down). On the contrary, if you try to follow the chord spiral, it makes you feel almost dizzy from vertigo. And oh, it just occurred to me that the guy may well be the Only a Dream one who just took the elevator up, after being ignored by the beautiful girl.
In 'I'd sure like to know' I hear an echo both lyrically (obviously) and melodically of 'I'd sure like to know you and there's so much so show you' in 'On The Outside' . With the previous tracks thematical similarity to 'Elevator Man', can it be a coincidence that Ray chose to exhume those 2 particular outtakes for next year's Waterloo Sunset EP? (answer: probably, and I'm likely overthinking this). This is the first song on 'Phobia' that's sounded better on a relisten than I recalled it. A few nice Bowie-ish turns in the melody.
"Don't" - I am still surprised by Ray's ability to find subject matter for his songs that, quite often, seems so random. Thanks to @Fortuleo for the suggestion that "Don't" may be connected to "Only A Dream" as the narrator might be the person standing on the ledge. (Also for pointing out that assuming the narrator is always Ray is perhaps a bit too literal when we were discussing "Only A Dream"). This is a good song from a unique point of view- it is not told to us in the voice of the person on the ledge but a bystander below. And Ray's narrator just wants to know what put him there. Which I think just gives the song a bit of a boost because Ray avoided being too obvious. Add to that the narrator's desire to sympathize with a so-called misfit and you have a song that belongs on a Kinks record.
Have to say though that I still prefer this song by Godley and Crème that deals with similar subject matter:
"Don't" I mentioned during the album intro that there was a heartstopping moment that almost knocked me out of my chair the first time I listened to it. It's in this song - the "don't jump, don't jump" moment. It really stands out, even if you know it's coming and you're prepared for it. This is one of my favourites on the album - although it has to be said that it's hardly a million miles away from the feel of "How Are You", which itself leaned on "Tired Of Waiting", so it's a familiar Kinks style. Like the previous track, we start with an initial verse, but then instead of the second verse we get a wonderful shift up into a bridge section, which then holds sway for a couple of iterations before we drop back to the original verse and that moment. I think it's a really good and very vivid lyric - like Simon & Garfunkel's "Save The Life Of My Child", the fate of the person on the ledge is left unresolved. The one complaint about this track is a familiar one for this album - it comes to a natural stopping point, but then throws in an unneccessary shouty reprise with extra soloing which does nothing except add 40 seconds to the length. I suppose another complaint is the title - why not just call it "Don't Look Down"? If you're searching for this song you're also going to turn up "Don't Forget To Dance", "Don't Ever Change" and "Don't You Fret".
Don't - Another fine song I've never heard before. Terrific lyrics as once again we get empathetic Ray. Thanks to Mark for his kind thoughts and offer. This life can be a tough gig and it seems like a lot of folks are struggling these days. Peace and good vibes to you all.
Don’t - thoughtful and interesting, lyrically and musically. The band probably needed a score to play through this one, and the way it non-intuitively shifts around key centers adds to the drama effectively. Like War Is Over, we end up in a different place than where we started, an unalterable and irrevocable change has occurred during the song. I find two moments very moving, the “don’t jump, don’t jump!” break, and then the break after the evocative final line “I’m on the ground saying don’t look down”, where the narrator is now reflecting on their own life, a last turn of focus inward (remember the narrator was pondering their own struggles at the start, before coming upon the man on the ledge) - then the shout (hey!), a soaring Dave solo, more passionate shouting (but from a distance) - tremendous emotion communicated in that moment, for me at least, this all is done expertly and effectively. And @Fortuleo yes I agree, I stated earlier that this middle section of the album is telling us a story and in the next song we are flashing back to the beginning of what might have been this poor fellow’s life.
Don't: A headscratcher. If it was written to encourage people on the edge not to commit suicide, I can't imagine it swaying their decision one way or the other. The music doesn't sound inspiring or quietly empathetic, and oddly suggests one should remain in that state, not moving forward towards a very bad end or pulling back towards life. Generally, I don't like songs about suicide: not because of the subject matter but because they tend not to be very good. Or bad. They usually feel forced and not organic. I think the most visceral negative reaction I ever had was "Don't Try Suicide" by Queen, which sounded like a snappy shuffle from a bad rock musical. On the other hand, "Under Pressure" - which isn't explicitly about the subject - seems to achieve a lot more without trying. Oddly, the song seems to be just as much about the people on the street watching a potential suicide victim on a building ledge? But it doesn't seem to really say anything relevant about them either. I can't muster much enthusiasm for a song that doesn't seem to put forth any definitive meaning in a situation the demands it.
“Don’t”: To me, another great song from this album and a keeper. Although I know that it’s about a potential suicide, like the cover artwork, I keep thinking about 9/11 when I hear this song and the difficult decision that some of its victims made (I’ll leave it at that). The lyrics are very thoughtful, thinking about how life in a big city can grind you up if you let it and I like the ambiguity in the end when the potential jumper is “standing on a rainbow”, which gives out some hope.
"Don't" I think that's a really brilliant song with the kind of rare melody that doesn't grow on trees and a clever chorus that is not just catchy, but downright attention grabbing. I always link "Don't" as a distant relative of "Harold The Barrel" with a similar situation and the crowd doing its best to deflate the situation: "We can help you, we're all your friends" but of course from a very different angle. I don't hear much similarities with past Kinks ballads except for a line borrowed directly from "Going Solo": What made it happen, guess we'll never know. If anything this track continues the setting or the narrative from the past track. It's set in the same anonymous big city environment. For all we know the character singing might be the one who was smitten by the elevator goddess, and is now going home witnessing that ledge scene. Or maybe the guy who is "standing on a rainbow" is the one who failed to catch the elevator lady's eye and threatens to jump because life without romance makes no sense... Guess we'll never know. Although I find this musically a very expertly written song, I always feel like it goes on for quite a bit too long. There's at least one bridge too many with the kind of chord changes where if you're not in the mood to follow Ray's musical musings, you might feel this is just over-composed pomp that even worse threatens to meander just for the sake of extending the song. It would have been much better for the album if this was a small song instead of trying to be epic. But fact is that Ray has a lot to say, and a strong urge to do so. I hardly ever take the whole lyric in, it always sounds like a desperate rant of a big city drop-out. But the few lines that stand out are the dramatic "Don't jump, don't jump!" and the thought provoking "Now people are talking instead of just walking by".
Don't Song of the album so far. Somewhat Knopfler-esque and I mean that in the best possible way. I love how we go from This city kills me, but it thrills me to People are talking Glorious song. Almost tear inducing. A late era Ray triumph.
Don't Another good song that stands out and reveals itself more in isolation, as I commented on at the outset of the album. During the album as a straight through listening experience, "Don't" gets lost to some extent due to the similar tempo and pace as many other songs on the album including the preceding "Only A Dream" . I think it changes key just one time, but early on actually, and then stays there, but with so many chords it seems like it changes more than it does. I might be wrong here, no time to delve in further today. Usually the key changes come later in songs to either ramp things up or ramp them down. And again, we have the guitar solo late in the song at the end as several others do here as opposed to the usual middle where solos usually go. I never noticed this before we started doing these song by song, but this too seems to be a writing and arranging choice Ray has done deliberately late in the band's career with many songs just as the lengths of the songs have gotten longer. The one word title works for me as opposed to "Don't Look Down" or another phrase starting with that word. The all-encompassing one word "Don't" covers all the things to not do. Don't look down. Don't jump. Don't let it get you down. Don't let it bring you down. Don't. Don't! Good call on "Harold The Barrel" but the humor is there, whereas here in "Don't", there is no humor. Of course in the end our dear Harry in the Genesis song did take a running jump, as those long sustained piano chords so deftly imply in the end.
Don't It may just be me on this, but I seem to blend the chorus melody here with the chorus melody of Lost and Found. It seems very similar to me... From "We were lost...and found..." and "Don't... look down...", to "in the nick of time, while the ship was going down" and "it's a long way to fall and I'd sure like to know"... They seem to have the same tempo too. That, combined with the similarity to How Are You's rising & falling verses, none of this seems like new ground to me at all. That said, it's a very nice song. If you are going to tap into a verse style/melody, How Are You is a great one to tap into. A nice Ray vocal. The final 45-60 seconds seem to not be needed, as this song should probably have ended around 3:40. You all have discussed the lyrics thoroughly, and I really don't have anything to add there. It certainly makes sense as a Kinks lyric, after going through Killer's Eyes, A Little Bit of Abuse, and other rather dark topics.
Don't With a twisting and turning tune, this is a favourite on the album for me. Lyrically an interesting piece too. Ray does like to explore dark themes with a jaunty tune, and he's done it again here. It's a really great song. The title track of the album as to have been released in 1992. I can't really add any more than our leader Mark has written. Covers everything so well
...and while you are on the subject of Queen and suicide songs, Let's not forget Keep Passing the Open Windows from The Works album. i thought that was a particularly great song. edit: Oh yeah, and what about Keep Yourself Alive from Queen's debut. Freddy and the boys really had concerns about this particular subject it seems.
Don’t: At four and a half minutes, this one is a bit long. No, wait, just kidding. Actually, quite a nice little number (and arguably, the right length too). Its catchy and Ray is in good voice. Nice Dave solo. Mostly though, this one catches my attention with a nice positive message about people putting aside their schedules and pulling themselves out of their daily zombie state to pull together to talk a guy down off the roof. I think the pace is a little slow and, coming right after Only a Dream, thats two moderate paced songs in a row. i think that would have been a big negative for me except that (i) Dave's ripping solo at the end followed by the uptick in pace as the song heads in to its finale after Dave gets done thrashing his guitar gives it the kick in the pants it needs and (ii) i won't listen to the album in order once this exercise is done, i will mix it into a play list so i can avoid the two slow songs in a row. Taken on its own, its a good song though. Maybe my least favorite thus far on the album, but still a good song.
Just keep passing the open windows and Keep yourself alive are both great songs. Don't try suicide.... possibly their worst track for me
Random Sunday thoughts that should have been posted yesterday, but i was too busy, so hopefully no one minds. So, I listened to Phobia from beginning to middle yesterday, slightly under the influence of a substance legal in many states other than Florida, with no-one home, nothing on my mind and the sound blasting through my apartment on all speakers (there is a pair at least in every room). It is one thing to listen to an album "in the background". For me, the small details are lost, but i can get a sense of the whole. It's yet another thing when you go song by song. In that case, I tend to get very discerning on the song on its own without taking into account the surrounding songs on the album. Yesterday, i put the album on, glass of liquor and spliff in hand and just let the songs play. I had no intention other than to continue to assimilate the music, so I folded laundry (I put the drink down for that), I played with Dani the dog (I put the flower down for that), I made some dinner (I poured some of the booze in for flavor and blew a bit of smoke on it to give it that just smoked smell). As it played though, I realized i was listening fairly intently in a way that modern life often makes it hard to do as one gets older. I was suddenly living in the moment without the interference of daily life and it all sounded so gosh darn GOOD! The song Opening set the tone beautifully, it said, this is a guitar album, its going to be harsh and cover unpleasant topics, and the the guitars conveyed that, they sounded great. Then, wham! I stepped right into a Wall of Fire, and suddenly I was pulled into the lyrics, great stuff, my head was bobbing. Then Drift Away kicked in and i was transported into a dream, for all of 10 seconds, only to be rudely awakened almost immediately by that riff! ...and suddenly the air guitars were out! Dani the dog was on barking vocals and we were smoking. Still Searching didn't interrupt the flow one bit, sure, Dan and I slowed things down, the sun was setting and we saw smoke and blue lights and beauty as Ray took us on a journey with him as he searched. The song took the hysteria of the first few rippers down just right and we were on cruise control and chilling. Until, blam! Phobia kicked in with just the right metal-level intensity we needed to get us up and back on our feet, fists punching the air, devils horns in the air (that was actually Dani the dog), Dave riffing and shredding and Ray giving us chills and thrills as spiders danced on our head. Nice segue then back into the dream state with Only Dreaming. I must admit, Don't let the side down a bit, good song. but another slowy, causing Dani to lay down and chew on a toy while i hit the toilet. I had assumed Dani would like Don't, seeing as it involved a man standing on a wroof, but nope. Babies though, that one had both of us up and dancing again, it must have been the faster beat. Anyway, our concert stopped then, just because. My point: stepping back and away from the song to song and just letting the album play really opened my mind to the power of each song. Each one sounded great. ...and on top of that, I think i like the second 8 songs even more.
i understand your viewpoint. I love the Game album though, its maybe my favorite Queen album. Consequently, Don't Try Suicide gets passing marks from me just by virtue of being on that album.
