The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    I AM FREE

    A bit of a dirge from Dave. Interesting lyrics buried somewhere in the Byrds-sounding accompaniment.

    A lot of negativity here which seems at odds with the title: "never talks", "no credits", "don't care" , "doesn't need".

    If this is freedom, give me captivity.


    THE WORLD KEEPS GOING ROUND

    A really nice song but with a very heavy-handed production.

    And yet the guitar solo is pretty inaudible.

    An anti-ecology song we're much in need of at the present time.

    "You worry 'bout your own.

    What's the use of worrying 'cause you'll die alone."
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2021
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  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Let's not fall into political stuff folks...
    Politics can make pizza taste bad, beer go flat and music turn into flapjacks ....
     
  3. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    I, on the other hand, find the drumming to be distracting. Cattini is too precise, sounding like Ray’s proverbial Session Man. It lacks feeling and flow.
     
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  4. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    I am Free
    I love the pace of this song. Love the twangy guitar. Great song by Dave. Can't find a thing wrong with it.

    The World Keeps Going Round
    Oddly enough, I woke up this morning with the chorus in my head. I didn't consciously know it would be featured today.
    This is a good one! I LOVE the bass plodding along during the chorus. And the lyrics are meaningful. Some of us never learn the lesson it preaches.

    neither of today's songs are love songs, thank goodness. I need a break! LOL
     
  5. Endicott

    Endicott Forum Resident

    I Am Free — Dave’s second foray into folk-rock after “Wait Till The Summer Comes Along”, this time with a Byrdsy vibe instead of a country reference. It’s a pleasing tune, with a nice, loping back-and-forth rhythm, and his charming adolescent existentialism in the lyrics — I don’t know how often the word “convalesce” appears in a pop song.

    The World Keeps Going Round — another forward-looking song by Ray, where he says so much and still says it so simply. A gentle song about resignation, but belied by the subtle fury of the band’s backing.
     
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  6. idleracer

    idleracer Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    :kilroy: Proof that great minds think alike. This Hollies single came out at exactly the same time (the part at 1:06 is where the similarity is):


    :kilroy: Very similar in tempo, meter and production to I BET YOU WON'T STAY although melodically and thematically quite different. I like Peter Quaife's octave leaps.
     
  7. Safeway 2

    Safeway 2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manzanillo Mexico.
    I Am Free. A nice "folk" track written by good old Dave, "I Am Free." It's good to hear him write a song in a more introspective style. Dave has talent also. His vocal performance is fine as he sings this anthem. The melody is good. Two thumbs up.

    The World Keeps Going Round-
    This style of song writing would dominate the Kink’s material for the a lot of their career. The mid-tempo music fits with the content of the song and Ray’s weary voice adds more depth. This is a thundering track and the melody is catchy. Lyrically a direct harbinger and foundation to everything from "Too Much On My Mind" to "Shangri-La" The sound effect fading in and out showing technical experimentation as well. Great cut would sit well in any of their classic album run.
     
  8. pablo fanques

    pablo fanques Somebody's Bad Handwroter In Memoriam

    Location:
    Poughkeepsie, NY
    I have to say, your posts in this thread have really been enlightening. Very out of the box type observations and well written. Nice work!
     
  9. Safeway 2

    Safeway 2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manzanillo Mexico.
    Sorry I'm a little late posting some of these cover versions but I've been on the road and I have music loaded on multiple computers at different sights. But I would feel remiss if I didn't post some in case some might of slipped by some of the fine folks posting on this thread.

     
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  10. Safeway 2

    Safeway 2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manzanillo Mexico.
    A different take on "A Well Respected Man"

     
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  11. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Just wait till we get to Preservation Act 2... :0
     
  12. FJFP

    FJFP Host for the 'Mixology' Mix Differences Podcast

    The link isn’t available for me - which track is it?
     
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  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Well hopefully we can discuss songs without projecting too much :)
     
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  14. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I'm On An Island

    mono mix (2:13), recorded 25-30 Oct, 1965 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London

    I'm on an island
    And I've got no where to swim
    Oh what a mood I am in
    I'm on an island

    I'm on an island
    Since my girl left me behind
    She said that I'm not her kind
    I'm on an island

    But there is no where else on Earth I'd rather be
    Then if my long, lost little girl was here with me

    I'm on an island
    And I've got no where to run
    Because I'm the only one
    Who's on the island

    But there is no where else on Earth I'd rather be
    Then if my long, lost little girl was here with me
    I'm on an island
    And I've got no where to run
    Because I'm the only one
    Who's on this island

    I'm on an island
    I'm on an island

    Written by: Ray Davies
    Published by: Davray/Carlin Music

    This is a song about isolating oneself, which is a habit some of us have when we go through some kind of emotional trauma. I had never really thought about it before really, because the song is presented in this sort of goofy, almost lighthearted showtune/music hall feel, and so I have generally just enjoyed the presentation without really considering the lyrics..... but sure enough this is another I lost my girl and I am on this lonely island on my own .... Interestingly though our protagonist is pretty happy to be on this island, if his long lost little girl can't be with him.

    I really like the presentation of this musically. We get this really nice bass line that moves us along, with the acoustic guitar. They work so well together in this song. The piano gets introduced and it really adds some nice accents that keep the musical side of things interesting.
    The change is excellent (whether you want to call it a chorus or bridge I don't care). It introduces a crisp electric guitar that gives us another texture again.

    The real star of the show here though is Ray's vocal delivery. This song really emphases one of the things about Ray that has always appealed to me. There is this singing that has an element of acting in it. There are these strange enunciations, and a smooth shift of accents, and the vocal in itself is just so entertaining. It still has a sort of detached feel about it, but in some ways he sounds like he is mocking himself and/or the song. I love it.



     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
  15. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

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  16. marmalade166

    marmalade166 Sous les pavés, la plage!

    Location:
    Aberdeen, Scotland
    Not sure if this has been posted, but Beat Club (Germany) put up this 1966 live Milkcow Blues today on their YouTube channel

     
  17. marmalade166

    marmalade166 Sous les pavés, la plage!

    Location:
    Aberdeen, Scotland
    Along with Well Respected Man

     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    It's Too Late

    mono mix (2:30), recorded 23-30 Oct, 1965 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London

    This is a great track. It is a pretty straight rock and roll boogie type track, but there is this delivery of it that sells it to me. The guitar feels like it is being punched.

    It's too late now for you to say your sorry
    It's too late now for you to make amends
    You're gonna pay for all the lies you told me
    Well don't apologize 'cause it's too late

    It's too late
    Much too late
    You said those words
    You said them much too late

    It's too late
    Much too late
    You said those words
    You said them much too late

    It's too late now for you to sympathize, dear
    The wheel of time is grinding 'gainst your dreams
    I really wouldn't want to cause no pain now
    You said those words, you said them much too late

    It's too late
    Much too late
    You said those words
    You said them much too late

    Written by: Ray Davies
    Published by: Davray/Carlin Music

    The lyric is based in another somebody done somebody wrong song, but again the thing that steps this up for me is the vocal delivery by Ray. The way he drags out the words comes across as mocking the person he is singing to here. there is a beautiful dilligaf feel about it, that seems unusual for these kinds of songs generally. One More Time With Feeling by Kris Kristofferson, and made brilliant by Jerry Lee Lewis has that feel and it is a feel that I like, because it goes against the grain of the moaning Mertle type songs that tend to have this wallowing in them ... and there is a place for that as well, but these kind of sarcastic, but not really venomous songs are reasonably rare.

    The other highlight of the show is Nicky Hopkins piano .... It is worth the price of admission alone just for the piano in this track.

    Excellent track in my mind.



     
  19. Vagabone

    Vagabone Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I'm On An Island
    Probably my favourite on the album apart from the single. It feels like a Something Else track. Extrememly catchy and lyrically interesting. Brilliant piano again. The arrangement is far ahead anything on the previous album, to me.
    It's Too Late
    A cool combination of rootsy American folk music (the song) and boogie (the arrangement).

    There seem to be as a rule more positive/happy lyrics on side one and more negative/sad lyrics on side two.

    I would like to retract what I said earlier about the last three tracks being less memorable. If I'm less familiar with them it's more due to my 21st century short attention span than anything about the quality of the songs.
     
  20. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "I'm On An Island"

    Another forward-looking track, with Ray camping it up for the first time. Is this the same island that Ray dreams of escaping to in "Apeman"? Anyway, it's an instantly appealing song with strong hooks, and the kind of track that would come more to the fore on the next few albums.

    "It's Too Late"

    This sounds like a sort of precursor to "Sitting On My Sofa" - an unrelenting, uncompromising grinder which sounds unpromising at first but becomes more appealing with further listens. I like the rhythm guitar which hits on the 1 and 3 beats rather than the 2 and 4 which you might expect, while the acoustic playing the main riff sounds pleasingly crude (is this the guitar that Shel Talmy is playing?). Great piano solo as well, and I also like the way it just nonchalantly fades out during the second chorus, as though it's had enough.
     
  21. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    Another interesting pairing of deeeeeeep cuts today. It’s Too Late must be the least distinguished original in the Kinks canon at this point. I must’ve listened to Kontroversy some 50 odd times at the very least but I’ve never ever noticed it until today. And I don't know how it is even possible, since I’m able to hum or whistle most Kinks b-sides from the seventies or eighties… The above comments are spot on : the piano and Ray’s drawling phrasing are the highlights – and so is Dave’s typically shambolic harmony on the chorus, something that is always appreciated.

    I’m on an Island is a true gem. There’s a slight calypso feel to the circular verse melody (I keep expecting marimbas, but they never come) giving a sense of someone turning around in circles, alone and alienated, most probably in a psychotic/depressed state. Then the chorus/bridge “but there is nowhere else on earth I’d rather be” comes as a liberation, a brief flash of positive thinking and hope, with a gorgeous minor chord change, and Ray’s voice soaring like only Ray’s voice can. But it’s only a vision and soon, the guy’s ruminating daze is back full force. It’s another case of formalism where music and lyrics go hand in hand to create meaning and feeling (the feeling of the meaning) at the same time. As such, it’s brilliantly sequenced just after The World Keeps Going Round which uses the same trick/approach.
    It’s easy to overlook it, because we’ll get so many more of those in records to come, but both today's songs clearly mark the first appearances of Ray’s camp delivery and theatrical personae, that sets him apart from most/all of his contemporaries.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
  22. Martyj

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

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Gotta jump into work real soon so I’ll be much, much briefer than yesterday’s post (which I spent an hour writing!)

    I’m on an Island

    I picture this being the possible genesis of this song: Ray plucks out a few notes that sound calypso-ish. When he thinks of calypso the word “island” pops into his head. Thus, he embarks on a song with a calypso riff with island in the lyrics…and, voila..he’s off and running with “Im on an Island.” That kind of unselfconscious simplicity is among the hallmarks of Ray’s 67-71 classic period songwriting. With that calypso riff giving this a stylistic difference from anything else on the album, it shares the trait of the songs on next five albums. It’s like with this song Ray has already started working on Face to Face. It is the most forward looking cut on Kink Kontroversy.

    I loved this number from the moment I first encountered it in its live incarnation on Kelvin Hall. It’s the highlight of Kink Kontroversy for me along with “Milk Cow Blues” and “Till the End of the Day.”

    It’s Too Late.

    The performance is fine. The melody is not that imaginative. It loosely follows the pattern of the old 1920’s era country hit, “The Prisoner’s Song,” which in itself is based on an various folk/country standards. When that kind of approach packs an entire album like Muswell Hillbillies it seems to work. Here it sticks out for its unoriginality. The song is the first of a sequential trio of forgettable Ray Davies originals…and the phrase “forgettable Ray Davies original” is something one seldom encounters. On the plus side I love the way the Davies brother’s voices blend on the chorus.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
  23. FJFP

    FJFP Host for the 'Mixology' Mix Differences Podcast

    I'm On An Island

    Ray doing what Ray does best with his performance and song craft. The music and the lyrics chime together perfectly, and he really does bring out his variety of character voices here. What always amused me was the "DONG DONG", I'm guessing on the Ride Bell, after the "Hai'm, hon, han, hisland", which to me feels like to boat leaving the port on the island. Or it was meant for Ring The bells, but they played the tape back 6 tracks too late...

    It's Too Late

    I agree these last three tracks are generally lightly non-descript, but they do offer up plenty to enjoy. This strumfest sounds like a raw and wonky surge forward, without ever relenting, and I'm always amused when Ray's vocal randomly drops in the mix in the 2nd(?) verse.

    As we're getting closer to Face to Face, I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered that 1966 Stereo pressing of the album I had in my Discogs cart. Hopefully it comes in time for that album, so I can bask in everything all at once!
     
  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Yea... although I swore I wasn't going to buy albums for the thread, I ended up getting the double cd's for Face to Face, Something Else, Arthur and Lola.... even more disturbing I lost my mind and got the Village box lol
    Oh well, lots of hours at work at the moment, so hopefully the bank will recover soon :)
    I'm going to blame @Pawnmower :), and all you guys saying the copies I have sound crappy :)
     
  25. Pawnmower

    Pawnmower Senior Member

    Location:
    Dearborn, MI
    Not to derail this thread, but that Village Green box set is a gem. 5 packed CDs with any and everything you can want.. and those 2010 recordings is a great finale, plus non-1968 songs like "Time Song" and "The Way Love Used to Be" really round it out wonderfully.
     

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