Great write up @ajsmith! I've had this comp for 20 or so years and the 12" so they are out there. That medley of You Really Got Me/All Day And All Of The Night is the first part of YRGM hard edited to the second part of ADAAOTN. This was done by PRT and not Ray. Curiously this did not show up on the comp itself. All of the tracks on that bonus 10" were new unique songs or mixes at that point in time, kind of like a great lost Kinks EP. The songs here that previously saw release on The Great Lost Kinks Album in stereo mixes have different unique stereo mixes on this release. That said, all tracks on this 10" have since seen release on various CD sets or boxes, except one. Spotty Grotty Anna (Mono Mix) remains unique to this 10", never released anywhere else since.
I'm kinda surprised by the lukewarmness to SoC in the comments so far: I always got the impression it was among the most (if not the most) appreciated of their 80s LPs, and not just cos it contains their big pop single comeback.
I bought the cassette version on release for the extra tracks, which I loved. Title track still seems great (and apt) to me all these years later, Come Dancing was a real curve ball in its day - and is still an offbeat Ray Klassic. But the rest…. I dunno. Young Conservatives, like some of Ray’s other political songs, seems heavy handed, though perhaps it came across better in the UK. At the time, I thought SoC part of the whole Arista return to form, but what I realize now, and this is no knock on my favorite band, is that it’s the beginning of a pick-and-choose era where each album has a couple of gems alongside definite-maybe work that I, at least, don’t much need to hear again. The live shows at the time, though more professional, were still incredibly exciting, and Dave seemed especially energized. Good times all in all.
Let's see somewhere in 1982/1983 I became aware of the presence of Come Dancing and shortly after saw a television advertisement for a Pye compilation that audio plugged You Really Got Me, All Day And All Of The Night & IIRC at least Lola & Apeman amongst a few others. So I freaked over how visceral the two classic '64 singles sounded (In fact then began singing them walking up and down my street) and thought it was quite a chasm between the group's glory days and this belated, polite, mature and consciously produced single which i thought while not too bad in itself was a little bit slight when looking in the rear view mirror. Many years later i was given on 7" both Come Dancing & Don't Forget To Dance, the latter of which I still have though more on why later! A few years after that i had Kinks Kompilations on VHS (& later DVD) which included both of the above videos plus intriguingly for me also the title track of State Of Confusion. Now it may have been this track that tipped the balance away from me buying the LP at the time though it was a near thing. As the next 20 years rolled by i actually had a soft spot inside for this album that i took as being well regarded though somehow never quite got around to buying. In the last few years i have looked at a few promo's and 2 months back i saw a NM WLP that ended up selling for $17 USD after I forgot to put on my bid which was a way higher offer! Iam hoping i now like it as if not how can i continue to harbour this sentimentality (for something I've currently not heard) if my new "heard" perception of it is now found to be lacking?
Opinions are divided, both hot and cold, so the result is lukewarmness, I guess? Maybe my opinion should not be taken into consideration, as it's powered by a level of Eighties-phobia that is probably illegal in most countries.
STATE OF CONFUSION The Kinks hit their final peak with this album and the big hit "Come Dancing". I remember I liked this album a lot. I thought it was better overall than GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT, but a bit below LOW BUDGET. I haven't listened to it in years so I'm looking forward to this!
State of Confusion was the first Kinks album since Kinks Kinkdom way back in 1965 to have 2 US Top 40 hits and the first Kinks album since Lola v. Powerman and The Moneygoround to have a Top 10 single. When this album came out, I was in a state of confusion myself, in that I transferred from one Boston college that I was extremely unsuited for to another which was more in tune to my interests. I also suffered a bit of a heart punch that year (romantic, not physical). So to actually hear "Come Dancing" (which actually entered the Top 40 exactly 39 years ago this week) on American Top 40 as it marched up the charts to #6, matching "Tired of Waiting for You" as their highest charting single was bittersweet. There's a song on the album that expressed my feeling at that time. As for the cover design, I remember some Avids commenting that Ray was the only one pictured on the last album. This has been rectified in spades, w/the whole group on both the front & back covers & on the inner sleeve, which was the best piccy of all. It was serviceable, nothing special. I think that Avid Zeki and Avid The late man's apprehensions about this album are a bit overdone. It's a very good album w/several excellent songs. Finally, thank you Avid Pablo Fanques for your kind words, which I appreciate and I hope you're well now.
Here's the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for May 28, 1983, with "Come Dancing" debuting in the Top 40 at #37: Billboard Hot 100 – Billboard
“If” I had heard this in real-time would I have picked it up? No. First…no way with that cover. Then, I just checked wiki to jog my memory: Dylan, Jackson Browne, U2, Bob Seger, Pink Floyd, Men At Work…so, no.
I saw that 'Mats/Costello tour at Great Woods, MA in 1991. The thing I remember most from that concert was Westerberg doing a great version of "Answering Machine".
SOC for me was a bit of a step back from GTPWTW. Come Dancing is a brilliantly conceived and executed stone cold pop classic. And Long Distance is a strong track, almost in a Dylan-ish vein. But the rest is a bit meh for me. 'Bernadette' is so bad it's almost good.
I reckon it is the sore point of the album, and being the closer it doesn't leave you with that good feeling of what you just listened to... Like I say, back in the day I thought this album was pretty good, but not what I wanted... As I'm going through this album now, I'm actually really connecting to the songs.... The thing is though, I think this is for the most part a lyrics album... there's nothing wrong with the music, but it is the lyrics here that are going to be the core of whether someone enjoys it or not.... and I have really been getting into the lyrics .... a couple of song's lyrics aren't in my zone (i don't think), but the majority are
My experience with State of Confusion is as similar to my experience with GTPWTW, as the covers to both albums are similar to each other. I was familiar with a couple of the songs from the radio or Pandora, having heard only the title cut, Come Dancing, and Don't Forget to Dance prior to this week. I was, as I was with GTPWTW, pleasantly surprised. In the pre-internet era, I was not really paying attention to what tracks were on specific albums as they were released, after I stopped following the Kinks more closely post Low Budget. I think I associated both albums with their title tracks, neither of which I cared for. I'm not sure where I would rank State of Confusion in the Kinks canon since I need to spend a little more time with it, but even if it never joins some of my favorites, it is kind of thrilling just to have some new-to-me Kinks to listen to. Many thanks to @mark winstanley for starting this thread.
“Come Dancing” was a massive hit and was never a song I either loved or hated. It was just the big 80s Kinks hit that was played on MTV a lot when I was a youngster. I like that they had a hit with this type of song, but it falls into the over played category. Imagine this being the only Kinks song you are familiar with! My first entry into 80s Kinks was the compilation Come Dancing With The Kinks. When I finally heard State of Confusion, I thought they certainly chose the best songs for that compilation. I’m not as familiar with the rest of the album because the other songs never interested me. I finally bought the record several months ago. I ran to the local record store in my track suit and picked up a copy. I will have to pull it out today and give it a complete listen. I don’t think I’m thrilled about this album, aside from a couple of songs. It’s about the same feelings I had about the last album. I do think I could put one pretty good album together between the both of them.
