A fan favourite soundtrack moment is The Kinks' foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 'Supersonic Rocket Ship', from 1972's Everybody's in Show-Biz, was chosen by another pair of show-biz brothers, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, to introduce audiences to New Asgard in Norway (actually filmed in Scotland)
I believe he started the Word Of Mouth album, but left some time during. I'm not sure if he has any drum tracks on it or not.... but someone's sure to give us the lowdown
Some of the albums I bought in '82-'83: Robert Plant's 1st two solo albums Exile on Main Street, Undercover and mostly everything else released 1968-1983 Sabotage and most of the Sabbath catalog Pyromania Physical Grafitti All Floyd albums DSOM through The Final Cut Psych Furs-Forever Now Lots of Jethro Tull including Broadsword All Yes from The Yes Album to 90125 A lot of Aerosmith including Rock In A Hard Place A bunch of Who albums including It's Hard Every Van Halen album Zz Top Elimnator Fastway Axe-Offering Iron Maiden-Killers All of B.O.C. except Mirrors and Cultusoraus Rush-Signals and Grace Under Pressure Lots of Talking Heads and much more. My first two full years buying music regularly and building my music library. Though not albums per se I also bought countless issues of Cream, Rolling Stone, The Record, Circus, Kerrang, Hit Parader, Musician...
I really like Cliches but It was awful and even more annoying live. It is worse than Rock & Roll Cities, and that's saying something!
It's kinda complicated studio wise with Avory's departure. SOC is the last album he's on in full, but he actually has a presence on the remaining 3 80s albums. As @ThereOnceWasANote says above, he's on 3 tracks on Word Of Mouth (the 3 that were part of Ray's solo project Return To Waterloo) recorded before he left in mid 1984.. but then he still drums on one track apiece from 'Think Visual' and 'UK Jive'.. On Think Visual he's on 'Rock And Roll Cities' cos Dave grabbed him from the Konk offices to do the drum track at short notice when no one else was available, and on UK Jive he's on 'Entertainment' (uncredited) as it's a leftover from the GTPWTW sessions. So 'Phobia' is the only Kinks studio album with no contribution at all from Avory.
SOC was the last full Kinks album that Mick Avory was on. According to the liner notes to the Velvel reissue of Word of Mouth, he was on "Sold Me Out", "Missing Persons" and "Going Solo".
I'll fill in a couple of the gaps here that may help explain the timeline a little more. At the start of 1983, they were recording the album. Interestingly, the leftover GTPWTW track Entertainment was going to be on the album and the album itself was to be titled Entertainment. In March, the State Of Confusion song itself was written and recorded and became the new title track for the album and Entertainment was left in the can until UK Jive in 1989 of course. The album was scheduled for April 83 release but was pushed back when Ray decided he wanted to remix some tracks. They had an April tour booked so all of this pushed the release date out further to late May/early June depending on country. After the album's release and some further touring through the end of June, they take a break from touring for several months in the summer. Among other things, Ray is working on Return To Waterloo, not just the music, but the film itself, pre-production, cast and crew assembly, etc. Dave has Chosen People released. The failure of this album, the negative reception to it (and the negative reaction to his sci-fi coming out) and the lack of support and disinterest from Warner Bros all contribute to Dave's problems and depression during this period. The next tour was planned for the Fall but Dave pulls out in October and the tour is cancelled.
I have to admit I'm very glad 'Entertainment' wasn't used as the title track of the 1983 album. it's like 'Give The People What They Want' (the song) part 2 except this time there's no tune! More thoughts on this at the appropriate juncture..
So…is today’s game to list what you were listening to in 1983 besides SOC? During one of the Dave solo LP discussions someone asked if it wasn’t for the fact it was a Kink involved, would we even bother buying that kind of Journey-esque heavy guitar-centric kind of album. That’s kind of how I feel about State of Confusion. But I was in a committed relationship with anything Ray Davies (and Pete Townsend for that matter) and bought and devoured it all without question. But otherwise, this kind of music did not align with my preferences circa 1983. My two big discoveries that year were the debut LP’s of Marshall Crenshaw and the Violent Femmes. I don’t know if either were specific 83 releases, but that’s around the time I remember juggling listening experiences with SOC. I kept my affection for the Femmes well into the 90’s. Crenshaw wore off by his third album. Also big on my radar in those days: Elvis Costello’s Punch the Clock and Imperial Bedroom REM’s first release The Blasters Non Fiction Los Lobos X’s More Fun in the New World None of those were really in the ball park of the kind of sounds the Kinks were making. The only thing remotely close was I was a little into Tom Petty. Mostly, though, in 1983 I was filling out the back catalogs of 60’s bands: Byrds, Turtles, Lovin’ Spoonful. I spent way more time with “Hums of Lovin’ Spoonful,” for example, than anything actually released in 1983.
I guess we'll get into in more detail at the appropriate time, but as I understand it I think it was the long time coming outcome of tensions between Mick and Dave that had been simmering away for, oh... pretty much The Kinks entire career up to this point. I've seen it in described in different places described as a sacking and also as Avory's own decision to leave at this point, but I guess what it came down to was a kind of mutual agreement/parting of the ways on the understanding that the only way The Kinks could continue to function was if Dave and Mick didn't work together anymore. Open to hearing additional info/takes on this though!
How strange it would be to attend one of those 1983 shows and hear all those Arista tracks and then Ray slides into Get Back In Line or Oklahoma USA(!!). How many of the younger attendees would have any idea of those? In 1983, I was a one year old, so I was probably listening to Billy Joel's An Innocent Man, Toto IV, or an array of Beatles albums if I happened to be placed in the living room that had the turntable/radio/stereo.
Right there with you regarding the first Crenshaw, the Femmes and Imperial Bedroom. I guess Petty was still riding Long After Dark, an album I hold in high regard. I was just listening to the reissue of the Marshall with the great bonus tracks.
I find it such a shame that much of the Kommentary is all about John Meddlesome so i was not unhappy i couldn't read much of one blurred page and for once was happy to skip something on this thread.
That's almost like what I was doing at the same time, especially the 60s stuff. I still dig all those 60s acts you mentioned, especially the Spoonful. I also was into Marshall Crenshaw and I still like his first two albums. I just picked up CD copies of REM's first two albums while thrifting.
That reissue of Marshall Crenshaw's first album has a collage of articles about him that also includes a piccy of Ray. Also, "You're My Favorite Waste of Time" is one of the greatest B sides ever.
You would probably be interested to know that every Creem magazine is now available to view electronically on their website. My posting images here is a work in progress.
Agreed! In my opinion Michael Hutchence’s death was a tragedy. As I recall, some really bright guy did a very thorough album by album thread on them as well!
OK, I'll play the 1983 game! Like @Marty J and @DISKOJOE, I was also filling in back catalogs of older artists (or sometimes compilations), including buying LPs to replace 8-tracks: Beatles and solo, Beach Boys, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Motown, Joni Mitchell Among current artists: Elvis Costello - Punch the Clock Squeeze - back catalog Joe Jackson - Mike's Murder Police - Synchronicity Billy Joel - An Innocent Man Pete Townshend - Scoop Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain (probably my then-wife's influence; she was always more hip than me) Madness Mark Knopfler - Local Hero soundtrack Michael Franks - Passion Fruit and back catalog Very vintage artists: Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk Beethoven -5th Symphony Chopin - Nocturnes
My 1983 story is slightly different. State Of Confusion was not on my radar although I was familiar with the Come Dancing video in heavy rotation on MTV. Cable television had just become available in my area in late 1982 so I was watching this all the time. All the bands and albums everyone else has listed from this era I was familiar with and all my friends were buying these up, so I heard these too. The metal of the era was the dominant music for everyone else in high school - except me. I was 14 going on 15 and I had drums tunnel vision at this stage of my life. I wanted something else in that regard, and with a few exceptions, most of that metal scene didn't interest me drum wise. So I went backwards to the 70s and the progressive rock of that era - Yes, Genesis, ELP, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, etc. I know these are bad words for a lot of folks here, ha ha. The drums I heard here blew my teenage mind (still do to this day), and I went deep down this road trying to learn and improve my playing. There were 2 chain record stores at the local mall at that time and 1 local independent. None of these old titles were stocked at the stores anymore, but they were still in print. I used the local store every time I wanted something that was not on hand in one of these stores. They were able to special order whatever I was looking for and they would usually have it within the week. So every week or two I would go to this store and they knew me so well they would go ahead and grab their book with all the label info and catalog info for all artists and in print titles and I'd point them to the title I wanted that week and they would note the catalog number and put it on order. This went on for a couple of years until I had collected all the back catalogs for these bands. Good times. Finally, speaking of Yes, we lost Alan White yesterday and he was a huge influence for me. There is a RIP thread here that I posted this in, but thought I'd share it here too. I had moved to Los Angeles for a couple of years in 1988 pursuing music and I met him at the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd where he (and Ginger Baker) were scheduled for autographs. This was October 1988 and he signed this copy of Big Generator for me. We chatted for about 5 minutes and he couldn't have been more cordial and congenial. This hits me as hard as Neal Peart's death a couple of years ago.
Same for me (minus Pete). By the mid-eighties, after acquiring most of the Kinks back catalogue, and cherishing it, I turned my attention to newer bands. The Kinks still had a tight connection to my heart (they remain, to this day, my all-time favorite), but even for young me, it was the klassic Kinks that I fell for head over heels. I could always find something in latter-day Kinks songs, but new lyricists were beating Ray at his own game. Guys like Paul Westerberg, Morrissey, Elvis Costello, etc. were speaking to me in ways Ray rarely could anymore. With the Kinks, it was the equivalent of visiting grandparents that you very much love, they’re in your DNA, but you’d much rather hang out with your (new) friends (the Fall, the Smiths, REM, etc.). I got every Kinks release on the day, but always with tempered expectations. Like wanting your child to ace that test or hit that game-winning homer, but okay with it when it doesn’t pan out. Mostly, upon settling in with a new Kinks album, from Think Visual on, one of my first responses was that there was no way it could compete in its marketplace. And let’s be honest, by the late-eighties it was v. unfashionable being a Kinks fan. Yet these albums were always awarded heavy rotation by me and many songs became ear worms, though I knew they were for my ears only, not to be pushed onto others. By the mid-to-late-eighties I was discovering: Cure Smiths REM the Fall Mekons Replacements B 52’s PIL Wire (via REM) Talking Heads Kate Bush Sinead O’Connor Stranglers Pixies XTC Robyn Hitchcock Bauhaus They Might Be Giants Pretenders Ramones Elvis Costello Soft Cell... Also happening around that time; going back catalogue on Bowie (the beginning of a massive obsession), and Cohen (same); the big switch from WNEW (classic rock) to WDRE (alternative); starting to amass what in time would become a mountain of music magazines; Creem, Q, Musician, Rolling Stone, East Coast Rocker, The Big Takeover, and later Mojo, Word, and Uncut. From its inception in 1986 up to the late nineties, Q was the gold standard, in my opinion, any many was the time I was pointed down the right musical path thanks to them. And it continues through other music aficionados in my life such as the immensely knowledgeable ones to be found on this thread.
