Yes, both 'State Of Confusion' and 'London Calling' have been in my general consciousness for getting on for four decades; not sure which was in there first as I discovered each of them after the fact, but they never seem to have vied for the same place in my brain previously! I was never really an EC fan but I can acknowledge a good song when it hits me in the right way and there are a few of his which I'll give kudos to but overall...nah! While I'm in da mood for dissin', and notably acts who were in their prime in the late '70s/early '80s, I may as well finish the job and throw in that I was never enamoured of "the new Lennon & McCartney", aka Difford and Tilbrook from Squeeze. Well, let's be honest, I wasn't a massive fan of the original Lennon & McCartney...about whom the legendary Ned Sherrin ventured something along the lines "I don't really know much about them but I'm rather fond of The Kinks!" Can't argue with Ned... Olde England wasn't too great weather-wise today, I'm sorry to report, at least not in my corner (the south-east). It gave us the requisite bit of rain and a hint of sun but was mainly murky and grey. Well, we have to set ourselves up for the great British summer! And with the Queen's jubilee at the end of this coming week, it just wouldn't be Blighty without meteorological 'issues'.... You guessed right, it is store work. We're limited by law to being open only for six hours on a Sunday (convenience shops are exempt from this) so at least it wasn't the whole day...just the useful bit in the middle! On to 'State Of Confusion' itself...I just watched the video for the first time in quite a while and first off I have to say I've always loved Ray's slightly camp pose in the first of the scenes where he's trying to cross the road. I also realised that for the last thirty years I've (subconsciously?) borrowed his gesture for trying to get the traffic to move faster from the second of these scenes...well, may as well steal from the best! It doesn't work for me, either... Although it's "shouty Ray", I find the song itself one of their better tracks from the "ooh, they don't sound like the Village Green anymore"/post concept album phase. It did get more of a chance to worm itself in with me, as it was on the Kinks video compilation that I nearly wore out in my late teens. But for all its pretence at macho rock posturing, it's well constructed and melodic and the lyrics do sum up quite well aspects of one's darker moments; I wonder if I'd heard it first without seeing the video, in which humour softens the more serious themes, whether it would hold a slightly different place in my affections...is it the song equivalent of the manic depressive that everyone knows as the joker because they over-compensate so much in everyday life?
Since it's a day off, I will share my Costello ranking. My recent deeper dive on Elvis Costello ended like this. I made this list when all the albums were very fresh in my mind, so I am trusting this ranking, even though it could change at anytime. The top five are all five star classics. 1. Mighty Like A Rose 2. This Year's Model 3. Get happy!! 4. Trust 5. Armed Forces 6. Blood and Chocolate 7. Imperial Bedroom 8. All This Useless Beauty 9. King Of America 10. Punch the Clock 11. Momofuku 12. Juliet Letters 13. My Aim Is True 14. Brutal Youth 15. When I Was Cruel 16. The Boy Named IF 17. Spike 18. National Ransom 19. Goodbye Cruel World 20. Wise Up Ghost 21. Delivery Man 22. Hey Clockface 23. River in Reverse 24. North 25. Look Now 26. Painted From Memory 27. Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
Happy to see All This Useless Beauty in your top-ten, I know it’s in mine. Brutal Youth and When I Was Cruel were both awarded heavy rotation status (in my head, at least) upon release and still get spun often.
Okay, you've twisted my arm...I'll share my favourite Elvis Costello story with you... Captain Sensible was being interviewed and recalled how The Damned had been on one of the Stiff Records tours, which also included EC (hey, just noticed that he shares initials with Clapton...and they both got into trouble for comments on a similar theme...coincidence?! Er, probably...anyway, back to my drivel). They and the other acts were travelling on the same coach and after one gig Costello had passed out drunk in his seat. The Damned took this as invitation and tied his shoelaces together, poured lighter fuel on them and then filled his gaping, snoring mouth with the contents of the ashtray. They then set fire to his laces, which resulted in him waking up and making a "Eeuurrghhh!" noise, "And", said Captain mischievously, "I like to think that's where he got his distinctive vocal style from!" Which kind of brings me back (honest) to why I may not be a massive fan of Costello; I don't like his voice or his singing style. Many of my favourite vocalists can't really sing but they have something else going for them. For me, the only thing (other than the couple of songs that I admit to liking) he has going for him is his role in the story above!
There are times when I can’t stand his vocals, but other times I love it. For me, his vocals were usually great up until the early 90s, and since then he can occasionally be very irritating. He can definitely overdo it!
Hard to find a bad track from My Aim Is True through Armed Forces. In addition those my Elvis collection includes: The Girls, Girls, Girls comp, Spike, Mighty Like A Rose, Brutal Youth, The Very Best of Elvis Costello And The Attractions, and King of America.
Way down there? This is a top 100 album for me. His vocals: oftentimes he sounds constipated. (I don’t know how else to describe it. The lead singer in Ohio Knox does, too!)
State Of Confusion Not so much London Calling as Old Age Calling. Panic attacks get more common as you grow older since you feel you're losing your grip on things. But Ray keeps it all somewhat tongue-in-cheek. His world is coming to an end because his video recorder's broken down. And his girlfriend is leaving him because without the video recorder there's no communication and no reason to stay. Nowadays he'd be telling us his girl has left him because she can't get an internet wifi signal. Which begs the question as to why he's with this shallow girl in the first place. But the song only deals in superficialities. And there are always lots of things you can find to worry about. Being overdrawn at the bank for example even when you're rich and successful. Poor old Ray. No future to look forward to. Since when it comes to nightmares ... ... it gets worse, the older that you get.
I can’t explain it! There are a few on my list that I thought would be higher, but I have to trust what I thought after listening to all of them. I’m not sure my reasoning except that I think the follow up albums are much better. It’s a good debut! My top fifteen all come highly recommended for Elvis Costello fans! Looking at the list this morning, I would have thought I would have had it at around #10.
With all this talk about Elvis on a Kinks thread currently looking at songs from 1983, when Chrissie and Ray were still together. What better time to post this:
From what I know, and I’m certainly not the expert on Prince, the critics were certainly well aware of him before the release of 1999, and he was getting lots of support at urban radio and traction with urban listeners to some extent. I would argue he did not cross over to the main stream and become accepted by/acceptable to a broad spectrum of different audiences until purple rain.
You are hardly late, and I'm glad you had good weather on the other side. So did we, which led us to drive back from Normandy after sunset. I'm sorry that @Zerox wasn't so fortunate, even though the South-East of England must not be so far from my Normandy coast. I read all of the Costello comments here, and I marvel at the variety of opinions. I think Spike was the first album by any artist that I bought shortly after its release. I loved Mighty Like A Rose, and Brutal Youth, and the Juliet Letters. Up to (and including) All This Useless Beauty, I love almost everything Costello recorded, with a few exceptions. I never really got into This Year's Model beyond the first track, into Trust beyond Shot With His Own Gun, or into Blood And Chocolate beyond I Want You. I offered his biography to my brother, and borrowed it shortly afterwards (still have it. I love that trick). I tried to read it but I don't really like it. There is some pretensiousness about the way it's written. Something Paul Simony, I don't know... Well I don't need to like the guy in order to love his songs, anyway. Little Palaces is one of the songs that I sing to myself the most on guitar, much to my neighbours' detriment. I don't have a clue what it's about. I remember reading a biography of EC in 1991 (there already was one!) and the author criticized the lyrics for some obscure political reason. I don't care. I love the acoustic version of Deportee too. And Orbison's version of Comedians.
Prince was on Bandstand in '79, and opened for those Rolling Stones in '81. He was a superstar before Purple Rain but PR launched Mr. Nelson to mega-stardom. There were few more anticipated singles in '84 than When Doves Cry. I still remember its debut on MTV. I think they played once an hour the day it debuted. But you're right Purple Rain made him a household name.
In Aus I was aware of Prince from Controversy... The singles Sexuality a d the title track got some good exposure, and so there was anticipation over 1999, and I believe Little Red Corvette and the title track did well... certainly the album did. By the time Purple Rain was coming into view, Prince was already well on the way to being a superstar, and when it hit, it hit big, and Prince was huge.
State of Confusion: As I mentioned in my initial comments on the album, I too was a little bit “meh” when I first heard the title track on rock radio. I should have been predisposed, upon hearing a new kinks song on the radio, to sprint to the nearest record store to purchase the album, and yet I didn’t. That tells me that the song must have fell flat with me when I first heard it. Having reappraise the album over the past four weeks, I like this song much more now. I can see why it didn’t fully engage me back then, on the guitar front it’s not one of Dave’s better riffs and there is no solo at all. Ray is operating at a competent level, with his usual humorous lyrics and a chorus that makes it hard not to shout “State” right back at Ray and the boys every time it comes around. It is a quality song and a strong enough album opener that I am surprised that it was not enough to push me over the hump to buy the album. I was a compulsive album buyer at this point and already somewhat of a obsessive compulsive completist. That said, I just went back and looked at albums released in February, March and April of 1983 and I’m just not surprised, with the sheer number of quality albums that were getting my attention during that period (and that truly remain favorites to this day), that a Kinks New release ended up getting passed over.
Yes I posted it at the appropriate point in the chronology a year back. But it should be posted as many times as possible! It's one of only 2 known filmed full length live shows by the original group. and the better of those 2 by some distance. I don't think there's anything else that comes close to capturing the exciting atmosphere of an early Kinks live show. It really deserves a full remastering and DVD/Blu Ray release.
Definite Maybe. stereo mix, recorded Feb-Mar 1983 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London Got a letter through the post that says I don't exist. Apparently the new computer thinks I won't be missed. We need more facts, perhaps you would find out and forward them. There's no proof or trace or date or place or where or when. Central Information's got no news today (today). Is there a change in my position? No decision, no decision. All I ever get is a definite maybe. Head office thinks I'm dead, But I'm not even ill. How do I get attention, Tell me who I have to kill. Is there a change in my condition? Not today. The answer comes with repetition, No decision, no decision. 'Round and 'round the circle goes, Stood in line but the counter was closed. And when I ask who is responsible, Nobody knows, "Try one of those." All I want is a yes or a no, (All he wants is a yes or a no). But all I ever get is a definite maybe. Tried to make my life a misery, But they don't want to know, They don't want to know, They don't want to know. And all I ever get is a definite maybe. No decision, no decision. Surely there must be a way to open all the doors, And wade through all the petty bureaucratic little laws. Frustration everywhere I turn, I just get more and more. Everyone's got problems and they've heard all mine before. Oh, I'm tired of making endless calls. (Somebody help this poor man.) Banging my head against the wall. I walk along an endless corridor, Then I knock on the door, then I realize That I've been there before. No one here can hear my case. So all I ever get is a definite maybe. When they say, "no news today, get back in the queue," What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? No decision, no decision. No decision. All I ever get (no decision) is a definite maybe (no decision). Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. "Got a letter through the post that says I don't exist." This makes me think of a seven year period in Australia when I was bumped off the electoral roll. Some person came around my house doing some kind of census or something, and I told them I was registered at my parents house at the time, and they said ok, and in the meantime someone went to my parents house and said "no, he can't be registered here" and struck me off lol So essentially for seven years I wasn't on the electoral roll, and I wasn't bothered because at that time it felt like voting for either party was like deciding if I wanted Syphilis or Gonorrhea ... Anyway... I like this lyric, because I have had to deal with this kind of bureaucratic nonsense. The computer is always right, even when it's wrong, and trying to talk to someone isn't going to work, because they're just going to look at the computer. One of the biggest blights on western society is the call centre and its evil twin the automated phone centre..... Try calling an automated phone system in the US when you have an Australian accent LOL I have carved a neat little fake southern accent to try and get through the already frustrating series of ridiculous options, when ninety nine times out of a hundred if you are calling these people, you need the hidden option of actually talking to someone about something that isn't on their automated trash..... That may be a slightly different situation, but I have had to deal with government stuff too. It took a year to get to the US, and that involved saying the same things over and over and over to, I can only assume, different departments of the useless Homeland Security. After paying them their large amount of money, you would think that they would give you your clearance and you could book a flight... but no, letter after letter of repeating the same thing over and over.... This all culminated in having to go to the US embassy for an "Interview" Of course the US embassy in Perth wasn't acceptable. I had to fly six hours to Sydney, costing another thousand dollars..... So I booked my flight and hotel room and all that crap.... I got to the US embassy just before they opened, and sat outside. I get inside and go through the security check. Sit and wait in one spot. Get sent to another spot. I finally get through all that guff and end up at the place where the "Interview" is going to be held.... and it is like a bank, with little tellers in their little booths. I'm wondering what kind of interview this is going to be.... I finally got called up to one of the little teller booths..... Why are you going to the US? "I am marrying one of your citizens" What are you going to do when you get to the US? "Well I will organise the wedding, because in order to follow your guidelines I have thirty days to get married, and I can't organise anything at the moment, because I have no idea when you will allow me to go" Do you have somewhere to live? "Yes" These were all questions I had answered innumerable times on pieces of paper, but apparently it was essential to fly six hours, and throw a thousand dollars away, sit around for two hours in this ugly building, to answer three questions I had answered at least half a dozen times already.... It was nice looking through the Sydney Art Gallery though, and seeing the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House in real life... So personally I can totally relate to the bureaucratic rubbish Ray is singing about here... Musically I love this song. We open with this very cool drum and bass rhythm and a sort of fractured rhythm guitar, and then it all comes together and the song jumps into its groove. The structure of the verse lyrics sort of reminds me of something, but not enough to be bothersome, and frankly, whatever it is isn't coming to mind. Ray sings it with suitable bewilderment, and I enjoy his delivery here. I guess the next bit is the chorus (Central Information's... ) I really like the way the change works, and I think the melodic structure here works really well. I always thought the "No Decision No Decision" bit was "Out Of Position, Out Of Position" I like the way it comes in, like the bureaucracy chanting at its victim. This is a grooving little rocker that motors along nicely, and the staggered little riff is simple, but very cool in its application. There is a very small section of the chorus section that fleetingly reminds me of Friday On My Mind.... again not enough to bother me at all. I think the backing vocals and the placement of those backing vocals that arch from the No Decision bits, to the interjections, to the oooooo's, and the doubled sections, all work really well for me. I reckon it's a really strong track that works really well for me. I love the old style rock and roll guitar in the verses. So for me State Of Confusion is shooting two for two, and I'm right in the groove of this album.
The Yardbirds: ‘Over, Under Sideways Down’? (not my original spot btw, I read it observed online somewhere a while back).
It starts a bit like a mix between the intro of Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy intro and Tom Petty’s American Girl one, which are essentially the same (great) thing. It’s pretty aggressive, with the syncopated beat and Dave playing off it. I know these guys were seasoned pros at this stage of their career, but I’m always impressed when I read about Dave doing all his guitar parts as overdubs, solo in the studio. It must’ve demanded a high level of confidence (on his part) and trust (on Ray’s part) for this to work so well. The shouty Ray section of the song reminds me of something, not the Yardbirds (I’d forgotten this song) but I’m not sure I can put my finger on it either, this descending melody on one chord… Maybe the Stones (19th Nervous Breakdown ?), I’m not sure (but it does resemble the Yardbirds one too!). Then we get the ascending harmonies, straight out of Paperback writer, announcing that the song is taking a decidedly sixties turn. The sound remains very 1983, Stiff records/punky styled (the drums, the rolling Rodford bass), but the “round and round” section is the most Something Else/Village Green they’ve sounded in years, with fabulous vocal response hooks (special mention to “all he wants is a yes or a no” bit) and a neat chromatic bass, straight out of the melodic sixties Kinks nugget playbook. I originally wrote this song off based on its intro and opening verse, I would put the song on, hear Ray in full shouty mode and skip to the next track (and then the next), in search for the return of the Kinks of old. Boy, was I wrong! Hints were already present in the opening track but it’s here, in this very song, that the “reunification” of the Kinks yin (heavy riff garage rockers) and the Kinks yang (melodic 1967 vaudevillians) really happens for the first time. It’s been a while since I last experienced an epiphanic thread reappraisal of a track, but this is one of them, complete with the round and round melody going round and round in my brain since I woke up and listened this morning. No « maybe » anymore, a definite yes!
"Definite Maybe" This track has a couple of problems. Firstly, the main guitar riff was reused three years later - and more effectively I think - in the title track of Think Visual. Secondly, the lyrical theme was revisited 24 years later - and more effectively I think - in "No One Listen" from Working Man's Cafe. Thus, this one feels a bit pale next to those. It is maybe a bit ahead of its time in decrying problems with computers and bureaucracy, and the backing vocal interjections are quite fun, but it's another of those songs from this era that has probably too many lyrics for the limited scope of the subject. It's not one that I would skip, but I end up feeling I'd rather be listening to "Think Visual", or hearing Ray trying to invoke Kofi Annan to solve his problems.
Definite Maybe Sounds like what Ray is saying here is ‘No One Listen’; unfortunately for him by the time he dispatches that update to ‘Definite Maybe’, not even world leaders are of any assistance. Well, things do continually worsen. This ones an up-tempo number for the beaten-down citizens of the world. There’s some really nice choppy guitar low in the mix (sounds like Ray, maybe?) that I wish was turned up. A subtle lyric full of dark humor while Ray’s band mates, unlike on ‘Back To Front’, try to console him, not rise up against him. We get the Kafkaesque ‘long and endless corridor,’ though when I visualize the song it’s to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Or sometimes The Library of Babel by Borges pays a visit. So by this time, with Ray dabbling in theater and film, he and Alan Bennett would have made an excellent coupling, assuming you could reach either of them at the same time. Quintessentially English, his character-driven monologues are Davies songs sans music. Back around the time of Arthur, when the idea of Ray teaming with John Betjeman was mooted, Bennett’s first play, Forty Years On, ran on London’s West End. Whether working with Betjeman was really on the table or only public relations folly is unclear; we do know that Julian Mitchell got the nod. Bennett and Davies in the sixties, however, would have been a delight. Well, enough name-dropping; I wonder what problem, or ‘case’, Ray is trying to resolve here. Was he canceling cable? Trying to renew Konk’s off-license? He does mention in the wonderful opening couplet that it’s believed he no longer exists. I just hope this wasn’t what kept Ray and Chrissie from tying the knot! Finally, as for rumors of Oasis pinching and tweaking the title, I think they concerned themselves with plucking much higher hanging fruit than that; they were looking to pilfer klassic Beatles, not Konfusion-era Kinks.
"Definite Maybe" is another revved up song that made it into the Kinks show at this time so it's more familiar to me. "All I ever get is a definite maybe" - what a great line though Ray did not coin the term "definite maybe". It fits with the Kinks persona. Of course, Ray never quite gets the answer he wants but he will have to do with a definite maybe. I suspect Oasis paid attention to this song!
