interesting that Ray plays the riff! After watching that performance the song grows on me a bit, as often happens with a little change in context. The riff has generated a lot of attention and commentary - an indication that it did its job!
Ha, no way that rumour is true, though I can see it being spread around. Sounds like the sort of thing that could have been started by a resentful Pretenders (or Simple Minds!) fan haha. Ray was a pioneer in putting LGBT themes into pop music in the 60s and 70s, although I never realised until @Martyj pointed it out many pages ago how these themes seemed to completely disappear from his work after 1978. As for how Ray swings himself, again in the 60s and 70s he was known to make some playfully ambiguous statements on the matter and behave like a huge queen onstage, (quite a contrast to the more masculine and laddish ‘stadium Ray’ of not even a decade later) but there’s no public evidence of him having any gay relationships, or even flings, not that it’s any of my business of course. Dave, who openly had several homosexual relationships in the 60s when it was still illegal in the UK, is a different matter. It’s kind of interesting how both brothers became more ‘heteronormative’ as the youth might say as the LGBT community in the wider world began to become more accepted.
It couldn’t be Ray turning his butt towards the audience and announcing in an effeminate voice “did you ever see such an ass,” at more than one show that I saw in the late 70’s . For some reason I don’t think we ever believed he was gay. I never quite understood that whole trying to come across as gay or bisexual (not that there’s anything wrong with that) that you are talking about. For example, barring any possible early experimentation, from the Bowie bios that I read, he seemed pretty firmly in the heterosexual camp. There were also the Rod Stewart myths that I won’t repeat here that turned out not to be true. And for a different generation, I read that Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian purposely left his lyrics ambiguous and let people assume he was gay even though he wasn’t early in the bands career.
I'm totally hetero, but me and a couple of mates used to camp it up to annoy their older brothers ... I went to some costume party one time, and I was too cheap or poor or both to get a costume, so I wore my big sisters black, that shimmered gold, mini dress... I tell you, there is nothing more disturbing than a hairy guy that walks and acts like an Aussie rules footballer wearing a mini dress, drinking beer, and having no idea how to sit like a lady.... the photos were quite disturbing, and of course some clown took photos.... I don't think I even had the class to wear matching undies lol Anyway, the point being, I don't think the charade someone puts on on a stage of some description is a very good indicator of sexual preference lol
I think it is predominantly to get a reaction. When you're surrounded by staid, stiff people, the inner mongrel just wants to shake an expression into their face lol
I think I was just making a *heteronormative* assumption based on the fact that he camped it up, did songs like Lola and Out of the Closet, and was a sensitive, nuanced lyricist who didn't do a lot of shouting about hot chicks and fast cars. In retrospect, it was probably those shouting loudest about hot chicks who were most inclined in that direction (not that there's anything wrong with it!).
Do It Again An excellent opening track. Effortlessly sounding both modern, and quintessentially Kinks. And as for the video, surely the best promo video that The Kinks made. You'd often expect diminishing returns from the later albums in a band's career, but for me, 'Word Of Mouth' is possibly the best of 'the Arista years'. This track deserved to be a hit along the lines of 'Come Dancing'. But there again, in my little world, so did most of the band's singles... Word Of Mouth A step-down from the opening track, but a perfectly serviceable rocker, built around a riff to suit the song's three word title. Always nice to now and again get a riff-song built around the song's title. We have shouty/growly Ray railing (as he often does) about the ills of society and his place in it. Despite this, 'Word Of Mouth' is one of my two least favourite tracks on the album. Which possibly indicates the high level of regard I give most tracks on this album. In addition to the poor album cover (which just does what it says on the tin), now that UK singles have picture sleeves too, why are they mostly so poor too! Were they just outsourced to some junior Arista designer who would have perhaps ten minutes to sort out a design? Surely the band must have had no say, or no interest at this stage? ('Lost and Found' still to come has a good sleeve though)
It doesn't appear that they ever had an interest or a say so in any of the album covers. It's so odd that they didn't put more thought into them. There certainly are not any good album covers coming up, and that's including all the solo albums. I like several of their older album covers, but I don't think we ever unanimously agreed on any album cover being great.
I thought there was a kind of consensus here and elsewhere on Muswell Hillbillies being their one really good album cover. It’s the only one that, to me anyway, stands comparison with the iconic album sleeves of most of their peers.
I love it. It speaks directly to the content and title, and it looks good... and it is interesting too
We may need some detective work to find out, but I recall not everyone thought it was a great cover. There are a few with mostly positive reviews and this is probably one of them. The others might have been Sleepwalker and Kontroversy?
In fact, I’d don’t think I could ever rank Kinks LPs by the music inside, but I think I could attempt a ranking of the sleeve art of the core albums for a laugh: here goes, best at top worst at bottom: Muswell Hillbillies Kontroversy Face To Face Something Else Kelvin Hall Kinks Arthur Pres Act 2 Percy Lola Kinda One For The Road Soap Opera Misfits Sleepwalker To The Bone (US) State Of Confusion GTPWTW Schoolboys Pres Act 1 Showbiz UK Jive Phobia To The Bone (UK) Word Of Mouth Think Visual The Road
I hear it! The Raspberries’ song is the better song. Love Removal Machine by The Cult, which came later, in 1987, is also a better song. …and even if the riffs don’t sound that alike, Start Me Up is also a better song. That said, I still like this song! As we all seem to agree, a lesser song by the kinks is still better than most of the competition.
That’s very cool. I’d like to check the stones flow chart out too. It’s quite a project figuring out which songs go where in their early catalog. … And welcome to this thread. It’s been incredible thus far.
Serviceable has come up several times so I wont repeat it again, but will say I think it’s appropriate. Will I remember any of these lyrics two days from now. And the guitar tone sounds like a can of angry hornets. What’s not to love? Should never have been the title track.
Title track. I wish Ray hadn't modelled this so blatantly on "Start Me Up" but I don't actually mind this track as much as most of the Arista years shouty rock stuff.
Word of Mouth I was listening to this song while at work and my first thought was "this is a comedown/letdown from the previous tune". It's an rock song. It's got loud guitars, some tasty Dave backing vocals and a grumpy disposition. But I'm not sure I BELIEVE it. The lyrics are pretty straight forward and that's part of the problem. Just no Ray fun or turn of phrase. I don't always like Grumpy Ray. and the start of it sounds like " Bad to the Bone". Meh
I'll give it a go. @ajsmith I think you forgot Village Green It's easier to list the worst covers and kind of difficult to choose the best. Kontroversy Village Green Preservation Society Muswell Hillbillies Sleepwalker Arthur Face To Face Something Else Preservation Act 2 Showbiz Misfits Percy Lola Preservation Act 1 Soap Opera Kinda Kinks Kinks GTPWTW Word Of Mouth Phobia Schoolboys State Of Confusion UK Jive Think Visual
I'm still in 1983 Noise Not to be confused with an Ian Hunter track from a couple years earlier Noises. This is another track worthy of inclusion on SOC. I really like a rare for the Kinks middle-eastern guitar motif featured on it. You get the feeling this might fit with Cliches of the World as part of a larger narrative maybe Ray was experimenting with at tbe time. The dissociation of both characters living in the city though minus the alien visit on this one. It rocks too. I like it when the Kinks rock with a purpose like they do here.
“Blatantly” is a bit rich for something most listeners don’t notice at all. Keith’s riff has a beautiful pause to generate tension and interest whereas the Kinks riff - tinnier in sound - is insistent like the buzzing hornets someone used as a description. Catch Me Now I’m Falling this ain’t.
Boy: Girl you really freak me out I always wanna trip by your side...... Girl: Ok groovy but not if it causes a soft machine where i can't sleep at night![/QUOTE]
