Dedicated Follower of Fashion This song is my earliest Kinks memory- I remember my parents singing it, and it standing out as memorable to my child's ears on the singles collection because of the English accent, the call and response, and general novelty feel. For all the reasons it appealed as a child, it lost its appeal for a while when I grew up, then I came back to it. It's very cleverly done, expertly played, and it's a great tune. The voice, particularly in the last verse where it becomes more half-spoken, reminds me of a BBC announcer with those very specific recieved pronunciation tones. The lyrics are written in a journalistic tone too (e.g. "this pleasure-seeking individual...") so the whole thing has the feel of a documentary or light-hearted news item. My dad said told me that you have to shout "oh no he isn't" in the chorus in response to Ray. Everyone is sharing their misheard lyrics, well as a young'un I didn't know the word "fickle" so I thought he was saying "thicko". Sitting on My Sofa This does everything tha tmight be expected of a decent b-side, and no more.
These songs need to be appreciated for what they are : cool outtakes. Mr Reporter is surprisingly dylanesque, the rant lyrics style (ala Masters of War), the vitriol, some Bring it all Back Home rock'n'roll instrumentation. It's an enjoyable track. Thanks @ajsmith for clearing up this two versions anachronisms! Time Will Tell seems to be an attempt at writing a sister song to Till the End of The Day, using the same syncopated riffing they did on the former hit's "you and me/we live this life" part. Nothing earth shattering, but it sure was a nice addition to the "great lost" treasure trove of demos some of us got on bootleg some 30+ years ago, loooong before the advent of "deluxe" editions full of bonus tracks. Ahah, I realize I thought we'd be discussing the almighty single Sunny Afternoon/I'm Not Like Everybody Else today. You can picture me in France (CET) eagerly waiting for @mark winstanley to wake up and get on with his INXS/Seger business… Now I can tell you it didn't put me in the best state of mind to think about the likes of Mr Reporter and Time Will Tell !
Ahhhh.... we have a few outtakes and some BBC sessions before we move onto the next set of Singles, the EP and the Face To Face album. Sorry mate
I don't really like Mr Reporter but I'm not sure I'm listening to the same recording as the rest of you - [EDIT - yes, I was listening to the wrong version, sorry] I have listened to Face the Face this week in readiness, and I still don't like half the tracks (though I have come round to at least one track I didn't care for before), and "Mr Reporter" sounds like a good example of the songs on the lesser half of the record. It picks an unusual subject matter - say, a profession - but then doesn't do anything much interesting with it. I'll try and be careful to not be like a broken record and repeat this criticism too often over the course of the week. Time Will Tell is more in the Kontroversy style and as such I really like it. Great vocal (honestly, it's usually a relief to hear Ray's voice again after listening to a Dave vocal), great hard-edged guitar, though not one of their most memorable tunes.
Mr. Reporter -- probably the single most vitriolic song Ray ever wrote, give or take "Prince of the Punks". His other critiques of people and society are usually couched in some playfulness or bemused detachment, but this one is a direct hit, and he sings like he's personally invested in the situation. This is his "Positively 4th Street". Musically it's got a fine verse melody, but it could use a bridge; after awhile the tune starts to sound like an infinite loop. Still, the playing is spirited. A good bonus track. Time Will Tell -- this one is new to me. It shares the garagey feel of the Kontroversey singles. It's another nice discovery; what's most interesting to me here are Ray's vocal affectations -- it's almost like he's debuting his jaded seventies voice here. On another note, if Ray wrote "Dedicated Follower" today, his target would probably be "influencers".
Mark I did not know that Ray had an earlier pass at this song. I agree that it is a really good song with excellent lyrics that are both observational and inventive just as many good songs are.
Ummm...couldn't disagree more. Van Halen are horrible and the Kinks are not. That's only just the beginning of how they are not remotely alike, other than they play rock music.
Oh, sorry, I don't know how I overlooked that! Yes, that is definitely Ray, and definitely not the version I was listening to before! Thank you! It's much better when Ray sings it. The tune still isn't great. But there is much more to the lyric than I thought. I have a terrible tendency to not notice a good lyric if I'm not into the music enough. I already demonstrated that with "Well Respected Man".
Mr Reporter I don't think I'd ever heard this one. Pretty sure if I had, I'd remember it; this one hard hitting song! Could have just been a novelty, but it's really solid. Hard to believe it never fit into one of Ray's concept albums. Nevertheless, big kudos to this thread for introducing me to this unfairly omitted gem. Time Will Tell Another great find. Like the lyric. Like the playing. Like the sound. Everything comes together very well here. Funny how many Kinks kastoffs end up being excellent songs!
Yea, I think Van Halen leaned more towards more novelty/out of genre songs like, Big Bad Bill, Happy Trails, and songs like that... Not really music hall/vaudeville type tracks.... I like Van Halen, but i understand why others would not, and they certainly aren't the Kinks lol
So I'm really getting into this Mr Reporter song... .... but something's nagging at the back of my musical memory mind..... .... something familiar from my past, but oddly out of place.... like being just a few degrees out of phase with the universe I inhabit.... ... it gnaws at me... demanding I figure out what it is.... ....I pin down the source.... the chord progression and melody of that verse... yes, that's it! It's a match to something else I know.... something from my past.... something I know I like significantly less than the Kinks, but what? I play the song a few times without progress in making the connection. I must clear out the rest of the song... just the melody must remain. I hum the melody only, silently outside, but audibly within my minds ear. No luck. I hum the tune out loud, but get no closer. Back to the internal playback.... over and over... ....I'm getting closer.... a little closer each run through... And the I realize the verse from the Kinks song doesn't match a verse from another song. That was the hangup... it matches a chorus. That's the breakthrough! Almost there... ...it's... ...it's... ...it's... It's Drivin' My Life Away by Eddie Rabbitt!!! Ugh.
Holly Golightly covered 'Time Will Tell' on the same 2003 album she tackled 'Tell Me Now So I'll Know' on. Again, the only cover of this song I can think of.
And I thought it would be pre-album testimonial time! (But I was completely unaware of today’s songs, so a pleasant surprise. )
Lol, yes, I am a bad bad man For the record guys.... Monday And I Will Love You All Night Stand Tuesday BBC Wednesday Sunny Afternoon I'm not like everybody else Thursday Dedicated Kinks Ep Kinks Greatest Hits compile Well Respected Kinks compile I see no point in covering the Golden Guinea reissue of the debut. As they are all essentially just tracks we have looked at, we will also launch Face To Face So for folks wanting to be set up, that'll be our agenda leading to the next album. Hope that's helpful guys
Nah... I have many bands in line before Van Halen lol and certainly nothing starting soon. When Inxs wraps up, I'll probably just stick with Bob and the Kinks, because i have a deep interest in getting these two right, and having time to be a bit more thorough
