The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

We did discuss Then Now and Inbetween, one of the products of Stan Corwyn and his merry men at the Reprise promo office. I would have to say that Reprise and Arista were the best labels for the Kinks. They left Reprise just as WB Records was on the cusp of being the powerhouse of the 70s music industry. I wonder if their commercial prospects would have better if they stayed w/Reprise.

Finally, I watched Kid Galahad last night, which starred Joan Blackman, who actually played the Mother in Return to Waterloo.

 

I've brought this comp up before a few times as it does merit special mention for it being the very first comp to have material from all three label eras on one compilation as of that date and the fact it contains previously unreleased material (albeit by accident) that remains exclusive to this comp to this day. Konk Studios provided the reissue label the wrong masters for three tracks that appeared here.

Some Sunday freebies then.

Supersonic Rocket Ship (Alternate Version) (Original Mix)
A previously unreleased alternate take in its original mix from a damaged master tape that had the first 7 seconds clipped off. This alternate version later saw release on the 2016 Everybody's In Showbiz RCA/Legacy 2 CD edition but was remixed for that release. A better source was found so the full intro is now on that reissue but the remix fades 16 seconds earlier than this original mix on the Backtrackin' comp.



Link to the 2016 remix:
Supersonic Rocket Ship (Alternate Mix) - YouTube

 

Celluloid Heroes (Mono Mix)
Previously unreleased mono mix of the full track. Never released anywhere else before or since.



Link to the stereo mix:
Celluloid Heroes - YouTube

 

Moving Pictures (Alternate Mix)
Alternate mix prior to overdubs with different edits from the released album version. Never released anywhere else before or since.


Link to the album mix:
Moving Pictures - YouTube

 

A Sunday Thought: for those not understanding the appeal of the proverbial playlist. It’s just a self-curated compilation, just like those being shown here today. Not a whit of difference.

 

One other thought on Going Solo. This song had been stuck in my head the past day. That second chorus where Ray repeats “Solo, solo, solo, solo” over the little repeated riff… In my mind, I thought it had horns doing that riff too, and I was surprised when I listened today that it didn’t have any horns on that part. Particularly near the end of the song.

Is there a Motown or soul song that has a similar riff? It seems like it’s begging to be played by some horns.

 

I completely understand the idea of the playlist, and it is the best way to put together a compilation in my opinion, because then it is tailor-made for the listener...
I guess my thing is, I have a stack of boxes and compiles, and I rarely ever listen to them.
I'm not sure if it's because I made a strong connection to albums from really very early on, or if it is just due to albums generally being made like postcards of a certain time and place, and compiles being spread wide in sound and style...
I guess it's just one of my quirks lol

 

You can order from goodwill?

 

Odd how the former "Story" LP concentrates so heavily on the Lola lp!

 

My view is that it isn’t a one-choice option. I’ll listen to an entire studio album when I feel like it…or the comp/playlist. The Kinks have, what?, 100’s of these compilations? My three playlists won’t bother them at all!

 

Arrrgh.......i am reminded how I had a sealed copy of the promo only Then Now And Inbetween and wound up trading it and poorly at that!

 

Looking at some compilations I do tend to think a particular type of "wit" came up with them!

 

it was playing in my head all during my bike ride this morning too - closest I could come up with is the Temptations’ My Girl.

 

11111

I think Too Hot could arguably go in the “starting over after the break up”column. Ray could just have been observing the whole relatively new gym culture, but I do think it has been common for a long time that, after a break up, the first thing people often do is head to the gym to get back in shape so as to look better to whomever their next potential mate is. That might be a stretch, but Ray has certainly mentioned his “pigeon chest” and other physical limitations enough times in songs, and he may have been aware how how he felt he looked and tied that in with the new gym craze for staying in shape. It might have been the catalyst for the song.

 

I certainly wasn't criticising the idea... I have actually made playlists at work for when I'm doing an inventory count ... I have just found I rarely if ever listen to them... Like I say it's not a judgement call or anything, it just doesn't seem to be something I do, and when I have, I spend an hour putting a playlist together and then go onto something else instead.... I know I'm odd, I don't try and inflict that oddity on others lol

 

Going Solo
A fairly average closing song. Not bad, but Ray has done a lot better-including elsewhere on this album.

WORD OF MOUTH
A big step down from STATE OF CONFUSION. "Do It Again" is a great song and "Living On A Thin Line" is good-and possibly the 3rd best Dave Davies Kinks song, but elsewhere it is very hit or miss. This is probably the weakest overall Kinks album since SLEEPWALKER. This is also the last new Kinks album I ever bought (I did go back and get some back catalogue I'd never bought) so I will be interested to see if there was anything good that I missed on the subsequent albums.

 

In my opinion, Ray does not have a late career masterpiece. The first two solo albums are decent efforts, but far from masterpieces. I was a bit disappointed with all of his solo albums. I do like several songs, but I have never once thought of any of the songs or albums as masterpieces. I would love to be proven wrong, but it’s doubtful.

Who has produced the best late career albums? I’m sure there is a thread somewhere on here to find out what the popular opinion is!

 

Where are all the old thread members now?
Where are all the old thread members now?
Pawnmower and the Turning Year
Steve E and FJFP
Where on Earth did they all go?
Perhaps they gave up with RCA or Arista?
Yeah, where are all the old thread members now?

 

Word of Mouth (LP)

So back in the late '70s I'd play side 1 of Sleepwalker up to Brother, then skip over to Only Jukebox Music, then repeat. It's only since this thread that I've fallen in love with Full Moon, Life Goes On and (sorry) Stormy Sky.

In the alternate timeline where I bought the Word of Mouth LP in 1984, I might've done something similar -- play side 1 up to Sold Me Out, flip the record for Too Hot, repeat.

But given the wildly mixed reactions to Summer's Gone here, I listened to side 2 again today, and it's sounding a lot better, and a lot better in the way that makes me feel like it could sound a lot lot better soon.

Which reminds me, trust Ray. Trust him, let his voice carry you through, give everything he's done a chance to sink in. Some of it hits you right away as some of the greatest music you've ever heard, some takes months to burrow deep. But he's such an inventive, observant, multi-faceted talent that just about everything he's done yields rewards.

I don't know if WoM quite measures up to the other Arista LPs, but in a year it might. It could even wind up at the top. I'm learning not to dismiss anything this band does until I've had some time with it -- I've had so many songs sneak up & tap me on the shoulder and say hey, remember me, you thought you didn't like me -- but you're humming me, aren't you? -- come on, play me again.

Arista Years

If this thread has done nothing else, it's forever banished my residual fealty to the *critical consensus* that the Arista years were a huge drop off in quality, diversity, risk-taking, or inspiration. This is exactly the Ray who's been there from the beginning, set to a different but no less eclectic variety of musical influences.

What I was bracing myself for never happened -- a weariness, a reliance on old tricks, a by-the-numbers attempt to emulate current hit-makers. Ray can't help but be Ray, he couldn't stop being Ray if he tried, and he doesn't seem to be trying.

Note-by-note, moment-by-moment, no, the Arista years don't have the genius, breakthrough fecundity of the later Pye period or the wild experimental dada-ism of the RCA LPs. And a few tracks, particularly in the later part of the period, do feel less than wholly mystically inspired. But these albums aren't a document of waning lyrical inspiration or musical stagnation -- they're full of fresh, vital, often ecstatically heartfelt music.

Tornado, cyclone and hurricane
Can batter the houses with the thunder and rain.
Blizzards can blow; the waves hit the shore,
But the people recover and come back for more.
Somehow the people fight back, even if the future looks black.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

 

WoM. Like many here I do think there’s a drop off from side one to side two. For me this may be where the wheels fall off a little bit as my memory has me not loving Think Visual overall and liking hardly anything off UK Jive or Phobia. I do like much of Ray’s first couple of solo releases, but I wouldn’t call them masterpieces. I don’t know the Americana releases at all. Nothing I heard from them grabbed me. That said I intend to still be here when we get there, and to listen to them with an open mind.

As for the Arista years SoC is my clear favourite and then Misfits and WoM. Not sure what order. Then GTPWTW with Sleepwalker and Low Budget bringing up the rear. Definitely a solid stretch of albums, but they do pale somewhat compared to Face to Face through Muswell Hillbillies. I do hold them in higher regard than the RCA period stuff, even while most of that improved in my estimation due to the many great contributions to this thread. Maybe the Mca/Columbia stuff will get a similar reaction out of me. We shall see.

 

I think I mentioned on this thread before but Alejandro Escovedo ‘The Crossing.’ Absolutely brilliant double album, released when he was 69 years old. One track, but really should hear the whole thing, ‘Something Blue’:


Drive-by Truckers, from 2016, ‘American Band’. Album #12 out of 15 studio. Does it count as late career?

Roger Waters, of course: ‘Is This The Life We Really Want?’

So it does happen on occasion!
Edit: I changed the song!

 

...sorry...I'm waaaay behind. it's been quite a week. I will try to catch up, but it may be a slow catch up as I have a busy week ahead.
___________

Too Hot

Really like this one. Dug it from the second it started.

For one, there's a little keyboard bit sounds like a song and had to ask my husband to help. I'm hearing "I Like It like That" by Pete Rodriguez from the late 60s. Also it has a "Come Dancing" feel. The keyboard sound I love and it makes the song.

As Mark mentioned, this song is great fun! Ray is in good voice. The backing vocals are spot on. Not a Klassic, but great album track. Bravo!

 

I know there’s a whole thread about it in visual arts, but I just got back from seeing Elvis, and just wanted to say I thought it was fantastic!

 

Just to say, I don’t participate in the playlists or ranking postings because I don’t much like making those lists, not because I find no value in the bands’ work. But I am interested in reading everyone else’s.

Oh, and jumping the gun, I went down to La Jolla playhouse to see 80 Days! My dad was working on a film project with the director Des MacAnuff at the time. I won’t say anything more until we get there. On to Think Visual… historically my single least favorite Kinks album! Looking forward to relistening.

 

I think the masterpieces are behind us, but I find Ray’s solo albums to be consistently very good. As I see it, he benefited from the removal of the pressure to write songs that would drive a stadium full of fans to a frenzy for the Kinks. The songs on his solo albums tend to find a relaxed groove, Ray’s singing is more controlled and confident, and his lyrics are as good as ever. I’d say the solo albums hold up better than most of the Arista albums - or, let’s say I find that the solo albums are a consolidation of the features I most enjoy in Ray’s songs from the Arista years. In addition, with the Americana albums we get the spoken word passages gently woven in to provide a framework of the concept’s story, which seems like a logical step for this writer that is always working with concepts at the album level in addition to the individual song. In particular, when the setting changes to New Orleans in the latter part of Americana Act II, the spoken word sections coupled with the music create a remarkable atmosphere of darkness, strangeness and danger, I’ve never heard anything quite like it honestly. Finally, how cool is it that Ray has the audacity to follow up his 2-Act and widely panned or ignored Preservation albums with another 2-Act set of concept albums at the end of his career!