The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Apr 4, 2021.

  1. Michael Streett

    Michael Streett Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    Some interesting trivia on today's (and tomorrow's) tracks. These two have both drummers on them. It's known these two tracks were part of the first set of sessions in Jul/Aug 1983 where the basic tracks were laid down with Mick Avory on drums. The actual album did not see release until 2 years later in July 1985. Earlier in 1985, a couple of more tracks were recorded with Robert Henrit on drums and it's also known he added some overdubs to the existing 1983 backing tracks.

    Listening through headphones confirms "Not Far Away" and "Expectations" to be these tracks and have prominent overdubs mainly in terms of the big tom tom fills and some cymbals and some other percussion.

    On "Not Far Away" the opening big toms up though the big crash cymbal on the 2(!) of the bar where it occurs sound overdubbed due to the placement in the mix, and the original drum track starting on the 3 and then the 4 of that bar with the 16th note snare drum intro. The big toms and crash are heard again one more time. There are other cymbal crashes elsewhere that sound like the original backing. At the end of the song, there are more tom toms that overlap the original hi hat and snare part in the build up to the end of the song. Not enough hands and arms to do this at the same time.

    The version in the movie would seem to confirm this as well since that was released in late 1984 prior to these 1985 sessions and those toms and cymbals are not there. In theory they could have been edited or mixed out, but I doubt that.
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2022
  2. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "Lonely Hearts"

    This was a pleasant surprise. A fantastic song with Ray back in the 50s influenced style of a couple of the RCA albums. I love the guitar tone and Ray's vocal. I don't think Dave could have improved on this simple and effective guitar part. Who knew Ray was still releasing all these excellent songs? If Ray and Chrissie were still together, I can see her covering this song with The Pretenders.

    "Not Far Away"
    I have to agree. It's pretty much everything he was going for on "State Of Confusion", but this one doesn't feel forced. It's very natural and combines some lovely piano in-between the Clash style chords. I was also getting a Strokes vibe. With many of these current bands going back to an 80s style, this song actually sounds like it could have been released in the last 10 years.

    This album is ridiculously underrated. I can't believe I left it sitting on the record store shelf for all of these years. It contains many of Ray's best moments of the 80s.

    I hope to watch the entire film before we wrap up the discussion.
     
  3. ThereOnceWasANote

    ThereOnceWasANote Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cape May, NJ
    That is just great!!!
     
  4. ThereOnceWasANote

    ThereOnceWasANote Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cape May, NJ
    Dalton is already in the band. His first appearance?
     
  5. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Goslings not in the band in the main (colour) clip, tho Dalton is. It’s from Dec 1969. The b/w excerpt from the promo film that appears near the end is from around June 1968 and features the original group with Quaife.
     
  6. ThereOnceWasANote

    ThereOnceWasANote Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cape May, NJ
    Did you notice he alluded to work he was editing from 1975, which is probably the laser disc of RCA era footage he was working on in 1981 and bits of are seen in The Road video.

    Let's hope he chooses to release whatever it is because its something of a Holy Grail of RCA era live Kinks.
     
  7. ThereOnceWasANote

    ThereOnceWasANote Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cape May, NJ
    After I wrote it I realized I wrote the wrong John and changed it! Lol

    So we get two Kink eras and bass players in this one.
     
  8. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
    Boomer OK
    From John Dalton’s website, re his first appearance:

    ‘Auditioned as a temporary replacement for Pete Quaife on Thursday 9th June 1966 at Carling Music, Savile Row, London. Appeared on Top of the Pops on the same evening at BBC Television Studios, London. The first live gig was two days later at The Plaza, Kings Heath, Birmingham with no time for rehearsals! This was quickly followed by a tour to Norway and Spain. The first recording session was on 26th June 1966 at Pye Studios, London for "Little Miss Queen Of Darkness". Recorded "Dead End Street" on 28th October 1966 during the evening session (without Shel Talmy !). Many tours followed until Pete decided to return to the Band.

    Back as a a full time member on 5th April 1969 for a TV show "It's Dee Time". Whatever happened to Simon Dee ? First recording session in this second spell was in May 1969 at Pye Studio #2 ("Drivin" and "Mindless Child Of Motherhood"). Spent most of June recording the "Arthur" album. My first (eagerly awaited) American Tour started on 17th October 1969 at The Fillmore East, New York. The tour lasted nine weeks and included places like The Whiskey A Go-Go in Los Angeles and The Fillmore West in San Francisco.’
     
  9. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I thought it was the 1972 Showbiz tour film he was talking about. Tantalisingly Dave did tweet about him and Ray working on editing 70s tour footage earlier this year so there is hope…
     
  10. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    This is Daltons public debut with The Kinks: (Goslings is also TOTP with ‘Lola’: we’re lucky to have both given so few editions of this show survive!)

     
  11. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    My avatar is one of John’s 1966 appearances. It’s been long a favorite Kinks picture of mine, and it wasn’t until this thread that I learned it was Dalton during his first stint with the band.
     
  12. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    The Good Times are Gone

    Very funny in the context of the movie, with all those non-usually filmed kind of faces singing small talk about how everything is going wrong. I don't really hear this sung by Ray, it's really a show tune, with words that sound like dialogue. And the music does the job but barely stands on its own. Almost a recitative.

    Not Far Away

    There again, good in the context of the movie (don't we hear the Ray version first like from a radio before The Good Times Are Gone ?), as a counterpart to the song before. I'm not really convinced by Ray's version. The organ sounds like it's played by Ray, trying to give the rythmic part muscle, and it fails miserably. Nice piano interlude, as has been noted. But the rest sounds a bit naked to me. Not surprised he tried to salvage the recording by adding drums, but I'm not sure it was not better before. I guess this shows how much talented Dave is as musician, not only as a guitar player: he manages to dress up the simplest Ray tunes to make them sound fuller and more subtle than they are. He is sorely missed here.

    But then I got my wallet stolen today so I may just be taking my bitterness on Ray. Then I got out of the police station by 11:30PM and hoped to get a beer on credit at my favorite bar, and it was just closing. The good times are gone.
     
  13. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Sorry to hear Avid the late man. If you don't mind me asking what happened? Was it a pickpocket? Now you have to replace your wallet's contents, which is a real PITA (Pain In The ****).
     
  14. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    Thanks for the sympathy, Avid Diskojoe! Nothing spectacular happened, actually I don't even know when the wallet disappeared between sunday evening and yesterday evening. I might even have lost it and someone picked it. Anyway I know it's not coming back to me because some petty transactions have been made in the area with my credit card. This, the driver's license and the Social security card (my real Identity as a French Man!) have disappeared, and a number of other stupid commercial cards I don't remember.

    So in a few hours I will let you know how efficient is French Digital Administration ! I already received my complaint via email after signing it on a pad, which wasn't there last time I filed one. I hope I will get more than a definite maybe.
     
  15. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    Bon courage. C’est quoi un bummer!
     
  16. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Sorry to hear that mate.
    All I can say is soldier on...
     
  17. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    That's awful. :( I hope the police can stop anymore fraud.

    ______
    and I know I've been among the missing. i think of everyone and wish I had time to get on here, but a lot of big changes in the Wonderpeople household - one kid just left for England for the summer, the other moved to Chicago. We just got back from visiting Chicago (awesome city!...as far as cities go).

    I think tomorrow I will have time to sit down and return to Kinkdom!!

    Yours in Kinks,
    Wondergirl. :laugh:
     
  18. Michael Streett

    Michael Streett Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    Sorry to hear this as well. Hope you get things sorted out quickly with minimal financial troubles.
     
  19. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I hope everything works out for the best. A couple of months ago, I mailed a check in a small amount to pay one of my mother’s medical bills. About a week later I get a call from my bank saying that somebody attempted to cash my check in the amount of $5k!
    Someone must have gotten my check and crudely changed it. I had to get a new account and cards, but thank goodness I didn’t lose any money.
     
  20. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    If you don’t mind my asking, where in England did Wonderkid #2 go to? My niece attended Oxford University and received a doctorate in medieval history. Is it a school thing or just a vacation thing?
     
  21. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    That's my home turf. Glad you had a great time! I don't get back near as much as I would like. Planning a trip for October and it will be my first time back in over 6 years.
     
  22. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Laser disc, weren't they largely for the Japanese market?
     
    mark winstanley and markelis like this.
  23. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Sorry to hear that but on the bright side (unlike Ray) at least you were not shot chasing the offender!
     
  24. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    It sounds like you are coping as well as is possible.
    On a lighter note there was a guy who lost his wallet and noted transactions being made.
    His friends were astounded to find he hadn't cancelled his card and reported this so asked him why?
    "Well whoever has it is spending less than my wife!"
     
  25. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    The Good Times Are Gone

    Ray doesn't miss a trick by just prior to the track showing a cemetery where no doubt some of those "Good men that died" probably now reside.

    The intro and early singular vocal parts somehow remind me of Townshend's work on the sparse early Tommy tracks.

    The lady with the read head scarf reminds me a little of Marriane Faithfull's phrasing and vibrato such as on Something Better on the RnR Circus.

    The song reads sadly as it seems true, at least for that generation who by and large are/were not given the amount of respect they deserved as imho for openers many were not willing to try to understand or listen to their story.
     

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