Think Visual I agree with what seems to be the consensus on this song. Interesting, but will certainly never be an indispensable Kinks song. I got the Devo vibe a little way in to the song, but it’s just not that memorable to me. I heard it twice earlier today and can’t really bring that much to mind about it now, besides the repeated “think visual” chorus, maybe because the song is kind of all over the place musically. Lyrically every time Ray sings “flash those teeth,” I can’t help but think of Ray being asked to get rid of his infamous gap. I’ve heard singers admonished to open their eyes on singing competition shows, because visual appearance has become all-important. I always wondered what would have happened to someone like Joe Cocker if he had started his career in the video era. I thought singers who closed their eyes were really focused on their singing not how they looked, and that was as it should be, if they needed to close their eyes, so be it. If Joe Cocker needed to flail his arms about to feel the music, we’re all better off for it. Of course, as others noted, this is the second song on the album about the commodification of music.
At the beginning here isn't that part of the intro of Crazy Little Thing Called Love? Those sound like some heavy gauge strings being played. A National, maybe?
I think you are being far too hard on yourself Brian, they can't only have thought of you as their Mr X!
For those that may love this, I apologise in advance Natural Gift. stereo mix, recorded Jun-Jul 1986 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London See that girl walkin' down the street She looks like a prima donna She's a star in her head and the world's at her feet She looks at you twice and your heart skips a beat She didn't learn it at high school or from a glossy magazine You see she's a natural, she gotta natural gift You gotta rise above your stupidity You're dumb but don't give in You gotta rise above your station Discover what's within And with some luck and dedication and some careful manipulation Everybody needs some inspiration Everybody needs some motivation Mix it up with some imagination And use your natural gifts, you gotta natural gift You got natural gifts Ah, hey, hey, hey, ah, hey, hey And use your natural gifts, you got natural gifts You don't have to be a genius to find All the hidden potential deep in your mind You don't have to know about nuclear physics Know all the formulas and vital statistics You don't have to be an intellectual, you don't have to be a scientist To use your natural gifts, you got natural gifts, yeh Use your natural gifts, you got natural gifts You gotta stop this depression you're in now Stop this emotional rift, you need a psychological lift now Everybody needs some inspiration, everybody needs some motivation Mix it up with some imagination and use your natural gifts There are bad people, mad people, bitter people, scared people Wanna put you down and keep you in your place But you gotta chance to break out, you gotta chance to get out And use your natural gifts Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. This is the other song that I struggle with ... and listening more closely now, I may like it less than the title track. It is instantly a little negative for me.... The opening music starts off sounding like some kind of horrendous eighties tv game show or something.... or perhaps a reject movie song from an awful eighties movie. As the music starts playing, I hear a voice over guy saying "tonight on it's a knockout of price guessing tripe, we have ...." but maybe that's too harsh.... let's visit the lyrics. This seems like a confused lyric to me... Hot chick walking down the street. Some guy that is dumb, but could use his "natural gifts" to get her attention .... with some luck, dedication and manipulation ... it sounds more like a cautionary tale than a motivational exercise lol The chorus powers in, and this might be the first time it sounds like Ray is just rhyming words for the sake of it... and I'm not sure of the context in terms of the opening verses. Inspire and motivate with your imagination.... use those natural gifts... Then it seems to get even more lost for me... you can be dumb as a post, but it's ok as long as you use your natural gifts, which at this stage would appear to be digging holes? lighting your farts? I'm not altogether sure really. Then we get You gotta stop this depression you're in now Stop this emotional rift, you need a psychological lift now Well if this guy is as dumb as a post and trying to get this hot chick who is seemingly way out of his league.... unless she is dumb as a post too, it seems like he would be depressed... and I'm not sure the lyric is actually going to help him to be honest. Then we get There are bad people, mad people, bitter people, scared people Wanna put you down and keep you in your place But you gotta chance to break out, you gotta chance to get out And use your natural gifts So the guy who has just told our subject that he is pretty stupid, but that's ok, is now trying to justify it by saying there are some awful people around, but take heart in the fact that you're just stupid lol The narrator has run this guy down, and now he is trying to talk him back up .... I don't know I may well be missing something here, but this is among Ray's worst lyrics, at least in the way I am reading it..... I really like the idea of people using their natural gifts to shine out as the best them they can be, but I'm not really following Ray's lyric here very well.... I like the idea in theory, but it is framed in a way that seems clumsy and nonsensical to me. This is on par with some of Dave's more incoherent lyrics for me..... but maybe someone can unravel it in a way that makes more sense to me, but at this stage this is like a random piece of scrap scribbling that Ray used for the lyrics, because he didn't have anything else to work with...... Ok, so I don't like the musical opening at all.... like I say eighties game show, or low budget movie soundtrack.... Ray comes in vocally like he is doing a Lou Reed parody or something. Then halfway through the first set of lyrics there, we get this musical change up, which is somewhat of a relief and the bass moves into a sort of Level 42 type pop and slap kind of thing, and that's an improvement to some degree. Then we break into the opening of what I gather is the chorus with some stabbing power chords that remind me this is the Kinks..... Then the game show music comes back for the second half of the chorus with the "use your natural gifts" line repeated ... I'm not sure we need to know what those gifts actually are, but I find the repetition of "use these gifts" a bit much... I'm sorry Ray, I love you mate, but I have no idea how to get into this song. During that chorus section we get a piano that sounds like it is playing the opening to the Seekers Georgie Girl ... and as much as I like the Seekers, it isn't what I'm here for.... We get what sounds like that awful keyboard sample of backing vocals that was popular in the eighties.... and I'm just about ready to give up on this one. Look there are some cool things about this song, but it comes across again, like a bit of a kitchen sink attempt to be relevant .... or as was suggested at the beginning of the album by @pyrrhicvictory Ray was suffering writer's block, and in trying to break out he just threw paint at the canvas to see what would happen... I think this may be my least favourite Kinks song, that they wrote themselves... so far at least.... But hey, talk me around guys.... I'm just not seeing it with this song... I can't find enough about this song to care about. Some of Ray's worst lyrics as far I can decipher, and a couple of nice bits of music in there, but not enough to get me to want to ride this pony too much.... and it's such a shame, up to this song and the last one, I really like this album, but these two songs kind of stall the album in its tracks .... but anyway.... I'll shut up now.
"Natural Gifts" - this, and the title track before before it, constitute a slight lull in the effectiveness of the songs that make up the album Think Visual in my view. It is bouncy Eighties pop - so not exactly my cup of tea - but not a bad song by any means. But it comes off to me as a self-help book in song form. I guess the message of the song is positive - keep on plugging away because what makes you unique is going to bring you to success. But in this song, I hear mostly craft and not that much inspiration. Having said that, it is just a song I am mostly indifferent about but I think it is solid enough as a song and performance - not a dud but it seems to come with the label "filler" for me.
The Orchestral Hit keyboard sample, one of the most quintessentially late 80s sounds for better or (usually) worse. I'm thinking (hoping?) this may be the only Kinks or Kinks related track to be graced with this sonic tincture.
"Natural Gift" It's a bit of a step down from the previous two tracks for me, but I still like it. It must be the first ever Kinks song to feature some attempted slap bass, probably also the first with the fake orchestral stabs. But I can overlook those and see a half-decent song. I've always just seen the lyrics as "you may not be a genius but you may still have some innate star quality which enables you to succeed". After all, everybody's a star! (There's your link to a previous song). My favourite bit is when the tinkling piano follows the melody in the chorus. It's not outstanding, indeed it's probably near the bottom of this album for me, but the album has built up so much positive credit by now that I'm willing to ride it all the way to the end.
Hmm, the guitar riff that leads into the chorus reminds me of something from a bit earlier in the 80s, maybe a Loverboy track? Anyway, this is an ok lightweight album track, but I wouldn't be seeking it out.
Mark pretty nailed this one for me, (down to the it sounding like the soundtrack to a training montage in a straight to video sports movie) though I'd be interested to hear from anyone who was able to 'discover what's within' this song. The very generic of it's time music twinned with one of Ray's least distinguished lyrics make it a top contender for most un-Kinks like songs released under the moniker for me. Ironically I don't think this song makes much use of The Kinks inherent 'natural gifts' and instead kind of self consciously follows contemporary trends. This is a total curveball, but Ray's mid song 'you don't have to be' pep talk kind of very distantly reminds me of the song poem 'All You Need Is A Fertile Mind' as performed by Gene Marshall, although that song has a more interesting lyric!
Natural Gift: I wrote this a few days ago and I have not read anyones thoughts this am. I know, the headmaster might kick me out of class for this, but I like this one. Its quite catchy, although its admittedly a little vacant in the lyrics department. It really does sound like a lost INXS classic from Listen Like Thieves or Kick and I think that’s not a bad thing. Ray is definitely doing a poor man’s Michael Hutchence. Dave lets some riffs fly, the bass is thumpin’ (maybe what reminds me the most of INXS) and Henriett’s speedy drumming hits the spot. Anyway, another one I like. Its nowhere near a classic but I wouldn't skip it either.
‘Natural Gifts’: Ray’s vocal, especially at the very beginning of the song, reminds me of someone…..ah!, it finally clicked: Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Specifically, ‘Perfect Skin.’ I’m not melding (!) with this album at all but, taken individually, I think this song is okay. Obviously, very 80s. A minor gripe is the lyrics. Yes, well put together (Ray’s a master) but I simply don’t have any interest in these motivational sermons.
Natural Gift: I was thinking more 80s Elton John. Once upon a time, that would have been a grievous insult. You think the Kinks have decade-specific fans? As someone who's first musical obsession (pre- to mid-teen) was Elton John, I can't tell you how put off and not interested I was in his 80s work. Basically anything A Single Man and later. If a songwriting credit didn't have "Taupin" listed, I didn't want to hear it. It took me years to realize, this was my first instance of an artist being so heavily identified with a (more youthful) time in my life, that when I aged, and he aged, and obviously changed the same way I did, I couldn't accept those changes. And many decades later, I came back to a lot of that 80s and later work with fresh ears to hear someone who had a real knack for pop singles, the dreaded 80s Adult playlist I created comes to mind. You better believe "I'm Still Standing," "I Guess That's Why The Call It the Blues" and others are on it. Granted, I don't like this song. I don't hate it. It's sort of just there. But it makes me recognizes the plight of artists like John, Davies, Jagger, McCartney, etc. The balance between writing what you know to be a good song and how to arrange and present it so it makes since in these new pop structures. That's how I feel about at least half of the songs on this album: the need to move with the times sometimes trumped the importance of writing a good song. I'll explore this theme later in the album summary.
Natural Gift Earlier in 1986 the Stones were Winning Ugly though it's hard to apply the "winning" part here despite any of Ray's positive advise. I couldn't recall this title by name so played it 4 times back to back and came here having read 2 reviews Some aspects of this are quite pleasant and i don't even mind the slightly frilly keyboard licks or that i am hearing the song Fox On The Run. Less satisfying are some poor modern production choices whereby Ray seems to have caught 80's -itis and is up the proverbial studio creek with out a paddle or if you prefer in a technological blind alley where all that's new isn't necessarily better! (N.b. Not the only 60's act to fall pray to this as it seems almost all did!) I agree with @mark winstanley that the lyrical message is a bit confusing to follow (and this song is hardly natural and certainly no gift!) but to me it doesn't kill the song's ability to provide some mild enjoyment.
Natural Gift She’s a star in her head, and the world’s at her feet. That’s a nifty couplet, Ray. Reminds me of a girl who grew up to be corporate and clean. Yeah, the girl from Only a Dream. I wish Ray used his natural gifts more often. You know, Ray the observer, the wit, British Rock’s Poet Laureate. Klassic Ray has gone AWOL, just like in the video, and Modern Ray is playing catch-up. Two more sides of synth please, and how about some bass slapping? The Kinks must kompete at all kosts. And Konk, too, as Muswell Hillbillies foresaw: They’re trying to build a computerized community But they’ll never make a zombie out of me Well, they did computerize and go digital at Konk, and Ray may not be undead, but is running on auto-pilot. Natural Gift is Hallmark quality, self-help babble. As an infamous Benny Hill character would complain, That’s a road of clap!
Well, compared to me, Ray does has the “natural gift” to compose and perform a pop song and the song of the same name is an example of that. However, like several other songs on this album, it sounds OK and pleasant enough, except for those computerized “boom, boom, booms” or whatever near the end, but there’s nothing memorable or distinctly “Kinks” about. Fortunately kid brother Dave will close this album w/a flawed masterpiece.
An aside: I’ve been installing new laminate flooring and was playing ‘Replay 2022’ on Apple. Thanks to this thread, that meant Kinks, Kinks and more Kinks. I gotta admit I was making some moves with the block and mallet to the sounds of ‘Too Hot’!
