Regarding why a live album now for the second release on a new label(s), I'm of the opinion this is more Ray's idea than than the record company's. I've learned in business over the years that if I want "X" from whomever I'm negotiating with, I may actually ask for more than that, let's call this more "Y". I know they will balk at "Y" so I end up getting my "X" after all. If we look at the timeline here, Ray was pushing for a live double album release at least as early as June 1987 which was soon enough to know that Think Visual had run it's course. They finished the US tour they were on in July 1987 including the two shows recorded that would be used for the live album (late Jun/early Jul). Ray had planned to immerse himself in the 80 days project for most of the rest of the year and put band activity on hiatus until a European tour that started in Dec 1987. He was not prepared songwriting-wise or time-wise for another band album to be written and recorded by the end of the year in light of the 8o Days project, hence a live album was his suggestion as a way of filling that gap. He probably already had in mind "contract-fulfillment" as well to get them closer to getting off of these record labels. If the labels go for the double LP and/or film, great, mission accomplished. If not, well then this may have been Ray's way of making sure he could get that time off for 80 Days knowing the label might go for the single live LP thinking they talked him out of the double LP when all he wanted was time to work on his side project (ask for "Y" to get "X"). Concerning the side projects, Ray is quoted in the Picture Book box set as saying "I've got to do these things, otherwise I won't be happy playing with the band". The song The Road itself was not conceived or composed until August 1987 (recorded Sep) which Ray hoped would convince the execs that by adding a new studio track to this live album it would improve it's commercial prospects and make for a worthwhile release and of course this is the way things transpired. All of except the commercial prospects part of that sentence. As for the track selection, I do not agree Ray had "self-sabotage" in mind to spite the label when they vetoed his 2 LP idea. Ridiculous. Since one LP was what it was going to be, I think he purposefully wanted most tracks to be from the interim since their last live album and did not want to repeat any songs that were released on One For The Road. Songs performed during these two 1987 shows that had already appeared on One For The Road: "Low Budget", "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" (not counting the "Batman Theme" part of this, "Lola", "All Day And All Of The Night", Celluloid Heroes", "You Really Got Me". So in theory scratch those. What are we left with for the proposed double: "Working At The Factory", "Welcome To Sleazy Town", "I Gotta Move", "A Well Respected Man", "Muswell Hillbilly", "Guilty". (There's no indication "Do It Again" was performed at either of these two shows that were recorded for what became The Road live album). Had the 2 LP concept had gone forward, it would make sense to repeat "Lola" and "You Really Got Me" on a 2 LP set, but is there enough left to justify the 2 LP set? For us as superfans here, maybe, but for the late 80s general public at this stage of the band's career? Probably not, so I can understand the label pushing back on the 2 LP and film portion. Seeing this setlist as a live show in person is a different prospect from a track listing for a record/tape/CD release.
Hope The swooshy beginning is kind of nice but then it kind of goes into a very demo sounding song and doesn't do much for me. Long Lonely Road It has a nice groove with the bass. There's some good music here. I think Dave did some music for a soundtrack (or soundtracks?!), so it's something he has a feel for. But I don't like the heavy duty vocals that sound, frankly, scary...and/or heavy metal. not my cuppa.
The Road (album) I really didn't know about this live album...probably from lack of paying attention mostly. The cover...oy...Dullsville. The Road (the song) I don't know this one as well as I should. in the past I've watched the Road video, but I was paying attention to the visuals more than the music. LOL. It's a good song. I do love when Ray tells a story, even if the road stories have been done before, I think this one is special. It's a great overview of the Kinks told from Ray's point of view. [edit: deleted my comment where I thought this was a live song, but it's not] it sounds great. the backing vocals are splendid. "And there's gas in my tank and I've still got a way to go" - long may this be the case of Ray and Dave.
My brothers and I make fun of my mother as I believe she HAS said THE Led Zeppelin in the past. She'll put a "the" in front of bands that have no "the" and it cracks us up! My mother is so unhip...and to think she is just one month older than Ray too (born in 1944).
I have a friend who has a used record store north of Boston. He told me(and this was a year or two ago) that he can't keep Rumors in stock. It comes in and it's gone and I'm sure he's making a decent profit on them too. It's HOT!
Cliches of the World / Think Visual / Living on a Thin Line / Lost and Found Nice to hear Cliches again, a faithful rendition. Think Visual loses a bit of its Devo, but it's short, sharp, and punchy. Living on a Thin Line, unfortunately, feels forced and a bit flat. Lost and Found comes off best for me, nice lead, good energy. Once you start focusing on the drum sound, you can't un-hear it. And it isn't only the sound, it's the actual drumming, which feels mechanical and uninspired. Keeps the beat, but doesn't drive anything, doesn't take you anywhere. Wish I'd grabbed the opportunity to see the Kinks in the '80s. The legendary smash-em-bash-em June 1978 show in DC was a peak experience, though, and I wrote about it in my diary afterwards -- Ray with a Heineken, "the exquisite John Gosling on the pianoforte."
Back on the train. No sign of the Traveler. The Road as a song I pretty much like although there are some clumsy lyrics. Thé live cuts? So far I’d call them workmanlike. Not bad but I can’t say I think any of them are elevated above their studio versions.
The Road Has this been done elsewhere.... a new studio cut to lead into a live album? Hey, whatever, it works here. Love it. Pretty well covered by Headmaster and @Fortuleo. I'll just add that I love the totality of the lyrics... epic in scope, kind of like my beloved Education, but scoped down to just life on the road. Cool. While I love the full lyric sheet, I find myself especially fond of this line: But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day Yes.... we must keep life interesting, and that implies challenging as well.
Come Dancing Lots of live performances have increased tempo and in the live context, it usually works. Not here That frenetic pace (and Ray's corresponding vocal delivery) completely obliterate the emotional content of this otherwise wonderful song. Shame.
Somerville?, That's practically Boston! When I think of "North of Boston", it's basically Lynn, up to where I live and up to Newburyport. Just having a spot of fun, Avid Wondergirl
That's interesting - I wonder what the point was then? Presumably both the band and MCA hoped to benefit.
It (I Want It) live, stereo mix, recorded 1 Jul, 1987 at Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I want you to imagine that somewhere in America There's a lovely housewife watching TV, Doing her housework... (Audio clips of Gorby and Reagan talking detente) Hi there. Are you feeling tired, drained of all energy? Is your life becoming routine? Does your husband find you unattractive? Is your love life non- existent? Then you need "It". Because "It", like you, is a product of our time. "It" will change your life. You'll be vibrant, elegant, sexy... You want it. Don't you? It. Yeah, she's got it Ooh, she's really got it She was born part of a Fifty's dream TV Generation, from the cradle to the teens Mr. Rogers, I Love Lucy, and Mary Tyler Moore Jackie Gleason, Honeymooners and Zsa Zsa Gabor Green Acres, yeah that's what you're looking for You're a product of these times, just like the people next door Bigger house, bigger 'fridge, bigger washing machine It's called consumerism, baby, you're the advertiser's dream That's alright, outta sight, you couldn't care less You can put it on a VISA card or American Express Tell the people what they want, then decide what they need Advertise, merchandise, satisfy their greed Bigger house, bigger 'fridge, bank loan, get a bigger car You can sell them any old **** if it's endorsed by a movie star TV is God, and hear the preacher dictating They said you'd believe it 'cos it's a #1 rating You're the products that you buy, the consumer and the goods And you want it so bad, you'd sell your soul if you could She want it so bad, she'd sell her soul if she could And she wants it, so bad She got it Now she don't need it She got she wanted, but she don't want it no more She got she wanted, but she don't want it no more She got she wanted, now they don't need it no more She got it, so bad Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. Ok ... now this song for some reason when I was listening to this as an album kept slipping by me.... and I'm not sure why. I kept thinking there's another new song on here, why haven't I picked it yet.... Now I must say that I listen in my car, because that's the only real time I have a chance to listen, and it may well be that it was playing while I was driving around the truck yard and getting in and out of the vehicle, but when I finally pinned IT down, I really liked the intro. I also really liked that they chose to put a live version down on the album, mainly because it fits in with the live albums sound and feel, and so it works better in that context for me. I do wonder if they made a studio version, and I also wonder if there were any other tracks they recorded during the "Road" sessions.... Even now I'm listening just to the intro, and I'm really on board with these two new songs.... and it makes me wonder what they may have come out with if they had locked into that mindset and knocked out an album while they were at it.... It also makes me wonder if they did, and weren't happy with it, and decided to just put the two best songs on a live album, to fill the gap so to speak... but at this stage, it had been nearly eight years since One For The Road, and Everybody's In Showbiz had been eight years before that.... so I'll await the experts to fill in those blanks and stop waffling. We open with Ray acting as the narrator, with the "I Want You to Imagine ...." set up at the beginning. Then we move into some tape of Reagan and Gorbachev, and I'm not in a position where I can hear exactly what's being said, but I wonder if it is the Reykjavik Summit of Oct 1986, because the breakthrough meetings of December 1987 hadn't happened yet.... of course it could be snippets from different places.... As much as I joked about Reagan back in the day as a pup, the work he and Gorbachev did to break down the barriers was huge during this era, and it is just sad that we seem to be moving back into the red zone.... anyway, just remembering this era, and how nice it was to move out from the constant threat of nuclear annihilation ... sorry... After that we get Ray come back in, where the lyrics up there start again.... This section really appeals to me, because it is a beautifully sarcastic take on the ad market's manipulations... Particularly in the eighties, it seems, there were all these ads that always started "Are you tired... are you blah blah blah", aimed at the working class/middle class, depending on your definition of what these are... and of course everybody was. The ads come on around dinner time when you have just put in 8-14 hours of work in the office or the factory and all that kind of fun stuff.... so yea, obviously you were tired... whether lumping a shovel around all day, or furnurgling with a phone and office staff all day, you generally come home a bit tired.... but the ads wanted you to believe that this meant there was something intrinsically wrong with you, and they had the solution. So Ray's little ad agent monologue works beautifully, and it is accented by synths, and then we finally get around to rolling into the song. A great build up, and it is entertaining and is giving us a show, a bit of theater like the old days.... I am right with the lyrics to the song. It brings to mind the famous Gordon Gekko "Greed Is Good" quote from Wall Street, which also happens to be from 1987... December 87 actually... so Ray wasn't borrowing from the movie here. The song covers a lot of ground lyrically in a short period of time,and it is acerbic, virtually vicious in its attack.... but for the most part, right on the money (so to speak, pardon the pun) The tv age had come of age, and it was being used to manipulate, and at some point most of us were deceived by it to some degree.... and the game continues.... keep feeding the populace with stuff, and marketers knew exactly how to make us all feel like we needed, not just wanted, needed these things, and so the eighties were coming to a crescendo.... Anyway, I reckon this hits the nail on the head lyrically... We have mellow synth pad sounds over the intro sections. The we get the synth get a little more boisterous with one of those eighties sample sounds. After a held chord, the drums kick in and we get an urgent sounding riff, and then it drops into a jazzy feel, which then rolls into a back and forth chord set up that has a sort of mystery movie sound. Then Ray comes in with a narrative type vocal, but it is infused with a good amount of character. As we go through these lyrics, the musical backing rotates through the sections smoothly. Dave delivers a nice lead guitar, with a nice dollop of reverb, and it works really well, and leads us into a change. A staccato breakdown, and then a complete change of feel, and it has an urgent insistence. This breaks into another sort of spy movie type feel, and Dave throws down another nice lead. This is a sort of extended instrumental section, and I think it works really well. Ray delivers a very character based vocal, spoken as if acting, and really well, and then the song breaks into a blues type set up for the "She got what she wanted..." I like this quite a bit.... it is something quite different from what the band have been doing, and for me it works.... Not in its style or musical content, but in it heart it is Preservation era Kinks, pushing at the edges, making a bit of a statement ..... and for me it works.... For me the two new songs on this album are really very good, and it makes me wonder where the band may have gone had they followed this vibe into a straight studio album. I get the impression I would have liked it a lot.
Interestingly this popped up this morning. The KinKs - Live at Massey Hall, Toronto on April 4th 1988 It's a little rough from the footage, but it settles down a little, and may make a couple of folks smile 00:00:00 01 Intro 00:01:20 02 Do It Again 00:04:20 03 Destroyer 00:08:28 04 Low Budget 00:12:55 05 Apeman 00:15:41 06 Come Dancing 00:19:20 07 Sleepwalker (Dave on leading vocals) 00:22:24 08 Art Lover 00:27:10 09 Clichés of the World (B-Movie) 00:33:20 10 Lost and Found 00:37:50 11 Welcome to Sleazy Town 00:46:42 12 Too Much On My Mind (Dave on leading vocals) 00:49:55 13 Living On A Thin Line 00:54:18 14 A Well Respected Man 00:56:05 15 Sunny Afternoon 01:01:00 16 It 01:09:48 17 Guilty 01:13:53 18 All Day And All Of The Night / Got Love If You Want It 01:21:10 19 Band member introduction 01:22:30 20 The Road 01:28:50 21 You Really Got Me 01:32:20 22 Lola
