Yea, I reckon even if someone isn't interested in jazz, or even Charles Mingus, it's still interesting
Live at Parc de La Courneuve Sept 12 1992. The video from around the 2 minute mark is actually pretty good. Audio is not bad and gets better as it goes along, from what I can tell. Around the dial Hardway Low Budget UK Jive Celluloid Heroes Come dancing Didya I'm not like everybody else Drift away Dead end street Sleazy town Til the end of the day Where have all the good time Nine Living on a thin line Lola All day and all of the night Aggravation Days You really got me Twist and shout
Right. So when this “Club Vegas” stuff was brought up a week or so ago, I thought I’d try to pinpoint the dates of the recording of this a little better. I’ve listened to this a few times over the years, but haven’t spent a lot of time researching it to try date it. Being an unofficial leak of a rehearsal, there’s not a whole lot of accurate information about it floating around. The band sounds really good here despite the mono source tape. Other than other unofficial concert audio and video that circulates on YouTube and elsewhere, this provides most of the only recorded evidence of Mark Haley's keyboard contributions to the band. Strangely, some songs here don't seem to have any keyboards at all or he's laying low copying the guitars. Also, it's interesting that when he is audible, he mostly uses a synth Fender Rhodes style electric piano sound. Hinman posits this recording is from around March 1990. In one of his books he says they are rehearsing at Konk during this month preparing for an eight-day theater residency in New York on Broadway tentatively planned for May 1990 to be called, wait for it, The Kinks On Broadway. It's thought this would be a good way to present the band and build on the momentum of their recent Hall Of Fame induction. But of course, true to form in predictable Kinks fashion, this never happened. The dates of this tape are always said to be sometime between 1989 and 1993. As has been brought up already there are no Phobia songs here, but that doesn't discount that it could be from the later side of this window. The tape is just random songs that were likely not performed in the order as presented here, are likely not the entire rehearsed song list, and may actually be a compilation from a couple of different times or even years. I thought I would try to pick out arrangement differences in any song here to try to narrow it down, but my notes are inconclusive at best. My personal opinion is this does date from the earlier side of this date window for a couple of reasons. "Now And Then" is here and it does not look like this song carried over in their set on the later side of these dates, but good setlist data from this era is surprisingly scarce and probably incomplete. I compared the "A Gallon Of Gas/Welcome To Sleazy Town" medley from several available shows from these 90-94 dates to the performance on this tape and while the same medley arrangement is performed the same way for the most part, there are some subtle differences in musical performance on this tape that lean towards the 90/91 concert performances, mostly in Dave's guitar work. But again, none of this is conclusive. The one thing that really forms my opinion is "Around The Dial" performed here in this rehearsal in full form with the Peter Gunn ending they had been using for several years by this point, including the version from 1987 as released on The Road. In the later 1992/1993 shows, this song is only performed as a brief one-minute concert intro to the "The Hard Way" and not performed in full later in the set based on the unofficial videos and shows that I have found. But once again this is still not 100% conclusive or hard fact as there are just not that many shows available to say it with full confidence. This is my long way of saying - hell, I don't know. Best to just forget all that and listen to the tape and enjoy the band's informal playing and catch a rare glimpse into this side of the band that we normally would not have access to. Like I said, the playing here is very good, the band is tight and the sound is also very good despite it being a mono tape. I will be watching Weird Nightmare later today. I'm no Charles Mingus expert but I do like and own lots of jazz including several of his albums, but have never actually watched this film. I know @Zeki is chomping at the bit to get to get moving on to Phobia. I'll say I'm actually chomping at the bit to read his opening thesis on the album .
I'm really looking forward to reading @Zeki 's thoughts. I can't remember really, but my opener isn't particularly stunning, because I hadn't really had an in depth of it at the time... but Phobia is a great album. There are a couple of average songs, but a lot of really good songs, and for me, at least a couple of top klass klassiks
After catching our breaths with krazy komps and documentaries about Charlie Mingus, it's fair to say we're all anxious to get back to actual Kinks songs. Three full weeks worth of them !!!
I just reread mine ... I ain't going to be getting any awards lol Trying to do my final album summary now, but it's going to take a while, because I have been so distracted, and it is so many songs, I'm going to need to revise it all again lol
The Kinks played Twist and Shout way back in the 70s when I used to see them frequently. Fun live thing, at the time! And Dave has played it live much more recently. Most folks probably know it from the New Years Eve 1980-81 concert recording.
Prior to experiencing @mark winstanley's sacerdotal thread discipline, I would've thought it was easier to geek about pop music while on vacation. I know better now !
Lol I wasn't in the mood to paint this morning Edit - .. and I made a commitment to do this, and properly. For my many flaws, I try to fulfill my commitments ... and I enjoy it.
I'm actually surprised that you love Phobia. I thought it might have sent you "Over the Edge". I have slightly warmed up to it in the last week. The first few listens had me thinking I may sit this one out, but I have already come this far. I can't stop at the last Kinks album! My thoughts on the album are "Scattered" all over the place. Sixteen songs of this quality is a bit much, but they may benefit by discussing them individually. I am over halfway through the Mingus documentary and enjoying it very much.
Look Through Any Doorway It's funny, this song on the EP didn't stick out as great initially. Just another odd choice to place on this odd EP. So to use Mark's word, I've let this song gestate a bit and am re-listening to it now. Didn't know, for one, that this was a DAVE song...and somehow having that knowledge now makes me enjoy the song more. AND to have big brother Ray singing the verses on a Dave song...has this every happened?[edit to say: yes in fact...someone mentioned Close to the Wire...my bad] So those two factors bump up this song in my estimation. The demo is good, but I like the EP version much more. I think the boys harmonizing in the opening bit makes Dave's vocals more effective. and Ray does a great job on the verses. and the lyrics and whole idea of the song is quite good. "Look through any doorway"...paints such a sensitive picture about the heartache and treasures we all experience...very Ray-like. Kudos to Dave for nailing it.
Thanks for posting the video. Haven't seen it before, so that's cool. The camera work and staging of the band is very awkward and that's unfortunate. But good to see our Dave getting some well deserved attention.
It's anything goes Sunday...well maybe not anything, but random Kinks stuff. On one of the Kinks FB pages someone posted some pics of the interior of Konk circa 1982. I'm mostly posting because I LOVE the ducks on the wall!! Exterior of Konk (I saw a recent exterior shot of Konk and it's now painted gray(was it someone on here that posted a recent pic??)...wish I had time to swing by here while in London. )
Also....we wanna know is "motorway food" the worst in the world? I have found myself singing this as we travel the highways and byways.
years of rep work and being on the road already taught me it is. I did have a somewhat dodgy looking, but in the end good and safe sausage in a bun on the road... all safe
lol, well thank you... I think I'm pretty healthy, for a nearly 54 year old, but I need to do better... I'm not the sports fiend I used to be, and it shows lol US food doesn't help a lot... I need to address that