I'm doing the middle order as a batch listen. Only a Dream This nicely-timed four-minute song is chorus-driven and what a cracking chorus it is. In contrast, I don't think the verses are that good. I wish Ray had thought of something else to sing about with the same chorus. Perhaps he had the video clip in mind. But all is forgiven when I'm singing along to that chorus. Don't Oh dear, a song about jumping out of a building. It's not even a metaphor for something deeper. I can only assume Ray at this time thought he had written about every possible topic and looked out of his hotel window and thought "hang on". I wish he hadn't. Babies Oh dear, oh dear. Another song about jumping - this time out of a womb. I feel this is another song born (sorry) out of desperation. The lyrics, frankly, are execrable. I'd rate this among the ten worst Kinks songs I know. [edit: this is harsh and I realise others may have a different view, but vive la difference.] Over the Edge I'm thinking 'please don't let this be another song about jumping or I might'. (It's ok, we live at ground level). Actually I don't mind this one. Ray goes over some of his well-worn themes in the lyrics (not that bad a thing) and the chorus is catchy enough. And at a tad over four minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome. Surviving The chorus reminds me of another song (??). The lyrics, music and chorus are all quite good and I love the way harmonies are used in this tune. I do wish though that it had stopped at the 4:30 mark. The coda doesn't leave me thinking any better of the song.
Surviving This is an appropriate title for this song, as I feel like I have to survive until the coda, which is the only part of the song that I like. The actual main song is just OK. I’m not a song skipper when I play an album, but it’s my least favorite track on the album, so far. Comes across as generic. Maybe the relative blandness of the song was meant to go along with the message of the lyrics - just getting by. I’m not a fan of the virtually single word chorus, which is a problem I have with some of my other less favored Kinks songs. I really like the melody of the outro though. Lyrics are just OK for me. Everybody Hurts. I do like the line “you left me alive, you should have killed me instead.” Gives the song a little bite.
Surviving It starts well enough with rock guitars conversing though following this i expected and hoped Ray would be edgy what surviving and all and not soon after reaching for the Zoloft. On a bright note it may be more pleasing than the song Survivor by Paul Kossoff's Backstreet Crawler which is also highly repetitive of its title and has a none to pleasant vocal to boot so +1 point to Ray! Not sure what to make of the end but a change is as good as a holiday which is surely what the singer here needs but of course wherever he was to go his damaged psyche would follow providing constant ruminations.
Surviving Easy pun jokes aside with the title, I actually like this song despite some of its problems. Yes, the length here is a problem, but due to this specific song itself. Some of my favorite songs are a lot longer than this, but those songs have multiple changes in sections, keys, tempos, etc. Lots of things to keep me on my toes and engaged. Surviving doesn't have any of these going for it until the acoustic coda at the end. The bridges don't add much to the verses in musical terms, so that's a problem too. The song does labor a bit for these reasons, but yet I still like it due to its subject matter, which hits home, and that ethereal coda. I would lose two choruses, the ones after both bridges, and (blasphemy!) about a minute of that coda prior to the drums coming back in. @Fortuleo I believe your banjo is the old trusty resonator guitar being finger picked.
Yesterday, I was sure But today I don't know anymore SURVIVING A fairly simple but rather profound lyric! Remember when we were young and we knew it all? Remember when we were 10 feet tall and bulletproof? Yeah, a great lyric there. Musically, this is a plodder for sure, but one I don't mind, and I for one think the coda adds just the variety the song needs.
I've not posted in forver on here (this thread) but after listening to Survivor (which is ok and I thought had a 70s vibe) Juke Box Music came in my head. I went back listened to Survivor's coda again and to me it sounded like bridge from JBM slowed down and then after listening to the whole track once again it also sounds like a much slower JBM musically. Anyone else hear any similarity?
Surviving It's OK, but unlike some of the other songs people have said are too long, this one really drags on and on for me. I like the verses, they're all good, with a memorable melody. It's the chorus sections which are weak to me. And they're there after every damn verse... 'surviving... surviving... surviving...' If 'Surviving' had been structured differently, I'd quite possibly rate it much higher.
Surviving Something has to change here. Either speed up the tempo a bit, or cut out a couple choruses after the bridges, as suggested by @Michael Streett. It's just kinda plodding along for too long. The opening guitar seems pretty generic, and sorta seems to coming from a Low Budget era generic blues, just with a bit of a cleaner lead on top. Overall though, I do like the song. The backing vocals on the bridge are good. The guitar sound of the bridge is actually sounds pretty 90s to me. A little grungy perhaps? Not like Nirvana grunge, but more like Neil Young early 90s grunge? The overall lyrical theme seems to recall Life Goes On. I'm surviving, surviving... No matter how I try, it seems I'm too young to die. There is some reference to smiling and having hope, but In the end, I'm surviving, that's all I am. I'm surviving. The coda is nice to change it up, but it goes on for a pretty long buildup that would probably be best suited for an album closer. Heck, as an album closer, I'd be ok extending the coda another 2 or 3 minutes even.
I agree. The last 2 minutes nearly saves this song from being a complete waste. It's giving me a Bono vibe. I can picture him waving a flag at the audience and shaking his mullet. It has that arena style sing-along that would make for a good concert closer. Overall, the song is total bore, but I do like the bass and the acoustic touches at the end of the song.
Surviving You don't go to the Kinks for rock and roll attitude, but "Surviving (woo-hoo)" is like the opposite of rock and roll attitude. The tempo and vocals (not shouty, barky, or sea-cow Ray, but... strain-y Ray?) just emphasize the generally resigned, depressed, emotionally exhausted tone of the lyric. Until the end! The coda is beautiful, so beautiful it practically redeems the first 3/4 of the song. I'm not liking the multi-tracked BG vocals anywhere on the tune, however. You've got one of the greatest harmony teams ever, guys, use it!
'Surviving' - I like the lyrics to this, especially the last verse which I imagine anyone with a pulse would have been able to relate to at some point(s) in their life. Musically, it's never been top of my list for this album; I wonder if its style is meant to work in a manner akin to that of 'Predictable', plodding along to emphasise the theme. The "Survi-i-i-ving" part at just after 4.00 always reminds me of "Grease is the word, is the word..." but maybe that's because I'm trying to distract myself from the "Oh-oh-oh ohhh" section that's just around the corner, which in turn used to bring to mind/bring up/throw up/vomit/chunder/puke up a Simple Minds pavement-pizza in their least pleasant, most pompous late '80s wanna-be-U2 phase...if only "my sweet Colleen from Oireland" hadn't already been spoken for on the last album! Yes, I know, I'm being a bit harsh here but this is one of the tracks on 'Phobia' which I sense is looming ahead and acts like a marker, for once past it I know better things (yeah!) are waiting. And yet I must reiterate that lyrically we're on good territory here and that they could have flourished in a more sympathetic setting, preferably one of about half this duration.
Surviving I find it very effective how Ray sings an F# over the G chord in the verse (e.g. Yesterday, I was sure). This musical dissonance emphasizes the underlying sentiment of the song that is summarized by the line "I'm smiling through all the insanity". Playing two notes together that are a half-step apart, this reminds me of many of Thelonious Monk's happy/sad blues compositions. The verses in Surviving have a wonderfully ragged feel - In addition to the dissonance in the melody, Ray's vocals are rangy and wavering; Dave's fingering of the chords is loose, his playing is biting and stuttery; the snare is sharp but lags; the brothers' hoarse harmony has a hangover feel - it's all suggestive of how we stagger forward after having taken a beating. Surviving has yet another quality bridge - I think we start to take them for granted at this point. It also contains one of the best couplets on the album: "Thought I was brave till I saw / My frightened reflection in a dark corridor". Everything in the song sets up perfectly for the moving outro, an outpouring of repressed pain that comes across as tender and genuine. I've mentioned how this stretch of songs is in my opinion part of a larger story framework, and a good example here is the echo of "millions of people out there / Walking around with their heads bowed" from Don't, with "There are millions of people out there / Trying to get by in a world that don't care"; and "I see a great big sunset where only clouds used to be" from Only a Dream and "people smiling through clouds of despair".
Surviving, part II: I haven't had a chance to read everyone's posts yet (let me guess: it's too long ) -- but did anyone point out these lines: You left me alive You should have killed me instead An optimistic reading would say the narrator is going to have their revenge, but I think the song points to a darker meaning: the narrator is so injured and damaged from the relationship that he will never recover and would be better off dead. It's really a tremendously sad song.
Over the Edge Holy J Geils! If this song didn't contain that, it would be a GREAT song. I mean...no one pulled Ray aside and said "this sounds JUST LIKE FREEZE FRAME!"? So the song never recovers from this. I just can't get beyond it. The lyrics of the verses are really great. Raymond painting a picture with his words as only he can do. and it does occur to me that most of this album is pretty dark. A lot of negatives. Which is fine. That's where this artist needed/wanted to go. But it's factually a dark album. Anyway, this song has so much potential but... lose those J Geils keyboards. oy.
J Geils was one of those second tier bands that had a lot of quasi hits in the 70s and 80s but seems to have since been forgotten. That said, they are worth exploring. If I was going to try to turn somebody onto them, this would be my first choice:
I have an idea! How about we just have the song Surviving without the coda as a standalone song. Then it’s shorter and people will like it. Then we can have the coda on its own as a standalone song, perhaps called “Surviving a Bit Longer“. This song, at only two minutes, would be nice and short like earlier Kinks songs, and would be quite lovely. I would suggest separating them at opposite ends of the album though, as having them together might seem like an overlong six minute epic.
Growing up in the outskirts of Boston, we lived and breathed J Geils. They've always been there. As far as Boston bands go, I love the Cars the most, but J Geils had some real good stuff. I'd rather listen to them than, say, Led Zeppelin. any day.
You make a great case for bumping up this song in my estimation. I do "feel" the circus highwire thing. Marrying music and lyrics in a real cool way. ...but oy...with the Freeze Frame riff...
The Cars would be my fave Boston band too. I loved all their albums except the last one before the breakup, but their debut deserves special mention as it was a literal jukebox of hits in and of itself. …and after seeing Fast Times At Ridgemont High, no one could ever forget the scene with Moving in Stereo. I lived and breathed their first four albums!
The original Modern Lovers would be my favorite Boston band. Then actually, probably, J. Geils Band! I did rate the Pixies on their original go-round and even a bit of Lemonheads.
