Wow. Fantastic cover of an already fantastic song and performance. Thank you. When I started performing my songs at college, "Too Much On My Mind" was one of the few covers I did. I doubt I did a great job on it. Yeah, I'm having trouble keeping up. "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" has wonderful chord changes in it. The bass at the beginning set us up for a "Hit The Road, Jack" or "Stray Cat Strut" sort of descending progression, but when Ray starts singing, it veers off at the third chord ('Please"). The chords continue to give me a feeling of disorientation throughout the verse. Effective! It still gets me, some 35 years after I first heard the song. The stance of the song itself is disorienting, in a way that is going to be one of the biggest strengths of Ray's songwriting over the next 3 years -- is it satirizing the singer? Sympathizing with her? Both. It's compassionate, but there is an ironic distance and a little humor, too, without any cruelty. Although the album is a leap forward, also remarkable are the leaps Ray seemed to be making month to month in this period. "Dandy" was recorded in January, prior to the released version of "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," and feels like a development of the earlier skiffle-y stylistic shift that started with "Well Respected Man"; with a little less nuance in its message (until the yelling end, when we get the sense that the narrator might be envious and not entirely detached... which IS interesting and maybe deflates my point a bit.) The other three songs are from April and May. Jumping ahead a little, the two songs that bracket "Sunny Afternoon" at the end of the album are from late 1965, and feel like the Kontroversy Kinks (in fact, one of them is a "Kontroversy" outtake). Someone mentioned that "Revolver" must have influenced this album. Maybe, maybe not. Apparently the latest songs on "Face to Face" were recorded in June. (and "Sunny Afternoon" was released in June.) "Revolver" was released in August. "Face to Face" came out in October. Unless "Revolver" influenced the final sequencing and production decisions, the album was more or less in the can already. I asked Shel Talmy on Facebook about the reports that Ray wanted "Face to Face" to have 18 tracks (I thought I read that somewhere?) with linking tracks. He wrote back "That was never the plan, and Pye wouldn't have agreed to it anyway LOL". (I hope it's OK that I'm requoting him... I didn't ask permission, so consider it hearsay.) I don't know if he was responding to the "18 songs" part or the linking tracks.
General "Face to Face" talk. As much as I enjoy it as is, I also enjoy the historical myth of "what it coulda been," as with "Smile" and the unfinished Hendrix album. Potentially the first pop album with uninterrupted sides, and possibly including even more songs. ("Big Black Smoke"? "End of the Season"? But would the extra songs have improved it? Perhaps "End of the Season" would have been redundant.) Does anyone have Nicholas Schaffner's "British Invasion" book? I am only able to grab tiny bits of his discussion of "Face to Face" off of Google. I love this Ray quote, though: "I want to link up every track with additional sounds and musical interpolations. We've got thunderstorm effects, bongos, a metronome, Mick plays "Whistling Rufus" on a Shepherd's pipe....." There was some huge paperback Kinks biography that I hesitated on buying in the 80's. I only ever saw one copy. No idea what it was. I believe that's where I got the "18 songs" idea. I believe it claimed "Mr. Reporter" was one of those songs, which would NOT have improved it in my mind. "Jasper" is also called "Lilacs and Daffodils," and was partially sung by Mick. I don't think it has ever been booted, but there are descriptions of it around. Sounds like it was a wild track. Mark asked whether Mick played on the whole album. In the interview I posted early in the thread, he seemed to indicate yes. In fact he called it his "recording debut" with the Kinks, which doesn't seem accurate at all; but maybe he means the first time he was allowed to play on every song?
On Topic so I thought I would post this........ Dandy E.P. 1966 The Kinks French Flipback Jacket w/Languette Pye/Disques Vogue Cat: PNV 24177
I saw this for sale in a flea market a couple of years ago for €5. Very good condition. I've kicked myself since that I never bought it.
Dandy was one of those songs that particularly suffered on the Castle CD from 98 (thanks to someone for identifying this was the issue I initially had of this album.) Listening to it on vinyl the other day it sounded fine. Too Much On My Mind is magnificent. I actually overlooked this a little when I said Sunny Afternoon was the best song on the album. Well, it is. But still.... this is a marvellous piece, very introspective, a simple arrangement with a flawless execution. Tremendously effective. Another layer in Ray's songwriting gift is revealed. Another first.
I can understand that. Edit: I wish I hadn't sold both of my French Dead End Street E.P's though I still have 5 other titles.
Don't see what's odd about it. Granted, it would be odd if I said I preferred Face to Face over Village Green, as that has at least 10 consistently great tracks. But Something Else has two very special high points and everything in between is just about on par with (but not as much fun as) Face to Face.
The fourth track on the album is the best so far. It's such a simple, yet effective, song in much the same way the later Days is. I would imagine all of us at some time throughout our complicated lives have echoed the sentiments here. We can all relate to it. Too Much On My Mind is one of Ray's finest songs. For once, the depressing and heartfelt lyrics are matched by the music. Nothing jaunty on offer here. Just pure despair. The uncluttered and clean production help to make this song more startling. This little gem is one of my favourite Kinks songs. A strong album is getting stronger. Is the singer of this song the same character who owns the big house in the country who has fallen on hard times after spending all his dough on girls and expensive gifts? Has he finally seen the writing on the wall? Maybe that's a stretch too far. A great song.
Dandy I can picture this being used as the opening titles to a film called Dandy Its jaunty, jolly and fun, particularly listening to it in the sunshine as I am, but I don't think its one I'll want to return to deliberately. Too Much On My Mind I do like this one, it just has a lovely feel to it. The lyrics are a touch obvious, but it works for me because the subject is approached with simplicity. I particularly like the harpsichord-type instrument playing that dizzying pattern which seems to reflect all of the disparate thoughts swirling around his head. Edit: I think I mean the lyrics are quite universal and perhaps seem obvious today, but, now I've finished reading others' comments, it seems this kind of introspective subject matter was unusual in the 60s, so that in itself makes it more interesting!
Session Man. mono mix (2:15), recorded May 1966 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London We come into this track with the harmonium/harpsichord playing a quick, reasonably complicated piece of somewhat disconnected music.... and being Nicky Hopkins, who is obviously not a member of the band as such, it has a feeling like it announces the song by being introduced by the session man ... He never will forget at all The day he played at the Albert Hall. A million sessions ago it seems. He is a session man, A chord progression, A top musician. Rock 'n' roll or *vocal star* [ * could be "folk group star" or "Vaudeville star"], A philharmonic orchestra, Everything comes the same to him. He is a session man, A chord progression, A top musician. He's not paid to think, just play, A session man A session man A session man Playing at a different studio every day. He reads the dots and plays each line, And always finishes on time. No overtime nor favors done. He is a session man, A chord progression, A top musician. He's not paid to think, just play, A session man A session man A session man Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray/Carlin Music Corp. The vocal comes straight in from the intro, and we have a fairly uptempo track telling the story of the session man. We start by being told that once upon a time this session man may have had his own career, or that one of the highlights was a big gig at the Royal Albert Hall, which would be/is a big feather in the cap of a musician really... but that was a million sessions ago. Then we move into this anonymity, sort of. He's A Session Man, A Chord Progression, A Top Musician, seems to make the session player a functional item, rather than a valid part of the process. The second verse gives the session man a sort of disconnected feeling, he's just doing a job. He can play in all these kinds of groups/bands, but Everything Comes The Same To Him, and we have the musician as an item reinforced again after that. Lyrically we have respect, but we also have this sort of disconnect. The session man is very good at coming in and doing his job, but "He's not paid to think, just play" It is somewhat a tribute to Nicky Hopkins, and the Albert Hall line actually has a double meaning, because Albert Hall is a French Horn player who played on the original version of Dead End Street. Musically I really like this, we have an uptempo track, with a series of really nice melodic developments that keep it musically interesting. For one example the Bb to the Bminor back to the Bb in the chorus works beautifully. We have a lot of textures and for me this ends up being another really solid track. Though having said that, I am not sure how many folks this would have connected with, particularly in the sixties. I really like it.
Session Man is pure Ray Davies, almost to a fault. “Progress-ee-on” / “Musi-shee-an”, this is hooky as hell (in an Apeman/Homo sa-pee-an kind of way), but somewhat annoying. Like Dandy, it’s an almost single, but “almost singles” don’t always make great album tracks, do they? On this brilliant first side, for each substantial ambitious song, you get one “funny” witty tune, almost working as a novelty or a musical number. I don’t mind them, I enjoy them, but I mostly see them as entertaining links in-between the true masterpieces (Rosie, Too Much On My Mind, Rainy Day in June). The best part? Once again, Hopkins’ harpsichord stands out: if you listen close enough, you’ll notice the spectacular intro continues almost non-stop in the background during the verses, the titular “session man” being determined (and paid!) to play his part, no matter what’s happening around him. Anyway, just listening again, I’ll admit it’s still an exciting track, with a nice celebratory feel, the mid-song “playing a different studio everyday-ay-ayyy” bit being a Village Green-worthy melodic moment, full of grace and wonder.
"Session Man" So Nicky Hopkins, who's already provided invaluable support to The Kinks up to now, including two songs already on this album, plays a delightful harpsichord intro...then proceeds to get lyrically shredded by Ray! Has to be said it's a bit of a mean song, but it's amusing as well and it's a great track. A memorable tune which goes through several modulations in the verse, solid performances - especially by Mick, and you can clearly hear Rasa singing along in the chorus - actually there are a couple of choruses. This squeezes a lot into its two minutes. And I love the corruption of "progress-ee-an" and "musish-ee-an" to rhyme with "session man".
I noticed the French Dandy EP said it was the original Kinks version... so I looked around for a French version. It's by a girl singer called Michèle Torr. At the end she tells her dandy to stop 'dandying' around and make his choice - "Fais ton choix". Theres' a French verb "dandiner" which comes in useful here. It means to sway or prance about. Michèle tells her dandy he'll look silly doing it when he gets old (when he's thirty!).
I've always LOVED 'Session Man', even while I recognise it is pretty mean and revealing of some of the worst of Ray Davies character. The line 'no overtime or favours done' in particular always struck me as a bit rich: where does this guy get off moaning about people not doing him favours like he expects that as part of the service?!?! But there's also something so energisingly impertinent about someone in Ray's position writing a song about this subject that at the same time I also kind of love the cheek and meta-ness. And musically, it's just such a inventive peppy popper cramming so much into such a compact space: love the odd structure, with that really brief 'playing in a different studio every day' bridge that never repeats just blindsiding you out of nowhere.
Contemporary 'Session Man' cover by Five's Company: I see they couldn't work out the missing lyric in the transcription above either and changed it to 'the money helps to buy his car'. Also adds some quote from other tunes at the end: a trick you could argue the Kinks original missed, although personally I think it's perfect as is.
Rainy Day In June. mono mix (3:12), recorded May 1966 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London Here we open with a crack of thunder, and it is followed by a repeated chord, that has a sort of funeral dirge about it. Immediately the mood of this track is set. A misty shadow spread its wings And covered all the ground And even though the sun was out The rain came pouring down And all the light had disappeared And faded in the gloom There was no hope, no reasoning This rainy day in June The eagle spread its mighty wings And pounced upon its pray And all the skies, so brilliant blue Turned suddenly to grey The cherished things are perishing And buried in their tomb There is no hope, no reasoning This rainy day in June And everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain The demon stretched its crinkled hand And snatched a butterfly The elves and gnomes were hunched in fear Too terrified to cry The reckoning was beckoning They're living to their doom There was no hope, no reasoning This rainy day in June And everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray/Carlin Music Corp. We open with some very descriptive poetic type lines from Ray. We have an extended verse opening that really sets the stage of what we are looking at. I find it very interesting that the fourth verse starts of with the "The Cherished things are Perishing", and I wonder if this was an early leaning towards the Village Green idea.... The first verse could be seen as the spreading clouds bringing the rain, or it could certainly be something, somewhat more ominous. The second verse leads us to a place of darkness where the sun that was shining though is now gone. Also it is interesting that "There was no hope no reasoning" .. if we were merely talking of the rain, perhaps this would be slightly out of place, it would just be some rain after all, and we are in England, noted far and wide for its rain ... The third verse seems to reinforce what we have heard prior, but it is interesting that now we have the Eagle pouncing on its prey. In the fourth verse we get the cherished things perishing, and there is no hope nor reasoning .... Then we find that everybody felt this in the chorus. Everybody felt the rain. After the chorus, we have a more ominous sounding line where the demon stretches its crinkled hand..... something ugly and evil .... and snatched the butterfly .... something beautiful and free... The lyrics leading to the next chorus here, have a Tolkienesque twist to them, and when one considers that Tolkien's most famous book is essentially a parallel to the biblical Armageddon, and the Return of the King/second coming, we now have the song being somewhat directed towards being somewhat apocalyptic .... I really like the way the lyrics are put together here. There is this growing foreboding that feels like we have a lot more depth of thought here, than just have a rainy day in June. Musically this is wonderful. We have this pulsing held note that the chords float around in the opening, and it sets perfectly the foreboding feel the lyrics are setting up. The music sets an atmosphere that I don't think we have heard from the band yet. The backing vocals give the song some added drama, and when I hear them here, I can't help but think of Gimme Shelter. Although more mellow they create a similar kind of ominous sound that adds a lot to the song. I find this song quite captivating. It seems so unlike the Kinks in some ways, particularly if the You Really Got Me and Dedicated Follower Of Fashion type songs are how one views the Kinks.... this is something else altogether. Anyway .... after that build up of the first four verses, we move into the chorus, and we get a bit of a change of feel. We kind of move into this soul/gospel styling, and to be honest the first time I heard this song, the change threw me off, because I was deep in this track. As I have listened to it more, I think it works really well. I really love this track, I think it is a high point in the album in many ways, but at the very least it adds yet another texture to the album, and keeps this at such a high level for me that we seem to be in a completely different world to Kontroversy. This is almost certainly my favourite deep track from the band so far, and it is among my favourite tracks on the album, if not my favourite. Anyway, I am probably rambling and I don't know if I managed to share how this song comes across to me very well, but I really love this track.
Is it thunder or is it the sound of a bomb exploding? Rainy Day in June is rumored to have been written about Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (released in 1964), if true, the song starts exactly where the movie ends. True. Everything about this track is different. The sound, the tone, Ray’s singing and phrasing, the solemn verses, the chanting chorus, the gospely handclaps… It’s the most “different” song and the most impressionistic Ray’s attempted since See My Friends, one of those Kinks songs that don’t belong to any of their acknowledged iconic styles. Also: I love Stevie Winwood, but I’m afraid he nicked one of his best tunes (Blindfaith’s Can’t Find My Way Home) from this magnificent obscure (but illuminating) piece.
One more thing about Rainy Day In June. I like the opening thunder crack, but I think the ones during the song should have been removed, or mixed lower
"Rainy Day In June" How appropriate that we get to discuss this song on the 1st June (although it's certainly not a rainy day here at the moment). Could this be described as proto-prog? It's another of Ray's "weather songs", but it's clearly an analogy of his state of mind - maybe just further reinforcing the point made in "Too Much On My Mind". If only he could just be a session man, and not have to think too much - just turn up and play his instrument to order! Anyway, it's another fantastic track on this great album side, taking Ray into further new areas lyrically and musically, and the sound effects further illustrate the gloom and desperation. Having said that, I think that "the reckoning/was beckoning" is one of those rhymes that is teetering on the brink between genius and cringe. Not sure which side it falls down on.
Couple more notes on 'Session Man' that I forgot to write above: The way Rasa appears in the vocal blend is really reminiscent of how she sounds on 'You Shouldn't Be Sad': mixing with Dave (and Pete's?) vocals to create this distinct androgynous hybrid. These are the only two songs in the discography that have this particular sound to me. A darker side to the song beyond impudent jabs at Nicky Hopkins: In Nick Hafsted's book 'The Story Of The Kinks', Pete Quaife's brother Dave is quoted as saying 'Session Man' really upset Pete as lines like 'he's not paid to think, just play' seemed to all too accurately describe the extent of artistic contribution he was allowed in the group
I don't really get "Session Man". Is it supposed to be a respectful or a put down lyric? I'm not clear what the narrator is saying. He sets up the character, then says no more. The tune isn't particularly great to me. Appropriately enough, it's exquisitely played. Maybe the joke is that 90% of what's good about the track is the session man/session men's contributions? The best I can say about it is it acknowledges their existence. Overall, irritating. "Rainy Day in June" however is lush, forboding, mysterious, and another of the album's highlights.
That's really interesting: I'd never heard that before, or heard Ray make any comment on this unusual song in the Kinks Kanon. Ray has always been a very visually aware artist and studied film at art college so it's interesting if he was inspired by Strangelove for 'Rainy Day' I don't think I've ever seen him comment on Kubrick elsewhere either. @ARL description's of 'Rainy Day In June' as possibly being 'proto prog' is also a good point and hits upon something I've long thought about this song: that it's a lurch in the dark towards the themes of prog and metal at a time when these genres were still years away from being mapped out, and so it sounds very strange these days as, played by a conventional 60s beat group set up, it's the equivalent of, I dunno, Leonardo Da Vinci's invention of a submarine in the 16th century: the core idea is there, but timeline wise the cultural context/technology/vessel of delivery hasn't caught up to the point where the idea can be properly realized in the form we recognize today, if that makes any sense.
