Love Mel Blanc! Does anyone remember him doing a tv advert for American Express where he uses the tagline that (with AE) his name won't draw a blank?
That's fantastic, glad to hear all of these positive activities and rationalizations are working for you.
Yes that's the one I remember and I think it tops the earlier one. I won't derail the thread but there were some even better ones that were....well..... more.....Pythonesque!
It's Alright, Cock. This is the most humorous section of dialogue, what, what, with the voices of Robert and Grenville. And Larry 'How's ya cock, cock' Page. The fact that 'It's Alright' sounds like it could well have been recorded in 1964 is really rather impressive.
It's All Right (medley?) Another well told story. It's almost as if Ray has practiced this delivery. I got tickled a bit by the phrase "well respected gentlemen" and the self-deprecation of "...a very naïve optimistic song called You Still Want Me. Unfortunately nobody did." It's really neat to hear the origin story to this 1970 verse: Robert owes half to Grenville Who in turn gave half to Larry Who adored my instrumentals And so he gave half to a foreign publisher She took half the money that was earned in some far distant land Gave back half to Larry and I end up with half of goodness knows what Tell you what though, Larry was right about their name. The Kinks stands out. Something a bit off, not mainstream. Makes you feel a bit naughty to like a band called the Kinks. God save the Kinks!
It's Allright dialogues This is a favourite part of the album for me. We've heard of Ray and Dave growing up and starting to play music together, anecdotes from the family's front room, Pete Quaife joining and the first gig, how "You Really Got Me" was written and first rehearsed with Dave at home and about Mick's audition. In these dialogues, we get the story of the three managers and Ray's incredibly funny imitations of the way they spoke plus how the band got its name. As a background, we get a version of the song "It's Allright" giving a vivid picture of what the band sounded like in the period leading up to the third single. Just great! The whole narrative of The Storyteller is building up towards the release of "You Really Got Me" and does so in a really entertaining way.
Here is my 1998 list of ten songs from this thread. Anaesthesia- The Church Stardust Remedy- Jesus and Mary Chain Opus 40- Mercury Rev All The Same To Me- Golden Smog We Live Again- Beck P.S. You Rock My World- Eels Sunday- Sonic Youth Daysleeper- REM She Came Along To Me- Billy Bragg & Wilco Louisiana- The Church 1998 Favorite albums: Hologram of Baal- The Church Mermaid Avenue- Billy Bragg and Wilco Electro-Shock Blues- Eels A great year for music. I fell a few days behind. Loving all of your posts!
"It's Alright" I love Ray's story on this one. He is loosening up and the audience has now had their third drink minimum. I just watched this documentary last night, and it's the first thing I thought of when I noticed the title of today's song. The documentary is American Movie from 1999! So close to 1998 from my last post. I have seen it a few times, but watched it again last night for the first time in probably a decade. It still makes me smile. I highly recommend it.
The stories are great and Ray is a great raconteur, especially for someone who used to suffer from stage fright. I don’t have a lot of specifics to add to what everyone has already expressed, cock.
@TeddyB’s post reminded me that the use of the word “cock” as an informal term of affection/greeting isn’t just a London/cockney thing as Ray might have suggested. It used to be - and possibly still is - in common usage in Yorkshire along with luv, lass and lad.
Julie Finkle Dialogue/ The Ballad Of Julie Finkle. Intro. In the book X-Ray the decrepit old rock 'n' roll singer talks about this mystery girl he used to know when he was on the road. It's a girl he calls Julie Finkle. Julie Finkle was really a mixture of lots of different people. And on tours, night after night, you go to these one-night stands, there's always a Julie Finkle in the audience. Maybe she's imaginary, I'm not sure, maybe she's here tonight. _________________________________________ A pretty straight forward intro The Ballad Of Julie Finkle. I first met Julie a long time ago, staring up at me from the front row She had a timeless glow, she was the image of youth that never grows old or gets long in the tooth And who would think after all these years that good fortune would smile my way She's a symbol of all that I believe in She was there at the beginning, she's still out there today Chorus: Julie, Julie, I hope that you're still single Julie, Julie, oh my mystery Julie Finkle (Woohooh hoohooh hooh, woohooh hoohooh hooh) After me she went with a biker from Stoke, had a child with a banker from Bolton I hear she ended up with a really nice bloke, who's respectable now, so my silence is golden To protect her and him I've used a pseudonym, but I hope she gets the vital connection It was a long time ago, but I want you to know Julie, you were the pick of a prime selection Chorus But keep looking for your love (Woohooh hoohooh hooh) Truly, Julie, you're only a name, you could be a Molly or a Sarah-Jane But if I should never see you again, I'll never forget you, truly Chorus Keep looking for your love (Woohooh hoohooh hooh) Julie, Julie, oh my mystery Julie Finkle Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. This is a fond remembrance of a girl from youth that shared in the idea of someone being a rock star. I don't really understand the idea of groupies to be honest, I'm not really very celebrity minded... and I have never understood the idea of girls liking musicians particularly, because everybody knows that the guys in the bands were the nerds trying to find a place to fit, and the torture of their youth ended up driving them into this reflective songwriter type person ... and then a band of some distinction..... But anyhow... Here we have a loving memory of a specific time in life, and a specific person who was important in that time of life. Confidence is important for a musician in many ways. To some degree I guess it depends on the musician, but it takes a bit of gumption to get in front of a group of people, and loudly blast songs out at them... particularly songs you have written yourself, that nobody actually knows... and someone like a Julie Finkle can give a singer/musician a boost of ego enough to get through the trauma.... it is a really odd way of looking at it I guess, but it is a thing, I reckon. My first, was a girl from another state who picked me up when I was playing a gig, and I wasn't really interested to be honest. I was drinking with my mates after playing a set, and one of my mates was telling me this girl wanted to talk to me.... It was a strange scenario, and I was sort of interested but not interested. I was never very good with girls, and it all just seemed too hard to deal with.... I never actually thought of her as a groupie, because I was nobody, just some teen banging out songs on my guitar and howling my pain at the world ... To me it was a weird and uncomfortable scenario, Yvonne seemed nice and she was pretty and all that, but she ended up telling me she had a boyfriend in South Australia.... and that didn't really sit well with me.... I'm a bit traditional.... but I still remember her fondly, even though by the time anything happened I was actually too drunk to remember any of it... life's a strange journey as I say.... But that's how I relate to this song. I understand the fondness and odd respect that Ray is singing about here. Ray does seem to be referring to someone specific, and writes it into the song that he is changing it up to Julie Finkle "To protect her and him I've used a pseudonym, but I hope she gets the vital connection" He wants her to know that he still thinks of her fondly, but at the same time he doesn't want to give away that likely secret life to someone who may not understand who she was at one point. It's odd how people think their partners don't have a history... whatever that history may be, we all have one. Anyway, that may all be nonsense, but that's how I relate to this song, and it is another piece of the musical puzzle that makes up the story of music, musicians, bands and playing in public, and again, from my perspective, Ray writes it in here nicely, and for me it is another section of this show that smoothly flows with the story and music combination that makes this such a unique thing.... I'm assuming at the time this was totally unique, but I'm willing to be corrected. This album is a batch of great songs, perfectly intertwined with an autobiographical narrative that makes this part music concert, part book reading and part theater or something, and perhaps it is a sort of maturation of Ray's seventies musical theater ideas..... Musically this is a really pleasant country/blues/folk type song, with a really good melodic structure, some very good laced guitar and bass lines and what ends up being a really good feel. On the whole this is a song that has grown on me quite a bit from when I first heard it, and in context with the album it works great. 0:00 Storyteller 2:57 Introduction 4:08 Victoria 6:22 My Name (Dialogue) 7:25 20th Century Man 11:14 London Song 14:52 My Big Sister (Dialogue) 16:57 That Old Black Magic 19:14 Tired Of Waiting For You 20:42 Set Me Free (Instrumental) 21:29 Dad And The Green Amp (Dialogue) 25:15 Set Me Free 26:17 The Front Room (Dialogue) 28:26 See My Friends 31:04 Autumn Almanac 32:49 Hunchback (Dialogue) 34:41 X-Ray 38:50 Art School (Dialogue) 41:16 Art School Babe 44:38 Back In The Front Room 47:40 Writing The Song (Dialogue) 48:49 When Big Bill Speaks / The Man Who Knew A Man (Mick Avory's Audition - Dialogue) 51:58 It's All Right (Managers - Dialogue) 53:31 It's All Right (Havana Version - The Kinks Name - Dialogue) 56:16 It's All Right (Up Tempo, On The Road - Dialogue) 57:17 Julie Finkle (Dialogue) 58:02 The Ballad Of Julie Finkle 1:01:52 The Third Single (Dialogue) 1:06:55 You Really Got Me 1:09:48 London Song (Studio Version)
Ok, this time – and this time only – I’ll give out and break our beloved thread etiquette: as far as groupies songs go, and never mind some distasteful (bad) lyrics, I’ll always prefer Famous Groupies by that B*****s person…
Yeah, I remember Mark E Smith took to using this term profusely in his latter years as he affected more of an elder statesman persona.
"Julie Finkel" And now we have a return to song. It is my understanding the Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" was written for a so-called groupie. And of course there is "Starbucker". Here we have Ray's groupie song which at least is a fond recollection. It has a melancholy feel to it in my mind - looking back with bittersweet feelings is something Ray mastered. I think it is a good song. The lyric's reference to looking down at her face from the stage reminds me of the Bob Dylan line "a million faces at my feet and all I see are dark eyes".
I hear she ended up with a really nice bloke, who's respectable now, so my silence is golden Is this a subtle suggestion that the real-life JF ended up married to one of The Tremeloes? I wouldn't put it past Ray to put such a sly reference in, claiming to protect the identities of all parties then throwing in a huge clue directly after. That said, I don't actually think the identity of the real Julie Finkle is important to the theme of the song: as the lyric pretty much states from the get go, ultimately she's more like an eternal archetype always present when a young woman is excited by The Kinks music: it's a Do You Believe In Magic, in a young girls heart kind of level poetic thing , at least that's what I take it as.
This is the upcoming schedule Thursday - The Third Single - You Really Got Me - London Song (studio) Friday - Crystal Radio (Dave And Russell Davies) purusha and the spiritual planet 1998 Saturday - Dave Davies Fortis Green intro - Let Me Be Monday Dec 5th - Dave - True Phenomenon Tuesday - Dave - Voices and Away From You Wednesday - Fortis Green Thursday - Love In The World and Listen To The Spirit Friday - Soothe Sayer and Fortis Green wrap up Saturday - Big Country - Somebody Else and Devil In The Eye Monday Dec 12th - Dave - Unfinished Business
Now that I’ve managed to get my passion for the much maligned Paul tune off my chest, I’ll confess the groupie phenomenon in general has always made me slightly uncomfortable. I understand it, from both angles (the artist on one side, the girl/guy in the crowd on the other) but some weird puritan impulse gets to me just thinking about it, and I can’t shake it off. On some occasions, I’ve been backstage and seen rows of girls brought there to be “chosen” from, and I couldn’t help but feeling bad about the whole situation. Of course, I can see how this can also be a fun and beautiful thing (from both angles), even romantic and respectful. Like everybody, I’ve also fallen in love with the Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) character in Almost Famous. But that was the kid in me reacting to the film’s affectionate melancholy (in the film, it is indeed the kid who falls for her and sees her as a kind of goddess or, dare I say, real woman/person). I like the dialogue and how Ray sets the song up. But the tune itself is not really up to scratch in my opinion. It should be much, much more moving. Something like “everybody’s a groupie, it doesn’t matter who you are”.… Maybe it’s the music, or Ray’s somewhat tongue in cheek delivery (“aooooohhh”)… On the page, the lyrics look fine. But as a piece of (live) recording, it’s a rare case of master Ray not being fully able to convey the right balance between what’s funny, what’s touching, what’s affectionate, what’s illuminating, what’s regretful and what’s celebrational (if such a word exists). Anyway, this song passes me by. One thing I do love, though, is the Julie first name, because of its historikal resonance in the kanon. Oh, and for die-hard fans only, the “truly, Julie” joke is a very nice touch. Much appreciated.
I’ve just remembered it was ‘Silence Is Golden’ by The Trems that kept ‘Waterloo Sunset’ from hitting No.1 in the UK. Hmmm….
"The Ballad of Julie Finkle" This to me is another one of those which sounds like it would be at home on Ray's solo albums in the following decade, with a vaguely bluesy/Americana/not quite like The Kinks feel about it. I think it's also another one which could exist happily without this album around it. Pity it wasn't included on that Thankgiving Day CD single - this could have turned out to be a decent "leftovers" Ray collection. My Macca exploration reached London Town on Sunday when I picked up a cheap copy from a second hand store (it's not difficult to find anywhere). Can't say I was massively impressed on first listen, and that track in particular is one that I am in no hurry to return to! And I say this as someone who thinks that Wild Life is a decent listen.
The Ballad of Julie Finkel is a cute song. It's not deep, either lyrically or musically, but slots into Ray's dialogue perfectly. I take what @Fortuleo says, but I hear a wistful longing in Ray's delivery which leaves a more positive impression on me. There was also a certain song about stray cats, whose lyrics are best left unquoted these days. Don't say you weren't warned about London Town when we were discussing albums by older rockers released in 1978. I think I called it vanilla, but beige might be more accurate.
For the record Ruby Tuesday was about Linda Keith who had dated Keith Richards & Jimi Hendrix and was related to Paul Kossoff of Free. And oh yes Starbucker but also Stray Cat Blues are groupie numbers. Edit: Didn't see Steve beat me to the Stray Cat Blues link.
