Haha even cheaper and in no way in 'the country' even in the 60s...!! (I worked in Borehamwood for years!). Would've been full of film studios.
You're Looking Fine Now, I have a problem with this one because I dont think this track belongs on the album. It is more suited to Kontroversy or it could have been put to better use as a B side or an EP track. It's not that the track is necessarily bad, it isn't, but it seems a bit of a misfit here and Ray had better and more suitable tracks available at the time. Strange inclusion for me.
Ah well, as noted above I made a mistake in the post of mine you quoted and it was in fact Borehamwood, not Bournemouth that Ray moved to in 1968. Sorry again for the misinformation.
Well, there's not a lot to go for unless you want some tasty Jewish food, a glimpse of the Eastenders set, or one of the few remaining Wimpy bars (if its still there...!). It's going up in the world now, but I have an affection for the old greasy spoon charm it had when I first worked there!
With The Kinks the Indian/Raga influence apparently came from a stopover The Kinks made in India in early 1965 on their way to tour Australia, during which Ray heard traditional singing by some local fishermen, that inspired him to write ‘See My Friends’ (and later, by extension I guess ‘Fancy’). FWIW his interest actually pre dates George H’s, although it was clearly more fleeting and touristy.
Little Miss Queen Of Darkness I thought i wasn't going to like this from.the lyrics but i like the bright and breezy feeling it has, and the drum middle eight. Reminds me somehow of Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast At Tiffany's. You're Looking Fine I agree with this. Its a pleasant song and I do like the guitar and bass, and the middie eight piano and guitar parts have a really nice laid back feel to them. The slowing down bluesy ending is nice too. So perhaps nothing groundbreaking but certainly a good song. Entirely my fault for replying before reading the rest of the thread
Almost done with this album and then I can stop being heretical for a bit and be fully on board with (almost) all the songs. Little Miss Queen Of Darkness Good title but the tune and backing style is disappointingly off the peg. There must be thousands of songs like this one. Not that it's unpleasant to listen to. Hard to like or dislike. You're Looking Fine A pleasant jolt back into "Kontroversy". I know I'm in the minority but I find this album as a whole an awkward transitional stage with growing pains, and the songs I like most are the ones that either song like they belong on the next album ("Sunny Afternoon", "Dandy", "Fancy"), or the previous one (this one, "Too Much on My Mind", "I'll Remember").
I don’t care too much for You’re Looking Fine. It’s an ok competent heavy blues track, Dave sings good, plays good, but it’s generic, unremarkable and almost unnoticeable to the extent that cutting it out would not even make the LP better. It’s there but it’s like it’s not really there, completely harmless, especially placed as a link between two fantastic tracks like Little Miss Queen of Darkness and Sunny Afternoon. On a side note, I listened to it this morning and noticed for the first time that the Howlin’ Wolf/Peter Gunn bass riff has the exact same notes than Hey Bulldog! It’s crazy to realize that just by changing its flow and rhythm, The Beatles could get away from its blues roots and turn it on its head – which the Kinks definitely don’t try to do here!
Little Miss Queen of Darkness: I didn’t think there was anything particularly special about this track on my initial go-round but, perhaps influenced by thread exuberance, find that I quite like it now. It needs a stand-up bass (I’m listening on my phone this very early a.m., don’t want to wake anyone, so can’t clearly hear) and the drum solo is very jazz arrangement.
You’re Looking Fine: the best part of this song is Dave’s vocals, especially the opening. It’s another of those, “that sounds like...” and then I spend the next hour struggling to figure out who/what. After that, though, I’m not too interested. Re: Fortuleo and Hey Bulldog. It’s true! Now that’s all I hear.
Ray's elder sister's passing has been discussed in regard to Rosie Won't You Please Come Home, but she could also be the inspiration of Little Miss Queen of Darkness, at least partially, as she did (famously ?) die of a heart attack at a dance on Ray's 13th birthday. But beyond this autobiographical interpretation, it’s worth noting how Ray’s men portraits are usually full of bite and mockery, while his women songs (Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home, Two Sisters, Oklahoma USA etc.) were always poignant, compassionate and empathic, at least in his younger years.
"Little Miss Queen Of Darkness" It's a good track, although not one of my favourites from the album - coming after several impressive tracks it seems a bit unremarkable. The near-drum solo is a nice touch, though, and it's very well-recorded and produced. "You're Looking Fine" Sonically and thematically this sounds like it belongs on the previous album rather than this one, although it is an interesting change of pace at this stage of the album. I think that the frantic strumming and Dave's rasping at the end of the chorus just about elevates it above the ordinary. It would probably have been better as a b-side.
Little Miss Queen of Darkness has a charm and subtlety about it that I think makes it more rewarding with repeated listens. And Ray gives us a wonderful character sketch - again, he’s still just 21 when writing this. He takes this unfashionable - or is it nostalgic? - style of music to the next level on Something Else (Two Sisters, No Return, End of the Season).
Yep. I think the significance of the fact that Ray and Dave grew up with 6 elder sisters can’t be overstated in terms of how it influenced how women are portrayed in their early work. There’s a strong matter of fact feminine presence in the lyrics of their classic recordings that’s nearly totally absent in the contemporary work of say the Stones or The Who where females usually fall into your standard bitch/girlfriend/goddess etc categories. Later on it has to be said (as you implied) that Ray regressed a bit in this area, perhaps as he moved further from the direct influence of his family.
"Most Exclusive Residence" is another top song, little to no judgement in the lyrics, more a narrative piece, though Ray is again focusing on wealth and status Interesting that he's more and more concerned here with characters who lose one or both.. so much of his writing is about loss, or absence. "Fancy" quite an impenetrable lyric but a fantastic sounding track. This album at its height is simply outstanding. "You're Looking Fine" perfect time for a slow burning groover, no complaints here. At their roughest, with their grinding guitars and Dave's sandpaper vocals, The Kinks regularly outdo the grimiest efforts of the Beatles and Stones, and probably The Who as well. And somehow manage to write songs as (or imo, more) beautiful, too.. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness", another deceptively lighthearted song about loss.. jaunty, catchy, takes its time, but doesn't half pay off in the end. Without the lyric it would probably barely register, bar the instrumental breaks, but as a sketch of character and situation.. well, @Fortuleo already summarised it perfectly.
Right, I don't think I've covered anything here! So, let's dig in... Party Line: Now, while this track isn't anything highly original, it's still a killer opener to the album. The telephone intro intro that opening riff is utterly perfect, and kicks things off in a driving fashion for the Up/Down/Up/Down flow of the album. Rosy...: Now here's an interesting one. Like a few other posters here, I didn't 'get' it at first, but it eventually truly hit me what a wonderful track this is, from Ray's perfect lyricism and delivery, to the tight (but not too tight) performance by the band. With my wife and I's plan to move back to her homeland of Australia when we can as well, this track almost gives me a huge feeling of pre-emptive guilt, but I try to put this behind me when listening. Wonderful stuff. Dandy: Pure Davies pop. This track is great, and my mother loves it, though I'm not sure where she knows it from. It's playful, biting, but also lightly sympathetic. The Herman's one mainly loses points for dropping "look 'round thee" for "look 'round you", but I guess the US market wouldn't understand! Strange The Kinks recording wasn't issued as a single in the UK at least. Too Much on My Mind: Ray laying it all out on the table, and baring his soul here. Lyrically he's on top form, and arrangement mirrors the lyric perfectly. Session Man: I've always been a fan of Ray's warping of the enunciation for rhyme in this track, though it's not a highlight on side 1 for me. Still very enjoyable, but down the bottom of the rankings on this fantastic side. Rainy Day: Quite frankly ominous, this track it quite unparalleled IMO. The explosive rainclouds don't actually bother me throughout the track, and Ray's lyricism shines, though maybe goes a little too hard at points. House In The Country: Man, what a highlight! I didn't pay too much attention to this track, until recently I was playing the French Dead End Street EP and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. In your face fun, this track has all the perfect hooks troughout. The double stop "House in the country" in the chorus is just unstoppable. Rock n' Roll perfection. Holiday in Wakiki: This track has always amused me lyrically, and I enjoy the playful musicianship too, which suits the topic to a tee. Again the FX are perfectly executed. Most Exclusive: This track I do enjoy, but it seems to just be missing a little bit of energy, or zing. It don't know what it needs, but it's just not 100% for me, but still strong. Fancy: I used to see this as a downright bore, but over time I've really grown to appreciate the vibe put across by this track, and it's brevity is very beneficial in that. Little Miss Queen...: An absolute favourite if ever there was one! There's a real groove here, and it feels unlike anything else done by the group at this stage. It's perfectly recorded as noted, and that drum solo, drowning in reverb (in mono only) is quintessentially Mick in delivery, and really takes the track somewhere else, before bringing it back down. I also love how the electric enters in after this in the distance to add drive and play, but it's weird hearing the stereo mix where this is upfront from the get go! Clearly this could have been panned off to one side, but ah well... You're Looking Fine: I was never captured by this track, even ignoring how it's very much earlier Kinks in style. I don't think it quite achieves the sleaze it wants to, and sounds out of place here, but then so does Sunny Afternoon by sounding too polished IMO. Tomorrow's track is exactly the same fate, but I'll discuss that differently...
It was at the Lyceum Ballroom where she died. I went to a Kinks concert there in the 80's. I wonder what was going through his mind that evening.
I think they had stopovers at both: it was a long flight! Unfortunately I’m at work just now miles away from my trusty Hinman, so I can’t check for sure though, and I’ve already burnt my fingers getting locations wrong on this thread, so I’ll say no more for now!!!
I wouldn’t say Ray in the 60s had an idealised view of women so much as he wrote about them as characters in their own right, rather than objects of a male perspective. I think it was to do with his upbringing with his sisters and also with having a fairly stable (esp for a rock star of the time) home life. Later on in the 70s and 80s in some ways Ray was living something closer to a more conventional rock star existence, married to touring, on the road constantly etc.
I always thought it was Singapore but according to Rogan it was from a visit to Bombay. So you're off the hook this time.
