just a quick free-form report: One of the things I started wondering when I got into this thread was whether, listening to these new-to-me Kinks songs so much later in life, they would ever become *classic* to me in the same way that the songs I came to love at 16/17 did (that is, just about everything up to Misfits). Yesterday, driving around, Cliches of the World came up on my shuffle and, without thinking about it, I turned it up and sang along with it as if it was something off Arthur. Knew every word, evoked memories and associations (not of decades ago, but of when I was first introduced to it via this thread), resonated in that kind of *nostalgic,* *sentimental* way as the Kinks songs I've known for decades. So, yes -- lots of post-Misfits songs have left the category of "late period curiosities" for me and entered the Kinks Kanon with every bit of the resonance and permanence as those songs I discovered as a teenager & that "changed my life."
oooh and an interesting tidbit from DD on Twitter: Question for @davedavieskinks - did “Superman” end up with disco sound per the request of Clive Davis? Or was that just a creative choice? I personally love that song any which way - especially guitar work on One For the Road version. Dave Davies @davedavieskinks · 3h Rays idea
Some double albums were made that way to make it easier to play them on multi-disc stacker record players. You would put the two discs on with Side A facing up on the lower disc and Side B facing up on the upper disc. When both sides had played, you just turned the stack over and placed it on the spindle again, and it would play sides C and D.
Really enjoying some of these 10 track compiles. If I were to pick 10 songs for a 64-74 compile to say “This is the Other Side of the Kinks”, to exclude the big singles and heavy rockers, to bring people in with songs they wouldn’t peg as “the Kinks” based on the bigger hits, I’d go with: ‘64-‘74 Too Much On My Mind End of the Season Big Sky Till Death Us Do Part Young and Innocent Days A Long Way From Home Moments Complicated Life Daylight Nothing Lasts Forever ‘75 onward Holiday Romance No More Looking Back Life Goes On Moving Pictures Yo-Yo Property Summer’s Gone How Are You? Look Through Any Doorway Scattered Just wanted to add that my 10 year old now loves Too Much On My Mind. He has heard it before over the past 2 years, but I played it in the car last week, and it finally hit him. “Dad, this song is so true! Whenever I go try to go sleep, I have all these thoughts in my head.” And he just sings along… “and there’s nothing I can do… about it… about it.” In other news, yes we are working on his ability to go to sleep a bit more easily!
Thank you @pyrrhicvictory for the articles this weekend. This quote from the 1974 one stood out: "Our band’s never really fit in. We’re not a pretty band. We're not really heavy rock band We're not flash musicians. I don't know what we are. I don’t know who I am. Sometimes I feel I don’t even exist.” He also says he doesn’t just want to churn out the 3-4 minute pop story songs anymore, and says that if he continues to do that, the magic will reveal itself. So, in essence, to keep the interest of the audience, he has to apply his songwriting talents to other areas - like Starmaker — in which the title character doesn’t know who is anymore, feels lost or out of touch, and needs to “mix with the ordinary people” to get inspiration for new songs. Who is Starmaker? Who is Norman? Who is Dan the fan? Who is Ray? Who is reflected in the glass? The imaginary man…
I believe this was my earliest Kinks record. What a phenomenal bunch of songs all mixed up. It doesn't really make sense, but it's a perfect introduction to The Kinks. I wish I still had it, but I gave it to a friend after I had collected all the individual albums. I love that you would check out the records from the library. I loved going to my local library and checking out records when I was in my early-mid teens. I must have checked out Pleasant Dreams by The Ramones a dozen times. I would return it and then check it back out again the next day. I have such fond memories of checking out library records.
Ok in my haste I said it was a UK issue though I see it is from the good old USA. I must say I am really enjoying (and valuing) hearing it this way instead of 1 track a day on my little Galaxy A11 phone! First spin LP......... UK Jive 1989 The Kinks US MCA LP Cat: 6337
Thank you very much for the explanation! Very interesting. I have never seen multi-stack record players in real life.
I finally got around to uploading to YouTube the complete performance of Ray at Glastonbury on 27 June 2010. The bad news is that YT blocked it due to copyright over the performance of the song Sunny Afternoon. If I had ChatGPT I'd ask it where the logic was in that and whether it could have a chat to YouTube when they're not so busy. 'Sort it out ChatGPT - know what I mean.' In the real world, I'll see if I can edit out that song and try again.
Bingo Ringo! ** Edit: He never said anything about feeling fine but did about Yesterday being an easier game for someone to play!
I don't know much about it, but I believe you can question/challenge the copyright strike, stating it is for educational purposes.... Apparently sometimes folks get stuff cleared
Ray Davies Live At The Roundhouse, London part 3 . One More Time. Ray likes to deliver some content on his new tracks, which helps give the audience some perspective ..."... this is a break up song ... breaking up with the world ..." The slight country lilt and the predominantly acoustic arrangement work really well in this setting, and it creates a sort of intimate congregation of broken hearts... we all to some degree have broken hearts, something in our lives punched a hole that never quite heals, and I think that's one of the things about Ray's writing, he has a way of sort of softening the scar tissue in his perspective. Listening to this here today, I can hear the break up with the world thing. A beautiful song, and an excellent version. Come Dancing. Ray enjoys his catalog, and he always/generally seems to deliver it well, but I reckon he would like to be playing his new material. It may be an illusion I'm hearing, but it seems there is a slightly more connection to the new songs... that deeper, "this means something to me right now" connection. Ray and the band do a great fun version of this, and Ray connects and gives us just a tiny touch of theater Ray in his delivery. I can't watch the video and type at the same time, but I guess Ray went side stage for a minute... ahh he needed a drink. 20th Century Man. I get the feeling that this song means a lot to Ray, somewhere deep.... I get the feeling it is a single song summary of the deep internals of Ray, or at least part of them. We have the gentle, and full of feel and heart bridge opening, and then we move into the start proper, from an original song version context. Then Ray sings it more like the original album version. Early on shouty Ray is on hold. After a short instrumental section the dynamics take it to the next level... It just struck me that the slide guitar lick is very similar to the Born To Be Wild lick... and very apt, depending on how you define wild in the context. Over the course of the thread this song has grown and grown in my already solid appreciation of it. I still love my One For The Road version most, but this song is unsinkable. It is an ever growing anthem of my feelings, which may be why such a connection for me. Another great version Celluloid Heroes. Again I guess somewhat unpopularly, the one For The Road version holds a special place in my heart. That album sewed the seam that holds the Kinks so dear to my heart, and the thread has deepened that to a place I actually hadn't imagined... But the reality is, this is just a magnificent song, and I'm not sure there are any bad versions. This version straddles the ground between a few of the others, in arrangement. Hard for this song not to be great. 0:34:00 09 One More Time 0:39:00 10 Come Dancing 0:44:00 11 20th Century Man 0:52:00 12 Celluloid Heroes
Ok, according to the latest thing retweeted by Dave it looks like Ray will be recording a separate promo interview with Tim Burgess for Absolute Radio later this week. That's reassuring news.
Getting ahead of the game by listening earlier this morning... "One More Time" A beautiful rendition of this track which brings out all the poignancy in the lyrics. The "economic vultures" verse is left out, but isn't really missed here. Delivered with some genuine feeling. "Come Dancing" All the stops are pulled out on this one, which manages to reproduce the feel of the original track while adding a live energy to it. Ray is really in his element here. "20th Century Man" Ray's fine for mentioning his former band is increasing as the show goes on. He really gets his teeth into this one and the band is in good rocking form. The stop-start with the slide guitar works well. "Celluloid Heroes" A pretty standard rendition of this track which doesn't add much to all the previous live versions we've heard. I still prefer the full original version.
So today's section sees the last of a string of new Ray songs and then a return to Kinks material. I will say that I preferred "One More Time" live (the la la la's did not grate). In the Kinks selections that follow, I was struck by the skill of Ray's band. They played these songs in a way that sounded fresh. "Come Dancing" with accordion, "20th Century Man" with pedal steel were nice touches. The grooves are different from the Kinks. And they put this all together in a couple of days according to Ray's comments after "Celluloid Heroes". All of this sounds impressive to me.
Coming out of our Working Man's Café deep dive, I think there's a fair chance it's you (and me!) who have what you call « that deeper, "this means something to me right now" connection » with the more recent material. In any case, the three Kinks songs are hard to beat as live beasts, but my today's star is One More Time too. In this alt-countryfied version, it comes across as a long lost Misfits era ballad.
Love your lists and story that in turn prompts mine! Over the last few days I have been dri-i-i-i-i-vin' and enjoying a Kinks Kar Komp thanks to an Avids unique USB gift. After hearing two full 1972 shows back to back i was delighted today to find featured following.... a wonderful Dave Davies concert! At one point i pulled into a service station for a gas gallon and came out of the (water-loo) closet realising i was audibly lost in my own vocalising of Too Much On My Mind that i was passionately trying to voice out loud exactly the way I'd just heard Dave phrasing it! This all made me think of the joy of youthful musical discovery and experimentation and it still rearing its head decades on as i nod fondly in the one direction of Avid @Brian x.
Once thing we didn’t mention, I think, is that Ray introduces all the tracks. His banter is fantastic, at the same time intimate and witty, easy going and insightful, really telling us something about what the songs mean… and what they mean to him. One More Time is a break up song, a song about “the world breaking up”, he started it in Ireland, he’d forgotten the song was even on the record that was recorded very quickly! That’s a lot of interesting information… Come Dancing tells about the times when people used to have fun at the dance on Saturday nights. Celluloid Heroes was written when he lived on Hollywood Boulevard because “that’s where the strip joints were”. Ahah, some of this we knew already, some we didn't. And did we know that in his mind, 20th Century Man was about his father’s generation ? I certainly did not!
Thé Roundhouse show looks like it would have been great to be there. Nice song selection, Ray is in good voice and the band is rockin.
The Roundhouse show is pretty great. Like @Fortuleo I am always glad to hear Ray’s banter. I am enjoying everyone’s lists of alternate tracks but can’t rouse myself to do another one at the moment. I did put up a couple during the posting era following Phobia. The new interviews in Mojo are worth reading. Dave as usual has his heart on his sleeve. Mick dances around in his commentary for You Really Got Me, discussing how the song is played. Only Bobby Graham fans will know Mick is talking in the third person here (of course we will all know). Ray is not particularly forthcoming (surprise!) on anything.
a foolish task, insurmountable, but I shall play (by Fortune's rules): I Gotta Move (I like the live EP version, but either will do - the song just rips!) She Got Everything (Love the Romantics's version too!) I Need You Pretty Polly Daylight Here Comes Yet Another Day Time Song (mind blowing song right here!) (I Wish I Could Fly Like ) Superman (this passes the Fortuleo Test because its the hard to find the extended version, which is the only way to go) Live Life Sold Me Out
