Is this the big sister of Powerman ? This fuzz drone sound is tremendous and the repetitive structure is super powerful, illustrating the manic state of mind of a relentless sleepless desperate sexaholic. He's probably lost his girl and now sings to another he took for the night – just anyone really – as a substitute. Each time he gets to the “’till the suuuuun-shiiiines” bit, it seems he’s on the verge of exhaustion but still refuses to stop, sleep or even catch a breath. As the opening of Side 2, and part 1 of a « sun trilogy » of sorts, this song works wonders. As the B-side to Death of a Clown, yes, it definitely made for another winning thematic pair, the guy on this song being even sadder than the clown. And on the CD, the drone sound seems to be born out of Situation Vacant – so why not the lyrics ? There's a good chance we won't favor the same interpretation depending on the context in which the song is heard. But the conviction in Dave's singing makes me think the accurate one is the depressed sexaholic aiming to lose himself in the night, because he's so desperately alone after his girl left him. Note that unlike Ray, Dave doesn't name any of his characters. In a daze, he just won't connect… I think the BBC version above is a lot tighter and even more devastating than the studio one, whose production is a little awkward (but all the more charming for it).
Dandy after his boyish charm is gone, and the girls don't flock to him anymore. Fonzie, when he realises he is now just old and alone, and the charm or cool has drifted off to sea. Yea, nice one.... I can see that.
I agree the lyric of this song is interesting and mysterious, like "I Just Want to Make Love To You" without even the "making love". I often compare Dave's vocals unfavourably to Ray's but they're really welcome here, widening the albums palette vocally in the same way the relatively straightforward music widens the album's music palette (even further!), and the first-person lyrics make a break from all the third-person character studies. One of my favourite Dave songs, this halts the slight decline of the album and gets it back on an even keel.
Yeah, LMTTSS is an example where the BBC take (got to make sure it’s the 1968 version though, there’s an earlier 1967 BBC recording that ain’t as good) is so definitive that it supersedes the studio recording. Such an awesomely powerful performance!
"Love Me Til The Sun Shines" A strange start if you're listening to the stereo mix in headphones. The guitars and drums are panned hard left. Then Dave comes in and he's even further left! I feel like shouting at this point "Oi Dave, I'm over here!" as 90% of my headspace remains unused. But eventually second Dave and the organ come in to take up the right channel. This track is sloppy as heck, especially some of the double-tracking, but it rocks and it grooves, and the organ in particular makes it a great slice of garage pop.
Love Me Till the Sun Shines: lyrically, I’m in the “hooker” camp. “Walk the streets,” “take my money,” everything about the lyrics is transactional. I oughta love this song as it’s shambolic and slots nicely into my idea of alt-country...but, so far, I don’t. As of now, it remains in the so-so category. I can’t quite put my finger on it but somehow it feels a bit like a throwback to an earlier album. Not sure. I’ll see where it ends up.
Early rock stereo releases were notorious for their exaggerated effects. When you add that headphone listening wasn’t factored in back then, bad results are not unexpected.
Love Me Till the Sun Shines Once again, Mark has done an excellent introduction to the song. I agree with Mark's sentiments about the music being a bit 'dirty and disheveled' yet somehow finding a rightful place among Ray's more refined work. On the lyrics though...Spoiler Alert... Dave tells us exactly what they are about in his 1996 bio Kink. In August 1962, when Dave was 15 Sue, his girlfriend of two years, told him she was pregnant. He told her they should get married and promptly bought a six quid engagement ring. But things quickly changed: after they told their parents they never saw each other again. Dave's mum told him Sue didn't love him anymore. Dave much later found out Sue's mum told her the same about Dave - she also did have the baby (named Tracey) in an Unmarried Mothers Home (!). Fast forward five years and multiple one-night stands and casual relationships later, Dave says he wrote Funny Face and Love Me Till the Sun Shines about Sue: 'Many times during my life thoughts and feelings about her would rise to the surface to plague or torment me. Unresolved emotions about a love that was never meant to be' (Funny Face) ..... 'I was still so angry inside because I thought she never really loved me. I could never understand how she could so suddenly not love me.' (Love me Till the Sun Shines) Notably, at the time Dave wrote these songs he was married and his wife was pregnant. Any interpretation of a possible link between that and his relationship with Sue is way beyond my cod psychology skills. Sorry for the lyrical spoilers, but on this occasion I thought it would be helpful.
You could be right. He certainly was scarred by the experience. In the same book he says Suzanah's Still Alive is 'yet another song about Sue' and Lincoln County was about a present he'd bought for Sue. I'd speculate that Mindless Child of Motherhood and This Man He Weeps Tonight could also be related - I don't think he says in the book. On the plus side he did eventually meet his daughter Tracey when she was an adult.
Excellent info, cheers mate. That gives a better context for the confused styling of the lyrics.... it also gives me a heads up for Funny Face
Love Me Till the Sun Shines Musically, it seems like a throwback, but knowing that it's Dave, it's a solid progression in his songwriting and vocal delivery from his earlier efforts. I think Dave's on his own timeline, just delayed maybe 1-2 years compared to Ray's songwriting development. Not quite sure exactly what to make of the song itself. It's dirty, a bit sloppy, garage-y, grungy, and very repetitive, and I do enjoy it. I feel like the song is incomplete though and could use a little more variety? The breakdown sections are interesting. Some of the manic feeling of the breakdowns and the guitar-tone seem like it could have been on Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" It just goes to show the variety that we are seeing on this amazing album. The fade-in is a great effect and a perfect way to open up Side 2 of the vinyl. The organ fills in some gaps and adds another layer here and there, and seems most notable right at the end. One thing that I think Dave has picked up from Ray's garage-rock writing is that the vocals pair up extremely well with the guitar riff. The underlying guitar tones whenever Dave accents the "You don't have to..." is such a great hook into the song. It seems extra accentuated in the last verse (or is that the chorus?).
Love Me Till The Sun Shines Great, informative discussion here. Previously, I just took this as a simple but effective rocker and one of those songs good for Dave's voice. It's still all that to me, but now a little more as well.
Happy Birthday Ray. Thanks for the music! Hey @Scottsol, you're not Ray incognito, keeping us all in line are you?