Too much going on for me today to comment other than all great songs today, none of which made my list. Four way tie was quite a surprise, and I compiled the data, lol.
I love all 4 of today's songs, even though only one of them ended up on my own list. Set Me Free was another early favourite first encountered via the File Series. I had this at 15 in the first round but it slipped down to 25th this time around, one of the few for which I allowed the ranking engine's placement to stand. I feel like I let the side down a bit here - also did not know it had reached #2 in Canada. (Before my time, but still...) Mr Churchill Says, like all of today's songs, could have ended up on my list on another day ... instead of or in addition to the several Arthur tracks already there. From your victory garden, no doubt. Powerman was not one of the 7 "man" songs I was actively considering when I compiled my first list, and didn't make it onto my second. But I am not sorry to see he managed to drive enough of you insane to put him in the kollektive top 100. I had 4 selections from Schoolboys vying for a spot on my second list. I'm in Disgrace didn't make it, but it was close.
and you did a great job and made it easy for me... cheers... It's sorta nice to be on this side of the fence, I can imagine the anticipation @Steve62 must have had with the first list.... I wanna just post them all, but I'm not sayin' diddly If I was back in the waiting zone, I would be somewhat perplexed... but just remember this is quite a lot of songs, and there is minimal agreement, which is why I think we have such a great spread of tracks
82 Set Me Free Unranked by me but that’s just because there are too many songs I love dearly, and simply not enough slots. This was one of the first songs (besides the most well known hits) that I fell in love with. It’s so simple, but we talk about the multi-part epics from Arthur, well to a much lesser extent, Ray’s songwriting had that element here. We have the “Set me free little girl, you can do it if you try” section, the “I don’t want no one…” and the “Settt meee freeee” refrain. Ok, maybe he’s not a mini-epic, but it’s still so uniquely Kinky and I can’t imagine any other band doing this song. The To the Bone version is fantastic too, with Dave’s melodic intro. 82 Powerman Unranked, but love this one as well. The brief acoustic intro and then the guitar trigger riff before the melodic motif before the driving riff. All in the first 20 seconds. Dave’s bridge vocal makes this one of the best collaborative performances in their catalog. 82 Mr Churchill Says Unranked in my first list, but made it to #34 on my second list. This one really is an epic, and one one of my first favorite songs on this album when getting into it many years ago. The intro verse about saving tin, garden gates and empty cans to win the war… really sets the stage for the air raid siren and the scenes of destruction described by Ray. I love the jam/solo and the intense vocals of what sounds like everyone on the street boarding up their windows. What a brilliant song, and worthy of the kollective top 100. 82 I'm In Disgrace Unranked by me, but I did have four other tracks from this album on my second top 40. Love this riff rocker though, and both Ray and Dave shine in fine form on this track. Finally, count me in on the weekly other band/artist highlight. I think I would be 9 or 10? However it shakes out, I’m in!
Set Me Free This is such a catchy and immediate song! The insistent, powerful guitar riff coupled with the quite gentle melody makes the music special and I think the song stands up well among the other early singles. I didn't hear them in real time but this song still sounds fresh and timeless. Powerman As with so many Kinks songs, the intro is very distinctive. The dueling acoustic and electric guitars draws me in as a listener. I really like the ominous yet defiant mood of the song and the vocal harmonies by Ray and Dave add to making the song special. It was a brilliant move to have Dave sing lead vocals on a verse as well. Mr Churchill Says An integral part of the Arthur album, this song is full of drama and shifting pace and takes its listeners on an epic musical journey. It is interesting that the lyrics quote from some of Churchill's speeches. I'm very interested in World War 2 history and have read numerous books about Churchill as well as having seen documentaries and movies and visisted the Churchill Cabinet Rooms in London etc. I highly recommend the 2017 movie Darkest Hour in which The Kinks' song would have fitted in well on the soundtrack. I'm In Disgrace I really like the Schoolboys In Disgrace album. To my ears, the songs work well both as stand-alone songs and as parts of the bigger whole. This particular song is one of the many highlights on the album, with the distinctive piano intro building up a mood before the song shifts in pace and feel to something rockier. The lyrics do capture the young narrator's crushing disappointment that the girl who he loves treat him so differently once he is in disgrace, humiliated. Ray's singing is full of heart, he sings it like everything in the lyrics happened to him personally. Great song!
Almost anything? https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/almost-anything-goes-rollerskating-horses#:~:text=Summary,states competing for cash prizes. https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/almost-anything-goes-human-catapult I wish I could have found something crazier from this 70's Aus show I watched but I'm sure there was a US equivalent!
Not many people seemed to rave about She’s Got Everything. That one made my first list (and of course, therefore, my second list as well). Not sure if I posted this before, but long before I ever heard the kink’s (superior) version, already I knew and loved this take on it:
The Headmaster for the win! I am not sure why I doubted his judgment in suggesting that song (considering it’s right there in his name!).
In another say 2000 pages we can likely sit back in our old rocking chair and be too old to get it going!
Episode 2 is out today! Ep. 2: Kinksize (1964) Thoroughly Kinky: A Kinks Podcast: Ep. 2: Kinksize (1964) on Apple Podcasts https://music.amazon.it/podcasts/fe...ghly-kinky-a-kinks-podcast-ep-2-kinksize-1964 https://podcasts.google.com/search/thoroughly kinky
Ok, I wasn't sure how many folks were going to bite on this idea, but it seems like quite a few folks want to do a band profile for a Sunday, so like the ark, we'll go by two's. This Sunday - 2/18- @markelis and @DISKOJOE 2/25 - @Zeki and @KM Dave 65-78 3/3 - @Brian x and @CheshireCat 3/10 - @Steve62 and @donstemple 3/17 - @StefanWq
81 (A) Face In The Crowd. 1975 A Soap Opera 195 points On 11 lists 2 top 10 This didn't make my long list. 3 songs from Soap Opera made my long list, but nowhere near contention for best Kinks songs. Soap Opera is just an album that I personally struggle with. It certainly has some good songs, but few that would come close to challenging the scorers here. 80 Destroyer. 1981 Give The People What They Want 198 points On 8 lists 4 top 10 Destroyer snuck into my big list at 174. I like it. I think it works well on the album, but there was never any fear it would challenge my favourites in the catalog.
Destroyer… I’ve always liked it a lot, the way you like hits by your favorite bands. I mean, Start Me Up is never going to be my favorite Stones song… but I did buy the single in 1981, long before becoming a Stones fan. Destroyer was 1981 too. Didn’t buy the single neither did I hear (of) it. But The Kinks were certainly not the Stones as far as pop culture penetration goes in the early eighties, especially in France. Especially for a 10 year old. But when I got on board for the Kinks ride (something like nine years later), I immediately liked the song and recognized it as a big radio monster hit ready which… it never was! I look at the Wikipedia Kinks discography and it seems the song didn’t even chart in the UK! How come???!!?? This has hit written all over it. Maybe the British public was upset that Ray and the band were focusing on the US market at the time? Never mind that, in my mind, I still hear it as a hit. The ADAAOTN and Lola allusions/commentaries, the crazy destroying guitars, the great shambolic chorus and the constant shift in dynamics (announcing the Pixies’ quiet/loud gimmick), make it a fun roller coaster and an monster showstopper in its live incarnations. I think it’s brilliant and one of the best, broadest attempts by Ray at having a dialogue with his past “oeuvre” and with us, the fans. Still not a list entry for me (would Start Me up make my top 80?), but a song I always take a huge kick out of.
81) (A) Face In The Crowd (195) <80 82) I'm In Disgrace (193) >95 82) Mr. Churchill Says (193) >99 82) Powerman (193) >119 82) Set Me Free (193) <76 86) Muswell Hillbilly (191) <51 87) Low Budget (185) >103 88) Daylight (184) >117 88) Look Through Any Doorway (184) >107 90) This Is Where I Belong (182) <65 91) She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina (181) <59 92) Jukebox Music (180) >118 93) Heart Of Gold (179) >101 94) How Are You (173) <86 95) Catch Me Now I'm Falling (169) >176 96) Where Are They Now? (167) >172 97) Afternoon Tea (166) <71 98) Holiday (162) >161 98) Sitting By The Riverside (162) >109 100) Nothing In This World Can Stop Me Worrying About That Girl (161) <92 We round out the bottom 20 with (A) Face In The Crowd at #81 one down from #80 last time and dang! It's in my 40 at #37 so I'm 4/20 with these.
80) Destroyer (198) >112 Destroyer leads the countdown on our new top 40 (aka 41-80) at #80 with 198 votes, up considerably from #112 last time and double dang! It's not on my list like it should be! Out of the gate O for 1 and I surely deserve it.
13 songs in a row that haven't been on my lists. "(A) Face In The Crowd" should be a big favourite of mine, as it's a classic 70s Kinks ballad - and it is, when I'm listening to it. However, I have this idea that it's forgettable - it took me many listens before any of it stuck in my brain. Even now I couldn't sing the whole thing, and that marks it down. "Destroyer" is great fun, and as GTPWTW was the first Arista album I ever heard - and the one which demonstrated that there was life in The Kinks post-1970 - it's a song that I've played a lot, although not so much in recent years.
