That’s wonderful. I would love for it to completely disappear. I have good months where I don’t think about it much, but then it comes raging back. I try to take care of myself, but I do love beer and I still occasionally smoke harry rags. Only a couple of small hand rolled a night. I enjoy it in small doses, but I know the time is coming to give it up. I try to balance it with other much healthier habits. My girlfriend quit 6 months ago after a long sickness and developing asthma. I’m proud of her for sticking to it. I can’t wait to meet up! I hope we don’t get into a fight at the bakery over the last babka.
I realise it's not Freeform Sunday, but our Sundays aren't freeform anymore. So I'm sequestering Saturday (or possibly Friday...) to post this clip I just watched of Nigel Tufnel being interviewed for Marshall amps. It looks about 30 years old but it was new at the time. If you liked the movie you'll like this clip. Anyway, the reason for posting here isn't the Spinal Tap references; rather I draw your attention to the question around the 8:30 mark about whether Nigel was pals with any of the guitar gods.
I don't think any song that didn't get a single vote would have really even been in consideration for a top 100. However, I think the world would be a lesser place and my life would not be as good without the following great songs that got nary a vote: Act Nice & Gentle 1967 Single All Night Stand Kinks 1965 Demo Come On Now 1965 Kinda Kinks Denmark Street 1970 Lola Don't Ever Let Me Go Unknown Don't You Fret 1965 Kwyet Kinks Hay Fever 1978 Misfits Introduction To Solution 1974 Preservation Act 2 Perfect Strangers 1989 UK Jive Permanent Waves 1978 Misfits Repetition 1986 Think Visual Sand On My Shoes Unknown What's In Store For Me 1965 The Kink Kontroversy When I See That Girl Of Mine 1965 The Kink Kontroversy Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight 1965 Kinda Kinks To me, in addition to the specific situations identified in the next two paragraphs that I feel created an unfair hinderance to certain songs, a few of these songs that I listed above are pretty essential to a true Kinks fan and would get at least a second thought to fill out my top 100 if were going there (in particular: All Night Stand, Come On Now, Denmark Street, Don't You Fret, Don't Ever Let Me Go). I also want to give a special shout out to the Soap Opera suite of Nine to Five/Have Another Drink/When Work Is Over (the last two of which didn't get a vote). On their own, these individual songs were not even in contention for my top 40 lists, but as a three-part suite, I would have bumped this into the mid 20s of my second top 40 (making it my 65th(ish) song). Also worth noting that, on its own, Morning Song didn't get a vote and would not have gotten one from me. As a stand-alone song, it doesn't work for me. Daylight, its follow up song on Preservation 1, also didn't get the nod for my top 40s lists as a stand-alone song (I think its a great song even on its own, just not great enough to make my top 80). ...but again, if we could have combined songs that REALLY belong together, and thus combined Morning Song with Daylight, the pair would have been also likely to be in the top 20 to top 30 of my second list. I really feel like Daylight gets a real lift as it flows out of the peaceful Morning Song and is elevated thereby. These are my thoughts on the overlooked Kinks songs.
On a lighter note... I'm running out of opportunities to squeeze in any remaining alternate mixes, versions, and remixes never posted in the thread, so as soon as an opportunity comes up, I'm going for it. No need to wait any longer. This song has come up this week and again yesterday with the list rankings and vote, so after threatening it a few months ago, it goes up now as this song will likely not come up again. The single mix of Black Messiah has never been on YouTube oddly enough, so it never got posted when we covered the song way back. Perhaps a shocking choice as a single, this came out as an A-Side in the UK, and a B-Side in the US, and is a bonus track on the 1998 Velvel CD reissue of Misfits. This mix has much more reverb on it as well as having some instruments and vocals shifted around between it and the dry album mix/versions. Piano and organ are swapped in position and the brief flamenco-ish lead guitar in the middle of the song is now separated and moved away from the rhythm guitar. It's a shorter edit from the (now longer) album version on the CD, but one weird head scratching thing is that it eliminates completely the somewhat reconciliatory (whether that was his Ray's intent or not) lyrics about everybody got to show a little give and take, a little less hate, work it out, sort it out. Very odd to omit these lines, at least to me. Lots of unanswered questions around this song of course. If Ray's tongue was in his cheek here, I wonder which cheek. Top or bottom? He should have put it somewhere else. Anyway, not wishing to go down that road here, I'm only looking at the mixes. Black Messiah (Single Mix) Some insanity and (hopefully) fun now This might be fun. You can follow along with a scan of my rough notes on this mix stuff here on this song. Put your ear buds in or your headphones on and try it. I've thought about posting a page or two of these before for laughs (plus scorn and ridicule!) to show there is a method to this madness and so again no need to hold back on anything now. Here's a couple of pages with the songs from around this Arista era for the songs that have alternate mixes with those and the originals mixes mapped out in terms of instruments, vocals, and their positions in the stereo spectrum, though I guarantee no one can read any of this . Oh well, just as long as I know the language. Black Messiah is the 4th and 5th songs down in the middle on the left side of this first page and here's a link to the longer original mix if anyone wants to follow either of these mixes using these notes. It may look like a made-up language, but this is English, I promise. The Kinks - Black Messiah (Official Audio) (youtube.com) Have some fun with some of these of these other songs and pick some of these things out if you can decipher any of this. And, yes, these are my "official" notes and I have pages and pages and pages of this stuff as you might well imagine . Like I said, insanity, but very much fun stuff for me! _________________________________________________________________________ Speaking of made-up languages, Magma is a whole other language in terms of music and words, literally for those of you that know what we're talking about. I see what you did there and you're right, Christian Vander is right up my alley (and Streett) - incredible drummer, incredible band. Yes @The late man, it was during the Lost And Found discussion which has a different meaning to me now due to the hurricane lyrics. You have a good memory!
Given the environment if he gets boastile & too bossynova you can bunt or batter the bastille with a bevy of breadsticks & become beaucoup de better!
You weren't kidding when you said you absolutely "had" a need to go through all those different Kinks mixes Michael as your dedication is down in black and white before us. Glad to hear it was helpful to your mind and well being too....... ah Ray!
I’ve lost both my parents; my father at 92 years of age, lucid to the end but completely wasted away physically. He was looking/wishing to go six months prior but lasted that extra six months with one day in hospice care. My mother, who never, ever dreamed she’d outlive my father, passed away at 96 years of age. Was living independently, fell…and moved into assisted living one week before the covid shutdown. Awful. Awful. No one could see her (except from afar). Quite frankly, lived 2 years too long. My eldest sister is the saint, the rock, absolutely wonderful. But she, even, couldn’t be with my mom for a long period of time. I was working on a memoir, dedicated to my parents, so that pushed me to complete the project and I’m happy that she was able to read it while she was still sharp (pre-fall, pre-Covid shutdown)…and she loved it. I do think about both of my parents all the time, both of them very funny people. My dad never drank coffee, calling it ‘black death.’ Instead he would drink Postum. My son had no idea what Postum was so I was describing it to him; a coffee substitute made from the sweepings off of the Post Cereal factory floor….when my dad, 80 years old, looked at me, incredulous, and said, “That was a joke!” I had heard him tell that story numerous times while growing up and always thought that’s how Postum was made. Ha ha.
I like the way @Fortuleo casually used the term “bakery” as if it would be a shop we would recognise. In my experience Parisian boulangeries are the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory equivalent of our bakeries.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club I have heard of them, but hadn't heard their music until now. The songs presented here were all very strong, starting with "Love Burns". It immediately drew me in as a listener to the band's own musical world. To my ears, there's a sense of slow-building intensity, commitment and mystery to their music and they definitely have a unique sound. Great vocalists, their voices give the music edge and character. I imagine Black Rebel Motorcycle Club must have been an incredible group to experience live. If they were to get back together again and did a gig here I'd definitely go and see them. All of the songs presented here were top notch but if I had to pick just one I think it would be "Beat The Devil's Tattoo". I think the full album of theirs I will listen to will be "Howl". Thank you very much @donstemple for your presentation of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club!
Thanks, Mark and @Fortuleo! Both my folks lived into their 90s. The last 7 years of my Dad's life after a stroke were increasingly miserable for him; at least only the last 7 months of my Mom's life after a fall were miserable, and during Covid when my brother and I were allowed 1 hour each week to visit. My eldest brother took primary responsibility to oversee them since he lived close and was better suited for it, and I'll always be grateful for that. Now my wife and I worry about what our last years will look like since we don't have kids. I think/hope we'll be pragmatic and pro-active about preparing for it, unlike my parents who resisted any change at all.
Reminds me of a little chocolate shop in Vienna that you virtually had to enter through a wall of decidedly decadent & delightfully, dainty delicacies!
That single mix of "Black Messiah" certainly sounds different....doesn't make the song sound any better, unfortunately!
The Era Charts – Group Pye 1 -Waterloo Sunset 2 - Days 3 - Sunny Afternoon 4 - Shangri La 5 - Autumn Almanac 6 - Victoria 7 - Dead End Street 8 - You Really Got Me 9 - Lola 10 - Village Green Preservation Society 11 - All Day And All Of The Night 12 - I’m Not Like Everybody Else 13 - This Time Tomorrow 14 - Do You Remember Walter 15 - Picture Book 16 - Strangers 17 - Animal Farm 18 - Village Green 19 - Some Mother’s Son 20 - David Watts RCA 1 - Celluloid Heroes 2 - 20th Century Man 3 - Sweet Lady Genevieve 4 - Sitting In My Hotel 5 - Oklahoma USA 6 - No More Looking Back 7 - The Hard Way 8 - Supersonic Rocket Ship 9 - Alcohol 10 - Schooldays 11 - Sitting In The Midday Sun 12 - Holiday Romance 13 - You Make It All Worthwhile 14 - A Face In The Crowd 15 - I’m In Disgrace 16 - Muswell Hillbilly 17 - Daylight 18 - Where Are They Now? 19 - Holiday 20 - Hot Potatoes Arista 1 - Better Things 2 - Misfits 3 - Rock And Roll Fantasy 4 - Living On A Thin Line 5 - Don’t Forget To Dance 6 - Do It Again 7 - Come Dancing 8 - Superman 9 - Sleepwalker 10 -Father Christmas 11 - Destroyer 12 - Low Budget 13 - Juke Box Music 14 - Heart Of Gold 15 - Catch Me Now I’m Falling 16 - Around The Dial 17 - Live Life 18 - Moving Pictures 19 - Mr Big Man 20 - Stormy Sky MCA/Columbia/London 1 - Scattered 2 - Loony Balloon 3 - Did Ya 4 - Look Through Any Doorway 5 - How Are You? 6 - Still Searching 7 - War Is Over 8 - Now And Then 9 - The Informer 10 - Working At The Factory 11 - Lost And Found 12 - When You Were A Child 13 - The Road 14 - Animal 15 - Wall Of Fire 16 - The Video Shop 17 - Only A Dream 18 - Think Visual 19 - How Do I Get Close? 20 - To The Bone
My Era Charts Pye top 20 The Way Love Used To Be - Percy Some Mother's Son - Arthur Village Green Preservation Society - Village Green Preservation Society Yes Sir No Sir - Arthur Shangr-La - Arthur Mr Churchill Says - Arthur People Take Pictures Of Each Other - Village Green Preservation Society Waterloo Sunset - Something Else Two Sisters - Something Else This Time Tomorrow - Lola Vs Powerman Dead End Street - single Animal Farm - Village Green Preservation Society Rainy Day In June - Face To Face Days - single David Watts - Something Else A Long Way From Home - Lola Vs Powerman Strangers - Lola Vs Powerman Sitting By The Riverside - Village Green Preservation Society Sunny Afternoon - Face To Face I'm Not Like Everybody Else - b-side RCA top 20 20th Century Man - Muswell Hillbillies Celluloid Heroes - Everybody's In Showbiz Oklahoma USA - Muswell Hillbillies Complicated Life - Muswell Hillbillies Muswell Hillbilly - Muswell Hillbillies Supersonic Rocketship - Everybody's In Showbiz Where Are They Now? - Preservation Act 1 I'm In Disgrace - Schoolboys In Disgrace Second Hand Car Spiv - Preservation Act 2 No More Looking Back - Schoolboys In Disgrace Holloway Jail - Muswell Hillbillies Flash's Confession - Preservation Act 2 Headmaster - Schoolboys In Disgrace Nobody Gives - Preservation Act 2 History - Unreleased You Don't Know My Name - Everybody's In Showbiz Scum Of The Earth - Preservation Act 2 Money Corruption/ I'm Your Man - Preservation Act 2 Artificial Man - Preservation Act 2 Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues - Muswell Hillbillies Arista top 20 Misfits - Misfits Mr Big Man - Sleepwalker National Health - Low Budget A Rock And Roll Fantasy - Misfits Sleepwalker - Sleepwalker Catch Me Now I'm Falling - Low Budget Long Distance - State Of Confusion * Life On The Road - Sleepwalker In a Space - Low Budget Better Things - Give The People What They Want Moving Pictures - Low Budget In A Foreign Land - Misfits Attitude - Low Budget Do It Again - Word Of Mouth Low Budget - Low Budget Superman - Low Budget The Poseur - unreleased Artificial Light - unreleased Living On A Thin Line - Word Of Mouth Permanent Waves - Misfits MCA/Columbia top 20 Scattered - Phobia Killing Time - Think Visual Working at The Factory - Think Visual Loony Balloon - UK Jive Drift Away - Phobia The Road - The Road Lost And Found - Think Visual Bright Lights - UK Jive Still Searching - Phobia Hatred - Phobia The Informer - Phobia Down All the Days - UK Jive Wall Of Fire - Phobia How Are You? - Think Visual War Is Over - UK Jive Only A Dream - Phobia Now And Then - UK Jive Aggravation - UK Jive Did Ya - Phobia Welcome To Sleazy Town Not surprisingly the Pye era top twenty was formed before we even leave the top forty. The RCA era goes from 1 - 99 making up a fifth of my top 100. The Arista era goes from 1 - 107, so again, essentially making up a fifth of my top 100 The MCA/Columbia era somewhat struggles for me, with only 5 tracks essentially in the top 100... but in many ways that isn't surprising. I didn't come to it in real time. It probably had the least overall enthusiasm during the thread. and it is the era I would have had the least exposure to overall... So they are factors that aren't easily ignored. Clearly as we went through the catalog, I certainly enjoyed the songs and albums, except famously, one track that I pretty much slammed lol ... sorry, I don't like it lol but to me, each of those 20's could easily make excellent compilation albums.
Great Story! I've never heard of Postum. Weirdly, this reminds me of an anecdote I had forgotten for a while. My uncle was a very bright kid, always the first in everything - overshadowing my father, who was considered the nice one but not as bright. For some reason, one of the numerous parents who raised the 2 kids (my grandfather lived with his wife, her sister, their mother and aunt) had taken to tell him "eat your leeks, it makes armpit hair grow". It was a family joke, but also a device to make him eat his leeks (that I guess were boiled and grossly seasoned; it took me years to realize that leeks were actually good once treated right). For some reason beyond my comprehension, armpit hair seemed to be something desirable to my kid uncle. One day, at school, the subject of leek came to be studied in class. My uncle, always the proud know-it-all, confidently raised his finger and shared this invaluable piece of knowledge. "I know something about leek Madam! they make armpit hair grow!" Of course the classroom and the teacher burst out laughing, and he came back home in a rage... I don't know if he ever recovered from the humiliation! This - and all the talk about old age on the thread these last days - make me think I should go and see him, I've moved much closer to where he lives and he's 89... I will ask about the leek story.
Interesting and i think it would be quite instructional to note where each groups 1 & 20 ranked and we could therefore view the group consensus ranking span for each label.
Re: the various era top 20 breakouts. It does seem like there’s no point in going through another ranking exercise for The Kinks discography. To me, anyway, these lists look quite representative and indicative of how things would shake out. Re: the official RCA top 20 list. I’m happy to see ‘Hot Potatoes’ represented. Wish ‘Ducks…’ had made it…and continue to be a bit puzzled by the success of ‘No More Looking Back.’ Good, strong, lists, though.
