Lavender Hill. Lavender Hill - the place (wiki) mono mix (2:53), recorded Aug 1967 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London I want to walk eternity, In through the land of make believe. And watch the clouds roll over me, And let the sun shine down on me. The only place that I wanna be, Lavender Hill for me. Wish I could live on sugar and milk, Then I could live on Lavender Hill. Then I could raise my head to the sky, And let the sun saturate me with love. I wanna walk you up Lavender Hill, Everybody loves Lavender Hill. Even the bird that sits in the tree, Seems to sing sweet melodies. Even the breeze is whispering, Lavender Hill for me. While people eat their biscuits with tea, They dream of daffodils that sway in the breeze. And every Sunday afternoon, Tidy ladies shine their shoes. And every little lady dreams, Lavender memories. Lavender Hill for me. Lavender Hill for me. I wanna walk you up Lavender Hill. I wanna walk you up Lavender Hill. Written by: Ray Davies Published by: ? We open up with a sort of variant of Sunny Afternoon, it really isn't that similar, but it has the descending lines and a sort of feel that is similar, but then we change up pretty much straight away. Interestingly I hear some minor similarities with Lazy Old Sun also here, and this was recorded about wo months after that track. It isn't the same, but the way some of the vocals are delivered echo the feel and sound of that track. This is another very new track for me, and it shows how infrequently I put bonus discs on.... this is on the three cd set I have, but whereas the tracks that follow the mono and stereo albums are very familiar, this track is on disc three, and until this thread, for whatever reason, I have never played disc three, to the best of my memory. We have a lot of interesting melodies in this track, and also some interesting chord usage. The music has a wandering feel that suits the lyrics really well. Also we get this layering of all sorts of sounds to create the track. Lyrically we have Ray sort of daydreaming about this place. I put a link to where Lavender Hill is in London, but I am not completely sure that this is where he is singing of, it just seemed logical that he was. Again we have a sort of idealising of the place, and Ray is painting a really nice picture of it. Again we get the idea of the sun having a special place in Ray's heart here, as it will saturate him with love. The animals and elements are all supporting the idea of being in Lavender Hill, and encouraging Ray to bring his loved one there to walk up and down it, and be in this idyllic location. The people there live idyllic lives and the ladies shine their shoes and eat biscuits with their tea (for folks in the US, biscuits here are cookies, not scone-like dough that you have with sausage and bacon gravy) We have a layered mellotron sections and some backing vocals that sound like they may be reversed. Parts of the song come under the virtually psychedelic kind of sound. About halfway through we get an instrumental break that is a wah wah guitar that adds some nice textural change up. At the end we get a sound almost like a car horn ... this track has a bit of everything. This track is really dreamy and lush, and the way it is constructed is really quite engaging and almost contagious. I really like this, and again, it is just another really strong track that sat in the background. Sorry that my thoughts are so disjointed there. There is just so much going on in this song. The basic track is quite simple in its arrangement with the drums and bass and acoustic guitar, but it is fleshed out really nicely with the layers of mellotron and backing vocals, and incidental bits and pieces, and that's before we even get to Ray's vocal, which creates a mood all of its own.... Another really strong contender for an expanded Village Green version.
Unfortunately the backing track from the big box hasn't been uploaded. It gives a really nice idea of how this music comes together so well behind the vocals.
Another unused highlight of the VGPS era - I don't know what I'd remove, but I think that this deserved a spot on the album.
The melody (melodies) is (are) enchanting, the instrumental backing in the mono mix is masterful, with Avory’s “Revolver” drumming as the driving force, Quaife’s bass channeling his inner Carol Kaye and a fantastic aquatic use of the wah-wah effect on the solo (probably the best 10 seconds of the whole track for me). Our host duly noted the beautiful mellotron (I'm tempted to call it a 'mellow-tron') but lest we forget Rasa’s soaring voice, even more preeminent here than in Waterloo Sunset or Autumn Almanach. Like in many of his 1967 best songs, Ray arranges three distinct melodic parts that seem to intertwine and blend in a non-formal way. There’s no verse, no chorus, no bridge to speak of, but a freeform serpentine structure, almost like a mini suite, developing in quite an unusual way, with only the third melody/chord sequence being repeated (the “I Wanna Walk You up Lavender Hill” and “While People Eat Their Biscuits with Tea” sections). The psychedelic droning effects (backwards sounds and vocals) do bring Lazy Old Sun to mind. They create a weird dazed atmosphere, matching the surreal opening lyrics and making the more mundane following images feel like a floating dream. The line “I Wanna Walk You Up / Lavender Hill” sounds like it could either be addressed to someone or to the Hill itself, which is a lovely poetic touch. Production wise, Lavender Hill is certainly the most ambitious of all the stray 67/68 tracks we’re breezing through these days on our beloved thread, and one of the most accomplished.
It’s been said that Ray wrote this one as an answer song to/parody of The Beatles Penny Land/Strawberry Fields Forever single. Make of that what you will.
"Lavender Hill" Another one that I'm hearing for the first time. My first thoughts were that it has a few similarities with "Waterloo Sunset" - the descending notes at the start, the "wish I could live on biscuits and milk" part is reminiscent of the "chilly chilly evening time" bit, the outro has a similar vibe, and the general feel and tempo is kind of similar. But that doesn't take away from what a great song this is as well - it has a memorable melody all its own, and had I known this for as long as I've known other Kinks songs of the period, it would undoubtedly be a strong favourite. Another thing I noticed on first listen - that short wah-wah solo is a dead ringer for the theme from the TV series Budgie (which we touched on yesterday, as Ray wrote one of the themes for the show, but not the one I'm thinking of). The series started four years later than this song was recorded, though.
Lavender Hill Strawberry Fields for sure. Honest homage, parody, or merely incidental influence? Doesn't really matter, this will sit at the bottom of my Kinks list from the era. From the plodding half notes of the intro to the backing vocals of the first verse which wouldn't sound out of place in a creepy scene from a vintage sci fi horror movie, this thing just doesn't start well for me. It's pretty rare that I take to escapist songs, so this one has an uphill battle with me from the get go. It's astonishing how often Ray overcomes my dislikes.... but this ain't one of 'em. I do like the drumming, though!
Lavender Hill Daft as it might sound I don't think this song was written about the place. I seem to remember reading a quote where Ray confirmed this. Will try and find it.
catching up... Till Death Us Do Part I wasn't at all familiar with this tune and it strikes me very much as a TV theme song. As such, Ray fulfilled his brief perfectly. But I don't think this song would be well-suited to one of the Kinks LPs of the late sixties. Lavender Hill This song was recorded around the same time as Autumn Almanac - Aug/Sept 1967 and sounds like a bridge between the taut pop of Something Else and the light surrealism of TKATVGPS. This reminds me more of Pet Sounds or Smiley Smile than The Kinks. It's not a bad song at all in my opinion, but I just don't see where it fits in the scheme of things.
The view from Lavender Hill, painted in 1848 by Robert Westall, showing wide open fields, the then-new Battersea pumping station (built in 1840), and distant views of Westminster Abbey and the Royal Hospital Chelsea. This view encouraged the early construction of several villas among the Lavender fields. (from wikipedia) I assume Lavender Hill is close to the famous Battersea power station from the Pink Floyd Animals album cover... I wonder if that is the power station to the far right of this picture
Till Death Us Do Part Lavender Hill Two terrific songs. The standard of these outtakes is so consistently great it's kind of overwhelming. Nothing much to say, I'm mostly taking a back seat and enjoying the thread with all the brilliant information the Konnoisseurs are providing.
A few lyric corrections: I want to walk eternally, Into the land of make believe. ... Wish I could live on sugar and milk, And I could live on Lavender Hill. And I could raise my head to the sky, And let the sun saturate me with light. Anyone else think maybe the backing vocals at the beginning were recorded backwards?
I swear the secret weapon to all the great 60's Kinks songs was Rasa. Her vocals on the Village Green era tracks alone are perfectly spooky.
I think that I also read something to that effect, that "Lavender Hill" was more of a state of mind rather than a specific place. Avid Vagabone speaks the truth. Ray's cupboard was positively brimming w/great songs while Pete Townshend's was comparatively bare at the time, judging from The Who Sell Out deluxe box set. I feel bad for those Avids who are just discovering these great songs that I've lived w/for the past 40+ years, although I do feel happy that they are finally listening to them & have reacted mostly in the same way that I did too long ago. "Lavender Hill" to me is a rather beautiful song which incorporates a bit of 60s British psychedelia in that it reflects old fairy tales & childhood dreams & fantasies. Avid catnip nation also speaks the truth. To me, Rasa's vocals, were what a rock website I used to frequent called "the secret sauce" of the Kinks & will be missed after the early 70s.
I was of the same mindset as you, firmly in the “lp is king” way of thinking. My elder brother had a few 45’s but then the album-era started up in earnest and I didn’t even glance at them. Well, I take that back because I did have a few (Beatles, Doors...maybe that’s it?) but I never flaunted them. Of course, now I’d be bragging about those records if I still had them!
Much as I love the song, I have mixed feelings about it, or rather about its status. Quality wise, it certainly wouldn’t be out of place on Something Else, Village Green or as a Single side, but I think I understand why Ray decided to keep it in the can. He obviously approached this recording with a lot of ambition but the track ended up sounding a little derivative of previous masterpieces, like he took bits and pieces of some of his best loved tunes (Sunny Afternoon / Waterloo Sunset / Autumn Almanac especially) and tried to deliberately craft a follow-up. The way the descending bass/guitar outro quotes Waterloo Sunset certainly points in that direction. The lyrics also sound like they self-consciously aim at the kind or evocative metaphysical atmosphere that WS achieved so effortlessly. That Ray could be lucid enough to recognize in real time that this fine song was a bit contrived and self-conscious is a testament to his level of exigency and his willingness to always push forward and not repeat himself. I really think he made the right call. As a 1967/1968 release, Lavender Hill could've been judged redundant. As a Great Lost outtake, it's a dream come true, a miraculous excavated treasure, from a seemingly never-ending well of beauty and inspiration. I thought the Village Green was supposed to be the state of mind !
I agree that it is a bit of a retread of "Waterloo Sunset," which had recently been released (May 1967), and the more psychedelic moments of the other tracks for "Something Else," which were awaiting release the following month. Keep in mind, though, it was allegedly recorded in the month before "Autumn Almanac" --and roughly two months after Sgt. Pepper was released. It seems likely that he was fishing around for his next direction, maybe a single release, when he recorded it, and then decided that "Autumn Almanac" was more on the mark once he recorded that. I think its sonic and thematic similarity to "Strawberry Fields" and perhaps "Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds" might have been a factor, too, in holding it back. (I hear something that sounds like a droning tanpura/tambura near the end, which had showed up on "Sgt. Pepper.")
The song title always brings to mind 1951 crime comedy "The Lavender Hill Mob," starring Alec Guinness.
Till Death Us Do Part: am working my way steadily through the back pages and want to quickly make one comment (and then I’ll go back and listen to the various cover versions posted). If that isn’t a ukulele...it should be. Oh, I guess while I’m at it I’ll just say I’m surprised by all the double album enthusiasm. Village Green is already perfect and, in my view, you shouldn’t mess with perfection. I’m thrilled by all these songs, all new to me, but one must not disturb the sanctity of the original release!
Tweedy: now that is one laid back guy. I notice his guitar strings aren’t quite as loose and twangy as he seems to like (recently).
I hadn’t reached your post yet when I suggested it was a ukulele. Same thought. Oh! Never even heard of such an instrument. Thanks.
I too hear it as very visual and absolutely do also see it as a theme tune for an old timely genteel UK Tv series. Good gosh you can even feel the show would be old fashioned, with key characters being very polite, helpful & moralistic despite the frailty of advancing age and awareness of personal failings.
Another "Lavender Hill" rabbit hole, by the way... that wah wah solo! Wah Wah pedal was a really new thing. Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses" was released in June 1967, and Jimi Hendrix's "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" debuted August 1967 (yes, in the year prior to "Electric Ladyland," and in a rarely-heard much less phasey mono mix.) Wah-wah pedal - Wikipedia 50 years ago the Wah Wah, Del Kacher, and Frank Zappa
Lavender Hill: Finally, a track that I’m rather indifferent about. Maybe one tea-song too many for me (though I reserve the right to wax eloquent about tea later on in the discography!).
