It's funny how there wasn't a second 1968 album but they managed to release a second '70 album (okay, '71, but it was recorded in '70) in Percy. Which would have been a great EP, but as an album it's not that good.
The packaging is par for the course for the PRT CDs. Mine doesn't have anything wrong with Mindless Child Of Motherhood, and all things considered its a very good sounding CD. I actually think the track listing for The Album That Never Was works well. They call it a mini-album on the cover, and while it's short, it's also perfectly formed and doesn't outstay its welcome.
Through out the Pye-era Dave was essentially writing the same kinds of songs Ray was: lyrically driven, matched to memorable hooks. To have released “Lincoln County” (or whatever else they would have called it) would have lead to the inevitable (and unfair) comparisons. Much like the roughly contemporary solo works of Pete Townsend, John Entwistle and Bill Wyman, the release would have largely been judged by what it wasn’t rather than by what it was. Maybe on some level this accounted for Dave’s apathy. When he did emerge as a solo artist ten years later, he had redefined himself as play-to-the-rafter’s, string-bending, face-grimacing arena-rock God. A Dave song circa 1980-85 is judged more for guitar chops/performance than by lyrics. There’s nothing on those three 80’s solos that could be mistaken for a Ray song. He was wise to hold off on the solo career. The Great Lost Dave Davies album circa 1969 consists of great to mediocre Kinks songs rather than the vision of a uniquely, individual voice that demanded its own, separate place.
I am looking forward to going through these track by track. I can't say whether he should have had a solo album at the time. I love his songs sprinkled into the albums as we have heard them. They add that grittiness offset to Ray's more melodic beauty. And although he wasn't prolific, the quality of Dave's few songs just shot through the roof in the late 60s. "Mindless Child of Motherhood" and "This Man He Weeps Tonight" are occasionally in my top 5 Kinks songs at any given moment. The latter was featured in an episode of "How I Met Your Mother", but I believe it was the version from his 2006 compilation "Kinked". When I heard it, I was floored, and I do wonder how many other people recognized the song. Can't find any clips of it though. Sidenote: someone on "How I Met Your Mother" must have been a Kinks fan, because another episode featured "Victoria". Here's a clip of that:
I think we also need to factor in that although he'd been part of a major recording band for 5 years, Dave was only 22 in 1969. So some of those "solo" songs were written/recorded when he was 20/21. Pretty amazing to think about. I know he was also depressed for much of 1969, and experimenting with some harder drugs like PCP, which may have further impacted his mental state. So I think all of these things could have played a role in what happened to his solo album at the time.
The “God’s Children” EP from 1971 has you covered then! As for the Dave album, I took Hidden Treasures in the car today to think about it, and I agree it’s a very uneven listen due to the spread of the tracks. But above all, I just can’t understand why in the 10 years since that CD we haven’t had an LP release. It’s begging for an RSD one, and why it wasn’t the 2nd LP on the Arthur 2LP set in 2019 is beyond me.
Wow! Thanks! For some reason, I had no idea about this EP! Nice tracklisting too! Although “Animals in the Zoo” and “Willesden Green” could have been on it as well.
Speaking of this Dave Davies solo material from 1969…does anybody have a clue about the history of “Climb Your Wall”? To my understanding, it was (an actual, non-Kinks) solo demo from 1969 that Dave (possibly) finished years later. It sounds like The Faces to me. Another really nice song.
All I can find is it was recorded 69/70 at Dave's home. It seems only to have been released on Unfinished Business
This Man He Weeps Tonight. mono mix (2:41), recorded Jan 1969 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London I wish that you could see All the things that I have seen. This mind of mine is making life worthwhile. I wish that you'd have know Of all the plans I had in store for us, Laughing, dancing, traveling the world on our own. And this man, he weeps tonight, And his head is bowed with sorrow, But what can you do, sitting there, And you let him cry tomorrow, Yes, you'll let him cry tomorrow. Yes, you'll let him cry tomorrow. I thought our thing would last, 'Cause it said so in my horoscope, The days have gone and past while dreaming away. The lighting here is dim, And the room closes in around me. Your picture's hanging loose on a rusting nail. And this man, he weeps tonight, And his head is bowed with sorrow, But what can you do, sitting there, And you let him cry tomorrow, Yes, you'll let him cry tomorrow. Yes, you'll let him cry tomorrow. And this man, he weeps tonight, And his head is bowed with sorrow, But what can you do, sitting there, And you let him cry tomorrow, Yes, you'll let him cry tomorrow. Yes, you'll let him cry tomorrow. Written by: Dave Davies Published by: B. Feldman & Co. LTD This is a great track. Lyrically this is really quite strong and we have Dave obviously referencing his lost love, but he manages to create this great imagery, and it's imagery that I generally link with Ray. Particularly in the second verse he paints a really nice picture of how he is (or was) feeling. For some reason I sometimes have trouble understanding Dave, so this is the first time I have fully engaged the lyrics, and I like them. We open with a back and forth type riff, and then move into an almost Byrds-like guitar, and we roll through a nice chord progression that accents the melodic structure really well. In the verses we get some really nice, but slightly unusual harmonies. Dave's vocal delivery is suitably restrained in the verses. I can picture someone slumped on a chair with little enthusiasm, and one of the things that really makes this work for me is the way we punch into the chorus. The dynamic there, I think, is a really good draw. Also the little riff at the end of the choruses works really well too. To me it seems like this could have been a good single, and it did get a b-side release on the Shangri-la single, but when I hear it, I hear the kind of song I could have imagined on the radio back in the day. Essentially except for that b-side release, the mono version of this track didn't show up again until 1987, when it was released on The Kinks Are Well Respected Men and The Album That Never Was. The stereo version showed up on the Great Lost Kinks Album in 1973. I reckon this is a great way to start the album. It is melodic and punchy and visceral and gets the listener involved straight away.
"This Man..." its just a fantastic flat out Kinks rock track for 1969. Lyrically it works really well, but musically is where the magic comes in. The intro is just killer, and the understated verses really help the dynamic shift into the chorus work well. Paired with Shangri-La on a single makes it one of the greatest 45s in my collection. An essential track by anyone's standards.
Reference guide Oct 1963 - Nov 1966 1967 Apr 1967 Mr Pleasant - Alt version - Beat Club - live - beat club - instr (whistling) This Is Where I Belong - Ray live - Ray with Francis Black May 1967 Mr Pleasant EP Mr Pleasant This Is Where I Belong Two Sisters - Ray live (with chat) Village Green - Instrumental - Ray My 1967 Waterloo Sunset - instr. - live 73 - Ray live 78 - live 94 - Ray and Damon Albarn - doco excerpt - Ray and Bowie - Ray live (Peter dedication) Art Nice and Gentle May 1967 Waterloo Sunset EP Documentary Jul 1967 Death Of A Clown - Dave Live - Dave live 2002 Sept 1967 Something Else By David Watts - Live 84 - Dave live 97 - Ray live 2010 - Alt mono - alt version Death Of A Clown Two Sisters No Return Harry Rag - BBC - Ray 2010 - alt version Tin Soldier Man - Sand On My Shoes (original) - Alt backing track Situation Vacant - mono Love Me Till The Sun Shines - BBC - live 69 - Dave 97 - stereo Lazy Old Sun - alt version Afternoon Tea - German Stereo - Alt stereo - Canadian Mono Funny Face End Of The Season Waterloo Sunset Little Women backing track Dave And Ray interview sixties Echoes Of The World - The Making Of Village Green Preservation Society Oct 1967 Autumn Almanac - stereo - Top Of The Pops - live fan jam - Ray - breakdown Nov 1967 Sunny Afternoon LP Nov 1967 Susannah's Still Alive - stereo - video 1967 BBC sessions - Sunny Afternoon Autumn Almanac Mr Pleasant Susannah's Still Alive David Watts Death Of A Clown Good Luck Charm Jan 1968 Live at Kelvin Hall Part 1 Part 2 Jan 1968 Wonderboy - video - Top Of The Pops - stereo mix Polly - stereo mix April 1968 The Kinks EP June 1968 Days - stereo mix - Glastonbury 2010 - live 1969 - video edit - Basil Brush - Alt stereo - Acoustic - 1991 EP version Aug 1968 Lincoln County - stereo mix - Dave live There Is No Life Without Love Colour Me Pop Medley She's Got Everything Promo film July 1968 Colour Me Pop - Dedicated Follower Of Fashion A Well Respected Man Death Of A Clown Sunny Afternoon Two Sisters Sitting By The Riverside Lincoln County Picture Book Days Nov 1968 The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society - the gold disc award The Village Green Preservation Society - Alt mix with studio banter - Live 73 Do You Remember Walter - Euro Stereo - Backing Track - live 94 Picture Book - real stereo - live 69 - live 73 - Ray 2011 Johnny Thunder - alt mix - stereo - original stereo - Ray (+VGPS) 2008 - Ray 2010 - Crouch End Chorus Last Of The Steam Powered Trains - alt ending - live 69 - live 70 - Dave live Big Sky - alt stereo - live 69 - Crouch End Chorus Sitting By The Riverside - Stereo Animal Farm - alt stereo - Ray 2004 - stereo Village Green - alt vocal - backing vocal Starstruck - alt vocal - video - stereo - Ray 2008 Phenomenal Cat - alt mix - stereo - stereo US link All Of My Friends Were There - stereo Wicked Annabella - stereo - Dave 97 Monica - stereo People Take Picture Of Each Other - Euro stereo (big band) - stereo - live 73 extra tracks Mr Songbird - stereo Berkley Mews - stereo - single mix Rosemary Rose - mono Misty Water - stereo - alt stereo Did You See His Name? - mono Till Death Us Do Part - stereo - Chas Mills vocal - Anthony Booth vocal Lavender Hill Pictures In the Sand - instrumental Easy Come, There You Went Egg Stained Pyjamas Mick Avory's Underpants Spotty Grotty Anna Where Did My Spring Go? - video When I Turn Off The Living Room Light Darling I Respect You Village Green At The BBC Days Waterloo Sunset Love Me Till The Sun Shines Monica Village Green Preservation Society Animal Farm Last Of The Steam Powered Trains Picture Book Do You Remember Walter? Dedicated Follower Of Fashion/Well Respected Man/Death Of A Clown Picture Book Preservation Overture Ray in Denmark with the Denmark Choir And Orchestra Colour Me Pop 1968 International EP's 1968 Four More Respected Gentlemen Pete Quaife 67-69 Dave Davies Solo Album This Man He Weeps Tonight - mono Preservation Live Starmaker Tv Play
Well, if he could create songs as powerful as This Man He Weeps Tonight, we can only guess what he'd done with enthusiasm !! Joke aside, he seems almost possessed here, the way he sings it, the way he belts out the chorus, the way he leads the band into his own thunderous garage version of a Gene Clark Byrds song (think She Don’t Care About Time). Splendid playing (Avory kills it, once again), restraint, power, hooks everywhere, piled on each other… This is such a fantastic song ! For the first time, I can hear the band that will create This Time Tomorrow a little more than a year later. Talking about hooks, the magnificent circular guitar motif at the end of the chorus (after the last “cry tomorrow”) was “borrowed” almost note for note by Denny Laine (and McCartney) for No Words on Band on the Run. All in all, a stunning track. Bellow is the (marvelous) acoustic “Kinked” version. It makes the Gene Clark/Byrds connection even more obvious.
This Man - a good opener for the proposed album, but equally, an excellent b-side to Shangri La, contrasting so well with the A-side.
Rasa Didzpetris Davies. In 1964 eighteen year old Lithuanian convent school girl, Rasa met the Kinks after a gig in Sheffield, and got along with Ry so well, that they corresponded over the summer. They eventually met up in London again in mid-August. Ray has described a movie-style reunion at Tottenham Court Road tube station, after which romance blossomed, followed somewhat swiftly by the young couple’s wedding in the bride’s home town of Bradford on December 12, ’64. Rasa quickly became involved in the bands recordings, mainly singing backing vocals, but depending on whose account you listen to, she may well have been involved further, at least suggesting the "In the summertime" be sung in the famous Sunny Afternoon. Rasa said “Working in Pye Studios in Marble Arch in London with producer Shel Talmy was exciting. My life changed; from the girl who was from a convent school in Bradford, to a girl singing backing vocals with my husband and other members of the group. After the various takes of the song(s), to hear the final vinyl was amazing and I remember my head ‘buzzing’ with joy, tiredness and achievement.” “I would make suggestions for a backing melody, sing along while Ray was playing the song(s) on the piano; at times I would add a lyric line or word(s). It was rewarding for me and was a major part of our life.” Ray said about her performance on ‘Waterloo Sunset’ – “Having Rasa there, that female vibe, softens the attitude of the song. It makes it warmer.” Rasa and Ray divorced in ’73 and Rasa has since occasionally appeared live with The Kast Off Kinks. Her memories of her time as backing singer with The Kinks remain, she says, “bittersweet.” Unfortunately that is pretty much all the info I can find on Rasa really, but as we have the weekend, and as we have seen and heard that her contributions to the band certainly added a lot of flavour, I thought it may be nice to reflect on her and her part in the Kinks.
i got to see dave live back in the late 90's in suburban baltimore , he came roaring out of the gate that night , although it lost a bit of steam by the end.still really glad i got to see him back then! also was lucky enough to see the kinks live several times in the the early to mid 70's.
This Man He Weeps Tonight Yeah, great Byrds-y track with Dave showing his range. Not sure I like the idea of a whole album of his vocals but this would have made a fine album track and is a fine b-side.
I couldn't express my views on this song any better than you have here> And @Fortuleo has picked up some things I nevereven thought of . And I'm impressed you have the Shangri-La single. It didn't chart so I imagine it would be hard to get a copy these days.
One observation I have is that the chorus is unusual in that Dave expands on his personal grief in the third person. Maybe he initially wrote all the lyrics in the first person and decided the chorus was too heavy or just sounded wrong. I'm glad with his decision - it's a stronger song the way it is. And I weep I weep tonight, And my head is bowed with sorrow, But what can you do, sitting there, And you let me cry tomorrow, Yes, you'll let me cry tomorrow. Yes, you'll let me cry tomorrow.
I think it's unfair to compare Percy to their other albums because the tunes were designed to match scenes in that movie. They don't all work as stand-alone songs.
“This Man He Weeps Tonight” As I said yesterday, this will climb into my top 5 Kinks songs at any given moment. It is sublime. I never really got into the Byrds, but maybe I should because this does sound like it could be a Byrds song (based on what I am familiar with). Anyway, to me, this is by far the best song Dave has written and recorded up to this point. He sounds fragile and angsty all at the same time. The harmonies. The guitar licks. I am not an expert at analyzing music, but one thing I always loved about this song is how the opening riff and then the riff at the end of the chorus are *similar* but not the same. In “Suzannah’s Still Alive”, the hook riff is repeated exactly. But not here. Lyrically, there a little twist in that first verse. I wish that you could see All the things that I have seen. This mind of mine is making life worthwhile. I wish that you'd have know(n?) Of all the plans I had in store for us, Laughing, dancing, traveling the world on our own. He never told her all the things he had in store for them. He regrets that. She never knew. It was all in his mind. He paints this picture of young love, happy, traveling, dancing. But that is just what he was looking forward to at the time. We don’t really know what the reality was. But it seems like it was promising… The lighting here is dim, And the room closes in around me. Your picture's hanging loose on a rusting nail. This is one of the darkest, saddest lyrics that I can think of. This, of course, could be taken literally. But to me, this is about depression and his mental state. The memory he has of what was and the hope of what could have been is barely hanging on in his mind anymore. After wasting his days, dreaming of what his life might have been if they had stayed together. I can’t say enough about this song. I have loved it for about 15 years now, ever since I got it as a bonus track when I bought Arthur on CD. This is top tier and right up there with any of Ray’s compositions. Oh, I was able to find the clip of the Kinked version being used in “How I Met Your Mother”. Talk about a deep cut to choose…