Apeman - I've known this song since the mid-70s but I've never warmed to it. It's an earworm with clever lyrics but it feels like a deliberate attempt to write a hit, with the singable repetitive hook "ape, apeman" (forgive me) aping "Lo lo lo la Lola." One of my two skippable tracks on the album.
I kinda knew that he did, but I wanted to make sure, so I checked Discogs, even though I should have done so w/a pound of salt.
Apeman A classic! Witty lyrics and a great delivery. Some nice musical changes as well. An excellent single and album track!
"Apeman" Everyone just about covered it already. Excellent post @mark winstanley! How can you not love this song and sing along? Call me crazy, but I'd say it's just as good as "Lola". I love that bass and piano! "Oh what a life of luxury to be like an apeman". Ray continues his incredible "fogging" run of Klassics! Special shout to Dave with his excellent harmony vocal. The entire band is firing on all cylinders! This song always makes me want to follow it up by playing "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson.
Now all day I'm going to be singing "Doctooor, whadmigonna take, i said doctooor, to relieve this belly ache...."
I have always thought that Harry Nillson got the idea for the previous video from watching the Nairobi Trio by the late Ernie Kovas in his youth:
Apeman Another song I can remember from my younger years in the 70s. It's apparent how this would be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. LOL. Mentions of Tarzan and King Kong and the catchy island sound. Splendid As @Vagabone mentioned, and I only came to this conclusion fairly recently, I see this a song as looking at the world as whole and how we're slowly wrecking the environment with all our human shenanigans. In "This Time Tomorrow", the lyrics go: This time tomorrow what will we see Fields full of houses, endless rows of crowded streets I don't know where I'm going, I don't want to see Apeman is an extension on that theme. I really think Ray is talking about the fear of the future and our world. He can see where this all ends(even though it's difficult for him to look too closely at it) and it's not pretty. So far time is proving him right, but that's all I'll say about that. Fun song. One of my top faves off this album...partly because of my own personal history with it.
Yes, it undoubtedly is. Thanks for finding that Mark. I wasn't actually expecting the answer to come so readily. Just to emphasize, I never heard this cover version before, only my dad's desciption of it. Shame the mock-English accent doesn't carry over into the group vocals in the chorus.
I read that line as meaning, "I did think that I was a good guy because I was vegetarian, but I now realise it's not enough". I realise you can take this song in a few different ways, so I don't insist upon my interpretation.
Van Dyke Parks' career is intertwined with Randy Newman's. Their debut albums both came out on Warner Brothers in 1968, and both made contributions to the other's LPs. Beginning at 0:50, this becomes quite a headphone trip:
Powerman. stereo mix (4:15), recorded 6, 7 May 1970 at Morgan Studios (1), Willesden, London I know a man, he's a powerful man He's got the people in his power In the palm of his hand. He started at the bottom and he worked his way up Now he's never going to stop Until he reaches the top. It's the same old story, it's the same old dream, It's power man, power man, and all that it can bring. If you want your money, you better stand in the line 'Cos you'll only end up picking up nickels and dimes. You call him names and he sits and grins 'Cos everybody else is just a sucker to him. And he's got my money, but I've got my faith And powerman, powerman, I'll never be your slave. It's the same old story, it's the same old game It's power man, power man, driving me insane People tried to conquer the world Napoleon and Genghis Khan Hitler tried and Mussolini too Powerman don't need to fight, powerman don't need no guns Powerman got money on his side Well I'm not rich and I'm not free But I've got my girl and she got me He's got my money and my publishing rights But I've got my girl and I'm alright And she got me going, and she keeps me sane But powerman, powerman, got money on the brain It's the same old story it's the same old game Powerman, powerman driving me insane Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Noma Music, Inc. – BMI Here we have another really interesting track, and in some ways, it works as part one of what feels like a summary of the album and its theme/s. Lyrically this song manages to sit in the theme of the album well, but it also manages to have a more broad look at the world also. It is also a song of a certain sort of rebellion. For me one of the key lines in the song is And he's got my money, but I've got my faith And powerman, powerman, I'll never be your slave. So often we can compromise ourselves, our ideals, moral structure or whatever, due to the fact that the people who have the real power and control have the ability to trap us in a corner. It is painful but triumphant to stand by our principles when these people do this…. But it can also be very difficult. The song also speaks to the fact that Money has been made the modern god, as we were told would happen. The people with the money control the world. If it can’t be controlled, it can be bought off, paid off. If you can’t get to the source, you can get to someone who can get to the source. People tried to conquer the world Napoleon and Genghis Khan Hitler tried and Mussolini too Powerman don't need to fight, powerman don't need no guns Powerman got money on his side Well I'm not rich and I'm not free But I've got my girl and she got me He's got my money and my publishing rights But I've got my girl and I'm alright This section of lyrics is so solid it is quite stunning. The world always has had, and always will have, people that want to control everyone and everything, and it reinforces the idea that money is the ultimate controlling tool if we allow it to be…… and this could get people a little down, but Ray follows up quickly with a straight forward truth that levels the table somewhat. I’m not rich, and I’m not free…. How often are we honest enough to acknowledge this? Certainly, we have little pieces of freedom, and there are very few people in the western world that really experience the depths of poverty, although everyone likes to suggest they are poor lol …. But this is an honest appraisal of reality, and a rare one at that. But he doesn’t leave us with that disturbing fact. I’ve got my girl and she’s got me … It seems insignificant in what seems like the modern mindset towards these things, but our relationships are our real wealth, our real treasure. It feels nice to spoil ourselves with toys … whether a new car, a new record, a new dress, or whatever, but it doesn’t have the same impact as a warm sincere hug, whether from a friend or a partner…… and this seems to tie into the ideas put forward in Strangers and Long Way From Home … the difficult art of relationships. To have fifty mansions and a hundred cars, and every known luxury, I suppose, would surely be nice, but the only thing that actually matters is the way in which we interact with the people around us… and that doesn’t necessarily mean being some kind of suckup, that panders to everyone’s needs. It means live an honest life and share it with a heart of love with those around us. Ray also makes sure he keeps the storyline of the album in tact with the next line He's got my money and my publishing rights But he keeps us in the real point, of relationships, by following on with But I've got my girl and I'm alright. Relationships, and I mean deep personal loving relationships, particularly partners, are the most difficult thing in the world. We all have tendencies towards selfishness, and relationships can only tolerate so much of that. We all have failings and shortcomings, but honest and open communication generally can shield us from those destructive things. “And she got me going, and she keeps me sane” Again, Ray keeps us in with thematic ties. “I’ll keep you warm and you’ll keep me sane” In the midst of power struggles, rip off merchants, money madness, societal strife, the ever burgeoning growth of cities and automation and digital worlds these days, and all these distractions from real life … all we have that matter are relationships. Certainly, we often substitute these for material things, but they only fleetingly satisfy …. This actually makes me think of Wilco, and the great line from Jesus etc, “Our love is all God’s money”…. And whether rightly or wrongly, that is how I am seeing this song, in spite of all the other things going on in here… It is surprising to me how many cross references to Wilco I find in this thread …. Anyway …. This song is deeper than I was expecting…… So this track lyrically covers a lot of ground, and we certainly have the story of the powerful who try and force us to submit, and the monetary control that has been burdened on the world, but at the heart of all this there is the message, fairly constantly through this album that relationships are the real gold. I mean even Lola, the hit song, the real single, is a song about a relationship. An unlikely relationship, and unusual relationship, but it is totally relational in its nature, and in many ways when I consider what I was just drawn to think about with this song, part of the thrust of Lola is how relationships can be problematic, but they are so important, and for our own sanity we need to figure them out, probably more than we need to figure out how to get our money or publishing rights back. I don’t know, again, I may be off with the pixies here, but these are the things coming to mind looking through these lyrics this morning. Yet again I love the music here. We open on a repeated chord, and then get this beautiful blend that turns into an excellent riff, and then the song takes a turn….. We move into a punchy rock feel riff set up, and I love the way they set up this riff and the pulsing punchy rhythm. Again we have a beautiful blending of Ray and Dave on vocals, and with each closer look at the songs on each of the albums we have looked at so far, I am drawn more deeply into this band, and their music…. It is a truly remarkable catalog. This track isn’t a chordal extravaganza like some of the songs we have looked at. It is certainly more riff and beat driven, but it still manages to have a couple of little twists and turns that show Ray is still writing with a mind to trying different things and making a complete and new statement, not a rehashed or remodeled one. We have Dave’s really nice descending lead line that pops up in a few spots. Mick is pounding along with the groove, showing he knows clearly where fills are required and where a straight beat is required. After we have been through the bulk of the song, we fade out on a variation of the riff we opened with and we get a fade. This, for me, is just another top-notch song, on another top-notch album. I suppose I am going to be caught repeating myself too often in this thread, but again, it strikes me that this album is way better than I had thought…. and it is one that I was quite familiar with. The overwhelming thing that seems to be coming through to me in relation to the albums we have looked at so far, is that they need to be listened to closely and properly. These generally aren’t albums that a cursory listen will give you the warm fuzzies and you can move on fulfilled. These are albums that seem to need to be digested in a considered and focused fashion, and only then will the rewards be fully revealed.
