The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Apr 4, 2021.

  1. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    "Got To Be Free"

    What a great groove. This doesn't sound like a country tune at all to me. It has banjo and some honky tonk piano stylings, but this is some loose rock n roll. Mick keeps it swinging, rocking, and rolling with his drumming skills. This song perfectly wraps up an incredible record.

    Just like with Arthur, I come out of this discussion with even more admiration for this album. I always rated it highly and that hasn't changed. My top five Kinks albums will most likely always be my top five Kinks albums. Lola is number five and follows the previous four albums. Someone mentioned this being an amazing seven album run, and I would agree that it's one of the greatest ever. It would be near impossible to keep this level of masterpieces going, but the next seven records are a thing of beauty, if you keep an open mind and go along with Ray on his fantastic musical exploration. I would say it's my favorite 14 album run by anyone.

    I love The Beatles. It's hard to say who is the better band. Had the Beatles kept it going for another decade they would be easier to compare. As it is, The Kinks, The Beatles, and The Ramones are always my top three, and have been for a long time. I have no idea how to rank them though. They are all number one in my book, and then there are a dozen other bands that are number two.
     
  2. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    All I gotta say is Uncle Tupelo invented alt-country. :hide:
    :D
     
  3. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Who? Never heard of them. :)
     
  4. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    I didn’t think it was schlong at all; concise and to the point with no need for circumcision.
     
  5. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    I suppose you're right. But even though I can see how paradoxical it is, when the Basement Tapes/Band craze happened, the whole idea was getting away from the British invasion sound, back to an "authentic" American sound, wasn't it ? That's what got every UK musician so excited , from Van Morrison to George Harrison, from Clapton to the Fairport Convention people, from Rod Stewart to Ronnie Lane, from Keith Richards to Ray and Dave Davies. At least that's how the story is generally told.
    Sure! What I meant is I'd be surprised if people who started by loving Lola got stuck there in their Kinks journey.
    Well, I'll tell you something, a couple of years ago, I made three playlists for my kid, he must've been 12 years old. Three 40 songs playlist : Beatles, Beach Boys, Kinks. To my surprise, he loved them in the opposite order : 1/ Kinks 2/ Beach Boys 3/ Beatles. No question whatsoever as far as he was concerned! Incidentally, I just checked, Lola was the most represented LP on the playlist, with no less than four songs included (Strangers, This Time Tomorrow, Apeman and the title track) !
     
  6. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Cool kid!

    I also have a son and started him out on plenty of 50s and 60s rock n roll. He's older now and is a massive Beatles fan. He likes The Kinks and Beach Boys, but I doubt if he ever went further than Pet Sounds/Smile and Village Green Preservation Society. I'm sure he has plenty of compilations I have made him, but his Kinks and Beach Boys knowledge takes a back seat to everything Beatles. I'll have to quiz him on his Kinks knowledge! :)

    I would guess he would say Beatles, Beach Boys, Kinks.
     
  7. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Enthusiasm is definitely a part of the whole...package.
     
  8. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Got To Be Free
    A strong closing song with some lovely instrumentation.
     
  9. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Thanks for that. I sort of get it. The 2020 version sounded ok to me but maybe it is missing something. ?? Will obviously keep this in mind as I go forward.
    thanks for ruining everything for me.

    LOL. Kidding.
     
  10. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    It doesn’t to me, either, but guess I’ve been influenced by the multiple references on this thread...and I’ve started to change my terminology! I need to be careful with my wording.
     
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  11. TeddyB

    TeddyB Senior Member

    Location:
    Hollywoodland
    Lola etc. is another great Kinks album.

    The Kinks wear their country accoutrements like a loose garment. They never feel forced. It’s just more arrows in their quiver, along with rock and roll and music hall. Yes, the U.S. touring starts to afford Ray a bit wider view of the world, but he continues to write about England and his own Englishness through this lens for quite some time to come (personified in the next album’s Oklahoma USA, which is about England). And for Ray and Dave both, they are playing music they have an affinity for. Dave plays it so gorgeously.

    Even later in the RCA period, when they add back in elements of the fifties and hard rock, it’s still about their world. It won’t be until the Arista period where some of this changes.
     
  12. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Got to Be Free
    This is a good one for sure. It's not in my top faves from the album, but right smack in the middle which considering the quality on the album is a good place to be.

    Like the country feel. Obviously a foreshadowing of what is to come from these Hillbillies.

    Once again, Ray's old friend, the sun, makes an appearance. As free as the sun and the moon in the sky So the sun is equal to freedom in this song...and so is that pesky moon. But can non-sentient objects be free? the sun and the moon are trapped by the laws of nature, so they are the opposite of free, really. :D But this poetry, so that doesn't really matter, does it?

    Solid way to end a great album. I enjoy the album thoroughly with the big exception of Rats. That will likely be a skip for me most of the time.

    Good way to start the 70s, boys.
     
  13. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    "Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies I am an apeman"

    "As free as the bugs and the spiders and flies ... I've just got to be free"

    " 'Cause the only time that I feel at ease
    Is swinging up and down in the coconut trees
    Oh what a life of luxury to be like an apeman"

    "And I love to live so pleasantly
    Live this life of luxury
    Lazin' on a sunny afternoon"

    It would seem to me that there's an apeman longing to be free inside every English aristocrat.
     
  14. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Lol
    I see what you did there :)
     
  15. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    Isn’t that the theme of Percy?
     
  16. Scottsol

    Scottsol Forum Resident

    Location:
    Evanston, IL
    If you have been listening to post 2000 releases you won’t much notice the dynamic compression because they have all been similarly abused.
     
  17. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    [​IMG]
    Went to Portsmouth NH over the weekend and found a really cool record shop with a good amount of Kinks albums. Picked up these three. :wiggle:
     
  18. Invisible Man

    Invisible Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lemon Grove
    Were you on a Low Budget? :uhhuh:

    (I think "Property" on State of Confusion is a hidden gem worth the price of the album!)
     
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  19. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Yes i came up short and was found wanting, apologies we men tend to exaggerate things!
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
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  20. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Just for the record, are State Of Confusion and Low Budget new to you?
     
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  21. Invisible Man

    Invisible Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lemon Grove
    Was that pun deliberate? :laughup:
     
  22. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Everyone is being so "punny" today!
     
  23. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    Got To Be Free
    This is one I didn't know as well. The country feel of the opening sort of points in the direction of the u[coming MUSWELL HILLBILLIES. Nice piano too (which becomes a bigger part of their early 70's work). A nice song!
     
  24. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I also think so, ever since I got the album when it came out in 1983.
     
  25. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Judging from some of the comments of my fellow Avids, also somewhat "kinky".
     

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