Animals In The Zoo A cool little toon that's shows Ray as humble, humane, thoughtful, observant & self effacing as he again holds a mirror up to the so called "achievements" of mankind. Nice use of Willie & the hand jive outside of the caged primates percyverances!
I like Just Friends just fine. Musically it's not much more than a little interlude in my opinion. In some cases, pastiche brings inspiration and allows the writer to come up with something truly special he wouldn't've written in his usual style. Ray's done that trick quite a few times before and after Percy, of course, but I don't think it's the case here, where the tune and harmonies are nothing more than serviceable. But the lyrics are very nice, wonderful even, especially if you apply them to the film's scene. It really does seem like it was written especially to accompany that scene, which in itself sets it apart from the other lyrics of the soundtrack. I still think those lyrics are much better and more considerate than the scene itself, in which the antique dealer is certainly not a "screaming queen" but nonetheless someone we should feel sorry for. About @Zeki's playlists, I have one in the works called "Eleanor Rigbies", consisting of all-baroque pop songs (no pop instruments allowed). Just Friends is on there, along with some Nilsson, Squeeze's Vanity Fair, Blue Jay's Night Winter Years or Elton's I Need You to Turn To. I'll take any suggestions!
Just Friends A great post here from Avid @Fortuleo says it all for me and more with his usual eloquence and insight. Nice music hall throwback (which i assume Ray revisits on the RCA Preservation albums?) and instrumentation but i do find myself with more praise for the lyrics. N.b. Has @Fortuleo heard the Stones modern times baroque cut New Faces?
Exactly! And that part of the tune is a bit creepy, I think. I’d be running out the door if I was in the room when someone said that.
Animals In the Zoo: I immediately think ‘Willie and the Hand Jive’ when hearing this song though, now that @Fortuleo has mentioned it, I can hear ‘Not Fade Away,’ too. I just checked and the original ‘Willie’ came out in 1958. I like the song, especially the lyrics, and have tentatively given it a spot on The List…but, due to thread scrutiny, will be putting this particular track under a microscope to see if it makes it to another day. (Comparing with Apeman, one on one).
Animals in the Zoo To me this is a poor cousin of Apeman. Musically it's interesting in that it blends some different styles and the playing is good, but it leaves me thinking of Apeman. Just Friends This is another song I haven't heard much over the years but I don't mind it at all. Ray is singing in character - Noel Coward style - and I find the vocals and accompanying music most entertaining.
Golden Brown - Stranglers. To my ears the music is just an upright bass, harpsichord and light drums.
The day that "Just Friends" was recorded, October 24, 1970, "Lola" was #9 according to the rebroadcast of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 this weekend, it's first week in the US Top 10. As for "Animals In The Zoo" & "Just Friends", I previously mentioned that, judging from the lyrics, it was probably shortlisted for the Lola album until Ray came up w/"Apeman", while the latter song has plenty of elements that I like in a Kinks song, especially the harpsichord & Ray's vocals, but it really doesn't come together to me as a classic song. Oh, by the way, Avid Invisible Man, that pictured button does picture the Lola era Kinks. It came from the first Golden Hour compilation.
Animals in the Zoo: Now this is a different story altogether. I loved this song the minute it started on my first listen. I love the fast pace, the catchy music and lyrics. To me this is an alternative to Apeman, concept wise, that could have easily filled the same spot on Lola vs… as Apeman held. it seems others have been focused on God’s Children, The Way Love Used to Be and Moments, all three of which are great for sure, but this is the one on Percy that really tickled my pickle the most!
"Golden Brown" was my big discovery last year (it wasn't a hit in the States). I'm also recommending a 3 CD box set from Grapefruit called Come Join My Orchesrta: The British Baroque Pop Sound 1967-73. Plenty of good stuff.
I’ve made three (six, actually, as I broke up a few into eras) playlists based on forum thread studies and find that I still think/associate these lists with the various individuals who participated. A bit of community. Further Saturday a.m. musings: this is the closest I’ll get to “this version is the best as it was recorded on a rainy night, take seventeen of a tequila-sloshed band, mixed by Gus…then re-mixed by Leroy, tape put aside and later discovered (by the janitor’s sister-in-law) in a shoebox hidden deep in a closet.” I can’t recall all that stuff, but I do remember The Camaraderie of The Thread! And so I continue plugging away at my playlist.
Animals in the Zoo It's a great groove, and I love how it starts out with that great little riff and it builds into the groove with what sounds almost like a synth-bass. To me, I think the rhythm is very bo-diddly, like I said about the first part of Running Around Town, but I am no expert at that so perhaps this is a variation on that theme. Some nice piano hits from Gosling and tom-hits from Mick, with that driving bass riff from Dalton that propels the groove forward. Some nice little guitar bits from Dave, and I like when Dave's vocals come in to join Ray. All that said, for me, the song doesn't really go anywhere. There's no bridge, there's no dynamic change, and then just sorta fades away. It's just a groove song, and I guess that's ok for what it is, but I think I'd prefer a bridge or changeup. But it makes sense what some here have said that this was an idea that was held off Lola in favor of the better Apeman, and then they decided it was ok for this soundtrack album. In particular to back up the Lola holdover idea, this line "But man made the money and the bombs and the guns" could have been a lost lyric from Powerman! And then this lyric: But the good guys lose and the bad guys win Evokes King Kong to me: Little man's weak and big man's strong. Everyone wants to be King Kong. The irony with Kong, of course, is that he was free, and then ended up in chains on a stage.
Just Friends Another new song to me, and parts of this song (perhaps the whole thing?) wouldn't seem out of place on Something Else. I can see how if you just heard this on a compilation, that you could fit this in with their other Baroque songs from the mid-late 60s. That intro has such a nostalgic music-box feeling to it, but the music box is closed so the sound is a bit muffled. Then it opens up, and you can see Ray acting out the theatrics as the song opens up in all its 1930s glory. It's quite beautiful. The melody of the vocals in the 2nd section is gorgeous and just classically flows off the tongue as if the words were dancing a waltz, spinning away from your lips and then around the room.. It's a lovely little album track nugget, but not one that I think I'll add to my Kinks playlist. Almost too Baroquey.
Animals in the Zoo Perspective and metaphor.... well done Ray! Fine groove and rhythm. The problem is the melody is lifted from too many songs of yore, and the plagiarism becomes a bit of a distraction for me. I think this song cries out for an original Kinks melody to go with those great lyrics. Just Friends .... and now for something completely different! This song is all over the place. But it holds together surprisingly well. The affects can be either an enhancement or a distraction based on my mood. Overall thought I happily put this on the plus side of the ledger.
Today in Kinks history: All Day and All Of the Night was released on this day in 1964. The NME wrote on release that "they could get very close to number 1 with this one", and they could not have been more right, with the song hitting no.2 in the UK charts. In the US the track peaked at no.7.
Yea, it was a surprise to me that someone recently discovered it... but that's how it goes. I'm sure there are no end of 60's Kinks fanatics that are stunned that it could be completely new to someone.
"Animals in the Zoo": Great funky bass and percussion groove. Gotta love that shaker. Nice acoustic guitar part, though it and the piano are often overwhelmed by the rhythm section. Excellent vocal delivery. That chord change from the verse to the chorus bit doesn't quite work for me. Song needs a bridge or something for contrast. Probably Ray Davies didn't bother since it's just a short track for a movie. I imagine had he used this for an official Kinks LP he would have fleshed it out better. It's too bad because this has the makings of a great album track. 4/5.
"Just Friends": The best part is the tinkling intro, which sounds quite a bit like "I Say a Little Prayer" by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. After that it sounds like a novelty number where Ray Davies is doing a bizarre impression of a 1930s comedy Dracula. Overstays its welcome pretty fast. By the way, the lyric is "I shan't rape your brain"--if you listen closely there is no "b" sound for "break" and the word clearly ends with a "p" sound. 1/5.
That could be me! Anyway, what happened is that I heard of the Stranglers for many years & the only song of theirs that I heard on the radio was, ironically enough, their cover of "All Day and All of the Night". Then last year on a whim, I looked up their videos on YouTube to see what they sounded like & I started with "Golden Brown". I enjoyed it so much that I picked up a copy of their Greatest Hits 1977-90, which I liked a lot.
Apologies for taking this slightly off topic, but “The Blossoms” by Badly Drawn Boy is baroque (I think?) instrumental from 2004. He dabbles in these more classical pop instrumentations sometimes. He’s a very underappreciated artist, in my opinion, and one that I think would appeal to those who enjoy some baroque and classical pop. Solid songwriter.
"Animals In The Zoo" I think everyone already made some good observations. It is like "Apeman" part two. This one has a touch of The Grateful Dead in the guitar sound. They could have done a 17 minute version. This is over in around two minutes. It's a nice little tune that may have ended up in the unreleased pile if it wasn't for this soundtrack. I bet Ray said I have a song called "Animals In The Zoo" if you can write in a scene where the character goes to the zoo. "Just Friends" I love this one and when Ray goes into this style. This is maybe the deepest hidden gem on the album? Many say this recalls Noel Coward. I had to look him up further back in the thread since Ray gets a lot of comparisons to him on some songs. I wasn't very familiar with him before. This song reminds me of Tiny Tim. Ray very much goes into a Tiny Tim vocal in certain parts. Wouldn't that have been something to have a Ray Davies and a Tiny Tim duet? I think Tiny Tim should have at least recorded some Kinks songs.
