The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Kinda Kinks - Good, very good and shows growth in the band, Dave's playing and singing, and most importantly, Ray's songwriting skills. The Kinks really are one of those bands, like The Beatles, whose work got better with each album through their first few years. I don't often listen to the early Kinks' years albums but whenever I go back to them I'm always surprised at how much better they are than I remembered.

 

For my post today, I'm going to thank @mark winstanley along with all the local Kinkdom here for this thread and the way it's been handled so far.

I became a Kinks fan in 1981, my first year in college. I found it very frustrating (this was, of course, waaaaaayyyy before the internet) trying to figure out what came out when, what was recorded when, what were albums and what were compilations, what singles I needed to get that weren't on albums, or what compilations could be advantageous, etc. Eventually I just decided to enjoy what I could get and not worry about history. But now, this thread has really helped me get a grip on the sequencing of things and that has really helped me.

I would also like to thank the rest of the local Kinkdom here for all the tangential discussion and links. It's been interesting relating what the Kinks were doing at the time to the larger music scene, and seeing/hearing all the related artists and their covers, etc.

Unlike Mark's Rush thread, where I really saw myself as a top authority and someone with more to offer than to learn, here things are reversed. Even though I'm a huge Kinks fan, and have been for a long time, clearly many here have greater depth in the Kinkdom than I, and I'm enjoying doing more listening than talking.

Thanks, all.
Fischman

 

Other the better known songs, I don't know much from this album so I look forward to getting to know it.
bring it on!

 

Karried away, please. Remember where you are.

 

Durn, I'm going be caught out a bit with that.
Please assume I used the correct consonant, so my brain doesn't completely fry

 

I'll discuss the tracks on the album when this thread gets into them individually, but these bonus cuts are worthy of discussion separately:

Tell Me Now, So I'll Know: A pretty minor key melody that I'm surprised didn't get recorded by another act.

A Little Bit Of Sunlight: This is the only one of the four highlighted that actually did eventually get recorded (by a group called "The Majority"). I'll discuss that later.

There's A New World Just Opening For Me: I suspect the reason the group didn't record and release this proper had something to do with it being a little too similar to "Nothing In This World Can Stop Me Worrying About That Girl," but it's still a good tune in it's own right that should've come to the attention of another act.

This I Know: A stunningly beautiful tune, with an unusual chord change (C to F#). This should've been on the "Kwyet Kinks" EP instead of the faux gospel waltz, "Don't You Fret," which actually gets pretty loud in places.

This Strange Effect: Another song that got recorded by another act (Dave Berry). Conspicuously absent among these bonus cuts is "All Night Stand," which was eventually recorded by another Shel Talmy act (The Thoughts). I'll talk about both of them later.

Hide And Seek: A competent if perfunctory R&B cover. If anyone is curious, here is the original by Big Joe Turner:

 

I used to not think too much of this album for a long time but it has grown on me quite a bit. I think the first copy I had of this was a Canadian Marble Arch reissue, complete with a photo from the Village Green photo sessions.


Nevertheless, I like it quite a bit now and as others have posted, it is a significant step up from the debut album. However, the singles around this time are quite a bit better than the album. The second CD in the Deluxe Edition with the singles easily surpasses the album as a listening experience.

 

"Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" and "Set Me Free" are the standout tracks for me on Kinda Kinks.

Listening to "Nothin'..." just now, that opening guitar part instantly brought to mind the opening of "Mrs Robinson". Was Paul Simon a Kinks fan?

On "Set Me Free", I like how Ray goes a little falsetto on the "You can do it if you try" lyric.

 

It is instead a bonus cut on The Kinks Kontroversy re-issue.

 

One other thought on “Tired of Waiting for You”. The “I was a lonely soul...” and “It’s your life...” sections are totally different melodies and almost different points of view/voices, and if you were to make a Beatles comparison, it seems like the way there would be a John bridge to a Paul song (think of the “life is very short...” bridge on “We can work it out”), but with the Kinks, it’s all Ray! Even the different tones of voices are Ray leading both sections.

 

I always thought of Ray Davies as a songwriter as combining Lennon's edge and McCartney's melodicism as well as anybody.

 

Not to get too far ahead of the story, but "Nuthin' In This World..." and "So Long" must set some kind of record for a pair of songs with heavy similarities and drastically different titles.

 

KINDA KINKS

A couple of things about the cover. I find the UK one a bit of a failure. I don't like the colours, the title that's hard to read, and the rather unfortunate highlighting of KKK.

I'd have preferred the UK to use the US cover without the track list - as below.

The back cover is better (in artistic black and white) even though the photo is pretty average. Anyone know why the title here is just "Tired Of Waiting"?

And what information do we have about the musicians on this second album?

Is a studio drummer still used throughout? Is Jimmy Page involved?

 

I had never even noticed that to be honest

Surprisingly I do prefer the US cover.

It would be interesting to know, particularly the drummer.
Although Page was on the first album, I'm not convinced he did that much.

 

I disagree. They both have the same meter and tempo, but entirely different melodies. "So Long" is musically much more similar to "Wait 'Til The Summer Comes Along" on the Kwyet Kinks EP. To me, "Stop Your Sobbing" and "Just Can't Go To Sleep" from the first album are much more similar to each other.

 

Hey Mark,
My wife and I have finished our cross country trip so I am hoping to be able to get back to following this great thread. I have
enjoyed listening to The Kinks for over 50 years now. They sound as fresh and vibrant today as they did in the mid 60's. I hold
Kinda Kinks in higher regard now than back then. It's all those extra tracks put together on CD that were separate 45's and EP's
that were practically impossible to round up back in the day. Being a teenager and no internet left us with Teen magazine and a
whole lotta rumors. But all those extras rounded up for us today IMHO took this album from 2.5 stars to 4.5**** Looking forward
to the song reviews. Peace!

 

I'll also wait to make the odd comment on individual songs - but I mentioned earlier that I gave this a spin a couple of weeks ago, my copy from the mono box. I'll admit that I'd only played it once or twice before, but I enjoyed it and much prefer it to the first album. Seems like the boys are more in control of their material and performances here, more consistent without being earth shattering. Probably just more comfortable in a recording studio. I'd also be interested to know about who played the drums and was Page hanging around on the subs bench when they made it. Cheers.

 

I hope your trip went well, it's always nice to get away and decompress.
I look forward to your input.

I can totally appreciate that.
I missed out on the experience of the sixties releases, being a 1968 baby, but I can totally appreciate that. I love the extended cd's, because as an album guy, the idea of leaving half of your best songs off the album is bewildering
It also makes it much easier to collect the band's material ... I don't know how I would have gone if I had to buy all the EP's .... and I have never bought a single in my life ... so the expanded albums are/were a God send for me.

 

Avory is the drummer on all of Kinda Kinks except the Tired Of/Come On Now single which was Bobby Graham’s last bow with the band.

Page is long gone by this point, there’s no evidence from anywhere about him being on anything but the debut album, although FWIW there have been rumours about his involvement with the B side of the next single but one.

 

Cheers mate.
It's nice to know that Mick gets a chance to play his drums.... I always feel like the Page connection was a little overblown anyway

 

5th UK single.

 

Oh brother/s!

 

Look For Me Baby

mono mix (2:13), recorded 16, 17 Feb, 1965 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London

This sounds really good. Apparently Mick Avory finally gets a chance to sit on the kit, and the kick here is really right there, and the whole kit sounds good to me.

(Look for me baby)
Well you can search high and low if you want
But you won't find me
(Look for me baby)
Well, you search the mountains
Look in the sea
Look all around the world
But you won't find a love
A love like mine
You'll be low
And cry misery[?]
'Cause you got no love
(Look for me baby)

In your desperation
You're going to look for someone else
Well now, search the mountains
Search the sea
Look around the world
But you won't find me
(Look for me baby)
You'll be looking for me
(Look for me baby)

Well now, I've never felt so sad
I've never had it so bad
You'll search the oceans
But you won't find me no more
You'll be looking for me
(Look for me baby)

Well you can search high and low if you want
But you won't find me
(Look for me baby)
Well you can climb the mountains
And swim in the sea
Look all around the world
But you won't find a love
A love like mine
You'll be low
And cry misery
'Cause you got no love
(Look for me baby)

In your desperation
You're going to look for someone else
Well now, search the mountains
Search the sea
Look around the world
But you won't find me
(Look for me baby)
You'll be looking for me
(Look for me baby)
You'll be looking for me
(Look for me baby)
You'll be looking for me
(Look for me baby)

Written by: Ray Davies
Published by: Kassner Music Co. Ltd

I reckon this is a really nice opener, and the first thing that strikes me this morning is how good it sounds .... the instruments sound good, the mix is nice and clean, and it is a few steps ahead of the debut album already.

It's nice that if this is Mick's first chance to get behind the kit in the studio that the songs starts with a nice little fill to lead us in.

I suppose essentially this is right in the beat group kind of sound, but I think it has the Kinks character embedded in it.
It has a nice groove, and the bass and guitar just cruise along beautifully. A couple of nice little lead licks add some colour. Ray's vocal delivery is suitably smug, in context with the lyrics. The backing vocals work really well too.

For me a really solid opener.

 

A great track - I love the 'well now's. Am I right in thinking that there's a 60s cover with a female vocalist?

 

"Look For Me Baby"

An impressive opener. To me it sounds like they're warming up for "Dancing In The Street" - similar sort of key and chords - although this is a much better performance.

Sounds great as well - very good mix, although some of the vocal double-tracking is a bit ragged! Rasa's voice sounds pretty clear in the background. The fact that this sounds so good makes it all the more jarring when we get to "Don't Ever Change" from an earlier session.