The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Look A Little On The Sunny Side

Paid scant attention and thought very little of Ray's over egged moaning 20 years ago on my earliest listens.

However it was my first full RCA album listen and I was a boy that always had his pye and ate it too!

Soon after I dialed in to Ray's very personalised and old time delivery and came to appreciate the song for what it was.

It may only be grand for a subset of fans as another Avid suggests but I don't think that would have ever been surprising to one Raymond Douglas.

So for me it comes in about number 5 and is an excellent topic, delivery and storyline for the Showbiz albums theme.

P.s. I am glad in relation that i never thought to reference Shirley Temple, my mother intensely disliked her in real time and i can't argue on that score and am particularly becalmed that Ray never threw in a drunken live adlib of "On the good ship lollipop!"

 

I remember that gem all too well!

 

Yes i agree but those using energy to strongly dislike this song would be implored by Ray to look a little on the sunny side!

 

Well we can say Ray utilises a whining toned voice on Sunny Side so whinging is therefore revealed to have a differing meaning, in musical terms might one just flat(ly) dislike G?

 

Avid Northernlight, I'm not usually an envious person, but I'll make an exception for this. I used to watch the Goodies on my local Boston public TV station when I was a lad. I would love to have this box set but it's only a UK region one & not playable in the US.

 

I have no real problem w/the next four albums at all. I started my Kinks fandom w/them & there are many good songs on them. My friend Jimmy started his Kinks fandom w/this period & had the additional advantage of seeing much of this live, which is probably the key to fully appreciate this period.

 

We aren't there yet, but this I have noticed, and I think it's why I'm a little up and down about the albums.... when I am in the mood for them, i really like them.... and that may sound odd, and sort of matter of fact, but there aren't many occasions where i wouldn't be in the mood for almost all the others... i even just enjoyed Soap Opera!!!!

 

Supersonic to me is just ok. The four note motif that gets repeated ad nauseum does grate on me a little bit. I don’t hate it, I just don’t love it.

Sunnyside has also never been a favourite, but I’m appreciating it more now that I’ve read the comments here.

As for the next four albums? We shall see I guess. I’m on record as not liking Soap Opera at all. Let’s see if that changes as we move through it. I’m also on record as thinking Schoolboys is underrated. The Preservation albums will be interesting to get reacquainted with. I know there are some gems in there. So a bit of a mixed bag for me. We’ll see if a reappraisal is due.

 

Just glancing ahead at Preservation I & II...my first impressions is that I prefer the former. HOWEVER, the story behind these two albums makes my eyes glaze over a bit. I can't keep track of the characters and such...mostly because I'm not sure if I care to keep track(perhaps a bit "heavy"). That has been my initial impression thus far, but I will honestly keep a very open mind as I read other folks takes. I LOVE that Ray is taking chances. He is a true artiste in this way. He just went for it and I appreciate his courage immensely. But not even Dave was convinced of its success. That says something. The next two albums are going to be me trying to focus in and see if a light bulb goes off for me.

 

Soap Opera is a lot better than Preservation Act 2, if you ask me... which you will be shortly... well, not that shortly.

 

Father Christmas video remastered in HD

I didn't want to sidetrack this thread so I've put this new video on its own thread. It's my favourite Christmas song/video - though I'm not sure why Ray takes his shirt off

The Kinks - Father Christmas video released in HD

 

I thought I didn't like this song that much, but because of this thread, I gave it a closer look and I do enjoy the message. It's from 1977 and so I'm feeling the punk so that's cool. Not a favorite Xmas song of mine, but the video is fun and Ray looks pretty hot (sorry!).

 

A few years ago I discovered a couple of blu rays I bought from the US wouldn't play on my (Australian) machine so I bought a separate cheap Sony player (about $A50) and set it to the US region. Desperate times call for desperate measures

 

They have been my two most difficult to crack so far.

 

The key is to get a region-free machine. I used to have a Region 2 (for Japan) until it died. And owned a US region 1 machine. Now I just use an Acesonic karaoke machine. It appears to be region-free.

 

Region-free DVD players used to be the norm here but when I upgraded to a blu-ray player I was told by retailers that our government introduced tighter rules which prevented them offering region-free players anymore. I was mightily p-d off at the time. It's such a rip-off.

 

Sony UBP-X800M2 4K UHD Home Theater Streaming Blu-Ray Disc Player (UBPX800M2), Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PFRDT1...abc_JWAXYWDF5Z2FY51W306K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

I'm feeling much the same at the moment.

For these two albums particularly, it seems the fairest way to evaluate them is to spend an ample amount of fully dedicated time of repeat listening to both acts of the rock musical while reading the lyrics/libretto. It’s also worth keeping in mind that, unlike a typical album of songs, they comprise a soundtrack (or “original cast album” per the Rhino reissue) for a project designed to be performed onstage, and that the albums are missing the visual and some of the dramatic elements intended for it.

Between other musical interests, life stuff, and holidays competing for my time, I'm not sure yet if I will be putting that amount of effort into it, based upon initial listens, but at minimum I will certainly be doing some listening, following this thread and popping in with thoughts occasionally.

 

You may be able to hack your player for region 2 DVDs
DVD Player and Blu-ray Player region codes - VideoHelp
Some of the hacks will not work with US players.
While many Blu-Ray players can’t be hacked for Blu-Ray discs, the can be for DVDs. It is also true that many UK Blu-Ray discs are not encoded to prevent playback on American machines.

 

The linked item is not region free, it is the standard Sony U.S player. Region free versions sell for about $100 more. If the description does not include “Region Free” or “Code Free”, it isn’t. Region free units are either grey market and/or hacked.

 

I've always loved this. It sounds like something Tommy Steele would sing to a class full of school children in a 1960s Disney musical. If it's of interest, I provided the chords for it on THIS website 22 years ago. I like the fact that it begins on a G chord but it's in the key of F.

 

Well, I just double checked, to make sure the one I purchased didn't link to something else, and the model matches, so it is the right model.

My model, that I bought from the same place I linked, plays my US and Aus, dvd's and Blurays.....
I bought it as a spare 5.1 player for my DVD-audios and sacd's.

So make of all that what you will.

 

The unit you referenced is five down on the page linked below. Note that the region free units have exactly the same model number. It shows that the supplier is the Sony Store which only sells items brought in by Sony USA. Having been a Sony retailer for many years, I have never seen a region free unit from them.
Amazon.com : sony ubp-x800m2 region free

Here is how Sony USA responded to a question on Amazon.

Hi, Jon V.!

Unfortunately, the UBP-X800M2 has a region code. The Region Code for Blu-ray disc is A and for DVD disc is 1.

Regards,

Jay

Sony Support USA
Manufacturer · January 28, 2020

As I mentioned upthread, many Blu-ray Discs are zone free and will play on any machine. If your DVDs do not have a Region 4 designation they will also play anywhere.

In any case, caveat emptor is the phrase of the day.

 

Many a Blu-Ray player was region free for DVD, but not for Blu-Ray discs. The two types of discs have completely separate standards.

 

Lucky you. My intention, of course, was simply to let other know the score.