The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Naggin' Woman: In England on holiday once I heard a radio spot which invited listeners to submit what they thought was the worst guitar solo.
Somebody submitted "Naggin' Woman". After playing it, the DJ, while acknowledging it was bad, said there were worse solos. I don't know which track was finally chosen but I don't think it was the Kinks song.

 

Nothin’ in this World Can Stop Me Worrin’ “bout that Girl

In every commentary I can recall on the the Kinda Kinks LP, the critical consensus is that this is the stand out track on the original 12-song release. My belief is because its quiet, acoustic blues picking is an affront to the expectations of what the Kinks were supposed to sound like. That kind of risk taking is one of the things that makes the Kinks so appealing and would be a defining characteristic the band kept up for another 11 years until Clive Davis told Ray: “Don’t do that anymore.”

I love the part where the bass comes in and remains in unison with the lead lick. Had the band done that before on a release? I can’t think of one off the top of my head.

What I find most interesting around this track is why it evolved the way it did in contrast to its similar iteration as “There’s a New World Just Opening For Me.” The band opted to fully develop “Nothin…’” while abandoning “New World…” Given the introspective nature of the lyrics in “New World…” it is the more forward looking song considering where the zeitgeist of the 60’s was headed. So why not pursue this direction in the lyric? My guess is Pye was still leaning on Ray to hew his words to what was knowably marketable. Hence the reversion to an overt boy-girl theme, and…voila!..we get “Nothin in this World…” Even though Ray was chomping at the bit, mankind was still not ready for pop group auteurs to turn inward; The Beatles “Help”—released later that summer—had not yet sold a bajillion singles to change that conventional wisdom

Thanks to Fortuleo for pointing out its use in a film prior to “Rushmore.” I am unaware of the film you cited. Coming across a Kinks song in a movie (or commercial) is a great fist-pumping moment for me (yes!!!) and Wes Anderson has given me at least four of those. So thank you, Wes. We’ll be talking more about him when we get to Lola vs. Powerman. “Nothin’ in the World’s…” use in “Rushmore”—and also on it’s soundtrack—means that like “Living on a Thin Line” and “Supersonic Rocket Ship” it is familiar to audiences who otherwise would never seek out deep cuts on a Kinks album. Or the Kinks at all. In fact, there’s a chance there may be a present-day Kinks fanatic for whom “Nothing in this World” was the gateway to the band. I would like to meet that person and shake his or her hand. (I know someone who never ventured into the Stones—beyond the obvious hits—until she heard the Aftermath deep cut “I am Waiting”, also used in “Rushmore.” Today….that woman owns a copy of Aftermath. And a fine gal she is for it.)

Nagging Woman

With those lyrics one would assume this is the kind of song that begs to be interpreted by an angry, gritty-voiced bluesman. I was surprised when I heard the Jimmy Anderson original several years back that it is—by design—a pleasant R&B shuffle. The Kinks stick pretty close to the original. Since they don’t bring any imagination to it, it’s kind of pointless. But do I like it? Actually, yeah. There’s no other shuffle in the entire Kinks discography, so it does offer that value. That should count for something, right? But within the context of the the “Kinda Kinks” LP..yeah... it’s just filler.

 

Dave's solo is a note-for-note replica of the harmonica on the original. There is not an ounce of imaginative interpretation to it, sadly.

 

Nothin' In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl -- Because this is this song's day in the spotlight, I'm going to type out its whole title. But just for today.

That said, it's a marvelous piece, a groundbreaker like "You Really Got Me" in its completely different way. The band's most stark and spare track to date, but no less potent for Ray's increasing frustration with his wayward girl (and with himself, for not being able to put her out of his mind). Dave's guitar joins in halfway through to increase the tension, and the situation is never really resolved. Another Side Of Ray Davies -- and the first indication that there's too much on his mind. Great track. And it's nice that the movie Rushmore exposed this song to a much larger audience than it had ever had before.

Naggin' Woman -- Dave tackles this cover competently, but it's hardly an essential performance. It's not without its charms, though the original is obviously far better.

 

"Nothin’ in the World Can Stop me Worryin’ ‘bout that Girl"

I absolutely love it. Such a departure and an unexpected soft darkness from the band. The intro acoustic riffs reminds me of the kind of thing that Nick Drake would end up doing several years later. He was English too, so perhaps he got some inspiration from this song. I love the way the first line transcends down to Ray's lower register, and then the second line goes up as if hopeful. But then it resolves in the middle and he's accepted what it is.

But it's really the unexpected sound that gets me. If you were to play this to someone, they'd have no idea it was the Kinks. I put it in the same vein as "I'd Love Just Once to See You" by the Beach Boys on Wild Honey. What? They can do a song with just acoustic guitar?

I too first heard this song in Rushmore in 2000, along with "She Smiled Sweetly" by the Stones. Glad it was highlighted and opened it up to a new generation.

 

Nothin' In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'bout That Girl
and
Naggin' Woman

One of the problems with following an @mark winstanley thread is sometimes he says what I would say before I can say it. I just say ditto here.

 

Lol ... I'll shut up ... damn, like that's even possible

 

"Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" - Love this one. I first remember hearing it in the movie Rushmore, but I didn't know at the time that it was the Kinks. A few years later when I got Kinda Kinks, I was pleasantly surprised. "Met a girl, fell in love, glad as I can be / But I think all the time, is she true to me?" So simple, but extra effective with this arrangement. No solo, no bridge, just subtle additions of percussion, bass, and electric guitar as the song goes on. A highlight of the catalog, not just the early years.

"Naggin' Woman" - If I were to rank the songs on this album "Naggin' Woman" would be in the bottom half, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. What sells me on this song is not only how laid back it is musically, but how tired Dave sounds singing it. He's almost slurring his words at points, making some lyrics hard to decipher. I like how he kinda trails off at the end there.

 

Please don't.... sometimes you save me a lot of keystrokes!

 

Good, but not absolutely top drawer Kinks territory for me. It's built around a riff and alternates around a simple bluesy structure. A 'feel' song, well executed and further evidence of their development but doesn't have the shifts in emotions and moods of Tired Of Waiting For You - which might have been the best song he'd written at this point.

 

The most significant thing about this cut is that there's nothing like it on any of The Beatles' first four albums, The Rolling Stones' first two albums, The Hollies' first two albums, or any other album by anybody that came before this. A completely original concept. It's in the key of G, and I love the unexpected F chord that begins the refrain.

Meh. They heard "What A Shame" off of the Stones' 2nd album and thought, "Hey, why don't we try something like that?" Disposable.

 

I think that Nothin' in this World... is inspired by Buffy Sainte-Maries Cod'ine. It's not a rip-off, but the melody is very similar. Of course, the arrangement, the meter and the subject is totally different.

Not a big fan of any of the songs so far, but at least they are listenable and varied. I also note that Look for me baby has a very (what I think is) American way of treating lyrics, squeezing them in where they don't fit, the more the better. Once again a sign of Ray's very relaxed relation to melodies that was visible already on the first album in Stop your sobbing, So mystifying and Just can't go to sleep.

 

I saw The American Friend in college in the '90s and it made me seek out "Too Much on My Mind." I was familiar with Village Green and Lola vs. Powerman and the obvious hits at that point, but nothing else.

 

Nothin' In This World...

I really like the feel and mood, and I believe those of you who've said it was a very ahead of the game and forward thinking move to do a song in this style. I love folk music and I love a lot of the Kinks' later efforts in this style, so I celebrate the advent of their first folk music pastiche.

However... there are several very well-respected and well-loved sixties Kinks songs that I don't love, and this is one of them. It's nice enough to have on in the background, but it doesn't stir my emotions and the tune doesn't really lodge in my head. I like the title and I like the idea of having such a long phrase for the chorus. But it's disappointingly just another "my woman is doing me wrong" song. The lyrics might be more interesting to me if he'd stuck with the "There Is A New World Opening For Me" theme.

There is an amazing ballad on this album, it just comes a bit later on the record.

Naggin' Woman is just terrible to me. I'm sorry. Instant skip.

 

Or nagging women either , I'm sure.

 

NOTHIN' IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME WORRYIN' 'BOUT THAT GIRL

NITWCSMWBTG (blimey even the acronym is ridiculously long) is a nice showcase for Ray's voice but a bit too repetitve to be called a classic. Those Muswell girls seem either to play hard to get or to sleep around. In both cases they're too much to handle for poor Ray.


NAGGIN' WOMAN

I like this a lot. It has a relaxing, humorous groove. It's not a well-known song, so an extremely good choice if you're looking for a cover to do. It suits Dave's style and he does his best with the original lyrics. He has to make some stuff up so you can't say that it's a strict copy. On the original, Jimmy Anderson says he'll marry this woman if she stops nagging. Dave tells her to stop nagging if she wants another man. He also appears to say that if she keeps on nagging she'll have to stay with him since no one else will take her!
Here are the best lyrics I've found that Dave appears to sing:

"You know you keep on naggin´ babe, complainin´ all men are the same. The reason why you keep on naggin´ is because you found another man. So keep on naggin´ woman, naggingest woman in this land. Well, the minute you stop your naggin´, you´re gonna find another man. You know you got the tooth to play with me, babe, oh, honey, why can´t you just trust me? You got me anywhere anyone, you baby just can´t be beat. So stop your naggin´ woman, naggin´ me right off my face. Well, baby, if you weren´t naggin´, honey, you´d be so sweet. You know you keep on naggin´ babe, complainin´ all men are the same. The reason why you keep on naggin´ is because you want another man. But keep on naggin´ woman, naggingest woman in this land. Well, the minute you stop your naggin´, baby, you´re gonna find another man. All right! For sure! Oh, nag on!"

The original is well worth listening to too.

 

Nothin’ in the World Can Stop me Worryin’ ‘bout that Girl
OK, I've actually heard this song along the way of my Kinks obsession and simply love it. So bare bones and emotional. Why this is more well known, I'll never undersatnd. Didn't realize it was in Rushmore though. Another reason to re-watch that film.Can't believe I missed this fact over the years. Embarrassing

Naggin' Woman
this one doesn't work for me. Ray is putting his vocal abilities and/or mimicking to the test and doesn't get a great grade. I like the musical interlude in it though.

 

Dave sings it.

 

OOOOPS. Missed that.
It doesn't sound like him.

 

I meant to make a similar notation about how the Kinks pulling out an obscure number is similar to the Beatles with "Devil in Her Heart" and "Mr. Moonlight." While it's arguable any of these are great contributions to their catalogs, it does show the bands found something of merit in these numbers. Maybe it's as simple as the fact they like it. It's a different animal than doing yet another cover of a well-worn Chuck Berry or Little Richard number.

 

Listening a 2nd time... ok, it sounds like Dave when his voice gets gruffy. I know Ray is good at mimicking, so thought he was affecting a voice here.

 

To be honest, I'm only just starting to pick them.... I'll probably still mess up here and there though

 

Fullschrift is a term used by Telefunken (modern day Teledec) for a variable pitch cutting technique invented by Eduard Rein that they began using in the fifties.

 

Ray says he wrote Nothin’ in 1961 when he was seventeen. Cod’ine was first released in April 1964.

Perhaps you were thinking of Cos’ine, a mathematical lament written by a young Tom Lehrer at while at Harvard in 1946.

 

And to add to my own comment: when deciphering why the Kinks would be drawn to a number like "Naggin' Woman," it's worth bringing up that rock and roll records in 1965 were still largely marketed as something one could dance to. "Naggin' Woman" is an R&B shuffle, which is ideal for dancing the stroll.

This is something that probably should have been noted earlier when accessing Kinda Kinks as a whole. Most of these tracks are here because of their danceability. In 64-65 interviews Ray even talks of the band's role being to give "the kids something they can dance to." 1965 largely begins that 3 year period where rock records transition from being perceived as dancing experiences to primarily listening experiences (by 1967, the Kinks weren't concerned whether or not anyone could dance to "Something Else," for example) This is why I think "Nothin' in this World Can Stop Me Worrin' 'bout That Girl" is applauded as such a forward moving standout; it dispenses with the dance factor (in contrast to most of the tracks here) and as a "listening song" is more attuned to our post-Sgt. Pepper's sensibilities.