Sweet Lady Genevieve... Such a great song. This tune is the one I always go back to on Preservation 1. A stone cold classic.
Sweet Lady Genevieve I had never head this song before this thread. This song is great. It stands with any classic Kinks track and would not be out of place on Something Else or VGPS. A Classic. For me this is the best song on the album by far.
Sweet Lady Genevieve is to the 70’s what Autumn Almanac is to the 60’s. Not lytically or necessarily musically, but rather, as its place in the Kinks catalog: recognized as one of their best tracks, beloved among those who deeply follow the band and yet overshadowed in recognition by the more marque Kinks songs of their eras. It’s obscure not just to the general public but even astute students of British Rock and Roll, perhaps because neither song figured much into live performances or cover versions. (I type this aware that Autumn Almanac was once #3 on the UK charts, but seemingly didn’t have much of a shelve life beyond its initial release.) Both songs are among the greatest treasures that await someone who has only a cursory knowledge of the band before taking the deep dive. One of the highlights of the RCA era...inexplicably left off both RCA sanctioned greatest hits collections ("The Kinks Greatest: Celluloid Heroes" (1976) and "The Kinks: Second Time Around" (1980)
"Sweet Lady Genevieve", a beautiful song, as most of the other Avids concur, which ranks right up there w/the songs of the 1967-69 period, a doomed attempt by Ray to win back the heart of Rasa & have her & their daughters remain w/him. I think that losing his daughters really gutted Ray, as they seemed to inspire him in some of his work. As for the cover of that Yugoslavian single, I always loved that picture of Ray wearing that "We Try Harder" button, which was the slogan of Avis Rent A Car (which was always second to Hertz). To me, that is the essence of the Kinks.
I recall the name Captain Scarlett but not having seen the show, likely as it was not rerun throughout the 1970's and beyond like The Thunderbirds. You needed to be an Earlybird to catch them as they started sometimes at 6am and sometimes at 5am. We're they on the only all night station of the 4 in Melbourne, GTV9?
I presume Captain Scarlet isn't involved in the 'Scarlet sky' that 'Sweet Lady Genevieve' opens under!
Sweet Lady Genevieve This is another new song for me, and oh my gosh, how wonderful this is. I first heard this perhaps a couple months ago when I was perusing some article listing about 20 or so deep cuts every Kinks fan should know, and this was one of them. I think I listened to it once, and I really liked it. But now going through this album and listening more and more, it's grown even more. There is something magical about the melodic phrasing and how that soaring Ray vocal rises and falls in the first line of each verse (or is that the chorus)? Ray's singing on the phrase "iiii told you never ending lies" in the first verse and "iiiii led you on and told you lies" in the verses matches the singing of the title "Sweeeeet Lady Genevieve" in the next verse that follows each. It's brilliant and magical. And yes, funny that @mark winstanley mentioned I Should Have Known Better intro earlier, as I also heard the echoes another Beatles song, Bungalow Bill, in this song, like Avid @Zeki did: This is not to say that Ray copped the melody at all, it just made me think of it as well. All that said, ironically, it does seem that a theme of the lyrics in this song is well, "I Should Have Known Better" than to tell never ending lies... Musically, I love the sound of this. Is that the resonator guitar again in the strumming riff? I love the addition of the harmonica. I love the organ I hear in the background after the first couple verses. I love the BOP BOP drum hits that pause the melody a bit and then the sort of staggering off-beat feel of the "so will you come back to me" line. This is one another of those songs that I wish I have known for 20 years instead of just 20 days now.
Exactly. It’s just the briefest of moments. Not copping the melody. There’s some other song, too, prompted by the same segment, that I can’t think of. ‘60s, lyric includes ‘Mary’ I think. Was a hit single. But I can’t get any further into the far reaches of my mind.
I think I was at this nyc Felt Forum show. Memory is hazy. I only saw the band once. NYC was the location. 1974 was the year. I think I was!
Scarlet sky, Hot summer night, Starry sky, Drank too much whisky, Acting so shy, somehow these simple phrases in Sweet Lady Genevieve bring the whole scene to life - In my imagination I can see the Tramp and Genevieve together in that night as recalled from the Tramp's memory, in the same way I can see the sun lighting up the trees and valley in Daylight. I've never been a fan of musicals but I love Ray's writing in this theatrical style. Also the seamless but somewhat unpredictable insertion of 6 beat measures throughout the song is as inconstant as the Tramp and I enjoy tracking it as I listen.
Sweet Lady Genevieve is another great Kinks song that should've been a hit, Sitting in the Midday Sun and One of the Survivors as well
The Preservation story arch, for what I've gathered absentmindedly through the years, is the battle of two evils : the greedy capitalist Flash and the Orwellian communist/religious leader Mr Black, both destroying what they (falsely) vow to preserve. We'll try to make sense of this later, but what about the Tramp, then ? Could be a Chaplin-like character or a "celestial" one. But the number one definition of a "tramp" is that he's the epitome of the bystander, just as integral a part of the "village" (green or not) as the walls and the streets on which he'll sleep at night and walk around during the day. For that reason, it's only natural that he doesn't have any input in the story. There he is at daylight, reminiscing about his lost girl (maybe the reason for him being a tramp in the first place, as @mark winstanley implied). Later, we'll find him reminiscing yet again, this time about long lost British luminaries (Where Are They Now?) and later still, minding his own in the sun (in a sitting position). In a way, he represents the place itself, and its quiet being disturbed by the two destructive forces willing to take over. Of course, Sweet Lady Genevieve would be a fantastic song in any context, but I still think it fits in here beautifully as the brilliant introduction to this Tramp character. At first (Act 1), he's in his own little world, oblivious to what's at play. But then, in Act 2, he'll start opening his eyes, providing the greek chorus/witness point of view (« but me, I'm only standing here watching it all go on, and I'm watching it all go wrong », he sings in Introduction to Solution), and attempting to comment and draw a moral from the situation (Nobody Gives and Oh Where oh Where Is Love?). It's a classic chorus device, wonderfully played out by an expert writer.
I have been on vacation, skiing in Colorado, so my comments will be kept short until I get home next week. At first, I saw Morning Song as a skipper, but once I realized how nicely it built up and tied into Daylight, I realized you just need to have the two of them together, much as our leader has indicated. I think Daylight is quite fantastic, and works that much better with a slow build from the intro of Morning Sun. I do see how both of these songs could have fit stylistically and lyrically onto VGPS. I love these two songs together as the opening to this album. In fact, I am envisioning that these two songs may be the openers to my playlist for this era of the kinks. …and now I am off to ⛷ !!!!
Interestingly, I do really like this song, and it has such a sweet and loving heart as well, so its sentimentality appeals to me also, but unlike, it seems, everyone else, it probably wouldn't be in my best ten Kinks songs of the seventies.
Morning Song The villagers are still asleep, dreaming, perhaps snoring. Sets the scene nicely. Daylight The sun rises on a bucolic scene, a little mist in the valley perhaps, as the sun peeps over the surrounding hills, long shadows slowly shortening, with dew having formed on the grass of the fields surrounding the village, and of course on the village green. Gradually the various villagers awaken and do their morning routines. They are slow to arouse from bed, so the song starts slowly, building up speed and the villagers with their bleary eyes and crying babies get ready for the day. Sounds like a lovely English village, where things are peaceful, pleasant and everyone is part of this special community. Little do they know what is coming to disrupt their lives and their village by the end of the album. (Must be a reasonably sized village, though, as there are factories there too, so it has been touched by the industrial revolution)
Sweet Lady Genevieve I imagine there will be a few times when mentioning the single releases that 'this should have been a hit'. Well, this one definitely should have been! A favourite of mine from the entire Kinks catalogue, it could have quite happily sat alongside the better known classics on the '60s hit compilations. I was delighted to hear Ray, in his 'busker mode', before 'The Kinks entered the building' at the start of those 1993-4 UK concerts, alongside 'Autumn Almanac', 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion' and 'Sunny Afternoon'. It was not out of place amongst such exalted company. Sweet indeed.
"Sweet Lady Genevieve" The song that immediately stands out if you are new to the album. The song that should have been a hit. The song that every Kinks fan most likely loves. The song that I would play for someone to introduce them to this era of The Kinks. I bonded with a close friend over this song as we tried to play and sing it together on a front porch. He is now a life long Kinks fan. We have two of The Kinks finest songs of the 70s back to back. These days I probably listen to "Daylight" more, but only because I wore this one out back in the day. It still cheers me up every time I play it and makes me want to pick up the guitar. The entire band elevates what could have been a great song in a stripped down version. The organ is a nice touch. Mick is playing some interesting drum parts. Dave subtly shows why he is such an inventive guitarist with a mix of jangle and riffage, and Ray is at his sweet melodic best. The beginning does sound like he is going to break into "Bungalow Bill", but instead we get a gorgeous song about "Sweet Lady Genevieve". I love that name. I don't meet many Genevieve's. I wonder how many are named after this song?
Did anyone mention the similarities in the back album covers of Preservation and AOXOMOXOA? Kind of the same idea. The Grateful Dead back cover is better, but I like the 60s style throwback of the fish eye and band in front of a tree on The Kinks album.
As @Martyj said, perhaps the back cover should have been the front. With the much expanded group pictured in a rural setting, it’s almost like an update on the VGPS photos (which suits the original concept for the album of course).
@mark winstanley - are we also planning on discussing the few re-done VGPS songs done in Preservation style with the brass band that appeared on the VGPS box? I'm not sure where they would fit - probably with Time Song for apologies for forgetting about them! I thought that a day discussing all of them together could be worthwhile, perhaps a Sunday? Or have we done it and I've just forgotten?
We haven't done it/them I'm not overly familiar with them to be honest. We certainly can look at them.... Do you want to run through them on Sunday for everyone?
