The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Apr 4, 2021.

  1. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    I don't claim it makes total sense...but Up the Junction by Squeeze sort of connected in "duff you up" to me. and I was right. :p
     
  2. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Duff beer for you, Duff beer for me ....
     
  3. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Duff also means "faulty or defective", so I'll pass on the Duff beer
     
  4. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Merry Xmas to those celebrating it.
    This Kinks kard is probably from mid to late 70s, so not exactly in our current timeline, but hope I will be forgiven.
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    Who are Ken, Ben & Sarah? I'm sure I should know, but...


    _________
    Santa got me the Arthur deluxe set. I'm a lucky gal! It really is well put together. LOVE IT.
     
  5. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Was it his own track?

    @DISKOJOE feel free to set up a 2 or 3 way chat with @Martyj on racing anytime you may wish to, happy to oblige you.

    Merry Christmas to all Avids and I hope it turns out someone had a warm one as even in Sunny Brisbane half the day was cool and raining.
     
  6. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Yes, it was Dave's track.

    It was a rainy & miserable Christmas up here in the Witch City, w/a bit of icing.

    I gave my grandnephews 2 1967 Shelby Mustang GT350 toy cars which they both enjoyed. We'll talk vroom-vroom in the New Year.
     
  7. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I believe that Ken, Ben & Sarah were probably employees of Konk Studios. Interesting to note that there's no bassist mentioned, probably because whoever was the bassist at the time (Andy Pyle or Jim Rodford) wasn't an official member of the Kinks, but a hired hand.

    Have fun w/the Arthur box set!
     
  8. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    Once again one of the Avids, this time @Fortuleo, has better expressed my thoughts than I am able. Thank you and Merry Christmas/Happy holidays/happy weekend to all here!
     
  9. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Ken was probably road manager Ken Jones and Sarah Lockwood was studio manager at Konk, as for Ben...
     
  10. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Ben was probably Ben Fenner, who was employed as an engineer at Konk Studios & worked on Dave's 1st solo album & Kinks albums of the late 70s & early 80s, from what I found on the net.
     
  11. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Even the great W.H. Auden was not immune to grumbling about touring. From ‘On the Circuit’:
    Spirit is willing to repeat
    Without a qualm the same old talk
    But flesh is homesick for our snug
    Apartment in New York

    A sulky fifty-six, he finds
    A change of mealtime utter hell,
    Grown far too crotchety to like
    A luxury hotel

    Another morning comes: I see,
    Dwindling below me on the plane,
    The roofs of one more audience
    I shall not see again.

    God bless the lot of them, although
    I don’t remember which was which:
    God bless the U.S.A., so large,
    So friendly, and so rich.

    sorry for adding this so late, had to find the time to go find the book the poem was collected in...
     
  12. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    Here Comes Flash

    The first thing that came to mind when listening to this for a first time a few weeks ago was the resemblance to Paranoid, but there is much more to this song than just that. I like hearing Dave's vocals. But overall, to me, the theatrics of the 2nd half of this song don't seem match up well when compared to the meat of this song. Maybe it's the Black Sabbath thing, but I almost feel it needs to be a bit heavier and darker!

    Anyway, I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a great one this year. This thread and brought so much more to me over this past year, and thanks to it, the number of Kinks albums that I love to listen to has at least doubled! Cheers to all, and looking forward to wrapping up 2021 and entering 2022 with this crew -- onward and upward!
     
  13. LX200GPS

    LX200GPS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Somewhere Else
    I must have missed the post you are referring to. Pretty certain the lyric is "Oh God how I love this land" Still wonderful though.
     
    Adam9, DISKOJOE, CheshireCat and 2 others like this.
  14. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    been so very busy in the last few days. but didn't want to forget

    Here Comes Flash

    This has to be the most theatrical piece by the Kinks thus far. and it's OVER THE TOP! And kooky. Even for the Kinks. But I'm going to say it works! I may have to have a few more listens to be all in on it.

    Dave's making a nice appearance! There's timpani! There's humor! There's a frenetic pace that makes your head spin. Ends with quite the orchestral flourish and a quirky guitar sound as a nice ta-da.

    And maybe it's going way out there...but reading these lyrics...I wonder if Ray sees himself as Mr Flash? Or feels he can be him during his worst moments?
     
  15. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    "Sitting in the Midday Sun"

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    Single by The Kinks
    from the album Preservation Act 1
    B-side
    "Sweet Lady Genevieve" (US); "One Of The Survivors" (UK)
    Released June 1973 (UK); August 1973 (US)
    Recorded June 1973 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, North London
    Genre Rock, folk rock, music hall
    Length 3:47
    Label RCA 2387 (U.K.)
    RCA LPBO 5001 (U.S.)
    Songwriter(s) Ray Davies
    Producer(s) Ray Davies

    stereo mix, recorded May 1973 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

    (Sung by The Tramp)

    I'm sitting by the side of a river
    Underneath the pale blue sky
    I've got no need to worry, I'm in no hurry
    I'm looking at the world go by.

    Just sitting in the midday sun,
    Just soaking up that currant bun,
    With no particular purpose or reason
    Sitting in the midday sun.

    Everybody say I'm lazy
    They all tell me get a job you slob,
    I'd rather be a hobo walking round with nothing
    Than a rich man scared of losing all he's got.

    So I'm just sitting in the midday sun
    Just soaking up that currant bun,
    Why should I have to give my reasons
    For sitting in the midday sun

    Oh look at all the ladies
    Looking their best in their summer dresses,
    Oh sitting in the sun.
    I've got no home,
    I've got no money
    But who needs a job when it's sunny. Wah Wah.

    I haven't got a steady occupation
    And I can't afford a telephone.
    I haven't got a stereo, radio or video
    A mortgage, overdraft, a bank loan.

    The only way that I can get my fun
    Is by sitting in the midday sun
    With no particular purpose or reason
    Sitting in the midday sun.

    Oh listen to the people,
    Say I'm a failure and I've got nothing,
    Ah but if they would only see
    I've got my pride,
    I've got no money,
    But who needs a job when it's sunny. Wah Wah.

    Everybody thinks I'm crazy,
    And everybody says I'm dumb,
    But when I see the people shouting at each other
    I'd rather be an out of work bum.

    So I'm just sitting in the midday sun
    Just soaking up that currant bun,
    With no particular purpose or reason
    Sitting in the midday sun.

    Written by: Ray Davies
    Published by: Davray Music Ltd.

    Apparently Doug Hinman guesses that this was the first Kinks track to be recorded at Konk (the Kinks own studio) and if so, that's a pretty good start to proceedings.

    The single received virtually no promotion but was well received by critics, but the upshot was that it didn't do anything on the charts.
    Also, this song was released a week after Rasa had left, taking the children. So the release of this song somewhat coincided with Ray being admitted to hospital after a barbiturate overdose, quickly followed by the White City stadium show, and Ray pronouncing that he was sick of this whole thing, and then being admitted to hospital with a drug overdose that came fairly close to claiming him ... thankfully we move on without that sad result.
    Dave said
    "God, that was horrible. That was when Ray tried to top himself. I thought he looked a bit weird after the show—I didn't know that he'd taken a whole bloody bottle of weird-looking psychiatric pills. It was a bad time. Ray suddenly announced that he was going to end it all ... I think he took the pills before the show. I said to him towards the end that he was getting a bit crazy. I didn't know what happened—I suddenly got a phone call saying he was in the hospital. I remember going to the hospital after they'd pumped his stomach and it was bad."

    So in a typical contrast situation, and anyone that knows anything about depression and mental illness, the calm often comes just before the storm, we have Ray writing and singing about chilling in the Midday Sun, while conversely wanting to slide away into infinity.

    We have it listed that the Tramp is singing this song to us, and that makes sense, the Tramp seeming to represent Ray's everyman, the guy on the street, the passive observer that looks on bewildered by the madness and stupidity surrounding him, yet he is often considered the crazy one, and that is the perspective we get in the opening verses.

    We get a sort of laid back laconic vocal delivery, with the feel of not a care in the world.
    Again, Ray is beside the river, and this is logical, as many find flowing water soothing, hence the "water features" inside and outside of some people's houses.
    He is in no rush, and has no stress, and just watching the world go by.
    He is enjoying soaking up his current bun, I presume he is eating it and not trying to get transdermal interaction going on lol, but again he has no purpose or reason, and is just enjoying the world around him.

    The second verse gives us the direct point here. "Everybody Say I'm Lazy", "Get A Job, You Slob" ... and this is the general feeling in most of the world.... and to a degree it's true.... If you need others to support you, then this is really just being a leech, but if you don't need others to support you, fair bump, play on.
    To me the poignant line here is that "I'd rather be a hobo walking around with nothing, than a rich man scared of losing all he's got" ...and that is the balance. Chuck Palahniuk's famous line via Tyler Durden in Fight Club "The Things You Own, End Up Owning You"... and although this is not a law, it frequently happens, when we place too much value in our "things".

    The chorus comes through again like a warm summer breeze.

    Then we see the ladies dressed up in their summer dresses, another show of position, but we tend to be more gentle on ladies in their fancy clothes, than men in their fancy cars or whatever .... but that could be a male perspective, as I am not a female, and unable to give their perspective :)
    We get the idea that the Tramp has no job or money, but the Warmth Of The Sun (Beach Boys anyone?) is making him content enough not to care.

    We run through the idea that he has no possessions, but that is counterbalanced by also not being in huge debt for a loan or mortgage.

    Lyrically we essentially continue on the same path here, and the next most essential observation is directed towards what is happening in the Village Green.
    Everybody thinks I'm crazy,
    And everybody says I'm dumb,
    But when I see the people shouting at each other
    I'd rather be an out of work bum.
    Who can argue with this logic, really.

    An observation a friend and I made a lot of years ago now was that if you are on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder, then changes in government, and all the bollocks surrounding those criminals and clowns, has absolutely no effect on you whatsoever. When you are sitting in the midday sun, observing people fighting over which idiot they want to represent them, it ends up being hilarious to those removed from the system, as much as that is possible these days.

    So this song fits perfectly in with the album and its theme. It may not be directly about the chaos and disorder happening around the place, but it is a view from the other side of the fence, at this stage at least. When the initial flare ups happen and people are just shouting at each other, sitting in the midday sun is pretty much the best antidote to the madness.
    Also, one can hardly blame someone for wanting to disconnect from a completely dysfunctional society, full of self important idiots.

    Musically we have this smooth flowing song, that reflects the lyrical sentiment beautifully.
    It seems like a slow, somewhat Latin American feel to the rhythm, but I am not very good at naming rhythms ... perhaps it is an old timey rhythm, I don't know what to name it, but I like it.
    We open with the flute melody which sets the scene perfectly, and it instantly lends itself to a beautiful mellow feel. It also, ever so slightly, reminds me of the heady swirl of the instrumental break in Sitting By The Riverside.... which may just be me, but it seems vaguely related.... and so seems intentional.
    Then we sway along with the piano, blended nicely with the guitar and various other relaxing sounds coming in to embellish it all.

    Ray gives us a great melody, with a suitable feel in the delivery.

    I really like the bridge, that in its musical content as well as the lyrics, seems like a bit of a hat tip to the Beach Boys.
    This section also raises the dynamic ceiling of the song, a lot, and pushes the boundaries of the melodic structure beautifully.

    We have some wonderful keyboard fills coming in here and there, and hidden in there we also have some nice guitar. There are several sections here that, even in this laid back song, have Mick playing some great fills too.

    I think this song is perfectly placed on the album. As the Village falls into political infighting, and the powers that be show their true colours, the hobo/tramp just sits back wondering what on earth is wrong with all these people, fighting over power, and trying to fatten their own wallets at everybody else's expense...... but also it is a musical sideline, as the intensity drops, as a minor reprieve from the intensity building up in the Village.

    Excellent song, perfectly placed, with a really nice feel that works perfectly in and out of the context of the album.

     
  16. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Yea, I know @Zeki , but I forgot to turn my alarm off lol :)
     
    DISKOJOE, Zeki and The late man like this.
  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    A snippet of a rare video clip

     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Actually, here is the whole clip for the video.

     
  19. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    As a huge Bob Dylan fan, I could not help but notice the lyrical similarity of the first verse and Bob's 1971 single "Watching The River Flow". Lyrically, I know this song has to be written for a specific character because it expresses a point of view I do not generally associate with Ray Davies and the Kinks. Though it is part of the Preservation story, I can see why it was a single as it is not too specific in its point of view and can be appreciated for its message in any context. Musically, I sense a near Caribbean lilt to this song. I love the bridge (2.30 to 2.53 on the first video) - a nice little injection of energy to the song. But it is the definition of a deep cut even though released as a single. That's why one needs a thread like this one.
     
  20. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    As usual, @mark winstanley's taken advantage of his super-human "no sleep" aptitudes to cover all grounds before anyone on the thread, anywhere on earth, whatever the longitude, has awaken. Must be because he's an Englishman raised in Australia and now living in the US (if I got my facts right).

    Anyway, it's raining in Paris, as anticipated, but this song has the power to make all the clouds go away. Superb lazy melody, somewhere between Friends-era Beach Boys (Wake the World or Busy Doin' Nothing) and the most appeasing Bacharach/Warwick tunes (I'll Never Fall in Love Again comes to mind, for the semi-Bossa-Caribbean style). I love the phrasing and meter of that "With no particular purpose or reason" line, it seems to sail on the melody. I agree the song, often thought by fans as a possible standalone tune re-purposed as an Act 1 piece, is more than perfect as the Tramp's theme tune, and it fits its spot on the LP wonderfully. So much so that I tend to think Ray wrote it specifically for it. But if he invented the Tramp character after the fact and turned his concept around to make it all fit in (this and Genevieve in particular), it's all the more impressive in my opinion.
    This song is pure melody. Verse and chorus share the same chords, almost the exact same sequence (one slight variation), but the melodies are completely distinct. This is a very hard trick to pull off. And then, of course, it helps setting off the bridge in the most effective way. Whenever I think of this track, it's defined in my mind by its verse and chorus, but whenever I listen to it, I understand it's the bridge that makes the song, building a rush of emotion and musical drama right when you don't expect it, in the middle of an otherwise soft breezy, seemingly inoffensive melody. This is where it's less Bacharach's lounge atmosphere or Brian's bucolic innocence, and more something McCartney could do in moments of great pop inspiration (his bridges for Tomorrow or Mrs Vandebilt). Well, any song making you think of Friends, Bacharach and McCartney has to be a melodic tour de force, doesn't it ?
    Last but not least, the return of the Waterloo Sunset's "ooh-ooh's" (also in the bridge) is another spot-on Ray Davies self -reference, both in the context of an observational sunny character piece and as a timely tribute to his soon-to-be ex-wife's most famous contribution to the Kinks' oeuvre.
     
  21. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Ah, that Tramp fella is good, isn't he? That's three from three on this album for him!
     
  22. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Excellent song which Ray may have well have written with his initial concept of opening up the VGPS album in mind but which, frankly, could work in any context and which gets swallowed up by the Preservation grand statement in any case. The song does not make me think of The Tramp but of Ray Davies, the wealthy rock star burdened with all sorts of financial duties and responsibilities and dreaming, extremely impractically, of being relieved of those burdens. It's very very hard to imagine this song being written these days - particularly if you live in a big city - when the romantic notion of the carefree hobo, the 'Gentleman of the Road', has long since vanished in the face of stark reality.
     
  23. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    This is an observation I nicked from elsewhere, but it’s notable how much the bridge from The Jam’s brisk n’ compact 1980 mod popper ‘Boy About Town' sounds like the bridge in 'Sitting In The Midday Sun'. Whether a co-incidence or subconsciously derived it's impossible to say. However, while it may be hard initially to square the 60s mod stylist Paul Weller with this era of The Kinks, according to Paolo Hewtti's 2008 Weller biography The Changing Man, (a book so invasively personal in it's enumeration of banal details of Weller's life that it apparently ended the artist and author's 30 year friendship) Weller has an odd enduring fascination with the Preservation records, admitting he's never been able totally get them but that he returns to them every so often in the hope he will.



    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Weller-Changing-Paolo-Hewitt/dp/0552156094
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2021
  24. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    Regarding the "currant bun" - it's another piece of cockney rhyming slang - currant bun - sun.

    This is another fantastic song. The flute/mellotron? sound at the start reminds me of "Phenomenal Cat".

    The melody of the verse and chorus is good enough but the bridge takes it to a whole different level. Wonderful lazy, near calypso feel, this could fit anywhere in the Kinks discography and it would be a standout anywhere.
     
  25. Vagabone

    Vagabone Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Sitting In the Midday Sun
    Gorgeous idyll. Truly delightful. Nice raga instrumental touches, evoking late sixties pop. Great middle eight.

    I wonder if releasing it as a single might have made some cynics see this as an attempt to recreate the glories of the "Sunny Afternoon"/"Waterloo Sunset" heyday. It's not on the same level as those masterpieces and personally I wouldn't want to invite the comparison by releasing it as a single. However, maybe that's worrying too much: even though the tramp in this song and the millionaire from "Sunny Afternoon" are both lazing in the sunshine, the similarity between the characters ends there.

    That's my other nitpick- using a cockney rhyming slang as a rhyme doesn't feel like a rhyme at all. My brain immediately converts "currant bun" to "sun" and I'm left with "sun" rhyming with itself. That's probably just me though.
     

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