Yes, fantastic, same kind effect as on the Moody Blues' Isn't Life Strange?, but a lot more dramatic and effective. A couple of years ago, when I did a top 40 song playlist/survey for my youngest kid (12 at the time), He’s Evil was the one Act 2 tune I included. I thought it had the excitement factor, the upbeat super confident hit-sounding seventies post-glam-proto-disco quality, somewhere at the epicenter of a geometrical pop shape formed by ELO (the general gusto), Supertramp (yes, the electric piano parts, a few months before Crime of the Century was released!), Wings 1973 (or more precisely Wings 1985) and even The Who (horns and keys, like 5:15 meets Who Are You). It was the one song from the playlist he didn’t like. Myself, I’d always found it irresistible. True ear candy. Like on Demolition, the “Ray on Ray” overlapping effect is brilliant, every line is sung with the right amount of pop panache. I really wonder if Ray writes in the vocal style he’ll perform the song in (like McCartney always does) or if he thinks of the voice after the fact. But yeah, irresistible, hooky, fun, and a well-deserved (for the baffled 1974 listener at least) return to the pop format, after three over the top theatrical concoctions. But weirdly, listening to this one more intently this morning, like this thread commands us to, I felt something’s lacking. Can’t exactly put my finger on it. Maybe it’s this weird situation of a song that sounds like an almost hit but clearly wasn’t one, wasn’t even a single A-side. Maybe it’s down to the drums, good but never finding a completely satisfying groove or sound, a rare occurrence on the part of Mick. Maybe it’s the female backing vocals, or the not too inspired horn charts ? Maybe it’s a little bit of all of the above elements, that are not 100% on par with the genius lead vocals, guitar and keyboards ? Or maybe it’s just my kid's reaction that keeps bothering me like a stone in my shoe ? Yeah, that must be it. I blame it on the kid. Should've left him alone with his damn video games.
I agree totally.... I suppose the intro being nearly a minute discounts it from being a traditional single, and not having a bridge/middle eight may be countered by the pre-chorus, but I'm not sure. Singles aren't my game, but it comes really close to being single material, but perhaps not quite.
He’s Evil: This is a track that I don’t like at all. So I guess I won’t say much other than the “he’s evil, he’s evil, he’s evil” is especially irritating. Propaganda and being “on message.” It works! (And maybe that’s why I recoil from this one.)
If he liked the other 39, that's a nice return on investment at a relatively small cost, though. 100 % single material to me. Maybe Mick could have keithmooned a little more, but I'm not sure it would have been that relevant. To be fair, I had my reservations at first, same as for Shangri-La : the 2-words chorus frustrated me a bit. But I got used to it. I love the way the "look out" repetitions are placed. A great final track for my side C. And the last outpost before the 4-song desert that opens before me. And yes @mark winstanley, In the verse I hear the same chords as on that Joe Jackson song with a long title.
'He's Evil' makes a very unexpected appearance in the tentpole 2000s TV show 'Lost' (which I admit I've never watched beyond this clip) where it's sung by one character to another on a beach. Not sure how this deep cut ended up getting quoted here, (or what significance it has to the plot of the show) if the scriptwriter or the actor was a fan. Anyone got any more deets? He's Evil "In "The 23rd Psalm": [Jin and Charlie are at the shore. Jin is trying to fish with a net. Charlie is holding a homemade fishing pole under his arm and singing.] CHARLIE: [singing] He's got wit he's got charm/But when he gets rough he'll break your arm/He's got taste, manners and grace/But when he gets rough he'll slit your face/He'll buy you jewels, expensive shoes, uh, oooo -- Hey Jin, do you like the Kinks? Kinks? JIN: Keens? CHARLIE: No, man, Kinks. Kinks with a "k" at the end. A kicking ka. Kinks. You know, [singing again] Once you're in love, you're no getting out ha-a-a-a so lookout. It's a good tune, Jin. [Singing] Lookout. JIN: [Motioning for Charlie to go away, walk down the beach.] 너때문에 물고기가 다 도망가잖아! CHARLIE: Oh, thank you very much, Jin. I do have a beautiful voice, don't I?
Interesting, but I've never seen the show.... or know anything about it.... apparently somebody is lost? Lol
Just think of Gilligan's Island as written by a bunch of sophomore philosophy students. It's about a bunch of plane crash survivors on an island & weird things happen to them, nothing is what it seems, blah, blah, blah........ Back to the program and "He's Evil" a nicely done song w/a great 70s electric piano sound & groove & lyrics which seem at first to give more detail to Mr. Flash, as if we needed more, but then you realize that Mr. Black is the singer & it now seems that it's a case of Mr. Black "gilding the lily" about Mr. Flash. We know that he's a no goodnick, but is he all that bad as Mr. Black says he is? "Nuns, schoolgirls and virgins....."?
Ahhhh, cheers mate. The Mrs has us watching a show like that at the moment.... Yellowjackets, it's ok I guess .... Is it just me, or are they seven show plotlines, and they just weave them together slightly differently each time
Two things: Is Charlie supposed to be an Aussie? Second, maybe he should have been singing "I'm On A Island". It's just as obscure, but it fitted the situation better.
Hey, I, for one, am glad that Ray took these risks. I totally appreciate that about him. he's a total artist that way. But some "experiments" will pan out and others will, as you said, leave us scratching our heads. I'm finding that I don't want an album to tell me a story. I like the loose themes of prior albums, but here I feel as though I'm being asked to keep track of a story...but I'm finding myself being a bit annoyed and bored by it. If this was a book, I'd put it down and give up at some point. LOL Again, some really good and fun songs on Preservation Act II and even good bits within certain songs, but so far, it's not coming together for me. And that's ok. I am along for this long ride come what may and respect everyone's take on what they're hearing.
I’m enjoying the production but can’t see myself revisiting the entire thing. I won’t forget it, though!
He’s Evil This is another song review where I can speak through the voices of others. Thanks! Ditto to both of those comments. I immediately thought of Jesus Christ Superstar too. @Wondergirl has hit on the bane of concept albums. While I like the music I really can’t get invested in the stories about Flash, Tommy, Rael or even Gerald. But someone who is relatable - based on a real person, like Arthur - gets me involved in the lyrics and their story.
I completely understand how story albums can be very offputting to many, if in fact not most. I got into prog fairly early on in my wanderings, and I love it, so this album comes across as completely coherent and realistic by comparison lol
He's Evil This is such an interesting track, and I have a lot of random thoughts about it, but not that much time to type them out. So let's see where this goes... Musically, that long intro is incredible and if the song wasn't at this point in the storyline and so central to Black vs Flash, it would have made a KILLER opening to some alternate universe where there's a Kinks album that begins with that funky intro and buildup into the same song but with a more universal lyrical subject matter. There is also something that makes me think of Manfred Mann's Earth Band's Blinded by the Light, which of course came out 2 years AFTER this. When the chorus chords come in during the intro, there's some trombone back in there too adding some weight. What a great sound! You can tell Dave had some fun with that guitar line. There are parts of this song (the intro, the pre-chorus?) that seem SO ahead of it's time. I hear late 70s/80s all over parts of this. The "His skin is soft but his mind hard" is something I can imagine Talking Heads or even Styx doing in the late 70s. Mick's triple hits there are pure power-pop perfection. Immediately following that, the "cry-y-y-y-y", "bye-e-e-e-e", "out-t-t-t-t" is straight 80s gold a la Hall & Oates (Say it Isn't So!). The "ooo" backing vocals in that section are great, too! During that breakdown and buildup section near the end, I have been drawn to John Dalton's bass part there lingering and propelling that rise before it all comes to a head with the added vocals and the horns back in. The rest of the melody in the verses and the chorus vocals & melody, while enjoyable, don't seem to match the quality/feeling of that electric piano funky intro and crunchy guitars. There is just some lost potential, there I think. It's hard to explain. That intro sound is just THAT much better than the rest of the song, which is only really good in my book. The lyrics are definitely not hit single material, however. There would have had to be a single-edit...
Merci ! I'm a prog fan and I never listened to this. I remember listening to an early Jethro Tull album (Aqualung or one before), and thinking that it had a prog attitude with a relatively poor musical vocabulary, a bit like Pink Floyd (which I love but maybe wouldn't if I had known them later in life). I'm curious to challenge this feeling today, with my less pretentious older self. First thing tomorrow morning !
"He's Evil" I'm somewhere in the middle on this one. The Supertramp comparison in the opening is accurate. The song "Goodbye Stranger" recently came up in a discussion I had. I'm not particularly a fan of the band, but my son was raving about this song. It's also not a song he has heard a thousand times on the radio before. "He's Evil" starts off with a similar electric piano sound, but I think The Kinks tune turns into something much more interesting. Someone mentioned it sounding like Sleepwalker is right around the corner and I agree. This wouldn't sound out of place on any of the late 70s or early 80s albums. Even the guitar screams late 70s Dave, which isn't really a selling point for me. I do like the little echo part on the vocal, which makes it sound more like early 80s. So again, The Kinks are kind of ahead of their time on this song. This is definitely one of the more straightforward rock tunes on the album. With a little editing I think it could have been a hit. Not a bad tune, and I'm sure it will have me trying to play along on the digital piano tonight. Hell, I might even have to give Supertramp a go.
He's Evil One of the more lightweight-sounding songs on the album, fun but a bit silly. I've never expended any thought on trying to keep track of the story of these two albums. I just assumed that gradually, as I listened to them more and get to know them better, that the story would eventually sink in. Or else it wouldn't, like it never did with "Ziggy Stardust", but that's cool too. As long as I get the general idea of what each separate song is about I don't mind if I miss out on the bigger picture.
He's Evil: I have always loved this one, from the first time I played the record. Great rock song. It's just an amped up "Misty Water," but I love that one too, so where's the harm?
