YOU SHOULDN'T BE SAD A bit too poppy to my liking. The call and response undermines taking this too seriously. It's also maybe symptomatic of Ray that he has difficulty writing a straightforward happy love song. He's in love but the girl is sad and he's telling her not to be, as if she's ruining things. 'I'll take what the future brings' doesn't sound too reassuring about where this love is going. And he doesn't do himself any favours by saying 'It SEEMS that all the good things I've done - Done it all for you.' He doesn't sound too sure! An OK album track, better than doing a cover, but nothing to get too excited about. SOMETHING BETTER BEGINNING Nice jangly guitar in the background to accompany this last dance and walk home. Ray expresses his doubts and fears in simple but effective language. There's almost a contradiction though when he sings 'I never thought I'd love like this' then almost immediately sings 'I've known this joy once before'. But what starts off as a perilously corny story song turns into a delicate expression of self-doubt and the lovely melody makes you believe the sincerity that maybe this time Ray's found true love. And whatsmore it's a very good choice as last track on the album leaving us hoping for even better things to come.
I enjoy all comments but the ones that are best for me are the 'personal ' insights ( hearing a song or album for the first time , a concert experience , how the music affects your life etc). And , most of all , comments about the songs themselves. Eagerly awaiting getting into The Kinks katalogue further. The best is yet to come, won't that be fine?
Yep ... nobody hears an album the way you do ... nobody hears an album the way I do .... when we mix that all together, we get a more rounded idea .... I think anyway
You Shouldn't Be Sad It's a solid tune. It has that Ray phrasing that I dig (sorry, don't know how to describe it, but he he pronounces certain words (like "do") that sounds sort of Caribbean or just affected). And I like the guitar. It bops along pleasantly. Something Better Beginning I knew this song previously and have heard people saying how much they love this song. I so want to feel the same. But maybe a bit too "moon/June/spoon" for me. Too sappy. The name of the song is cool and unusual. But I just can't get excited.
Something Better Beginning Does anyone else feel like I'll Be Back, the final song on A Hard Days Night doesn't fit? To my ears it is more of a preview of Beatles For Sale. Something Better Beginning strikes me the same way. It sounds like a brief trip to the near future of Ray's songwriting. Could have been a single.
Hmmm. Interesting take. I agree with the Beatles analysis. But I'm not so sure Something Better Beginning looks forward in the same way, though. I see it as perfecting what he started with Stop Your Sobbing, being that it's essentially Brill-Building-esque balladeering, which is a style he largely abandons after a few tracks on Kontroversy.
"You Shouldn't Be Sad" A fine Kinks' song. Not one of their best but definitely in the to 60% of their tunes. "Something Better Beginning" - Another rave-up perfect for The Kinks. Strong song and it swings and rocks very good. Another Kinks' song that would be high on my list.
"You Shouldn't Be Sad" is probably single worthy. Ray was hoping the call and response vocals would sound more Motown than they ended up sounding. I agree with Mark that the highlight could be what he calls the "frantic chord run up" to the "I feel alright" section. Great drums, really tight band. One of many solid deep cuts on this album. "Something Better Beginning" was released as a single by the Honeycombs after Kinks' management rejected the idea. The double-use of the word "dance" in the first verse always struck me as a bit clunky, but the sentiment of the rest of the song is easily relatable. I called it 'cautiously optimistic' a page or so back. "The only time I feel all right is when I'm with you / I wonder how long it will last." A couple of these songs have found people here pounding on the message in a 20 year old's lyric. I think the viewpoint makes perfect sense to me. Sounds like Ray is hoping this works out, but he knows from experience the odds. Simple as that. I was very impressed the first time I heard this song, wondering where it had been all my life and why other Kinks fans were telling me not to bother with the first two records. Those fans were seriously missing out.
You Shouldn't Be Sad A rather middle of the road pop-rocker. Ray's songwriting skills were still stronger on the ballads than the rockers at this point. The melody is just OK, and the instrumentation is passable for the genre. Dave's backing vocals and guitar shine. It's perfectly listenable. Something Better Beginning This a perfect example of top shelve Kinks-that was practically impossible for anybody to recreate on the same level - that is, created an absolutely unique musical style of Brit-pop which NOBODY could pull off with the same effectiveness. This song came with a with a wistful chime to the feel of the song. A relaxed, nice feel. A nice song. Ray was getting better, all things told. This original composition also points to the songwriting glory this band would be responsible for in a few short years.
I am more bothered by the double use of “walked” in the third verse where the first use could easily have been replaced by “took”. What bothers me more is Dylan’s repeated “my” in “My best friend, my doctor, won’t even tell me what I’ve got” from “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”. I think the advice to avoid the first two albums may have been predicated on the availability most of the standout tracks on various compilations.
Something Better Beginning is a wonderful little close to this album, though it's always sounded very strange to me, Kinda in the same way I'll Remember will on Face To Face - almost rechanneled mono. I agree the bridge is a little clumsy, but I can think of a bunch of Beat era tracks that are guilty of this. One of Ray's strongest "sweet" melodies for sure.
"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" Single by the Kinks from the album Kinda Kinks (US) B-side "Who'll Be the Next in Line" (R. Davies) Released 19 March 1965 (UK) 21 July 1965 (US) Recorded 22–23 December 1964 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London Genre Rock beat rhythm and blues Label Pye 7N 15813 (UK) Reprise 0366 (US) Songwriter(s) Ray Davies Producer(s) Shel Talmy "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" is a song by Ray Davies, released as a UK single by the Kinks in 1965. As the follow-up to the number-one hit "Tired of Waiting for You", and having their previous three singles all chart among the top two, it was less successful, reaching number 17.[1] It broke a run of what would have been thirteen consecutive top-ten singles in the UK. The song was written as a musical experiment, rather than as an intended single, according to Davies in an interview, where he also claimed that the demo became the master version of it.[2] Chart (1965) Peak position France (IFOP)[5] 31 Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 29 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 28 UK Singles (OCC)[8] 17 ------------------------------------------------------ So this to me is where the sixties is so weird from my later perspective. This single was released twelve days after Kinda Kinks was released, and it just seems odd from the eyes of a later generation that it wasn't on the album, because obviously when I was growing up, it would have been the major promotion for the album..... anyway, that doesn't tell us anything about it So the run of twelve top ten singles was broken, and this song was considered somewhat of a failure even while it charted at 17 in the UK ... that is some incredible pressure to be under. If a song has to make the top ten for it to be considered successful .... well, I just don't know .... We open with a stop start chord pattern and then burst into the song. It has kind of joyous, almost out of control feel about it and it loves those 7th's. mono mix (2:14), recorded 22 Dec, 1964 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London And I know, and I know, And I know that ev'rybody, And I know that ev'rybody be happy, As happy as you and me. 'Cause I know, I know. Come on baby let me tell you All the things I wanna say Come on baby let me tell you All the things I wanna say, and Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love And I know, and I know, And when I see ya walking down the street Well it makes me happy to see you walkin' It makes my life complete 'Cause I know, I know. Come on baby let me tell you All the things I wanna say Come on baby let me tell you All the things I wanna say, and Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love And I know, and I know, And I know that you and me, And I know that you and me be happy, As happy as we can be. 'Cause I know, I know. Come on baby let me tell you All the things I wanna say Come on baby let me tell you All the things I wanna say, and Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love Ev'rybody's gonna be happy, Which means you and me, my love And I know, and I know, And I know, and I know, And I know... Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Kassner Music Co. Ltd This is a cool bouncy track that seems determined to be a joyous party tune. There aren't really an awful lot of lyrics, and perhaps that's why it didn't click with the chart singles buyers as much. The band are really knocking it out of the park here. Mick Avery knocks out some excellent drums. Those little grace notes just keep this track rolling forward relentlessly and Quaife on the bass is really pumping that bassline along beautifully. The guitars are working as accents really, and give the bass and drums room to groove, and they are certainly doing that. This seems like it was a good single to me, but I have never been a singles guy, so who knows. Anyway, I like this track and I think it rolls along at a rate of knots beautifully.
From 'Where The Action Is!'. The only surviving tv performance of this song. The bit at the end where Ray Pete and Dave stick their hands up together is a cool visual moment and was used to good effect in Julian Temple's 2011 Dave documentary 'Kinkdom Come'.
Another good single, but I wonder if its repetitiveness and lyrical simplicity (as mentioned by Mark) may have harmed its performance.
"Who'll Be the Next In Line" Single by the Kinks A-side "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy (UK)" B-side Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" (US) Released 19 March 1965 (UK) 21 July 1965 (US) Recorded 22–23 December 1964 Studio Pye Studios (No. 2), London Genre Rock Length 2:02 Label Pye 7N 15813 (UK) Reprise 0366 (US) Songwriter(s) Ray Davies Producer(s) Shel Talmy mono mix (2:00), recorded 23 Dec, 1964 at Pye Studios (No. 2), London Who'll be the next in line? Who'll be the next in line for heartache? Who'll make the same mistakes I made over you? Who'll be the next in line? Who'll be the next in line? For you? Who'll be the next in line? Who'll be the next to watch your love fade? All your affections finally fade away. There'll be no use in sighing. Who'll be the next in line? For you? One day you'll find out when I'm gone, I was the best one you had, I was the one who gave you love. Who'll be the next in line? Who'll be the next in line for heartaches? Who'll make the same mistakes I made over you? There'll be no use in sighing. Who'll be the next in line? For you? One day you'll find out when I'm gone, I was the best one you had, I was the one who gave you love. Who'll be the next in line? Who'll be the next in line for heartaches? Who'll make the same mistakes I made over you? Who'll be the next in line? Who'll be the next in line? For you? For you? Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Kassner Music Co. Ltd So the b-side is an interesting track also, and I believe in Canada at least it was actually flipped to the a-side ... which in itself is interesting, was this due to the apparent failure of the a-side in the UK? This track has this feeling that it is rotating through several keys and again we have this uptempo track. Again we have relatively few lyrics, which from a future perspective seems rather unlike Ray. This track is pretty interesting, and kind of comes across as a songwriting exercise. Even though the band had had twelve top ten singles, we need to take into account that they were still a really new band, that had only been together for under two years, and recording for about one year. It is something that seems quite important to note when we look at the songs Ray had written so far.
On any of the « greatest sixties hits » or “ultimate collection” compilations by the Kinks, Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy will always be one of the weakest tracks, if not the weakest (and lowest charting). And that is saying A LOT about the band’s output in its golden days. Just listen to the bass line or Ray’s phrasing on the second verse “And when I see ya walking down the street”, the extra little syllable on “and-a” giving his flow an extra slice of rock’n’roll swingin’ swagger… And of course, the icing on the cake, those wonderful slightly de-synchronized handclaps, so great that even Queens of the Stone Age decided to mimic them when they covered the track. The B-side (and sometimes A) is even better in my opinion (and Queens of the Stone Age duly made a point of covering it as well). The riff is a little monster in its own right but the highlight has to be Ray’s spiteful delivery of those bitter lyrics. His tone is unusual, at some points he almost sounds like the Coral’s James Skelly. Some regretted the “sloppy” double track vocals on earlier songs upthread and I guess this criticism is still valid here, but I’ll admit it’s a “defect” that I’ve always enjoyed in sixties british pop. Well, if this is the weakest of your singles, there’s a good chance you’re a pretty great band…
'Everybody's Gonna Be Happy': what a brilliant mega danceable record! It is the 'Kinda Kinks' single in terms of being an attempt to capture the feel of Motown and with a guilelessly innocently upbeat message. I think it's a contender for the most 'group' record they ever put out: Mick is on drums on a single finally, the song is propelled by Pete's bass, and it sounds like all 4 members were equal partners on the minting of this groove: unlike most Kinks songs, it sounds like it developed out of a group jam rather than being written by Ray in a backroom and handed over to the group to interpret: maybe it was, and maybe that accounts for the more careless (or carefree?) than usual lyric as it's just applied on top of a 'feel' rather than being a conscious attempt to communicate something. The effect is pure joy to me, and more convincing than any of the soul workouts on Kinda, as good as they were. When I was first listening to my Kinks greatest hits on tape when I was first getting into them, this was one of my favourites, I used to imagining dancing to the song with my crush at the time.. and such dippy giddy youthful felicity (no that wasn't her name) is what the song exudes forever for me. But here's the thing: after three straight N0.1/2s in a row and when The Kinks must've looked like THEE upcoming band in the UK, this attempt to broaden their sound faltered badly by comparison, only making it to No.17. Someone (sorry can't remember who) made the great point on the 'diminishing returns' thread that this stumble was significant in that it signposted that for whatever reasons The Kinks were not going to be as infallible as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, who had both reached widespread appeal to the point where even a less immediately accessible record (such as 'Little Red Rooster' or 'Ticket To Ride') would be a guaranteed smash: it showed The Kinks were not destined to join the same nascent pop/rock royalty ranks, and would always be taking a harder fought, windier path to chart success.
"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" On the face of it, it seems like a decent shot for a hit single - uptempo, simple and catchy, but in the end it doesn't really seem to go anywhere. Where you might have expected a middle 8 or a guitar solo, it goes straight into a third verse and more repeats of the chorus, which certainly makes it insistent, but may cause some people's attention to drop off. I think it is a good track, but I enjoy it less than the singles which came before and after it. "Who'll Be The Next In Line" This sounds like the A-side's evil twin - slower, minor key, less melodic. (Had they recorded "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" for The Kink Konspiracy it would probably have sounded like this!) The vindictive lyric fits the backing track perfectly, and I think it's a stronger track than the A-side, but I doubt it would have fared any better in the charts.
It was an LA DJ that flipped it apparently, leading eventually to WBTNIL peaking at #34 in the US in September '65.
Where The Action Is! mime. Terrible picture quality, but the decision to illustrate the lyric by having a parade of go-go dancers in white boots jump in front of the group is worthy of note.
