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
    We got about 15", so though plenty, we did NOT hit the jackpot and that suits me fine. Luckily Wonderboy takes care of the clearing away of the snow. I'm way too delicate to do such a thing. (HAW)
     
  2. LX200GPS

    LX200GPS Forum Resident

    Location:
    Somewhere Else
    Holiday Romance

    I'm thinking Western-Super-Mare or Southport (when it was posh), definitely not Southend or Margate.

    This with Underneath The Neon Sign are my two favourite tracks on the album. I remember seeing the advert for this single in the MM at the time of its release. The photograph was very roaring twenties and brought to mind images of beautiful women, men dressed in evening attire, and champagne glasses clinking.

    Hard to believe it was the same band that, only a decade earlier, had given us You Really Got Me, I Need You, and All Day And All Of The Night. People were discussing yesterday about the sound of The Kinks and how certain songs don't sound like the band. This song must surely be a contender for the most un-Kinks sounding record ever. I played it to a family member, who was familiar with Kinks records, years ago and asked her to guess who it was. Not only did she not have a clue but she was shocked when I showed her the single.

    I sometimes get the impression the Davies knew he was on a winner when he had written a great song and then took more care over the recording and production values. Could be just me overthinking things but there you go.

    Never heard it on radio then or since. A real gem this one.
     
  3. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Holiday Romance
    Love this song! LOVE IT! On New Years Eve, we were over at a friend's home and this song was spinning around in my head for days. I asked them to put it on so they could hear my earworm. I told them "this isn't what you'd expect from the Kinks" and my husband and friend looked at me like "huh??:eek:" It did not sweep them off their feet. But I think in a few more listens, they would be on board - I just know it. :laugh:

    Where to start? it's a tour de force with Ray and his various vocals and inflections. I mean, I smile so much upon hearing his pronunciation of "'otellll"(hotel). And the "ding dong".

    This sounds like something from a 30s film (maybe I'm getting my decades slightly wrong). There is the old-fashioned backing vocals that sounds like "wahhh wahhh" that make me think of backing vocalists standing at one of those big-a$$ microphones and holding one ear (a la that guy in Laugh-In (dating myself)).

    Anyway, like many of Ray's best story songs, I have a whole video in my head that I replay, and maybe edit, as I listen to this song. Such fun!

    Should this have been released as a single? Nope. Unless there was a resurgence of big band music around then, maybe it could have caught the public's attention. But at least in the US, everyone was looking at the 50s. Though I hate the word "novelty" applied to this song as I find it so delightful, it probably could be described as that.

    and as other have said, you really REALLY have to stretch the Soap Opera story to have this song fit into it. I don't think it belongs, but I don't care.

    Had to dig deep in my files to find this:
    [​IMG]
     
  4. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    To me, it reminds me most of Freddy's 'Seaside Redezvous' - another vaudeville-style song (and the only song I can think of with the word 'jollification'!) about a holiday. Back to Holiday Romance, it's fantastic and very funny. As mentioned by @palisantrancho, it's a real shame that Ray stopped writing this style of song as he started to concentrate more on rawk (but still with good lyrics) in the Arista era.
     
    Zeki, Steve62, Fortuleo and 8 others like this.
  5. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Big day in Kinks History(I believe this is from Hinman's book):
    February 1, 1964 - Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Pete Quaife and Mick Avory play a concert at the Town Hall in Oxford, opening for Downliners Sect. It is the first time they have played in public under their new name, The Kinks


    ...and the rest is Kinkstory.
     
  6. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Yes, I have a copy. The choices it includes wouldn't necessarily by my choices... Especially not the live tracks.
     
  7. Michael Streett

    Michael Streett Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    Single and LP stereo mix are the same. There was a mono mix issued on a UK promo 45, but that’s surely a fold.

    Yeah, there’s your mono promo release.


    The other thing to remember was this was only released as a single in the UK and long before the LP came out so it may have been earmarked as a standalone single before Ray later decided to shoehorn it into the album, to use your analogy. The US got the “Preservation” single at the same time which the UK did not get, not even later, and that did prove to be a standalone single. Japan later got both on the same single (picture sleeve in Mark’s initial writeup). So they tried different marketing strategies in different countries, none of which worked of course. Not for the first time, RCA had no idea how to market this period of the band at all anywhere. FM radio in the US, but AM in the UK? Who knows?
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2022
  8. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Thanks so no difference on the "Songs Of" CD.
     
  9. Michael Streett

    Michael Streett Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    That was your original question, wasn’t it?

    Yes, same mix of this track on that bonus disc with the 2 CD version of that 1997 The Singles Collection.
    But hang on to that set as there are several previously unreleased tracks and new remixes of released tracks that are still only available on that set.
     
  10. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Yes Michael that was my original question though i felt i may not have been as transparent as intended.
    As for that 2CD Set (includes disc of Pye singles) there has never nor will ever be any danger of the two of us parting!
     
  11. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    He's the real Mcoy!
     
  12. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    You naughty so and so! :D

    Otherwise it is really heartwarming to see all the (somewhat) unexpected outpouring of love for "Holiday Romance" now and the album in general that's bin doing the rounds for the last few days. I told ya so, BTW. It IS good when it first starts to make sense. Really good.

    Best thread on the forum? Yeah, by quite some distance.
     
  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    You Make It All Worthwhile.

    stereo mix, recorded Aug 1974, additional overdubs done Oct 1974 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

    [​IMG]

    He arrives home. He fumbles in his
    pockets for his keys but there is no
    need. Andrea is waiting to greet him
    with open arms.

    WIFE:
    Hello love. You look all worn out!
    Let me take your brief case. That's a
    good boy. Now you come and sit down
    over here and relax and I'll make you
    a nice cuppa tea. Then we'll have
    dinner and we can sit and watch the
    tele. By the way dear, how'd you get
    on at the office.


    You Make It All Worthwhile

    I mustn't stay in this job too long
    I gotta get out before the hold is too strong
    Gotta get out before my ambition is gone
    'Cos it's breaking me up and bringing me down.

    But when I get home you make it all worthwhile,
    You make me laugh and you make me smile
    And after a hard day sorting out the files
    You make it all worthwhile.

    Wife:
    Oh, I've just remembered we've only got shepherd's pie,
    Do you like it?

    Star:
    No, I hate it.

    Wife:
    Hate it? But you see Norman loves it so much and you did ask me to
    act normally, didn't you. I mean I can't cope with all that
    fancy stuff you like to eat.

    Star:
    Alright, I'll eat it and afterwards, I'll write a whole verse about
    your cooking.

    You mustn't blame yourself like you do,
    It's gonna make a nervous wreck out of you,
    So wipe your nose and dry your eyes,
    What's the point of cracking up all because of shepherd's pie?

    Baby, you never know what I've been through.
    I break my back and sweat and slave
    To bring some money home to you.
    Baby, you won't believe it but it's true
    What a boring occupation can do,
    It can make a nervous wreck out of you,
    It can kill your spirit and destroy your mind.

    But when I get home you make it all worthwhile.
    You make me laugh and you make me smile
    And after a hard day sorting out the files
    You make it all worthwhile.

    Wife:
    Would you like steam pudding and custard for afters.

    Star:
    Darling, that would be marvellous.

    And when I come home you make it all worthwhile.
    You make me laugh and you make me smile
    And after a hard day working on the files
    You make it all worthwhile

    Star:
    Come on darling, let's go and have dinner.

    And when I come home you make it all worthwhile.
    You make me laugh and you make me smile
    And after a hard day working on the files
    You make it all worthwhile.

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

    So Norman finally makes his way home, after his Twilight Zone walk and train ride.
    Andrea is a real sweetheart doting on this fellow, and in spite of his fantasy of some kind of exciting holiday romance Norman realises what a precious jewel he has at the home....

    Lyrically I think this to some degree discounts the idea that this is just Norman's fantasy, as Andrea is still speaking as if this is the Starmaker ..... unless this is supposed to be an example of a Folie à deux (folly of two or madness shared by two)...
    It actually seems like Ray may be looking at the things that keep people trapped in a life they can't really relate to. Almost the way the perpetual monotony and repetition almost hypnotises them into this routine until they snap in some way... As always Ray handles it with a delicate touch, and isn't pointing fingers, just observing what he sees from his perspective. The lyrics in this song seem to suggest this could be the case.
    I mustn't stay in this job too long
    I gotta get out before the hold is too strong...
    Now most of us stay in a job because we require an income to survive in the world, but here we have Ray seemingly suggesting that it is somehow a form of reaction to some form of invisible hypnosis or something.

    Interestingly Andrea says she can see that Norman is very tired when she greets him ... and I wonder if this is an Englishism .... She must know he has been drinking, and is a little drunk.... The reason I wonder if it is an Englishism, is it is the kind of thing my dad would do ... a sort of indirect acknowledgement, that kind of says I know, without actually saying I know ... not sure if that makes sense or not, but anyway....

    I actually like this song quite a lot. It is slightly derailed by the Shepherd's Pie, but gets back on track quickly.
    The lyric here is pretty much just a straight narrative. We have the arrival home, the dinner etc.... but there are some really interesting things in here.
    We have the obvious reference to this still really being Starmaker, via the Shepherds Pie section, but as we move along in the song we have this transition, where Starmaker seems to somewhat discard his persona and moves closer to being Norman for real. It's subtle, but the way we move from the disagreeable Shepherd's Pie incident, we then move to the ease in which the pudding and custard is accepted. It almost seems like a submission to the lifestyle. He goes from saying he will write a verse about her cooking, to saying let's go and have dinner.
    It is somewhat hilarious that Norman says " I break my back and sweat and slave". In the office? Really? and I suppose one could say it is bad writing, because it is illogical, but I think it somewhat reflects the way people are. We have a tendency towards exaggeration in search of sympathy or something. so it works for me in that context.
    Much more poignant is the line "It can kill your spirit and destroy your mind.", because this is certainly true.

    I find the story and the lyric here to be well done, and there's a sweetness and a tenderness in the theme and presentation that is very endearing.... to my mind at least.
    In fact aside from the derailing by the Shepherd's Pie section, which is a fairly necessary narrative section, this song is totally excellent.

    And it is the music here that I really love. The lyrical sentiment is beautiful, but the verse and chorus sections here are just perfect.
    After Andrea's welcome home, the verse music bounces in beautifully, and I absolutely love the music that Ray chose to put here. That bouncing feel and the music and melodic structure is just perfect to my ears, and I like the way it eases back into the sweet chorus.

    I really like the piano here, and the strings that move between the staccato verses and the smooth legato chorus.
    I also think Ray lays down a great vocal.

    The Steamed Pudding section seems to be the change up.... We have had Starmaker up to that point, but the engagement and enthusiasm that comes into the music and vocal after the steamed pudding seems to signify a change.... and I think the change is Starmaker falling into being Norman proper. For all the drawbacks of the normal life, there is this alluring security, and sharing of experience..... not sure how to word it..... It isn't fancy pants, and it isn't fame and fortune, but there is a sweet, humble honesty to sharing your life with someone and doing the things required to make that function..... I don't know.... that feels like the underlying message here to me, and I think it works well on that level.

    So we get, for me at least, another really good song, and it is a song I can relate to, because I can see so much of my real life in here, that it feels almost like Ray was watching lol

     
  14. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    "You Make It All Worthwhile"

    I think this is the highlight of the album - yes, some may not like the dialogue sections, but the song itself is fantastic.

    The whole piece brings a smile to my face, but the shepherd's pie bit gets me every time. Starmaker/Norman says "OK, I'll eat it - but afterwards I'll write a verse about your cooking" - and then that's exactly what we get! And after that verse the song kicks into a higher gear. There is some genuine heart and emotion behind this track - you can't help thinking whether Ray is folding his own marriage issues into the performance here.

    Is Andrea just playing along with Norman's fantasy at this point? The lyric sheet suggests the breaking point in that fantasy is approaching.
     
  15. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    There's a nice song in there but the dialogue and the terrible delivery of it really gets in the way.
     
  16. YMIAW: Great memorable melody, and "Darling, that would be marvelous" transforms the song beyond mere camp and parodic gesture into something really quite moving. The song is a triumph, with the final chorus sounding literally triumphant.
     
  17. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Not my original observation (think someone on the Kinks mailing list first postulated this) but the chorus/structure of this song seems inspired by that of Charlie Rich’ s recent country hit ‘Behind Closed Doors’. See what you think:

     
  18. ajsmith

    ajsmith Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I don’t have time to waffle on at length about this track today, but I will say this is the heart of the album, one of Ray’s most affecting melody/delivery combos of his career, and I have a vivid memory of being drunk at a friends house about 15 years ago, putting this album on and when this track got going just thinking ‘I’ve never enjoyed music more! This is the BEST!’
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2022
  19. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    What, not one about reimagining a Beatles album or stray conversation then?
     
  20. pantofis

    pantofis Senior Member

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    You Make It All Worthwhile

    The centerpiece of the album for me and the counterpart to Rush Hour Blues. It's also both the culmination and the farewell to the Kinks' theatric style and Ray really pushes the boundaries of his audience's patience with all the dialogue. Pure self-indulgence on Ray's part, but also pure gold in the delivery and the dramatic stylings, the vampire-organ during the dinner argument is also a brilliant touch.

    The first verse after the wife's greeting always cracks me up the way the question about the office ticks him off. It's a bit as if he says I mustn't stay in this marriage too long. It could also be interpreted that he sings it to himself or to us, or to her.
    That sorting out the files in the office being described as hard work in the office part is hilarious, though it can be really nerve wrecking.

    Musically this is quite solid, though it takes a while to manifest itself. The high point for me is Ray's brilliant octave leap during the "boring occupation" section, which for some reason again makes me think of Queen during their 1974-1976 "operatic" phase. Perhaps the brilliantly executed campy drama part of it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2022
  21. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    If I remember correctly, this one has had all of that. But so much more AND better music too :p
     
  22. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    This is a thread made by fans, with fans, for fans, we usually find merits even in the lesser tunes, we use dithyrambs (another existing French word, @Steve62…) routinely and hear masterpieces every other day. Just think about it: we’re in the middle of the most derided LP in the Kinks career and every song has been praised no end by almost everybody on the thread. Are we biased? Ok, yes, we are. Are we still capable of any objectivity or do we live in a deluded world defined by our devotion to Ray Davies's genius?
    Fair question, I guess, but…

    I hope yesterday’s Lavinia and tomorrow’s ducks won’t take it too hard but today, Wednesday 02022022, my favorite Soap Opera song is You Make It All Worthwhile. I can see how this could be the main offender and the main reasons as to why the LP has long been ridiculed by critics and rejected by fans. The food dialogues, the affected acting of June Ritchie, the heavy-handed female choir coming in to sing the big chorus in the end, the jokey lines… I mean, it’s 1975, the American punks are coming, Springsteen breaks through, Dylan returns with Blood on the Tracks, Patti Smith appears on Horses and this guy, the Waterloo Sunset auteur, writes “What's the point of cracking up all because of shepherd's pie?” Seriously?

    Let’s be clear, if I were to introduce the Kinks to a newbie, I would not start by this track. A piece such as this one, with all those ludicrous little bits, the outré acting, the “alright, alright, I’ll eat it” dialogues, the “kitchen sink drama” pushed to caricature, should never work. How could it be touching, how could it still ring true, how could it work as a sincere plea for an endearing married life? Yet it does. Beyond the humor. Despite the ridicule. The verses are pure angst and alienation, with those aggressive strings, the guy on the verge of a nervous breakdown, culminating with the “'cause it's breaking me up and bringing me down” show-stopping line, before the chorus's quiet release and appeasement. There and then, it’s quite clear that this song is no joke after all, even though it’s full of them. Throughout the 3’50’’ running time, Ray goes from pythonesque parody to blunt emotions from one line to the next. And the stunning thing is both work like a charm. A line will give you a lump in the throat while you were still laughing from the previous one, the music itself accompanies these mood swings brilliantly while Ray’s vocals turn from playful dialogues to serious, very serious, the most serious and committed he’d been in years, not least in the fabulous middle part, backed by a heavy percussive John Dalton bass. I mean did his singing ever get any better than on the “it can kill your spirit / and destroy your mind” moment? This is a supreme pop hybrid, part operetta, part power ballad, and the best Ray ever got to his theater writing in my opinion. Because this time, using very different tools, he achieves the same level of vivid authenticity and complex emotions as in his best 60’s observational miniatures. The chorus’s so genuine, so deep in its down to earth simplicity… “You make me laugh and you make me smile / you make it all worthwhile”… From Two Sisters to this, yes, it’s definitely the same writer, the same message, the same empathy, the same incomparable genius.
     
  23. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    You Make it All Worthwhile
    I cooked a shepherds pie for dinner tonight in honour of this song. I used Beyond mince (vegan) and French porcini mushrooms so I’m pretty sure Ray would have enjoyed it no more than Andrea’s :winkgrin:
    As for the song, this is another highlight for me. We have a beautiful melody, sentimental but not cringeworthy lyrics and some more dollops of humour. The spoken dialogue pieces are a distraction but I forgive them because of Andrea’s inability to say eggs Benedict. Lol. Side 2 is on fire.
     
  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Yes, so I just saw :) ...
     
    DISKOJOE and ARL like this.
  25. Steve62

    Steve62 Vinyl hunter

    Location:
    Murrumbateman
    I’d like to think that has something to do with sheep, so I won’t look up the word…

    Hey, I come to the SHF because I enjoy living in this deluded world :D.
    You do make a good point about objectivity, but the way I see it is that we are judging songs on their merit as part of individual albums. If we were trying to be objective we’d assess every Kinks song against their best e.g. Waterloo Sunset - which I think would a more difficult and a far less enjoyable exercise.
     

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