Well, it's more like a Ray Stiles or even Viv Stanshall send up of Elvis, so a stage removed from the original, but still traceable back there I think.
I listen to one for the road again the other day.... Love the raw sound and for me represented the kinks album I always wanted to listen to...
The first time we fall in love This was one of the first songs I fell in love with on Schoolboys In Disgrace. Well, it's a bit overstated for the pun's sake, but it's really one of my earliest favorites. It didn't really fall out of grace, but other songs grew in my appreciation and overshadowed it. It starts with what I learnt here was the "doo-wop" chord progression, I-vi-IV-V, but the Kinks do here what they don't do enough on the previous track, as I wrote this morning : they add little licks and ornaments to hide the brute simplicity of the structure. And they add a bit of variation, for example by substituting ii to IV, though Ray is not as successful in destructuring the doo-wop progression as Brian Wilson is in The Warmth of The Sun. I love the falsetto vocal, and the "lo-o-o-o-ve" modulated on the high note that Avid Fortuleo noticed. Actually these few seconds might be most of what I enjoy in this song, but I'm not ready yet to confess it to myself. Face A : I love the first song, and I can enjoy the other 3. But Face B's flawless flow is what makes this album's success in the end.
The First Time We Fall In Love My guess is this will be one of the most polarizing tracks on the album, simply because it's just so goofy. Ray starts off with his dopey voice (which I've never much cared for) and lopes his way through a few expository verses, then comes a beautiful Beach Boyesque segment. And then lightning strikes like a young teen finally getting to first base with his crush, the song then picks up the tempo like the kid's pulse after the rush of that first kiss, leading to the delightful climax with one of my favorite piano riffs in a Kinks song, with those lovely harmonies layered on top. It's a whipsawing ride, a dull routine before it runs you around until you're out of steam. And the lyrics are pure Ray: who else can pull off a line as clinical as "I was only a kid and I was much too young and I wasn't equipped for the emotional pressures and stresses of it" so effectively in a pop song? This song might not be a Grand Artistic Statement, but it is loads of fun. And Dave, as always, provides just the right coloring.
The First Time We Fall In Love: Looking at my PFP, you can probably guess I'm a fan of this one. As @Martyj said, I can't really push back against anybody calling this one cheesy, but that's... okay? The more I think about this album, the more I think the cheesiness is a feature; yes, the concept of the album is based on Dave's life, but I think Ray's heart is truly in a lot of these songs. All the longing for days gone by and soft white dreams with candy-coated outside... why else would he suddenly get so corny this late in his career (I gotta stop shoehorning song references, it's corny too)? Anyway, I think Ray did live these lyrics, I should leave it at that. I will talk a bit about the music though -- I love each of the sections, I think they're quality, they bridge together (as was said above, a bit of a decade arc of musical history!) and they're sung delightfully. Plenty has been said about the falsetto section already, but again, pointing at my avatar, I consider myself pretty discerning and picky with that vocal style (Brian, Paul, Ray, you're in, Barry and Frankie, you're out!) and Ray nails it here. I think he nails it so much that I believe it's his (sorry to disagree with you, Fortuleo!), it's just too high for Ray to practically sing live; plus, it's better that Dave sings the high part in concert so Ray and the others can do the low parts in the last section. Anyway, enough of this one -- a high point of the album and a great end to the first side. One last thought though -- listen closely to what Dave is playing at the end of the song; feels like the band was about to do a jam in some totally different direction. I'm glad they didn't include it, this song works perfectly as it is (not to slight Australia here, that one also works very nicely!)
"The First Time We Fall In Love": Well, I was actually doing that when I first heard this song back in high school and let me tell you Avids, it wasn't pretty! I think I'm probably one of the few Avids here to have done so. It's kinda like putting a late 1970s bittersweet emotion over the song's jumble of 50s and early 60s styles. It's a pleasant enough song, but things will get better on Side 2. Also, I finally managed to watch that 16 minute fragment of Schoolboys live last night and I have to say that it was great despite its fragmentary nature and crappy quality. I hope that a better copy exists and I wish that we can have a chance to see it and other examples of early to mid 1970s Kinks shows before we all die. My friend Jimmy, who started his Kinks fandom back then, swears that this was his all time favorite period and he wishes that it never ended. From the scraps that I've seen and heard, he could be right.
The First Time We Fall in Love This is a not a favorite of mine. The affected vocal from Ray just doesn't do it for me.
The First Time We Fall In Love Perhaps I shouldn't like this, being such a 50s pastiche (there's that word again, @Fortuleo!). But, this evokes the earliest style of the Beach Boys that I love. The Brian Wilson falsetto ballad. Ray really achieves it amazingly well here, even if there is a layer of satire or tongue-in-cheek tribute to the 50s/60s doo-wop/falsetto mashup here. Earlier there was talk of the Beach Boys lyrics not being as deep or achieving the same level as Ray's lyrics. And here, I think this is Ray actually (I hate to say it), but stepping down(?) to Wilson/Love lyrical content with these lines: The first time we fall in love, Can make you sad, it can keep you awake, It can drive you mad. People say you're too young and it's only a fad The first time we fall in love. I mean, that lyric could be a scrapped 2nd or 3rd verse from Kiss Me Baby off Beach Boys Today! in 1965. It's simple, relatable lyrics about teenage love/relationships. The little twist here though, is that this is not a teenager singing this song. This is someone who has been through it, and is offering advice. Note how the bridge changes to the past tense with: "The first time I fell out of love, it knocked me through the floor." The transition from the falsetto part to that bridge is fantastic, with the heavy guitar riff bringing us to Ray's real voice. Here comes reality. And then the faster doo-wop section works as a brief interlude again before Ray's real voice comes in again with "Love can be exciting, it can be a bloody bore." And oh, how I love how Ray sings "bloody bore!" We get to the electric piano/lead guitar outro, and that is great rollicking fun. The last 30 seconds of the song reminds me of the fun instrumental part of Mr. Churchill Says around the "Do your worst and we'll do our best" section there. I'm not sure what it is, maybe just how bouncy and fun that rhythm is (especially Dalton's bass part)? I think I do sorta love this song. It's got what I love about the Kinks (the bridges and heavy chords there, the tongue-in-cheek lyrics), and a great falsetto too!
You really hit on something here. I imagine the way he spits that lyric out that it reflected the deterioration of his marriage to Rasa. Maybe that's reading too much into it but it just feels deeply personal.
That reminds me about how Ray was dropping the F bomb during the live Philly version of Soap Opera. He sounded very vicious.
The First Time We Fell In Love Knowing Dave's schoolboy stories and receiving an album brief in advance I came to this song title and thought it was Ray being coy upfront before the song lyrically revealed itself with the awkward nitty gritty teenage act! When it began I thought I had switched on a Happy Days episode and perhaps Bobby Boris Pickett And The Crypt Kickers were easing into "Me And My Mummy!" Not much to say, a pleasant song nicely crafted and all but another show tune in effect that i doubt would make most folks Kinks Kareer Key Kuts!
Count me as anotherone who really likes this song, even though the concept shouldn't work on paper. It is sung with irony in what I interpret as the Mr. Flash voice. But it's quite different from the similarly ironic efforts by Zappa (Ruben & The Jets). Normally I perceive rockabilly throwbacks as somewhat stale, but not here and I guess this is because the Kinks actually lived that era and it's more of a heartfelt tribute than a cynical pastiche. And that falsetto voice, is that Ray? I believe it's a unique use in the Kinks catalogue. And that double-speed section is something I would normally dislike a lot with all its tacky highschool musical elements. But for whatever reasons the Kinks get away with it.
Was thinking the same thing, which makes the entirety of side one feel like a contemplation of the memory of schooldays rather than a straight gloss on schooldays themselves. Are you a June or a November? Cast your mind back for awhile: How well (or how accurately) do you remember your very first love affair? With First Time We Fall in Love particularly, the straight-up nostalgia suggested by the musical idiom would naturally support the take we've heard many times -- the adults said we were too young for love, but they didn't understand. But Ray suggests the grown-ups could've been right -- we really were too young, we really weren't emotionally equipped. A pure nostalgia track would be an ode to the beauty and purity of young love, but The First Time We Fall in Love mixes in vivid stabs of pain, pressure, stress -- even boredom. Like lots of side 1, it feels like Ray is practically reeling with the weight of memory (great observers generally have great memories, but memory can be invasive)... so much so that he has to cram as many words as he can into each line -- exciting, bloody bore, pleasure, chore -- fool, ninny, twit, chump -- physics, geometry, philosophy, history -- and because he's reliving all of it, November to June, he can't tell us either that it was all sublimely beautiful or that it was all about bullying, getting your heart broken, & being force-fed so much useless crap that it drove you insane. And he gives us something very true -- if you really cast your mind back and remember, it was all those things. The music works well enough, and Ray's vocal range is impressive if, yeah, a bit "theatrical." I'm a sucker for falsetto and it's pretty great how that achingly high "looooooves" transition into [crunchy power chord] LOVE CAN BE EXCITING IT CAN BE A BLOODY BORE. I was 16 when I first heard this, just a few months out of my first love. Listening to it with my daughter this morning, I thought, oh God, she's going to get to/have to go through all of that, her little sensitive heart is going to be so elevated and so crushed, god I hope she can take it. But music like the Kinks will help pull her through.
"The First Time We Fall In Love" I wish Ray would have sung the first part a bit more serious, but I understand why he may have wanted to ham it up. I was never sure if it was Ray singing on the falsetto parts because it's unlike anything else we have heard from him before. He nails it and it's a beautiful vocal. I love how they change it up after the first falsetto section. "The first time I felt out of love, it knocked me to the floor." It pulls us back into the 70s before it makes another swift turn to 50s Doo-wop. A little bit of Dion, Beach Boys, Zappa, and a whole lotta Ray goin' on.
“The First Time We Fall in Love” – I'm going to post this before reading all the comments, so I won’t be tempted to possibly cave to peer pressure and modify my post. The so-obvious overdone 50s pastiche with predictable chords and an over-the-top parody vocal from Ray about young love…ugh. After a little of this, I’m ready to skip to the next track. But then what happens? Suddenly women are taking over on the melody, a little pitchy but it’s a nice smooth sound. And then, an unexpected harsh musical change with an aggressive vocal that sounds like Dave but I assume is Ray, spitting out that his world of love came crashing down. Sha Na Na never sounded like this! Then we’re back to the 50s again and everything picks up, with the women singing again, but now the guys are singing doo-wop backing vocals. It feels like a long time since I’ve heard background vocals from the guys. I can’t believe I like this, but by golly gee willikers Mrs. Cleaver, I’m bopping around in my chair and humming along. As an aside, the little keyboard riff at the end reminds me of “I Feel Fine.” Maybe not a standalone keeper, but I wouldn’t skip it. Will it get old quickly? I don’t know, but I enjoy it now!
I fall into the "this just ain't my bag" category on this one. Zappa did these types of 1950s parodies better and I don't really care for his. It's clever and well put together and all that but I don't want to engage when I hear it. I checked the lyrics this time and there's nothing wrong with them but overall, this is not what I want from the Kinks and I largely tune it out.
Sorry, I was attempting to be funny and clearly failed. Next time I’ll add a smiley face or something! I certainly was not trying to give you a hard time, your posts are some of my favorite on this thread, and that’s saying a lot considering the quality of the posts made by everyone participating here.
I agree with all the people that like The First Time We Fall in Love, for all the reasons they have mentioned. A highlight for me.
Education: Upon revisiting this song a few times, I see more clearly Avid Fischman’s point. The song does hold you as it walks you through Ray’s version of the history of education. Although perhaps a tad wordy, it is elevated by the wonderful but too brief guitar solo. It makes the playlist but it’s another one that I suspect may drift towards the tail end of my mix covering this era. Thanks @Fischman for opening my eyes to the merits of this song. The First Time We fall in Love: This one popped right away for me. Some have complained about Ray’s choice of the deep voice in the first set of lyrics, but I don’t mind it (I don’t love it but I don’t mind it), but the falsetto section that follows is lovely and I was walking around all day singing and humming it. Couple that with the great riffed up, more rocking section and the following instrumental section with Dalton laying down some great bass work while Dave weaves in and out of both ears with his great interlocking solos and I call this one a quirky winner!
