The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    That makes more sense.

    On the whole I like the concept/thematic album era. Schoolboys just doesn't work very well.
    I think someone earlier suggested that this album should possibly have had the "Dave Suite" on one side, and just songs on the other. I tend to agree with that.
    Thematically this album ends up being somewhat confused in trying to tie disparate songs into one theme.

    It's no surprise to me that this was the last "concept" album, Clive Davis or no Clive Davis.
     
  2. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    “The Last Assembly” – Once again we’re back in the 50s, and it feels like parody, but there’s something touching about the “gather round” refrain (what does this song remind me of? “Bring It on Home to Me” again? “Auld Lang Syne”?) Still, there’s not really enough to distinguish it, but at least it stays under three minutes. This seems to be the actual end of the schooldays “storyline.” Again, he is looking back nostalgically after terrible things happened, and I still don’t know if the wistful look back is being done sarcastically. Rating: 2/5

    Inspired by @Zeki, I am attempting to be more scientific in my ratings. I think my scale is something like this:

    5 - Excellent, definite playlist
    4 - Very good, likely playlist
    3 - Good, would not skip
    2 - Fair, possible skip
    1 - Poor, definite skip

    This is purely a personal preference scale; it doesn't attempt to estimate the objective quality of the song. I think this will better help me rank the RCA albums.
     
  3. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    :) You’re upping the ante, going upscale. My system is all whim and feelings. :D
     
  4. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    The Last Assembly
    A nice singalong for the whole school singalong at the end of the final year. Which would have been fine, but with Flash (or Dave) having been excluded before that time, I'm fairly certain he'd be out of the door with a size nine up the backside (metaphorically speaking) without any opportunity for such an event to occur.
    For the rest of us though, it has that 'end of school' feel, a mixture of sadness of moving on, knowing that you'd probably never see the majority of your cohort again. And pleased to see the back of some. Mixed Emotions (as Jagger would say) certainly for me personally. Ray however focusses on the nostalgia and that theme of it being the 'happiest days of your life'. Maybe it was. Maybe Flash is looking back to something he was cruelly denied, that Last Assembly, so it's how he feels it should have been...?
     
  5. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    Voices 'in the know' suggest it is not going to happen due to the poor sales of the previous super-deluxe, and there being little material to add to previous re-issues.
     
  6. The late man

    The late man Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    When is it said that Flash was excluded?

    Did Ray or Dave explicitly state that the album is about Dave's story?
     
  7. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Dave wrote the following in his autobiography Kink:

    "In my view, it was a fabulous little album, although underrated at the time. The concept was drawn mainly from Ray's and my experiences at school. Ray's observations and feelings about education, and Sue's and my expulsion from school were blended together with the character Mr. Flash from the Preservation albums. I love the track "Headmaster". The chorus after the guitar solo is pure magic. Poignant. All the bittersweet memories of that time came flooding back."

    Kink, page 173 (emphasis mine)
     
  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    That's weird...
    Village Green even charted
    Arthur was sold out in less than a year
    Lola is good, but didn't have a whole lot to offer...

    Oh well, we'll see what happens I guess
     
  9. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Sadly, The Last Assembly is a bit of a bore of a song, but I do like the guitar buried in the chorus.
     
  10. TeddyB

    TeddyB Senior Member

    Location:
    Hollywoodland
    Re Mick Jones and the Kinks, we know of course that the bass riff he devised for London Calling is based on the horns in Dead End Street. From that same Clash album, I’m Not Down blatantly uses a sped up take on the descending line from Waterloo Sunset. Visually, I would agree that the early Clash and Kinks were both more bash ‘em up pop art era Who.
     
  11. TeddyB

    TeddyB Senior Member

    Location:
    Hollywoodland
    Mick Jones supports QPR and, when they are inevitably out of the picture, Liverpool.
     
  12. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Just like it can often be in the workplace!
     
  13. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    That's how I do my song ratings!:p
     
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  14. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    The Last Assembly
    This is a tough one. I do like the gospel-like organ in it. I'm a sucker for that stuff as it definitely places a mood on the tune, but does it really fit in with this theme? I dunno.

    Anyone hear Auld Lang Syne? Cuz I do. Definitely sounds like an "end of the evening" type song. "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" LOL

    It's not a song to get too excited about.
     
  15. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    And after reading people's take on this song...I do NOT hear a 50's sound AT ALL. Like I could see this song being on The Big Chill soundtrack or something like that.
     
  16. Smiler

    Smiler Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston TX
    After reading comments, I do hear the gospel flavor. Initially I heard the 12/8 feel and a chord structure that reminded me of "Bring It on Home to Me" and immediately thought "more 50s."
     
  17. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Mick Jones asked Topper Headon if he wished to be in ‘my new band’ (the Clash) at a Kinks show at the Rainbow in London. Did you meet Ray at the 1987 awards show where he presented best female vocalist to Kate Bush? If so we were once in the same room.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2022
  18. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    The Last Assembly

    Like the gospel/country intro and it makes me absolutely think of The Band with Richard Manuel out front. (I trust iam not getting mixed up with Rick Danko's voice guys?)

    The repetitive latter part/s which for me don't go anywhere i'm not so keen on and hear Bring It On Home To Me and a feeble Auld Lang Syne and note after coming up with this I do see above that other Avids have mentioned both titles.

    Also mentioned was a resemblance to the Stones, well stylistically perhaps but if they were handling the opening of this circa '71-'73 let's get Gram Parsons on backing vocals and hey maybe instead just throw it on his solo album.
    The big problem is the only way Jagger would write and sing such lyrics is if the Last Assembly they were walking to was real actual gallows, set up and paid for by straight society of course!
     
  19. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    Not only do I hate to repeat myself. I also love to repeat myself.

    I see yous guyses "Bring it on Home" and raise ya one "Dark End of the Street" by James Carr and some Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman". And "Auld Lang Syne"? More like "You'll Never Walk Alone". But then again, you wouldn't know that one, would ya? :D
     
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  20. TeddyB

    TeddyB Senior Member

    Location:
    Hollywoodland
    No, @pyrrhicvictory. Seems not. It was years later, in 2004, at the first Mojo Magazine Awards. Ray was being given the Songwriter Award while Mick was accepting one on behalf of the Clash for Inspiration. It was actually quite a group of nominee/attendees. At the Whitehall Banqueting House, of all places.
     
  21. All Down The Line

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

    Location:
    Australia
    Know all four.
     
  22. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    We're Aussies, we take it all in :)
     
  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    No More Looking Back.

    stereo mix, recorded 16 Sep, 1975 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

    Walking along a crowded street
    I see thousands of faces before me.
    Then I see a face that I used to know
    Long ago in my life story.
    It starts me thinking about the things you said
    For your image is still inside me.
    The past is gone but in my head
    You're still walking along beside me.
    Is it something playing tricks with my eyes
    Or just an illusion deceiving me,
    Or is it someone in a disguise
    Or visions of things that used to be?

    But lately I've been going to
    All the places that we once knew,
    And just when I think that I am free of you
    I keep seeing the things that remind me of you,
    And just when I think you're out of my head
    I hear a song that you sang or see a book that you read.
    Then you're in every bar, you're in every café,
    You're driving every car, I see you everyday,
    But you're not really there 'cos you belong to yesterday.

    No more looking back,
    No more living in the past,
    Yesterday's gone and that's a fact,
    Now there's no more looking back.
    Got to be hard,
    Yeah, look straight ahead.
    That s the only way it's going to be,
    Yesterday's gone and that's a fact,
    Now there's no more looking back,

    Perhaps someday I'll stop needing you,
    Then maybe one day I'll be free of you.
    But lately I've been going to
    All the places that remind me of you.
    And just when I think you're out of my head
    I hear a record you played or see a book that you read.
    Then you're in every bar, you're in every café,
    You're driving every car, I see you everyday
    But you're not really there 'cos you belong to yesterday.

    No more looking back,
    No more living in the past.
    Yesterday's gone, that's a fact,
    Now there's no more looking back.
    No more looking back.
    No more living in the past.
    Yesterday's gone, that's a fact.
    Now there's no more looking back.

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

    More than any other song on the album, this song sets the scene for Sleepwalker.
    It is almost a beautifully designed goodbye to the RCA years, and also the idea of making all the albums some form of thematic/concept type album. Bearing in mind that the albums to come still have vague themes, but aren't presented as concept albums, and certainly not theatrical plays.

    This is a great song, and really should set up enthusiasm for what is to come, because it is a more concise and focused style of writing. We have Ray's melodic sense, and also his sense of drama and dynamics, we have Dave back as a full contributing member of the band, rather than the guy who plays a bit of guitar when required.
    To me all the signs pointing forward are positive.

    Lyrically this is quite a thing for Ray to write. Essentially this is another Dave and Sue song..... somewhat like Ray was really paying attention to the damage that Dave got from the whole situation. It shows a great deal of compassion for his brother, and somewhat works as an encouragement to help lead him forward.
    To some degree it is also somewhat prophetic when one takes into consideration the fact that down the track Dave would actually get to meet his daughter, and I assume at some point he and Sue got a chance to make their peace.?

    The first verse sets the scene of walking down the street and seeing a face from long in our past, and that face sends us on a mental journey to the girl that was taken from us, and the complex feelings that arose from a complex situation.
    We have the whole thing play out quite realistically, with the imagery of our long lost loved one walking beside us and being a part of us ..... and also the conflict of emotions and confusion that the reality brings to that mental picture.

    We move into a musical change that fits beautifully as we realise that we have been chasing this ghost from our past. Looking in all the places we used to go, and trying to grasp a piece of a joyful memory that haunts us ..... and no matter what we do, we can only imagine, because the reality is "you're not really there 'cos you belong to yesterday."

    Of all the Dave and Sue songs on this album, this seems like it would actually be the hardest one for Dave to participate in.... but he does, and with distinction.

    Then we move to the chorus which is a resolve to stop living in a past that cannot be. There are many people that ruin their future by regretting their past, and here we have the character in the song putting all their focus into moving forward and letting the ghosts blow away with the breeze. Otherwise the cycle will continue and the future can't work, due to our focus on the past, and no matter what the ghost is that may haunt any one of us, we need to allow it to float into the back of our mind, to be able to remain sane in a world that is too complex and challenging for us to not be fully focused.

    The next verse solidifies the idea of how hard this is, as we pass old places and see old faces and they always bring to mind that one face that meant so much ....
    Even after we have moved on, there can still be the odd glitch in the system that twists out hearts and minds backwards, but we need to remember that "you're not really there 'cos you belong to yesterday."

    Then the lyrics take us out with a final reminder that we need to look forward and not back, because no matter what it is, the past holds nothing for us but an emotional prison.

    Musically this is magnificent.
    We open with a really nice smooth electric piano, with a slight wah effect on it. the drums accompany it with a nice rim shot beat with accented double beat kick....
    Then we get this beautiful harmonised guitar come in. Melodically excellent, and it just sounds wonderful.
    This is followed by another beautiful guitar lead line from Dave, and leads to Ray giving us a beautiful smooth and sincere vocal.
    Underneath we have Dave riffing with some nice lead work, that from my perspective really adds some nice texture.

    Then we get the return of the harmonised guitars and Ray singing along with them.
    We also get a return of the nice little lead guitar and it slides beautifully into a bridge of sorts.

    This bridge?/pre-chorus?/whatever we're going to call it, is fantastic.
    The chord pattern gives us a big melodic shift, but it isn't a harsh shift, it smoothly flows on from what came before. The vocal melody works with the chord pattern beautifully.
    The final line of this section is a melodic triumph and leads beautifully and smoothly into the chorus proper.

    For the chorus we move back to the intro with the smooth electric piano and the rim shot drums. Ray's vocal is suitably dreamy, and engaging.
    The harmonised guitar comes back to wind the chorus up and lead us into the next section, Again, it rolls through smoothly and we dive back into that somewhat bridge-like section.

    This takes us again into the chorus and this time we have a really nicely arranged horn section that is more of a rhythmic component than anything else. It gives the final chorus a more up feel, and it has the feeling of the protagonist getting it together to follow through on the idea of not looking back, but moving forward.
    Then we end on the harmonised guitar section and it drifts off on the final notes.

    This song is a great example of why the upcoming Arista years are so good.
    Although the lyric here loosely fits with the school story, it is not really a song that needs to tie to some story, it is a song that is relatable .... whether in terms of lost love, moving on from addiction issues, putting childhood trauma behind .... even though some lyrics here specify letting a lost, deep love go, the basic idea of the song is about moving forward and not allowing yourself to be tied unnecessarily to a past that has nothing for you..... allowing yourself to have a future with no anchors.....
    But more importantly, musically Ray is writing a song.... it is nothing more than that.
    I have really enjoyed the RCA years more than I expected, but with the themes encompassing the songs, it has made the album and song structures need to be in a specific zone, rather than just writing a song to exist on its own merits, and with this song Ray makes that leap. He returns to Ray the songwriter as a focused objective, Rather than Ray the novelist, trying to create a whole world. As well as he did that, I think he specialises in the short form..... much like Pete Townshend. Both dove headlong into big extended projects, and their abilities made most of those successful, but at the end of the day, short form is where they excel.

    The arrangement is brilliant here. We have a complete return to the process from Dave on this album, and here we have a perfect example of why this is so important for the band. Although this is full of lead guitar lines, there aren't any noodlings at all, this is all (at least seemingly) well thought out arrangements. The harmonised guitar section that repeats is a positive energy that seems to reflect the idea of moving forward with joy and new vigour. The lead lick that follows these sections works beautifully as a little hook to join things together and also add a sort of reflective pause.
    In many ways for me, this is the best arrangement of guitar parts that the band?/Dave?/Ray? has come up with so far.

    No More Looking Back works beautifully to close out this album (except for the somewhat redundant finale), but it also points the way forward, and the direction in which we will travel.

    I don't think I can find a single thing wrong with this track, and essentially for me it fits in with some of the bands best closers for an album.... in spite of the goofy finale, which appears to only exist to try and tie the album back into the story it attempted to tell.

     
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  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Finale.

    stereo mix, recorded 24 Sep, 1975 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

    ......
    This starts with a nice Stonesy guitar ..... but it is essentially just an outchorus of the song Education.....

    Frankly, I would prefer that it wasn't on here, and I don't really have much to say about it.
    Really this track is a good example of why the band really needed to move on from the thematic/concept albums, because as much as I like them, this kind of thing does nothing to elevate the band, it merely exists to try and tie a concept together, or wrap it up, or in fact remind us that it was supposed to be a concept.....

     
  25. GarySteel

    GarySteel Bastard of old

    Location:
    Molde, Norway
    Yeah, I was sort of kind of explicitly refering to the last one :D What is United's official song again?

    I know that you are a man of (wealth and) taste, and as such I know that you know the first two ;)
     

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