Hmmm interesting that the Rollers come up today... if it wasn't for Love Actually, I wouldn't even remember any of their songs lol When I was a pup, the girls next door were my babysitters, they loved Sweet and BCR, even tartaning up for a concert. When they babysat me, it was Sweet all the way. Still love 'em
I’m not satisfied by my descriptors but this shows the way I see the variations of The Kinks (and associated acts) to date: 1)The Kinks 2)The Village Kinks (VGPS; Muswell, Showbiz) 3)Minstrel Kinks (Preservation Acts I and II) 4)Ray Davies with guests: The Kinks (Soap Opera) 5)AOR Kinks (Schoolboys In Disgrace) So five rather distinct variations up until this point.
I saw The Kinks a bunch of times during the RCA years, and for me, those years and albums were one big joyous party! The albums felt more like souvenirs or programs for the live shows that ensued from them than entirely standalone experiences. We listened to them before the tours to know what to expect and enjoy in the concerts, and afterwards to remember them. I therefore have happy memories of each, though I know that’s not exactly what Ray was aiming for. I was fond of these records, good or bad, for a long time, but now that I’m old, it’s the great Reprise classics that I turn to most. I remember being thrilled by the more rockiest sound of the band throughout the Arista years, again especially live, and happy to relegate the concept shows and albums to memory. But in the end, though these transitions all seemed salutary, I wish they hadn’t burned out once they reached the To the Bone sound, where Ray and Dave jelled together so well at last…. Anyway, the RCA stuff was more you had to be there, for me - there’s something so 70s about it all, that I’m not sure how I’d take to those records had I not been!
True. This is a much, much better tracklist. Almost great ! So, yeah, the RCA years… With the horns, female singers or actresses and all, it's not the same line up all the way, but still the same core five rock musicians. There's a continuity there that is NOT reflected in the styles (nor sounds) of the records. But I'll say it : of all the Kinks eras, RCA is my favorite. Not the best, no, it would almost be trolling to make such a statement, but the one that fascinates me the most. The number of great songs remains astonishing. My own restrictive chronological 20 tracks best of would go something like this 20th Century Man Alcohol Holloway Jail Oklahoma USA Nobody’s Fool Hot Potatoes Sitting in My Hotel Supersonic Rocket Ship Celluloid Heroes Sweet Lady Genevieve There’s a Change in the Weather When A Solution Comes Scum of the Earth Oh Where Oh Where Is Love Flash’s Confession Have Another Drink Holiday Romance You Make It All Worthwhile Schooldays No More Looking Back (no Shepherds of the Nation but the pie song You Make It All Worthwhile is there, so all is not lost on the Shepherd's front) Anyway, the above list is only the cream of the crop. I have lots of other favorites, accompanied by some of the craziest moves ever attempted by anyone in rock, with trumpets, tuba, female singers, vaudeville dialogues, costumes, mustaches, stories in two acts, prequels, songs about cooking, songs about cuckooing, songs about cricket, Oklahoma, potatoes… But also self-quotes, operettas, accents, voices, pastiches, ducks, buttocks, sex, violence, violent sex, power, violent power, sci-fi, Orwell, education, History, politics, past, present, future and rock’n roll ! I love it all, I even love the songs I don’t love, because they try something different, something stupid or absurd, something impossible, things that can’t be done and things that shouldn’t even be attempted. But they do attempt it. And when they fail, it’s like when a tightrope artist falls: it makes me admire them and applaud and cheer with even more enthusiasm. Yes, I would describe the RCA years as the real rock’n roll circus. A lot of it was tentative and over the top, but boy, was it entertaining!
The RCA Years Muswell Hillbillies -- An all-time classic. A focused, specific concept about working-class life (down to the album cover), but concept albums need great songs to work -- and Muswell delivers that, in spades. It's the Kinks at their rootsiest and most rustic. "20th Century Man" and "Here Come The People In Grey" are the highlights, and would have become classic-rock perennials if the Kinks had had a higher profile back then, but really, there are NO weak songs on this set, and that's the last Kinks album you can say that about. "Holiday" is a masterwork in irony and sarcasm. The intensity in this album is relentless; it's a top-three Kinks work for me. And sometimes it's a top-one. Everybody's In Showbiz -- All great runs come to an end eventually, and the Kinks' streak of brilliance was long and prolific, but this is where we start hitting a few potholes. The studio side is, overall, just okay -- it's got some soaring heights like the epic "Celluloid Heroes" and my personal favorite "Motorway" (love the swirling organ), and some serious duds like the first three songs on the record (somebody dropped the ball on sequencing). "Unreal Reality", which sounds like "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues" as recited through a three-minute stifled yawn, is the worst offender -- to this day it's the group's 'We Built This City" to my ears. The live set is better -- I like the loosey-goosey performances and the horns sound great -- but it's basically no more than a rehash of Muswell Hillbillies. Preservation Act One -- Ray Davies' decision to write and perform a thematic musical set him up for a critical drubbing -- the rock press didn't like any deviations from orthodoxy. Which buries the fact that some of the songs on this set are among the most beautifully melodic of the Kinks' career. "Daylight" has the effect of rolling up the window blinds to let the morning sun fill up your room, and "Sweet Lady Genevieve" is a stone-cold A-1 Davies gem, belonging on the same pantheon as "Waterloo Sunset" and "Days". The arrangements are inventive and engaging, even if they're not always "rock". There are other good tracks on the album -- "Cricket" displays a Muswell Hillbillies vibe -- and no really bad ones. You can ignore the concept if you want to -- this is a very solid set of songs. Preservation Act Two -- This one is a bit of slog. I admire the band's determination to do something different, but it's more along the lines of a worthy but failed experiment. It's too long and the narrative is labored, and the tunes are all over the place in quality. This is the hardest Kinks album for me to sit through -- Ray's reach far exceeds his grasp here. But it's not without its share of fine moments: "Oh Where Oh Where Oh Where Is Love", "When A Solution Comes", "He's Evil" , "Slum Kids", and the single "Mirror Of Love" are all worthy additions to the Kinks' canon. I could probably stand to give it a couple more listens. The main problem for me is that, unlike with Act One, it's difficult to separate the songs from the concept. Soap Opera -- I think the story is silly and trite, but the songs aren't half bad, and Dave starts to come forward again a bit here (particularly on the album-closing "You Can't Stop The Music"). "Holiday Romance" is a fun romp, and "Ordinary People" reminds me of Percy Faith somewhat (in a good way). I wouldn't call this an essential Kinks work but it's a lot better than its reputation. Schoolboys In Disgrace -- Their most consistent work since Muswell Hillbillies and a great capper to the RCA era, with an arrow pointing towards their AOR sound with Arista, for better and for worse. Dave is all over this record, and he never sounded better to my ears -- he strikes the perfect balance between melodicism and loud, punky aggression, and his tone and sheer presence here were never quite matched in the Arista years, despite some fine moments. Ray's best songs here are the short and sweet ones: "Schooldays", "I'm In Disgrace", "The Hard Way", and the multi-part, deeply personal "No More Looking Back", which serves as a summation of the RCA period as well as a reminder on how nothin' in this world can stop him from worryin' bout that girl.
I never got a copy of The Kinks Greatest, probably because I got all of the RCA albums fairly cheaply and didn't realize there were different mixes involved. It was supposed to be called The Kinks Greatest Hits, but Ray informed the RCA suits that since there were no actual "hits" on the album, that it would run afoul of the U.K. consumer laws. In 1980, RCA, hoping to cash in on the Kinks' US commercial rebound, released this compiliation, which mostly makes sense except for the inclusion of the live snippet of "Lola": The Kinks - Second Time Around
RCA Well thanks to Mark, the thread and our Avid band scholars I went down the rabbit hole that is RCA, especially 1973-'75. A familiar story in that everything I had read impolitely suggested not to and some of the LP covers literally screamed it! I knew well and had a soft spot for Showbiz and added a vinyl copy to my Velvel CD and for me Celluloid Heroes is hands down the best song of at least the RCA period and perhaps even the Arista period combined? I bought a US LP of Muswell and warmed to side 2 inparticular with Oklahoma USA coming most to mind and it is for the most part quite a strong and consistent work. I spotted a UK Preservation Act II in the LP racks and last year would have just flicked past it but this seemed quite a find and I bought it. I still need to further deep dive but I do like the playing and production and so far Flash's Confession & Salvation Road stand out most. Schoolboys I saw on CD just before we reviewed it and I would likely have bought it unknown if it had been on vinyl as that is the way I have been increasing my Kinks Kollection (Not CD) in the last 2 or so years. I think The Hard Way stands tallest with some other good songs to accompany it on side 2. Soap Opera was agreeable enough though felt pretty lightweight and not fully satisfying like a wrestler fuelling up on salad before a bout. Like Schoolboys and some Preservation songs it was like the tail wagging the dog or the plot directing the song. N.b. Knew and always loved Holiday Romance! Preservation Act 1 i had on CD many moons ago and had preferred to Act II. Agree with many that the least storylined songs were effectively the best and I would buy this on LP if and when spotted, oh and i do like the people awakening and the accompanying 1930's style vocals. Ok weary now and past 1am so might consider a little sleepwalking next!
Don't forget The Who! For a future project, may I suggest The Bee Gees? You are very good at this, Mark!
You see, I love the Bee Gees but they put out some real sh*te in their time too and they seem like they attract the sort of fanatical fans who feel you're the enemy if you don't appreciate every single thing they did.
What is RCA’s fixation with this Lola snippet thing? Damned if I know because all it does is send me into a rage.
Cheers mate. The Bee Gees would be a good one. I love the albums up to Mr Natural, and I like the stuff up to Living Eyes I did forget the Who. There was Queen, Acdc, Joe Jackson, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.... there's been a lot lol... some I was almost on my own though lol
The "Celluloid Heroes" was actually my very first introduction to the Kinks, and only two songs off that: "Sitting In My Hotel" and "Sitting In The Midday Sun". Those two were on a mixtape that my father made for me and years later I asked him who that was and I was surprised to hear the Kinks because in the meantime I heard "You Really Got Me" on a Time Life compilation and couldn't understand how that proto-punk band could sound so gentle and loving. "Sitting In The Midday Sun" especially, I didn't understand any English and I was assuming the singer was singing to his dog... When I bought the 1998 CDs I was appalled at the sound quality of Preservation Act. 1, everything sounds so flat and distorted, I couldn't believe it. Only a couple of years ago when the original "Celluloid Heroes" compilation and the according remixes appeared on iTunes, I understood where the nice and clean sounding versions came from that I grew up with. To me the mixes on those two tracks are vastly superior. Much better balance and ambience. One more thing about Preservation on CD: A couple of weeks ago I read a comment on discogs that the 1991 Rhino "A play in two acts" double CD was actually remixed especially for this CD... I was so curious and bought the double CD from ebay. When I got to play it, I was immediately struck be how much cleaner and better it sounded than the Velvel remasters. But it was not a remix after all, though I can easily see why that discogs reviewer had come to that conclusion. The extra instrumental section on "Money And Corruption" indicates that the 1st generation mixdown tapes were used (on the Rhino CDs) before that was edited and copied for the final masters (and the Velvel remasters). Just my assumption. A final note on this Rhino double-CD: it's really nice to hear clean versions of the original mixes with guitars ringing out, a bit better dynamics and most importantly, no distortion. But it also sounds quite bright, and at lower volumes a bit thin.
Probably because "Lola" is one of the Kinks' most popular songs and RCA thought that it can use their to get potential suckers, erm, buyers to purchasers the compiliations. Hopefully at least a few people got through the deceit and became fans anyway.
I know the most popular part. Usually, or should I say in every single instance known to mankind outside of an RCA album D), that means the entire song gets included.
This says it all. Though agreed w/ someone above who said Arthur was the Kinks' best "concept" album, if only because there aren't any songs I'm tempted to skip, this run of LPs has some of the best, riskiest, most outlandish songs in the catalog. And if Jack, Ducks, Potatoes, and Holiday Romance aren't your kind of fun, there are beautiful, essential songs like Sitting in My Hotel and No More Looking Back throughout. I do want to raise a glass to the live side of Everybody's in Showbiz. It's how I was introduced to most of these songs, and I still prefer these versions. Skin and Bones consistently compels me to dance around like an idiot dunce, Alcohol is equal parts hysterically funny, beautifully sloppy, and sad, and "son, your record just-a got to number one!" is so perfect at the end of Top of the Pops that I replay the song at least once every time it comes up on shuffle. It feels like it's going to be a long time until a confluence of historical forces and mad genius allows a run of LPs like the Kinks' RCA years.
There don't seem to be too many risk takers in the biz these days. The famous artists aren't as willing to risk rejection as Ray was. The unknowns, seem to somewhat stay that way. Devin Townsend has an incredibly eclectic discography, that still sounds like him, but is also an acquired taste.
