The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

In reference to @mark winstanley' "Miiister Big" comment, I focused in that too. Does anyone else hear the occasional Dylan inflection in Ray’s vocal delivery in this song? I hear it in the occasional drawled out "Miiister Big", and, in particular, when he sings “Your followers. …kiss your haaand”. I might be imagining that though. I find almost any song can be made interesting by singing it like Dylan is on vox. I tend to like to sing the words to Dazed and Confused by Zep that way (usually when i am alone though). Try it some time, its fun!

Edit: I see Fortuleo hit this on the head already, i hadn't read the other posts yet, but glad others heard it a bit too.

 

Mr. Big Man

Avid @sharedon made this point before I could. I agree. It's the angry, bitter cousin of A Long Way From Home. Whereas that song (a long time contender for my favorite deep kut of all) came from a place of empathy, wanting to help, and even some sadness for how things have turned out... With Mr. Big Man, Ray is done with all that and it seems Mr. Big Man is a lost cause. Lyrically, this is a blunt attack that wouldn't seem out of place on Preservation Act 2 (just change the word "star" to something else, and this could be an attack on Flash or Mr. Black). The bridge vocal melody sounds Act 2 also for me.

Musically, it starts out as if it would be a mellower song that would appear later on the album (as it turns out), but then after the opening verse and pre-chorus, we get a taste of the crunchy guitar and then we get guitar-hero Dave ripping in with a soulful melodic solo/counter melody over the chorus. Dave is really the shining star of the track, and gives the memorable moments and identity of this song for me. I don't have the faintest idea who this song is supposed to be attacking, but I think I do hear some Clapton-esque lead guitar hooks/style in some of Dave's playing here? Definitely seems to be playing some of these melodic lead lines with a slow hand. Did Ray and Clapton ever cross paths?

I agree with @DISKOJOE on this:

It almost sounds like he's going to say a** but hesitates and goes with an ironic/satirical "haands" instead (Clapton reference? Literally a slow "hand" lyric). I don't agree though that it's about airplay, because was this ever considered as a single or B-side?

Also, hate to Pyle on, but I do like the little bass runs that Andy Pyle adds here. But I am sad to see the end of the John Dalton era with these sessions. He really brought so much when he joined in 69/70, and my avatar is from his brief stint with the group while touring in 1966.

 

The Dylan references by many here are interesting. I never actually noticed anything to be honest.... I'll have to listen out for it when I get a chance to have another listen.

 

I found this memory very touching, and I can relate to it, even if I enjoy most of Sleepwalker. I guess if I had been around at the time (that is, more than 6 years old) I could very well have had the same reaction. Still, the straightforwardness of Mr Big Man's lyrics is not something that sounds that un-Kinks to me. Ray is no Paul Simon, he's not reluctant to using simple direct words. I mean, when he wanted to write a song stating that Mr Flash was evil, he called it "He's evil".

 

This really made me laugh! Thank you!

 

This thread is now riddled with (the band) Free references.

 

Yes, I caught that, too. Layla.

 

Just in time for editing !... Thank you Avid Zeki !

 

Same chord progression, I think ? Something like i VIb VIIb, as in Em C D ?

 

Ha ha. I gotta look out for Free!

 

Definitely, but Dave's tone is rough, which fits the song. Layla is a love song, and Mr. Big Man isn't.

 

My post was so meandering I'm not sure which "that" you thought I said.... ?

 

I think he's just making a Low Budget reference

 

Heh. That's one of my favorite qualities of Ray's songwriting. He just lays it on the line, direct as can be, and it hardly ever sounds heavy-handed.

"I need you -- more than anybody else has needed anyone before."

"There'll be equality, and no suppression of minorities".

"I was much too young and I wasn't equipped for the emotional pressures and stresses of it".

"There's no pill I can recommend where side effects aren't guaranteed to send you round the bend"

 

Totally agree.

 

I prefer Ray's songwriting over Dylan's. Plus you can hear what he is singing about in the first try.

 

I love both, for exactly who they are.
Dylan sang riddles quite often, but Ray just laid it out clearly

 

Mr. Big Man

"It's the same old story..."

As mentioned, this definitely feels like a descendent of Powerman. Ray doesn't seem to make a huge distinction between people who got powerful in the music industry and cackling generals sending young boys off to war. Mr. Big even apparently has piles of corpses he eliminated to achieve his victory --

As the self-designated *friends* person, it's worth noting that Ray isn't musing here about the *friends* he's left behind on his journey. Ray/the narrator was Mr. Big's *best friend* before Mr. Big got vicious -- the narrator himself is the one who's been left behind. And Mr. Big doesn't have *friends* anymore -- just slaves, minions, and followers.

Unless this is self-referential (never thought of it that way, but if it is, wow), it isn't one of Ray's "ambiguous" songs. It's pure put-down. Parts feel like the narrator saying "I'm more disappointed than angry," but it progresses to rage.

Love the bass. LOVE the guitar which, yes, is in this kind of all-over-the-place-but-supremely-controlled mode. I don't know how or when Dave became *this* kind of guitarist but it's a stunning level of proficiency and again he seems to be really enjoying it. To my (untrained) ear, yeah the basic structure of the song is fairly simple, but the guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals make it very intricate and complex.

I'm long past the age/stage of thinking of songs as "guilty pleasures" (who's going to shame me for just having added Streisand/Gibb's "Guilty," to my playlist, and why should I care?), but when I went full-bore '60s Kinks in the late 70s/80s, and stopped listening to most of the later stuff, I could never leave "Mr. Big" behind. Maybe that's why I call this kind of musical mode "seductive" -- except now I'm more than happy to be seduced.

 

That’s a good question, unfortunately she has passed so I can’t ask her. My curiosity has been piqued enough by your thoughtful question though that I will ask my mother at least what she remember my grandmother listening to while she was growing up (my grandmother had my mother quite young, as was my mother when she hatched me), so my grandmother would have been in her late 30s and early 40s when my mother was a teenager. What I do recall was that her taste was incredibly eclectic. In addition to loving all types of what we now call classic rock (from moody and mellow to cutting edge to very heavy), I recall her listening to lots of music she discovered in Greece where she would go on her “holidays”. I will revert!

 

Mr. Big Man

Art addressing how people change for the worse as they climb are many...
..... examples this good are few.

Love Ray's vocal variety throughout the song; so perfectly expressive for each individual line.

And Dave's licks! Love that guitar completely.... sound, distortion, engineering, note selection, flow, string bends....

Yeah, this one rocks.

 

Definitely doesn't sound like the kinks. ...or Foreigner! ...although I do think Lou Gramm had the vocal chops to sing this song (his vocals are what for me caused the Free/Bad co. reference, not the style of music).

...but now i am getting way off topic!

 

"Mr. Big Man"

I'll start with the positive. The bass line is pretty impressive, even if he is being a little bit of a showboat. There is too much of that going on all over this song. I just found out last night that it was Andy Pyle's first appearance on a Kinks album after reading what Dave thought about this album in his book Kink. Ray's vocal does this Dracula sort of style on a few songs, which is appropriate for an album title about "Creatures of the night". "Your followers kiss your hands and your slaves fall at your feet". Was this part of the vocal recorded in Transylvania? I do like his various vocal styles until we get to "shouty Ray", which I am not particularly a fan of. I also picked up on the Dylan style vocal when he sings "Your enemies and foes are all stacked up in rooooows". Ray does Dylan really well! Ray has said that he wanted to do an album of other people songs. That would have been an interesting prospect to hear him take on Dylan.

This guitar style is when The Kinks and Dave especially lose me. This is not my cuppa tea at all. @Vangro mentioned earlier that it could be any slick 70s studio guitarist on this, and I agree. It has no personality and I'm just not a fan of this type of Clapton style guitar. I was trying to think of what it reminded me of and someone mentioned "Layla" and I can hear that. It's too bad that Dave goes this route frequently throughout the rest of the albums. Some people love this guitar style. I'm not in that group of people. I will blame Clapton.

Ray's personality and vocal delivery saves it from being a complete train wreck, but this is easily my least favorite Kinks song so far.

Since everyone is taking about Between the Buttons, I will add that it is my favorite Stones album. Their run from Aftermath to Beggar's Banquet is my Stones sweet spot.

I just heard that Gary Brooker from Procol Harum died. Today I will put Sleepwalker to rest and play A Salty Dog.

 

What did he think about the album?

 

I just thumbed through my copy of Kink and Dave had a generally positive view of it, saying that it had several strong songs and saying that "Mr. Big Man" was a particular favorite.