A few pages back someone mentioned effluvia and Kronikles, what on earth is on that masterpiece that could be thought of in such a way?
That might be why I like it so much! Definitely wouldn’t have a strained vocal…. Unless it was Dennis or Brian a bit later in the 70s!
I've mentioned a few times that I discovered The Kinks via 'Destroyer' in 1981 and my simultaneous switch to Classic Rock Radio a about the same time. Prior to that I was only aware of YRGM, ADAAOTN and maybe 'Sunny Afternoon'. Now picture all the Klassic Kinks music flooding my 12 year old brain in about the space of a month and you'll get an idea of my gateway to these guys. Sadly, even by '81 the RCA period was pretty much reduced to 'Celluloid Heroes' but all the big Reprise and Arista tunes were definitely in rotation and 'Juke Box Music' was and still is near the top of them all for me. I always get a charge out of it and I too was bewildered by its non-appearance on the Come Dancing CD, especially since it was on the original vinyl issue of that comp. While I can respect and appreciate why this doesn't work for everyone here the way much of the earlier catalog did, I can only say "The heart wants what the heart wants" and give this track two very enthusiastic thumbs up. Cheers!
I like Jukebox Music. Catchy melody and chorus, nice vocal and guitar from Dave. Maybe a bit long. But again it’s lacking something to elevate it from good to great. Production/mix has been mentioned and I agree it could be better. Particularly the drums. They don’t pop like they should. The snare in particular is anemic. Not just this track. They’d been at Konk for a few years by now. You’d think they’d have it sorted.
I know some folks aren't fond of the guitar sounds here.... But this is why I think a flown in producer would have been great.... When you're mixing, it is very easy to get your focus on something, and forget about something else. A producer can step in and say "well that sounds great, but you need more bottom end"... or "those guitars sound awesome, but the rhythm section is ...." In many ways, this album feels like a bit of a "come on Dave, step up here, I've had you in the background for a few years" type album.... the way the guitars are mixed, they are often very forward. I think they're very well arranged, and it feels to me like Ray spent a lot of focus on getting those guitars right. When you do that, for me at least, because I am far from professional, it's best to take a day off, and come back with fresh ears and balance everything out. On that listen, you realise that the guitars sound great, but the rhythm section is swamped, and you bolster the drums, sharpen up that snare, and balance the bass out with it. If it takes a lot of fiddling, take another day off, and come back fresh again..... I think the point I'm trying to make, is it is very easy to feel satisfied with a mix if the thing you are focused on sounds right, but that doesn't mean everything sounds right. I've done that so often it's stupid.... I reckon this is a top class album, with some great, yes, great songs, but I think the mix doesn't do it justice, because it's like it isn't quite finished off.... I guess that's why I find the comments about being too polished odd, to some degree, because for me the recording and layering is perhaps polished, but the mix is somewhat at a rough mix stage, prior to polishing.
I would love to see some of these albums remixed, and placed in a 5.1 mix.... they have all the elements to create some excellent surround mixes, and I think if they were done with new stereo mixes, it could well alter the way some hear them... and also give folks that love them already a bit of a jaw drop.
I guess I hear it as quite polished, maybe too much so, but at the same time lacking something. The drums just don’t have the conviction and pop I want them to. I’ve mixed a bunch of stuff. It’s difficult to get it right!
I would agree with this. Over mixing can be more of a problem than under mixing. Sometimes you just have to call it a day. I have recorded and used a professional mixer. The more he tried to get what I wanted, the more it became a mess. It's very easy to lose track of what you are going for. I'm not a huge fan of the sound of this record, but it might have more to do with the arrangements, instruments, and guitar effects used. I also think they probably got the sound they were going for. It sounds like a slick, but unfussy and straight froward mix. I will pay more attention to it on the upcoming songs.
Been on “The Road” all week so just now catching up. Thanks! I’ve ordered a copy of this to check but my hunch is these are the same as the bonus tracks that appeared on the Velvel CD reissues of the albums they appeared on as the description of this Japanese release on Discogs says it was licensed from Velvel. So probably not the unique single mixes that appeared for these tracks, one stock, the other a promo mono remix, but we’ll find out. Yes, very odd. It’s on the original 1986 vinyl as you say and the same-year abbreviated CD of that release but not on the 2000 Velvel CD reissue. So once again Velvel releases a different comp from the original release as they did with the Celluloid Heroes comp. The other oddity here is the single edit on that original 1986 LP/CD of Juke Box Music has the stereo channels reversed. Not a different mix per se, but the single edit with reversed channels from the actual single. This reversed channel version is what is in the video posted by Mark at the start of this song’s discussion. Yep, agree. I mentioned this during the Preservation Act 2 song discussions. A remix would be very welcome on all of their 1970s albums for several reasons!
That is a no brainer, you could pick any of half a dozen to throw out before Juke Box Music on the Cone Dancing CD compilation.
Juke Box Music - As I mentioned before, a buddy of mine loved this song on the radio and this was the beginning of my Kinks exploration. I've always liked it and it's the strongest track on the album for me. Like "He's Evil," it might have benefited from less repetition of the title. I particularly like the guitars, the verse melody, and the arrangement (other than the repetition), and the way Ray sings the three notes on "it's on - ly" (music) is always a happy moment for me. I never noticed the drums being a problem - I think they were mixed too loud on most of the previous albums! - but now I will probably always notice it here, so thanks a lot for bringing it up. I never really understood how "because of that music that we're slowly drifting apart." But after reading the lyrics and Mark's writeup, I guess Ray is referring to choosing to isolate and listen to music on one's own and not engaging in the world (and as many have mentioned, he revisits this on the next album). It made me think about how American Top 40 AM radio was a collective experience in the 1960s, while the way people listen to music today is very individualized, and the market is extremely fragmented. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, only that fewer people share a universal musical language, so we don't all have as much in common (i.e., we're slowly drifting apart). A strong song. I'm curious why it was left off the major CD compilations (Come Dancing and the Picture Book box).
Sure but perhaps factor in that record executives heart's don't race at the prospective number of Kinks units flying off the shelf!
For the CD version they did a straight swap of Full Moon for Juke Box Music. Dunno why they’d even think of it. The only other song off the Sleepwalker album on both versions was the title song.
I certainly don't think it will happen lol I would just like it to If they aren't going to do Muswell, it's probably all over
Sleepless Night. stereo mix, recorded 22-30 Sep, 1976 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London Oh, there's a rude little lady Livin' next to me. Oh, she sure loves someone, But it ain't me. Ev'ry night at twelve o'clock, They start to rock with all they got. They keep it up all night. It just ain't right. They O.K. by me, I'm not. He and she, they all right. Once they start, they never stop Through this sleepless night. Once I was her lover. It was so good to be. Now she's got somebody else and I can't sleep. Ooh, nothin' hurts people more than other people do. But what can you do? Meanwhile, upstairs, they O.K. Ev'rythin' is all right. I wish that I could find a way Through this sleepless night. Ooh, this sleepless night. Ooh, this sleepless night. Ooh, that wicked lady, She's got a hold on me. Ooh, she doesn't want me, But she won't let me be. They play that music ev'ry night. It rocks my bed; it shakes my light. They ball with all their might. It just ain't right. Ooh, this sleepless night. Ooh, this sleepless night. Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. Interestingly, I thought this was a Dave song, and I also thought he had changed up his writing style a little, but a closer look this morning, and I see this like the old days, we have a Ray song that he has given to Dave to sing on the album. I like this track, it is a cool smooth flowing rock track that gives Dave a vocal that he handles really well, and some cool lead guitar flowing through here as well. Well, just reading through the lyrics, I had to have a little laugh to myself, as I found myself in this situation once, and it's an awkward situation to find yourself in lol. Though she was never my lover, I was over her house in the spare room and some guy, her boyfriend? came over and it was quite a loud rocking affair lol Anyway.... Essentially here we have the scenario of Ray creating another track about sleep issues, and this time we have the either, tragic or comedic, depending on how you look at things, and hindsight makes it comedic to me, of trying to sleep, while the woman you have a crush on, and apparently used to date, getting it on, in a quite loud way in the next room. I'm not sure what anyone else will think of the lyrics, but they work for me, and perhaps that's because I can totally relate to the situation. I think Dave delivers a really good vocal here, and it is in a nice range that manages to avoid some of the tonal issues some folks have with some of Dave's vocals. It isn't up in his higher register, and sits comfortably in a range that works well to highlight the timbre of his voice. We have nice interplay between the drums bass, guitar and keyboards at the start. The bass and guitar sort of work together, with the keys delivering a nice chordal riff, that for me is quite attention getting..... it almost has a sort of Santana kind of feel or sound in some ways, but only just. Interestingly in the opening we have a few changes of beat accent. We start with accented beats, then a half time feel, and then we move into the steady beat that leads us through the majority of the track. The instruments are layered quite nicely here. We have the bass and drums grooving along together nicely. Dave's lead guitar rolls along with the vocal, the organ holds a bed for the rest to sit on, and also underneath we have an acoustic guitar adding a nice little timbral edge. I again like the melodic construction here. We have some subtle kind of change ups in the flow and they work well. The first verse works really well, and I like the change up when Dave sings "Every Night At Twelve O'clock....", that upward melodic flow works really well. Interestingly the second verse, changes completely, and the second half almost comes across like a bridge, and it changes its clothes twice, with a couple of subtle chordal and melodic changes, I really like the way he wrote that section. Also interestingly, for an album that's supposed to be a complete commercial item, we haven't really had a chorus up to this point, but I think it has been entertaining nonetheless. So following that interesting second verse, we have a short instrumental break that is a series of chord inversions that sounds like a chordal run, and again it works really well. Then we move into the third verse, and this verse moves smoothly into what I guess is the first chorus, and we are over halfway through the song. The chorus is short and effective, and does just enough to create another interesting little section in the song. This leads us, essentially, to somewhat of a reprise of the first verse, and it is followed by the chorus that finally appeared in the last verse, and we fade out on that chord inversion riff section. This is actually a really interesting track, if only for the structure. It is far from a traditional song structure, but it is extremely listenable by the same token. It is almost like Ray decided he was going to try and make an easily accessible song that breaks all the pop/rock writing rules and formulas, to be something completely different again.... But taking all that out of the equation, I think the song works extremely well completely on its own merits. So side two is off to a great start, and this song has managed to work its way into my psyche really well. I think Dave does really well on here, and it seems like Ray managed to write a song to particularly highlight a lot of Dave's strengths, and for me this covers the bases, and gives me another memorable track.... I'm not altogether sure whether this gets into a list of best Kinks songs or anything, but if I were making a compile of tracks with Dave vocals, this would certainly be on it.
Re: Come Dancing CD Full Moon & Juke Box Music should both stay but there was some real mediocre stuff around them.
Sleepless Night Ugh, I hate this song and I hate it even more having read the lyrics, never having bothered paying any attention to them before. It seems to be a problem when people say "This sounds nothing like the Kinks" but this sounds nothing like the Kinks. This is just anonymous, generic 70s rock, in one ear and out the other. I usually wouldn't be found anywhere in the vicinity of stuff that sounds like this but Ray has put it on a Kinks album and now I'm forced to listen to it, curse you, Ray! I read that Ray had written 20 to 30 songs for this album, if this is one of the best nine, I'd hate to hear the others.
I may have mentioned that I was not a huge fan of Dave as a lead singer but I think he acquits himself quite well on "Sleepless Night". As a song, it is not particularly sophisticated but it is arranged nicely and the story told is an old one - she used to be mine but now she is with him. Thematically, it reminds me a bit of Prince's "When You Were Mine" (released 1980), a song about being in love with an ex who has moved on to someone else. The music is good - I like the organ, the drumming is excellent and, of course, there are some guitar fills used sparingly. The chorus has a certain catchiness to it but, overall, I find this a pleasant enough contribution from the Dave-led Kinks.
Ah, @Mark, before reading your excellent opening post, I'd started to write how incredibly confident and relaxed this felt for a Dave tune! I always forget Ray wrote it which is revelatory of how effortless Dave's performance is. The voice is indeed particularly good. Is it double-tracked ? I often like his belting out style, of which we had one wonderful example yesterday, but singing with more mastery and control suits him well. His genuine passion still comes across, without sounding forced. He starts developing this new style here, but I think Ray also lends a hand with (at least parts of) the early bridge ("once I was her lover"). It's true this bridge is quite an unexpected move, so early in a song that then develops a (slightly) more conventional verse/hook structure after that. It’s a breathy mi-tempo rock song, in line with the nightly urban atmosphere of, well, the whole record (six out of nine songs do reference night(s) in their lyrics!) and also perfectly in synch with a lot of radio pop records of that period, which @Vangro duly noticed with his customary no nonsense verve. With its guitar licks all the way through and laid back almost latin beat, I see the Santana connection (never was a fan) but it’s also quite close to what a guy like Stephen Stills was doing around that time (listen to I Give You Give Blind, the excellent closer to the fabulous 1977 CSN record for reference). Lyrically, I must say I don't find this song supremely elegant nor economical. Ray's clearly no Paul Simon here (“Couple in the next room / Bound to win a price”, 10 words to say it all, one of my favorite opening lines of any song I ever heard, from 1972’s little known beauty Duncan), but maybe he was staying in the same thin-walled hotel as Paul ?? I find it fascinating that once he came up with the insomnia theme, Ray could do the oblique surrealistic prowler ode Sleepwalker one day, and the very down to earth lowbrow Sleepless Nights the next. One unusual (for Ray) paradox : the lyrics are claustrophobic and alienated, a guy trapped in a room and his own jealousy, but the music is relaxed and agreeable like a refreshing wind in a summer’s night. I’ve listened to this record many times, and I never suspected it was an indoors tune, it always gets me in a cool-breezed car cruising floating mind space (and yes, with the FM radio on).
"Sleepless Night" We're now entering what you might call the "yacht rock" stretch of the album, and actually I quite like this one. It's not one that stands out in my memory, but when it comes around I remember that I love the organ in this track - particularly that four-note motif. It gives it a very 70s rock sound, and a bit of atmosphere, which I'm prepared to embrace. It's also nice to hear Dave doing a lead vocal - but isn't that Ray singing the bridge section after the second verse? It's nothing special, but I think it's a pleasant interlude.
Oct 1963 - Nov 1966 Apr 1967 - Feb 1970 1965 Never Say Yes 1966 Trouble In Madrid Nov 1970 - Jun 1976 The Kinks Move To Arista Records Feb 1977 Sleepwalker Life On The Road - OGWT 77 - ITV 78 Mr Big Man Sleepwalker - Mike Douglas - OGWT - Supersonic - SNL - Outtake Brother Juke Box Music - single - OGWT Sleepless Night Kinks Live Feb 1977 Ray acoustic Apr 77 Kinks Live Dec 1977 The Pressures Of The Road Ray On Wonderworld 2005 Thanksgiving Day Ray live on Conan Obrien Oct 2018 Dave Davies - Decade - interview If You Are Leaving (71) Cradle To The Grace (73) Midnight Sun (73) Mystic Woman (73) The Journey (73) Shadows (73) Web Of Time (75) Mr Moon (75) - Why Mick Avory Pete Quaife - interview - Kast Off Kinks - I Could See It In Your Eyes - Dead End Street Rasa Didzpetris Davies John Dalton John Gosling
It's nice to have Dave back on lead vocals for the first time in a long time, and he delivers the vocal better than many of his earlier efforts! As for the song, if I had to chose any song on the album that 'doesn't sound like The Kinks', it would be this one - I was never into MOR so I can't name a band that this sounds like, but it certainly has a vibe I remember from the late 70s radio. I don't mind the song, but it's a bit anonymous and a weaker effort on the album for me.
Sleepless Night This is an odd one. It's a keyboard-driven rocker with Dave on vocals. We've had a couple of those before, but this time around, Dave's squeeze is loving someone else till the sun shines. And she twists the knife; she's right upstairs. Boo! No wonder he sounds so miserable. It's a return to the theme of insomnia -- did both brothers have to deal with it? Must have made for some pleasant recording sessions. With its spiffy rhythm track -- Mick really drives this one nicely -- it could almost pass as a contemporary Fleetwood Mac song. Especially given the subject matter. It's a nice change of pace on the album. Not a single (the line "they ball with all their might" lays that idea to rest anyway), but a worthy album track. Clocks in at an efficient 3:19. Better than I remembered it.
