"Black Messiah" is pretty catchy, even if the idea of the Kinks doing reggae itself is somewhat outlandish.
Here’s the Robert Christgau review. (His words, not mine, below!) Misfits [Arista, 1978] Ray Davies hasn't put so many hummable melodies in one place since Everybody's in Showbiz (just to make sure, he's put a couple of them both places), and the lyrics evince renewed thought and craft. All of which makes his congenital parochialism and ressentiment seem surprisingly fresh and vivid. Dismaying: "Black Messiah"--Enoch Powell would be proud. B
As much as my thoughts tally with Christgau's on the subject of the song BM, I'll always hold a grudge against him for (on the same theme) entirely falsely claiming in one of his rock guides that The Kinks played Sun City in the 80s. In fact though they were offered it, they turned it down and for the right reasons as Dave was at pains to explain in his autobio. (also backed up by Hinman's book). It seems to be a recurring theme of Christgau's writing on The Kinks to wheel out a reductionist 'didya know Ray is a little Englander bigot' take and in carelessly tossing out this entirely untrue slur to advance this agenda he really overstepped the mark and disgraced his position imo. Unfortunately with Monday's song Ray did supply red meat for this particular drum of Christgau's. (sorry that was a horrific mixed metaphor)
It's such an awkward lyric..... I don't hear it as being as bad as some are going to think it is, but it is a rare occasion to me of Ray failing to manage his words well. It is confused and confusing, and not in a cryptic way, but in a straight forward message way....... I have a lot of thoughts, but I am still trying to get them together in my head....
I suspect you’re right, I don’t think it’s going to be polarizing, I think everyone is going to trash it for the reggae music as well as the lyrics. As I mentioned in my above post, there are several songs on here that I must’ve completely ignored when I bought the album, and black messiah was one of them. All that said, I have been listening to misfits on repeat for a few weeks now and I have to admit, I’ve been walking around singing that song over and over in my head for days! It’s a real earworm, that stupid song.
If you view the music as a subext: reggae and some brief Dixieland jazz it becomes more confusing because both music styles are associated with black musicians such as Marley and Louie Armstrong. So is the entire song a send-up? Ray putting on the costume of the bigot? Poking a bit of fun at Eric Clapton and his Enoch Powell-support with the reggae music? The song is the weakest on a strong first side regardless. Misfits first side blends 70s sentimentality (Misfits and Rock n Roll Fantasy) with quirky 60's style Kinks bounce (Hay Fever and In A Foreign Land). The sequencing is odd however. Kicking off a rock album with a ballad is a strange move (Fleetwood Mac would do the same with Tusk) but Misfits is such a strong song it works. It's one of Ray's best ballads. Hay Fever is a fun song. Black Messiah is cod-Reggae played well enough but is a misfire. Rock N Roll Fantasy is mawkish in spots but the melody, Dave's lead breaks as well as the personal nature of the lyrics make it a keeper. In A Foreign Land plays like an outtake from the 60s, maybe even Arthur era. Side 1 shows the Kinks settling comfortably into their Arista years with a nice blending of sounds and styles rooted in the then present while adding some elements of their highly-vaunted 60s work.
I’ve been listening to the LP while I work this morning, noting this kind of diversity you point out. My Guilty-As-Charged, I’m-a-Hypocrite Flag is flappin’ in the wind, flyin' high when I note that I’m the kind of Kinks fan who often bellyaches about the Arista-and-beyond era because the albums strayed away somewhat from the diverse track-to-track textures that made Face to Face through the RCA era so engaging. They are there in some measure, but I wouldn’t call it an overall defining characteristic of the Arista Kinks. In an earlier critique of Sleepwalker’s “sameness” I described it as a “Zorn Palette.” (It’s on page 801 if you want to read it.) And yet as I revisit Misfits that is clearly not the case with this album. There is variety in character, tempo, sonic textures—even personnel. Now here’s where my hypocrisy come in: With Misfits working with a broader palette than the other five Arista studio albums one would think my take would be—yes!—the Kinks are doing precisely the kind of LP they should do. That would make it my favorite among all the Aristas, right? And yet I have to acknowledge that Misfit is the weak link of this era. The other 5 work better not because of diversity but because of focus and consistency. Say what one will about Sleepwalker’s narrow focus, it is focus none the less. That’s what I’m noticing is missing from Misfits as I revisit it this morning. Its diversity comes at the expense of focus…the thing that makes Low Budget and beyond more rewarding listening experiences.
What is this, a high school reunion? This was my first real-time Kinks purchase as well. I'd gotten Sleepwalker within a couple-few months of release, but since then I'd seen the Kinks live, gotten Schoolboys, and was listening to the Showbiz live disc on pretty heavy rotation. I was 16 and about to be moved 7,000 miles away from home. & like @fspringer I was devouring Vonnegut and the beats, as well as O'Neil & Tennessee Williams & Arthur Miller & Sophocles (my dad had studied acting, so they were lying around) -- desperately seeking meaning everywhere and in everything and everyone, head full of ideas, raging hormones, a swelling tsunami of furor & rebellion. I'd also discovered punk/new wave: Clash, Elvis Costello, Blondie, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads. We packed up the house and visited relatives in California, & in a little record shop in Sonoma I got This Years Model and Misfits. I remember tearing the shrink wrap off Misfits like a starving man -- oh thank God, a lyric sheet -- putting it on, and hating it. This Year's Model had obsession, passion, frenzy, & sexual frustration -- Misfits seemed limp, weak, and clownish. It was the end of real-time Kinks album purchases for me. I listened to it again a couple of years later, in preparation for a big album giveaway, and Trust Your Heart made it a bare keeper -- the *why* of that to be discussed. Otherwise, I haven't heard anything off Misfits since California in late spring 1978. Very much looking forward to listening to it again, now that passions have cooled and the tsunami has yielded to the gentle lapping of waves.
The timing couldn't be better. That yellow dust that makes everyone sneeze is already coating everything in my neck of the woods.
Side 2 opens promisingly with the tongue-in-cheek nature of Permanent Waves followed by the blistering arena rock of the UK version of Live Life. Out of the Wardrobe touches on interesting subjects like 70's marriage role-reversal and men dressing in drag in that droll Davies way. Unfortunately the last two songs are forgettable. If you think Superman is disco try album closer Get Up on for size. Is it the worst Kinks song? Well, it is definitely on the short list IMHO. Aside from Live Life the album doesn't rock much but the ballads work and the pop-rock idiosyncrasies littered throughout the album make Misfits a highly listenable album that drops off considerably at the end. This brings an end to the two album relatively MOR-era Kinks (though Misfits is bouncier and lighter, more poppy than Sleepwalker) and soon the band will up the ante and the amps over the course of the next two (three if you imclude One For The Road). I also think Hay Fever and Permanent Waves would've been good choices for U.S. singles.
Ray poking fun at Eric Clapton? Coming right up! Note Larry Page in profile. https://youtu.be/8qwuOV-eer4
So, I take it we are following the UK track listing? I never knew there were two running orders. I'm only familiar with the US and I say it's better with "Live Life" as the third song. I prefer this album over Sleepwalker. It's more consistent and doesn't have as many lows. I am enjoying this album over the last few weeks more than ever. There are only two or three songs I am not crazy about. I actually like the reggae flavor of "Black Messiah". I also happen to love a lot of Jamaican music. That's one of my greatest musical discoveries of the last ten years. It's overwhelming how much great music came out of Jamaica in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. It's too bad the lyrics are sketchy and that we don't know what Ray was going for. "Out of the Wardrobe" also has some head scratching lyrics. These will definitely be interesting songs of the day! I have already stated that Misfits and Sleepwalker could have been combined for a double album. It would be a nice balance between the light and the dark. Misfits sounds like they are having fun again and being more like themselves. They gave Clive what he wanted and now they could relax a bit. It's another good album cover. I especially like the inner photos. Are those on the lyric sheet or was there a poster included? I just checked my copy and it has no inserts. I may have to pick up a better copy. Mine is also a cut out and not in the greatest condition. This album has 6 clear songs that could make my playlist. If I am trying to stick to a 1o song track listing for Sleepwalking Misfit, I'm not sure what to cut. I will probably have the answer after we discuss all the songs, but that will probably only add more songs to be considered! This is an album that ends yet another phase of The Kinks. My favorite album run is up until Schoolboys, but when I am feeling generous that extends to Misfits. Now I am even considering extending it further to Low Budget. We will see when we get there!
As I said before, "The Way Love Used To Be" to me anticipated her early style nearly seven years before her debut. I still say that if she ever covered it, she could still make Top 10 in the UK charts.
Thanks for that! I stand corrected...I though the actor who played Slash OD'ed but it was complications due to AIDS. My apologies for getting that wrong.
I also got This Year's Model around the same time as Misfits and liked both albums and still do. I think I was merely peeved rather than angry, looking back at that time. I did read On the Road as well as plenty of Hunter S. Thompson. Salem was blessed with plenty of used bookstores back then, selling paperbacks for a quarter, other books for a couple of bucks.
Maybe it's completely obvious, but this ^^ is supposed to be Dave, right? Misfits - the album I do have vivid memories of looking at this album cover when this came out. I have been known to trash the Kinks album covers, but I don't mind this one at all. The title track and Rock N Roll Fantasy are, no surprise, the songs I'm most familiar with. They were all over the radio. I adore both those songs. And was just listening to the album this week. My initial thoughts are that I might like this album better than Sleepwalker, but really need to take a closer look. Regarding Black Messiah...you won't be needing the smelling salts for me on this song. I'm not sure what the big deal is. But I'm a misfit...
No problem at all. I also forgot to mention that the girlfriend of the jock in that series was played by a daughter of Rick Nelson.
