The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

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

  1. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I got my copy of Low Budget at Ann & Hope, but this time at the regular racks instead of the bargain bin. It was the first Kinks album to be pictured in the newspaper advertisements for department stores such as Ann & Hope, Lechmere's and Caldor's (all gone now) along w/the hit albums of the day announcing various sales.

    Low Budget was this (still) Catholic Boy's first and only forey in semi shoplifting. I did buy the album itself. However, the earliest pressings had nothing in the way of lyric sheets, song order, etc. The lyric sheet that the Headmaster posted was from a later pressing. So one day I'm at the Record Exchange and I see a copy of the later pressing w/the lyric sheet and I decided to take the said lyric sheet and stuff it in another record that I was going to buy. Mea culpa, Mea culpa.......

    I think that Low Budget was somewhat like Blondie's Parallel Lines in that they were both "viable commercial products" as Don Kirschner would say from surprising sources, a semi cult 60s British Invasion band and a band from the bowels, if not the toilet, of CBGB's. Low Budget was about its time when it came out, but it seems that the time has come back with a vengeance. I get the feeling that one reason why some Avids are leery towards it because it doesn't seem to have the stylistic variety that other Kinks albums, which isn't exactly true. I must say though that if you missed Mick Avory in the last album, he certainly makes his presence known here.

    I'm looking forward to the Low Budget discussion. Although I do prefer Give the Pepple, erm, People What They Want, it's a pretty good album.

    P.S.: Avid Vangro, it does seem that Lou Reed followed the Kinks from RCA to Arista. A package deal, perhaps?
     
  2. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Low Budget

    after reading @Martyj 's assessment of the album, I feel a little depressed. LOL. But I'm sure once we get started, I will rebound.

    I was exposed to this album in 'real time'. The hits were played on the radio quite a bit and there was a buzz about the Kinks at this time (in fact they toured in my hometown, Lowell, MA, where a few of the songs were recorded for One for the Road. )

    I think the Kinks sprinkle in what was in the air musically at the time: disco, punk, hard rock, new wave...but still maintain their Kinkiness. Some of the subject matter obviously ages the album and I guess that can't be helped. Is the music there? if it is, I can ignore the late 70s references.

    And as Mark pointed out, for maybe the first time, the Kinks didn't shoot themselves in the foot as they were gathering steam with the prior two albums. They were definitely shooting for mainstream, but I think they successfully maintained what makes them special to me.

    The cover: yeah, it doesn't do much for me. I see that this was Ray's idea. Really, Ray?? you could put Van Halen or any other hard rock band's name on this and you would believe it was their album. But it looks like Monica is still under that lamplight. oh well. It really doesn't represent the album or the band...even if you go out of your way to say "here's a down and out gal who is out of work and out of gas". Or maybe it's Lola? :confused: It's a mixed up world...
     
  3. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    I checked. “Kwirky” has been used around 10 times so far on this thread! Well, once more now. :tiphat:


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  4. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Ha! I know I didn’t bat an eye.
     
  5. Martyj

    Martyj Who dares to wake me from my slumber? -- Mr. Flash

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    If it helps you to feel better, DiskoJoe, as a kid I watched my dad--my dad!--do the same thing. Not a lyric sheet, but the how-to-play directions for a board game he bought us for Christmas. It was inexplicably missing from the one we had. So at the store I watched, with my impressionable disbelieving eyes, the old man steal.

    "But dad..that's against the law..."

    He brushed me off, explaining he was just righting a wrong that had been done when the version of the game he bought failed to include the instructions.

    It should have scarred me for life, but it didn't. Nor did it lead to a life of crime. Unless one counts the time in the late 80's when I volunteered to work late, alone in the office, just to photocopy an entire 300 page library book on my employers copy machine. I felt like I was breaking the law.
     
  6. markelis

    markelis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami Beach FL
    Low Budget (the album): I have a long and loving history with this album. I’m pretty sure I bought it a day it was released. I had already been hearing Superman on the radio, which I thought was great (especially the extended version, which was also getting a lot of air play), and I was coming off of having just bought and loved Misfits and Sleepwalker. I was not disappointed at the time, liking pretty much all of the songs straight through. Growing up in Connecticut, as others have mentioned the kinks got a lot of airplay in the northeast in particular, and Connecticut was no different, so I used to hear Low Budget (the song), Gallon of Gas and Catch Me Now I’m Falling all pretty regularly. 40 years on, nothing has changed about my feelings towards this album. I think it is an absolutely top-tier kinks’ album.

    Earlier in the thread I believe a lot of people complained about the album cover. It doesn’t bother me. I suppose it conveys the low budget message to some extent. I never thought question it at the time and I suppose in retrospect I’m glad it wasn’t just another random shot of the band. At a minimum, it’s eye-catching and it does kind of stick out which is probably good marketing.
     
  7. fspringer

    fspringer Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Around that time in Creem, they ran an album guide (before album guides were anywhere near in vogue), grading each Kinks album by letter, with plus or minus. Was it J. Kordosh or Dave DiMartino? I can't recall which. But it was a brilliant guide that helped in tracking down earlier Kinks album and what one should expect as a fan. I recall Preservation Act 2 taking a real drubbing (while 1 got a positive review), and it let me know what to expect with the rest of the concept albums. Along with a very good guide to the 60s Kinks albums. I've searched in vain online to find that album guide, and unlike Trouser Press, there is no online archive of complete issues ( for that TP site, Oct. 78, issue 32 has a good interview with Ray, also Nov. 79, issue 44 with Dave). I would love to read that guide again!
     
  8. Brian x

    Brian x the beautiful ones are not yet born

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Other than the aforementioned "blasting from dorm windows" (I was at the first of 4 colleges, Washington University in St. Louis) I've never heard this LP, but I did sneak a listen to "Attitude" and I'm very excited.

    Wait, occasionally people would arch their eyebrow at me and say "paranoia will destroy ya" in a knowing voice. But that's it. Flying in clean.
     
  9. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Low Budget - Best album since Muswell Hillbillies
     
  10. Rockford & Roll

    Rockford & Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midway, KY
  11. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    If you're from Lowell, Massachusetts surely you should refer to the live album as "One On The Road" in tribute to Lowell's Jack Kerouac who is buried there. Bob Dylan's epic film failure Renaldo & Clara features a scene with Dylan and Allen Ginsberg shot at Kerouac's grave.
     
  12. Rockford & Roll

    Rockford & Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midway, KY
    Before we jump into the record, I’ll just say that “Low Budget” was one of the first LPs I bought in those early teen years. I know our rock station played several songs on the record and I thought they all were great. I hadn’t listened to it for many a moon, until I embarked on a big vinyl relocation project a few years back and “Low Budget” was one of the first I played again. It is certainly of its time. In retrospect, it does seem totally aimed at the U.S market. Economic, political and wellness issues all delivered in a tuneful and rocking way. As a kid, I liked the general theme of the record and I always gravitate towards Ray’s positive songs. As for the cover art, I thought it was pretty edgy and felt a little funny about my mom seeing it.
     
  13. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I still have that Creem issue. It came out in the summer of 1980. It was written by J. Kordosh. I'll have to dig it out this weekend.
     
  14. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Low Budget

    First of all, I think the album cover is great. It’s nice n sleazy and prepares you for what could be inside. My problem with it is the cover didn’t match the contents. I had heard this was hard rock meets punk/new wave Kinks. It looks like it will deliver on that promise. What I heard was a pathetic attempt to keep up with the kids, but sounding like out of touch old fogies instead. I guess I just expected more from a Kinks album that was released in 1979. They were always so cool and creating their own trends. Now here they are trying to jump on some sort of music bandwagon complete with a blatant Stones rip off as a single. A disappointment to say the least.

    Fast forward to a couple months ago and I couldn’t remember why I was so hard on it. I had an evening of really enjoying the album. I even played it a couple times. Since then, I go back and forth on my opinions of this album. I gave it another listen last night and I’m back to feeling not overly impressed with it. There are a couple songs that live up to Kinks greatness, but I think these are the kwirkiest and least appreciated of the bunch.

    Last night I realized that one of my biggest problems is Ray’s vocal style. Yes, I’m speaking about Shouty Ray. It’s just not appealing to me. There are a few songs where he goes back and forth from smooth British Ray voice into the screaming throat style vocal. Had he toned down the throat style, there may be more that I would love on here. I guess he was gearing up to take these songs on the road and felt he needed to amplify his voice and shout out the lyrics. On the album it just annoys me and I’m suddenly yearning for a “Holiday Romance”.

    I am curious to see what my reactions will be as we go through the album, because many songs I sit right in the middle. They can really go either way. This is no longer an album that would be at the very bottom of the Kinks barrel. I appreciate it more now, and it’s likely I will appreciate it even more when we wrap up the discussion. It unfortunately is probably my least favorite Kinks album up until this point, but let’s see where it ends up in 2 weeks.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2022
  15. pyrrhicvictory

    pyrrhicvictory Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Us Kinks fans are used to this. While other bands get Tawny Kitaen, we’re peddled a foot fetish.
     
  16. ThereOnceWasANote

    ThereOnceWasANote Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cape May, NJ
    Maybe not quite a masterpiece but pretty great album nonetheless.

    It is a great album cover. Next three are as well.

    Album cover captures that NYC vibe. All dressed up for Studio 54 yet trashy city street. Could be the feet of a hooker or maybe a punk rock princess ready for a night at CBGB's or the Palladium.
     
  17. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    :laugh:
    As a good Lowellian, I have fallen down on the job by not bringing up Kerouac sooner. I knew Dylan and Ginsberg have visited Kerouac's grave, but didn't know it was part of a film. I just visited Kerouac's grave a few years back as I never got around to it.

    “Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”
    ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
     
  18. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Yes, and my pre-discussion thought is that a new term needs to be used for the songs on this album. Otherwise the definition of “Shouty Ray” is too all-encompassing and watered down. It’ll no longer mean what it used to mean. i.e. I like original Shouty Ray while find myself thinking “what in the hell!!” when hearing this incarnation. :D So I advocate for the coinage of a new term. Respectfully!
     
  19. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    My best buddy in the navy was from Lowell. Knew everything there was to know about rock music. Gave me The Modern Lovers album in early ‘78.
     
  20. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Very cool. Wonder if I know his family?? For being a city, Lowell has a small town feel, so it seems like one happens to know more people than you think. You still in touch?

    Love the Modern Lovers and Jonathan. :love: Was supposed to see Richman in Feb. but he cancelled due to the the virus spreading.
     
  21. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    This is the vocal that I always thought was the beginning of Shouty Ray! There may have been a few moments in the past, but nothing like this. How about Throaty Ray?
     
  22. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Have seen him a few times. Such a fun live show! He is very charming and funny. It’s great to know he is still out there. He looked a bit tired and worn down the last time I went to see him, and that was probably ten years ago!!
     
  23. I like Low Budget quite a bit. Not as good as Misfits, perhaps a hair lower, but Ray’s sarcastic lyrics continue to be entertaining.
     
  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Courtesy of @DISKOJOE here is the Creem article from 1980

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  25. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

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