"7th Channel" Not even going to attempt to penetrate the lyrics here, but musically I really like this. The guitars and drums open with great pomp and create an atmosphere of anticipation leading into the first verse. Then we get the pre-chorus where Dave appears to be mimicking one of Ray's vocal styles, and then into the chorus, which at first seems like a bit of a letdown after the soaring verse, but is actually quite infectious. This really takes flight in the second verse, though, as the added piano and synth send us into cosmic realms (OK, almost!) The dual vocals on the second pre-chorus work really well, and then we are into the chorus until fade. Nice bit of delayed gratification as we finally get the variation in the bassline that we've been expecting all along after a few iterations. I feel we would be closer to unlocking the mysteries of this album if we knew the significance of "4-1-8" in "Body" and "nine and three and five" in this one... "Eastern Eyes" And a great closer too. For the first few seconds you could be forgiven for thinking it's The Comsat Angels' "Dark Parade". Dave delivers a grinding post-punk style bassline and wonderful ambient guitar over the ominous drums. This track makes stately progress into its subdued chorus and then emerges from it in majestic style with the rising vocals, synths and drums. Really builds towards the end with the stabbing synths and then a beautiful atmospheric coda. I feel like I should have much more to say about this track, but frankly I prefer to just listen to it! A good song which flows unusually easily for a Dave song and a worthy ending to this album. Glamour And that's it. I think that Glamour is an excellent album and a more than decent offering for 1981. I've always thought it was a considerable upgrade in production quality over the first album, and it's pleasing to see that others have noticed that as well. Bob Henrit's contribution should not be understated - I doubt that the drumming of either Dave or Nick Trevisick could have driven these songs along anywhere near as effectively. It's easier to see where "Living On A Thin Line" came from when listening to this album than the first one. It's a coherent, very listenable album in its own right, and I'd say that if you were only going to own one Dave Davies album, this would be the one to have. However, the people have spoken...and now they are going to get what they want!
Both today’s tracks are typical of this album’s qualities and shortcomings. All the fast songs are constructed in a similar way, verse/chorus or chorus/verse, repeated twice, no bridges, and every verse is made of at least two different sections, like Dave can’t (or won’t??) sustain a melodic flow for more than a couple of bars, before changing gears. That’s probably why the first listen’s invariably difficult and a bit jarring, things always seem to go bonkers (still laughing, @ARL !) at the first juncture. But on second listen, you understand how it’s supposed to work and it all starts to make sense to the extent of even sounding a bit mechanical, like on 7th Channel today, in which you have the exact same backing track with the exact same sound effects repeated twice to complete the song (with added keyboards). As a slow burn epic, Eastern Eyes has more or less the same issue. The two big melodic sections are more immediately satisfying and less fractured but the backing track’s once again essentially repeated twice, with minimum variations, going for the same dramatic crescendo, before launching into the big outro. On a closer listen (or on two closer listens), this approach does create something pretty effective: the very sense of paranoia and alienation that Dave was after in his original sci-fi concept for the record, about this star president oblivious to the mayhem and carnage around him because he’s intoxicated by his self-image, despite an alien force trying to open his eyes and make him see the future. The second build up in Eastern Eyes is especially rewarding in that context, Dave’s high voice bringing power and angst to his cosmical/existential tragedy. What I can’t make out, then, is why the label would refuse Dave’s concept. In the Kink quote @Steve62 posted a couple of days ago, Dave states that they said it was “too heavy”, but it seems to me it would’ve made everything much easier to grasp and digest. Without the concept, it becomes a 100% esoteric undecipherable set of songs, leaving the listener with a big question mark on his face. But if you’re aware of the "story", it fits together and the songs become artful little narrative constructs (albeit still a bit on the "bonkers" side of things ), their lyrics aptly completed by the new-wavish synth-heavy arrangements.
7th Channel What was that Twilight Zone episode with the boy who could read everyone’s thoughts? That ended badly. Musically this is solid if unspectacular, lyrically the less said the better. Eastern Eyes Writing a song covering the dichotomy between the east and west is intriguing in theory, unfortunately as a lyricist Dave is content to skim the surface, while the big boys drag the lake. Even within his ‘big idea’ songs, the lyrics seem to be a secondary, maybe even tertiary concern. Musically it’s beautiful, no doubt, especially the languorous ‘seeds of heaven’ section. The ‘stabbing synths’ and ‘atmospheric coda’, as @ARL puts it in his terrific review, make for an album highlight. Glamour for me looks to come up a little shy against AFL1-3603 in my latest ranking. Had Mr. Henrit been on the first one, and if it had this one’s production values, it’d win in a romp. Now, I haven’t played the lottery in years, but in a spontaneous mood yesterday, I played Dave’s suggestions: 418, 935, straight and boxed. Let’s see if they pay off!
Body. Too Serious, Telepathy, 7th Channel, Eastern Eyes I consulted Herodotus over a few more drinks and found that my liking of these songs is even greater than earlier. I've just listened to all of what was Side 2 of the LP and couldn't find a thing to complain about apart from the abrupt fade-out in Too Serious. Sure some of the songs have a quirky style but I'm not hoping to hear Top 40 perfect pop anyway. I'll revisit Side 1 next to see if my initial reservations remain - especially about Dave's vocals. Either way I'm picking up a copy of this album if only for a most enjoyable Side 2.
Is This the Only Way? gets Glamour off to a strong start - Ominous guitar chords and synth over a driving beat. Within seconds of hearing this for the first time an image popped into my mind of a hunted Sarah Connor sitting nervously in a nightclub just before the Terminator locates her and shines the gun scope laser on her forehead. I guess there's an 80s-dystopian vibe to it. Then Dave, in his typical bolt-on style of composition, changes gears to tighter beat with a 6/4 bar thrown in to knock us off balance, then a third segment and blam - we're back to the intro. A wild ride, a typical, latter Dave Davies composition. The title track is even more ambitious in its bolt-on structure. After a short intro it jumps right into the heavy, arena-rock "Glamour, Today!" chorus. Then the verse, a left turn into traffic: we get a 4 bars in 4, then what I would count as 9 bars of 2/4 under a meandering and somewhat unhinged chord progression, then 2 more bars of 4/4 and then blam!- somehow we're back at the chorus, like we just time-traveled through one of Hawking's wormholes! Then a slick guitar break, a guitar solo, back to the verse, wormhole, chorus; another solo, the slick guitar break, then we finish up with a proggy guitar outro with 6/4 measure thrown in every few bars. A strange and fascinating (to me) composition: like many of Dave's songs, it flirts with convention and then flees from it. Upon my initial listen, Glamour was probably the track I enjoyed least; after much study, I now view it as one of the album's noteworthy songs. Reveal Yourself has great intensity and is a blast from start to finish with it's kwirky lyrics, sound effects, blood curdling screams, weird noises and farm animals. Dave's repeated and dramatic "Reveaaal Yourselllf" is a highlight, I appreciate the sense of humor mixed in with this hard-rocking track. I'm appreciating World Of Our Own and Eastern Eyes more and more as a kind of balm for the intensity of the other songs on Glamour; these atmospheric, synth-heavy tracks are well constructed, and for the purpose of balance in an album I prefer songs of this nature to a rock ballad. Body, Too Serious, Telepathy and 7th Channel are a great stretch of intense, creative and energetic songs. Too Serious once again throws in a 6/4 measure to create a tricky and proggy connection between the verses. There's some catchy hook-lyrics in these songs also: "DNA, computer bank", "Too Serious", "Telepathy/for you and me", "Human race/outer space/travelers", phrases and words that leap out of muddle of mostly unintelligible lyrics, to give the listener some purchase, or way points into the song. I also like how dynamic Dave's singing is on these tracks as he ranges from David Byrne to Ozzy then back to himself, doubled! As with AFL1, I'm pleasantly surprised with Glamour; neither were immediately accessible, but after letting them steep a bit I find both albums to be thoroughly enjoyable listens. The contrast from the Kinks is remarkable and speaks to Ray's domination of the band. Catch Me Know I'm Falling is the only track I can think of that has a style similar to Dave's bolt-on compositions. I can also sense a connection in sound/atmosphere with another of my favorites, Phobia, which I want to keep in mind once we get there.
Sorry, I think I abridged that passage from Dave's book. He was describing how he "wanted to do a short film based on the record." But "the promotion and marketing people thought it was too serious, too heavy." I'll transcribe a bit more because it's pretty interesting: "Yeah, sure. We spent a lot of time on the artwork and there is a lot more information there than first meets the eye. 'Eastern Eyes' is a love song about finding enlightenment. The East is depicted as a material cripple and the West as a spiritual cripple. Love presents itself as understanding and becomes the active ingredient that pulls the two together. @mark winstanley you seem to have totally missed that point: how much clearer could Dave have been? 'World of our Own' is a song of hope. When the world's tyrants have had their fill and become exhausted by their 'mad and evil cravings, people will still be here, long after they have gone etc [ie more lyrics]." So I think Dave was happy in the way he got his ideas across in the lyrics but disappointed that the album wasn't successful and that he didn't get interest in his short film idea.
LP 1 Side A 1: Waterloo Sunset 2: Act Nice and Gentle 3: Mr. Pleasant Side B 1: Holiday in Waikiki 2: Little Miss Queen of Darkness 3: This is Where I Belong RSD '22 Special Release: The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset EP
Oh yes, it’s a very legitimate question. I, for one, probably wouldn't've finished one song (let alone one side) if I'd not been encouraged by this thread’s spirit to give it a serious look (and more appropriately, a serious listen). And I'm glad I was, as there was a lot to discover and plenty to admire (if not love). But it raises another question: are we Kinks fans the most apt to appreciate these two records ? I tend to think we're not… But at the same time, who else's going to do it ? A lot of us already have difficulties to hop from Kontroversy to Muswell Hillbillies to A Soap Opera to Sleepwalker to Low Budget… Sure, some here have more eclectic tastes (not me, I don't think… ), but still… That's why in a way, Dave’s solo output (his first two solo records anyway) was doomed from the start in terms of impact and posterity. The main draw was he was a Kinksman but he didn't capitalize on this stylistically by doing his own version of Kinks records. No, he did FM-ready heavy-rock and experimental "out there" (bonkers) alien pop. So it was a lose/lose situation: Kinks maniacs would buy it but (with a few notable exceptions on this thread) not like it too much. And people looking for the current sounds of 1980/1981 would look the other way because Dave was a klassik rocker… Forty years on, I’d like to know what Devo fans or Journey fans or Pat Benatar fans or even PIL fans would make out of these two albums, if they’d get the chance to listen. Which they won’t anyway… It seems none of them subscribed to the forum to start contributing to this conversation, or did they ? So yeah, it's left to us Kinks faithfuls to do it. And the returns are quite rewarding.
If my guess is correct, Dave later covers Dave for contractual reasons. Lots of weirdness surrounding his Chosen People album in 1983 and it’s not just the music itself ha ha. Events at that time really did send him into outer space. But we’ll gets (sic) there.
That's a magnificent collection of songs on this EP! Especially the B-side. Not that there's anything wrong with the A, mind you.
An interesting discussion, as usual. I didn’t come into the thread a blank slate…but it was pretty close to it. Which means I’ve been methodically listening my way through the extended Kinks chronology (including hearing solo Dave) mostly for the first time. I was initially quite impressed with the Dave songs (as recorded by The Kinks), going so far as to innocently wonder aloud why he didn’t pursue a solo career. I liked his vocals; I thought he put together complete songs, etc. My take now, brutal as it may sound (!), is to wonder how/why a record company suit bothered to sign him as a solo act. I don’t like the voice, I don’t like the songs (and in my case, I can’t get through them) and, if I happened to have been A Suit, I would have shied away from him simply due to his notorious behavior issues. I will confess to purchasing a Crazy Horse album (without Neil). Not the first one…and, thankfully, I’ve forgotten the title now. Purchased it based on my fondness for Crazy Horse. Horrible decision. I ‘sold’ it to a shop in Tokyo for a whopping ten yen. And have no regrets. I guess I’m not the all-encompassing type of fan. It’s not Free Form Sunday but I guess I got carried away!
Pretty solid reasoning there mate. ---------------------------------- On generally answering the question put forth, from my perspective I doubt, if not for the thread, I would have bought these two albums. The Dave albums I ended up getting Hidden Treasures Decade AFL1/Glamour (2fer) Love Hidden Treasures Decade is interesting, but unlikely to attain heavy rotation AFL1 - I really like it, likely to be listened to. Glamour it's pretty decent, but it is a strange cross between somewhat commercial sounding eighties rock, slightly oddball new wave, and Dave's special brand of odd.... I think it suffers from sort of trying to be all things to all people, and so won't broadly appeal to any of them. On Glamour specifically, re @Fortuleo 's question... Devo... I am somewhat of a Devo fan. I reckon Freedom Of Choice is a great album, they have some excellent singles, and the song/video combination of Beautiful World was a brilliant artistic statement, that was as enjoyable as it was disturbing.... a hard balance to achieve. In relation to Dave..... I know I said this sounds a bit Devo-ish, and that sounds a bit Devo-ish, but the key there is "a bit". Perhaps it is a Kinks bias, but it doesn't sound quite right coming from Dave, and if it did/does, it isn't something to dip the toe in, you need to get in or out of the pool... in my opinion. I imagine a serious Devo fan may smile knowingly at hearing some of these, but may not really connect with the small fleeting references.. Not a big Journey fan, I have and enjoy 1 album, and 1 concert dvd.... but I don't think Dave's Journeyish stuff off AFL1 is smooth enough for what seems to be the average Journey fan. Smooth seems to be the general appeal of the band... which is why one album will do for me. PIL I have a few PIL albums.... and Dave gets nowhere near as weird as John lol Perhaps "Album" is the closer PIL reference.... I doubt serious PIL fans would be particularly interested in Dave's stuff. Pat Benatar.... well here goes any credibility I may have here... I love Pat.... I reckon she has some great songs and albums, but it is about that voice, and I like Dave's voice, but Pat and Dave are chalk and cheese to my ears. Initially I was very surprised at the comparison, because they are really different to me, but on reflection I guess some of Dave's big guitar sounds could be balanced with Neil Giraldo's.... in some ways. Pat and Neil lean towards accessible, whether in their rock/hard rock sound, or their rock/pop sound, and I can't see Dave's more scattered approach really challenging the power and dynamics of Hell Is For Children, Fire And Ice, Promises In The Dark and such, particularly with Pat singing them.... Now you have me imagining Dave singing Hit Me With Your Best Shot, dressed up like Lola and putting a quirky Devo bridge in it for fun. So Dave kind of touches in a few spots with those artists, but never fully commits to one or another, and so with most folks not being super diverse in their listening, lessons his chances of crossover/connection... and like @Fortuleo says, with Kinks fans being the most logically interested, and leaning sixties..... Dave manages to alienate almost everyone. . But that's a beautiful thing in itself lol Seems a while since I waffled.... so there we go lol
Much of Dave's solo stuff would probably appeal more to fans of people like David Icke or Robert Anton Wilson than the 'average' Kinks fan!
Just a note... having said that, I don't think that's what Dave was trying to do. I think Dave was just being Dave
Glamour: If a huge multinational mega-corporation hadn't in its infinite bureaucratic blindness spat out a new job for me, I might have listened to these songs more than once and read the wise and informed comments here with more care. I have every reason to believe those who say these songs reward multiple listens (and I'll take Herodotus' advice on just about anything except the ethnographics of sub-Saharan Africa), but the aforementioned multinational mega-corp is ravenous for content, so content I must provide, precluding the opportunity to find beauty in DD's bursts and stutters of disjointed inspiration. (This paragraph however might be broken up, re-arranged, set to a half-dozen half-realized melodies that don't quite fit together before they collapse into a fade, and make a serviceable DD song parody). (Government aliens government aliens government aliens). Anyway, both of DD's LPs examined here remind me of the various demos I was being given by friends and acquaintances back in the day. Other than one that was weirdly outstanding (and wound up being released, and becoming a hit), they all had their moments, but somehow didn't quite hold together, didn't scream "release me to the world, I must be heard!" Most wound up in the trash. But if the person who had given me the tape (almost always a tape back then) was a close friend, I'd listen more than once, and often discover elements that made the songs appealing. Some I still occasionally hum or dig up and play again. But I don't really love those songs as songs, they've become familiar & cherished because of the personal affection I feel for the composer/performer. I feel like a lot of Glamour might have wound up like that for me if I'd been able to give it more listens. Short that, however, the LP generally feels like a pretty tight demo by a pretty talented guy who needs a co-writer, a producer, and probably a singer (or a voice coach). It's quite surprising that a major label released it. But maybe someday I'll have the time to find what others find in these tunes.
7th Channel Wtf is the 7th channel? "Nine and three and five are mine." Are those other channels? Are these frequencies on a ham radio, receiving thoughts through the airwaves and pretending it's telepathy? I am thinking too much of this. I do hear the Ozzy style verse vocal, but I also just sorta sounds like Dave too. The chorus riff is good, but I feel that every line of the chorus has this extra measure in it that is just not needed before the vocal line comes in. (riff...) (extra 4 beats)... (Human race, Outa space, Travellers).... (riff...) (extra 4 beats) (Human race, Lost in space, Warriors) and so on... Eastern Eyes This is a good closer. I like the atmosphere of the synth, and the overall groove of the track. I *really* like the bass part throughout. Parts of this remind me of some of the soundscapes that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would record 20-30 years after this came out. Glamour I prefer this one over "the barcode one" (h/t @Fortuleo). Part of that may be that I listened to this one a few more times, and it has settled a bit more. But I also think that the production and songwriting is more consistent on Glamour. Would I haven given this album a chance if it was not created by Dave Davies and part of this thread? Absolutely not. This is not my favorite style of music at all. And I'm sure there are plenty of other early 80s synth metal out there, and I'm sure if I gave them all a chance (or a few chances), there would be a few songs that I may actually like. But even with this, I don't think I'm going to add any of these to my Kinks playlist because.... it's not the Kinks (even if it's "a" Kink), and it really is very different and it's own thing. It's certainly an interesting exercise though to delve into styles that I have never really love. I think I am more open to Dave's stuff here obviously because of the Kinks bias, but I do highly enjoy early 80s music generally (I like several Pat Benatar and Journey songs of the era, but have never gone beyond the hits/singles for either). Regarding reunion rumors, it would be incredible for Ray and Dave to record some sort of final EP together, even if it's not under "the Kinks" name. We see these pictures of them sharing a pint, so it seems they are at least getting along, which may just be the best we can realistically hope for. They have given us so much.
I definitely agree with those that have said they wouldn’t have listened to these first two Dave albums without having been interested to see what little brother Dave was up to, after being Kinks fans. Also definitely agree with @Fortuleo about this thread being a motivating force to listen to these two albums. I mentioned earlier that pre-thread, I had attempted to listen to AFL1 out of curiosity a while back, and shut it off after a couple of tracks. If not for this thread I’m sure I never would have listened to the whole album. AFL1 is probably something I won’t be coming back to again any time soon. For Glamour, I have listened to the whole album a couple of times, but not really that carefully, because of other work and personal time commitments I have these past few weeks. I did, however, find enough that interested me that I can see myself giving Glamour another chance at some point in the future.
"Eastern Eyes" actually reminds me a bit of the Associates. I would never have guessed it was Dave Davies!
7th Channel I like it musically, and the 'human race, outta space' bit, and it is lyrically quite daft. But it's DDs special brand of daft. I find I'm enjoying it more than I have previously. Eastern Eyes A good closer to the album, all synthy and mysterious. Dave can hold a good vocal here too. Prefer it when he's not screaming in his upper register. Glamour Before this listen through, I'd have told you that 'Glamour' was my least favourite Dave Davies album. Now, I'm not so sure. I think I currently prefer it to his debut of the year previous. Bob's drums lift this one to a higher level, along with the better production. Several of these wouldn't seem out of place alongside Dave's mini-album at the end of 'UK Jive'. I still have quite a wait until we get to what I currently consider my favourite solo album from Dave, another 20 years or so.
7th Channel This probably made sense in Dave's head, and there's definitely some interesting musical thoughts going on here, but it's kind of a mess in execution. Not a total throwaway, but I do acknowledge its flaws. Mark mentioned Sabbath, but I think I hear more Nugent/Amboy Dukes, but I'm sure that's purely coincidental, not deliberate at all. Eastern Eyes Very interesting musically to my ears. I like the synths here (not something I say often). I think this a very fine song, well executed, although we're it up to me, I probably wouldn't sequence it as a closer.
Glamour Recap Glamour actually joins Soap Opera and the Preservation albums as a big riser for me as a result of participating in this thread. I originally didn't care much for the album and shelved it after a few listens where it gathered dust for decades. But now, I really enjoyed the last few days. I chalk this up to two things: First, my tastes have evolved and I now embrace a good number of blatantly 80s albums that I was always quick to dismiss in the past. What's more, I really enjoyed Dave's take in particular on the sounds and styles of the day; something i could never have predicted. Second, there's a sort of listening fatigue that comes with trying to listen to any D2 solo album end to end.... it really can be a slog. He rarely throws a lot of variety at you and his vocals in particular are likely to wear out their welcome at some point over the course of two full sides. But taking just a few songs per day here avoided that fatigue and allowed for full enjoyment of each individual song. Oddly and entirely despite my preconceptions, I think I enjoyed this album as much as or more than the bar code one. I love surprises!
7th Channel Definitely has Sabbath moments and lyrics that read like they are from a young fledgling mind. I don't like how Dave's voice is produced here and it sounds generic through perhaps commercial leanings but no matter as I had mentally switched off from this song prior.
