Avid Fortuleo, that's also my fave rave Dutronc song and video! He looks like mid 70s Bowie w/the hair. He sure loves those cigars. He seems to be always sucking on one in almost every picture of him that I see. I'm surprised he's not dead from lung cancer.
Apologies for the oncoming nerdiness, but I can't help myself: if you're talking about the clip of the rowers that turns psychedelic, I can't see that footage in the Wonderboy clip, it does feature footage of waves and a brief glimpse of a rowboat, but none of a rowing team as seen in 'Predictable' unless I'm missing something. If you mean the b/w clip of Ray that appears on TV one scene earlier, I'm pretty sure that's a 1965 vintage clip, though I can't quite place what song it's for.
'Predictable' was the first song I knew from 'GTPWTW', as it had been included on the Kinks video (cassette!) compilation I had in the late '80s. I think it is the video which helps the song punch above its natural weight, as it is of course wonderfully entertaining and shows that Ray possesses great acting ability. As a song in its own right, I'm kind of surprised it was a single, although maybe by this point they'd given up on the great record buying public appreciating their 45 releases and just thought they'd go with a track that had potential for a decent video... Contrarily, I think that now I kind of like it more that I expect to when I hear it as I've down-played its qualities in my mind and so end up pleasantly surprised. It is a clever and in some ways catchy song but also tempered by the fact I've heard it more than the other tracks on the album because of the number of times I watched that video compilation all those years ago...yes, my viewing choice was indeed predictable... I had this album on cassette for years (getting Kinks albums was hit and miss where I was, especially anything that wasn't either the latest release or whatever form of greatest hits was around, so format was the least of my concerns) so have been compelled/inspired by you awful rogues into ordering a CD of it so I can enjoy it once more in its full glory! It should be with me by the weekend...
BGO in the UK recently put out a 2 CD set of all the Box Tops' albums, which I have, along w/the 1996 Arista Box Tops compilation, which I recommend as a Box Tops starting point. Also, you don't like "Together"? It's one of my faves, especially the guitar solo. It's almost a Big Star song to me. I remember "Sweet Cream Ladies" being on the Boston AM stations when I was a lad. It's one of my favorite Box Tops songs (#1 is "Soul Deep").
First off, I would rather have a nerdy Avid Ajsmith than a depressed one any old day. Secondly, I made a mistake. That clip of Ray on the telly is from 1965, from one of the Kinks' Shindig! appearances. Also those scenes of the boat and waves happened during the Hippy Ray segment anyway, so that was mistake #2. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa!
I just took a look at the wiki write-up on the album, spurned on by today’s video and, sure enough, “It was delayed because lead singer Ray Davies wanted to produce a full-length video for the album but financing fell through.” Ray should pen an autobiographical tune titled, ‘Glutton For Punishment.’ Afterthought: No one would know that there was anyone left in The Kinks except for Ray based on album cover and song video.
I like several more songs, but these are my favorites. “Together” and “Sweet Cream Ladies” are both pretty good. I have seen that CD set and was tempted to buy it, but I already have all the records and digital downloads. This was a very early record purchase that initially turned me on to The Box Tops and Alex Chilton a long time ago. Alex's 1970 album is also pretty good and is like a bridge from the Box Tops into Big Star. Ok. Sorry all. Back to The Kinks!
Not really an album band but they have lots of great songs, "You Keep Tightening Up On Me" is a favourite of mine
"Predictable" I loved the video and had never seen it before. This is in my top 3 on the album. It's nice to hear Ray sing like he did in the old days. There is a hint of the 60s Kinks and Ray's vocal is once again reminding me of Randy Newman. The video further elevates this into an 80s Kinks Klassic.
Predictable Ok so maybe with Arista, Ray agreed to not do any any more concept albums (although I think we have seen that he may have subtly slipped a few under ol' Clive's chin)... but here we have Ray writing a fully realized concept song. Just as Ray was fully bought-in to a Soap Opera (and yes I agree with avid @DISKOJOE that this could easily be Norman/Starmaker singing this, and I hear Ray's Soap Opera voice strongly in this song), Ray crams the whole concept into this song -- lyrics, delivery, music.... The song is predictable, it's monotonous, it's so very meta. Ray's voice is classic Ray, and brings me back to the early-mid 1970s. The delivery is a long shrug at life.... And I must say it was a delight to read avid @pyrrhicvictory's post this morning indicating this is his favorite song on the album, and he starts out : That is spot on. He missed the Village Green, but as we discussed way back when, he may have describing an idealized past that never was.... Back to this song, I like how (only occasionally) the "...predictable" backing vocal completes the previous line of the verse (I'd go out for a walk but I know it would be....). The song is a throwback to classic 60s/70s Kinks, but with 80s backing vocals that almost sounds like the Pretenders doing backing vocals too? The video is fun, but it's rather striking how much Ray appears to have aged between the Old Grey Whistle Test 1977 Sleepwalker set and these 1981 videos! It's only 4 years! Maybe it's the hair? I hope I haven't aged this much in 4 years...
Predictable Lots of work today and, thanks to @palisantrancho, a Box Tops rabbit hole to burrow into. So, briefly: Yes, this could have been on Soap Opera -- or Everybody's in Showbiz -- & no one would've blinked, shouted "sell out," or wondered where the real Kinks had gone. The one thing that may mark it as of its time is the.... interesting Give the People What They Want predilection for shouted call-and-response background vocals. As a guy who ranks Soap Opera up with the best of the *classic period* albums, you'd think I'd love this. Maybe I will someday. But in the context of this LP/era I'm kind of missing the punk/metal/barky ethos of the first two tracks. Where did the real ['80s] Kinks go? &, if RD pushed to have this released as a single, it sort of throws the whole "all they cared about at this point was becoming a huge arena rock act" narrative out the window.
Predictable I could say this for Repetition in a few albums and I probably will just to repeat myself and live up to and play along with the concepts of these two songs. We all complain about being stuck in a daily routine and how boring, blah blah, blah. And yes I can get quite bored doing the same things all the time. But for me personally, I am a creature of habit. I didn't set out to be, it's just become that way. I have in my mind that I will do most of the same things and routines daily and weekly. But I find that as I've gotten older, anything unplanned that upsets that daily routine or interrupts it, throws my whole day off and I'm a bit of a crank. If I have something different planned or scheduled in advance for work such as meetings or travelling or vacations, holidays, and such, no problem. I've already adjusted to this in advance. Weekends are freeform for the most part but I still "schedule" something in my mind to get done, such as yard work or going out of town or visiting friends or relatives. None of those are last minute decisions. So yeah, I complain about being in rut but then I complain about that same rut being disrupted sometimes. Once again, Ray captures the human condition lyrically here and the music works well with the intentional monotone, sometimes chromatic, music and vocals in the verses followed by going up the scale for the hopeful Once We and One Day sections only to realize it's not going to happen and fall right back into the monotony. Very clever song on a lot of levels. I like the fact Ray edited off that one last chorus at the end of the acetate version that was posted, to the official shorter album version. Not a huge change but it helps the song just that little bit to my mind.
Yes, the Rat! Sorry for calling it by it’s formal name. Having been inside a couple times myself I can vouch for it’s lack of formality. In ‘97, my last time there, the UK band Suede were playing shows at the Avalon. I went up to the Boston shows and their gigs at the Supper Club in New York’s theater district. It was a real perk to be able to see incredible bands like Blur, Pulp, and Suede, all massive overseas in the mid-nineties, play small clubs over here. To be thisclose to them at standing-only venues was an amazing experience, the best way to experience a show. Anyway, a few of the Suede contingent had heard of the Rat and wanted to check it out post-show. They recognized me from previous shows so I tagged along, ostensibly as a tour guide to a city and venue I knew next to nothing about. This was also the night their gear was stolen and they had to use the opening act’s (Longpigs, also fantastic) equipment. Twenty-five years ago this month. For you, and any other Big Star fans here, I must recommend the book on the left. Well written and researched, it’s a gem of a biography. Caution, however, if you come to encounter the Pixies book on the right. Do not hesitate to pass it by. You may recognize the author’s name from previous discourse on this thread. His Kinks book did have some odd charm but you won’t find any redeeming qualities herein. It also contains interspersed chapters with characters like a bad fan-novel. It is tripe.
Ah, RD's hair...this subject brings to mind a particularly cruel, though not untypical, live review of the Kinks in one of British weekly music rags from the mid Eighties, which opened pretty much: "You have to feel sorry for Ray Davies. Chrissie Hynde left him, he's going bald and he's stuck with a lookalike brother who's got a heavy metal fixation." I can't remember the rest of the 'review' or if I even bothered to read it but it did drive home the irony of the press criticising the band for "sounding too American" and betraying ol' Blighty when they got comments like that from the press in their loving home country. Please forgive the digression! I do agree that the worry lines are a bit more apparent there, beneath the Barnet...
Hi guys, glad to rejoin you after having moved to another town. Yes, all my Kinks CDs are still with me So where are we, Predictable? I was so impressed with the wonderful video, that I bought the CD on the strength of that. I agree it’s a very meta song and the joke kind of gets on the listener. Depends on your mood if you go with the sentiment or not. I mostly do. Most significantly this video reveals and restarts Rays theatrical tendencies just in time for MTV with a string of really fantastic videos till he peaks with Return To Waterloo. I’m still so impressed how well a 60es rock star knew to work that medium. A small catch-up. These days, although I refrained from posting, I kept reading your posts here. It’s fitting I skipped One For The Road, because I listened to it recently and I just thought, probably you had to be there to fully appreciate the overtly loud presentation. As for Dave’s albums, listened to them while we were discussing Sleepwalker and Misfits and I enjoyed them a lot more than those albums! Dave off the leash is quite something, I’ll sure buy those some day.
PREDICTABLE specifically---I too loved the vid at the time tho hadn't seen it in decades. rewatching the vid now reminded how fresh and contemporary it made them feel to 14 yr old me watching MTV. Unlike the Stones or Who or Floyd in the early 80s this vid and the bouncy light quirkiness of tune and melody made them feel right in their swinging with other BritPop of the time from Madness to Haircut 100 or Burning Sensations or Adam and the Ants even, just that feeling of near-new-wave "this is pop and now and hip and goofy but with some meat behind it"----it did indeed make the Kinks feel like a real contemporary band vibing with the moment that as a kid made me love them I think a bit more. (Tho my love for 60s britpop soon after 1983 or so made me kind of deliberately backward looking in my music buying and listening until I discovered amerindie record store clerk stuff but another story.) So, if that video was designed to make them seem if not "hip" and least very "now"---it totally worked, and the songs bordering on goofiness helped.
Predictable: As with many who have already posted, this one didn’t stand out for me 40 years ago when I first got acquainted with GTPWTW, but I like it now. I think this qualifies as a nice little pop ditty. Although it doesn’t sound anything like it, it reminds me in some ways of Tom Petty’s Don’t Do Me Like That off of Damn the Torpedoes. To me damn the torpedoes was comprised of mostly hard-hitting deeper meaning rock tracks and then along came the short and poppy Don’t Do Me Like That. On first listen, it seemed a little out of place and maybe a bit inconsequential in relation to its neighbors on the album, but before too long it had insinuated itself into my brain and I couldn’t stop humming and singing it. Predictable feels a lot like that for me. If I’m not being clear, I really like Don’t Do Me Like That, and therefore I must like Predictable too.
As I mentioned a few pages ago, I have a copy of this Kinks Predictable / Back To Front PICTURE DISC - 7" Vinyl | eBay Not my listing. Not sure my link worked either but I have no idea how to get a photo I take uploaded onto here. Anyhow, I like Predictable. It ain’t Autumn Almanac, but it’s ok.
The light bulb has clicked. Good Day is the song on Word of Mouth that I hear a glimpse of (sorry) in Predictable.
A belated thank you for this, @Michael Streett! Just finished listening to #1 Record just now, all the way through in the car. A very nice album, indeed! I hear some Badfinger, some America, some George Harrison, and at least one bridge or pre-chorus that reminded me of Elliott Smith. The India Song is like if America (the band) time traveled and broke into Abbey Road studios during the recording of Odessey and Oracle and told Rod Argent to play the mellotron. I’ll have to check out their other albums too, although the requirements of this thread make it difficult to listen to anything other than the Kinks!
Because of your comment I took a look at the next four Kinks albums, looking at the song titles to see if there was one called something similar to ‘Glutton For Punishment’! Didn’t see one but skipped around the State Of Confusion album and…time again to clutch the sides of my head in despair! Is this The End?
Predictable As others have said, the basic no frills music kind of fits with the lyrics. This is the first song on this album that sounds like a Kinks song to me (and that's a good thing). It's not great, but it's OK. I like the video a lot. That was a medium that was made for Ray!
