Sad to have missed the show but having seen him a few times in the last decade or so, sounds relatively similar to other shows, based on kessler's comments. I agree with most of them, but I try to relax and enjoy what we get from Ray rather than remaining in critics/superfan mode throughout. I recall having a similar reaction to Ray doing a snippet of "This is Where I Belong" rather than playing the song in full, but was grateful to have gotten even that snippet frankly.

Perhaps Ray will hit Chicago again. Glad to hear his voice was in good form as some youtubes I've seen of more recent efforts sounded kinda off. Perhaps poor recordings and/or bad nights rather than an indication he's losing it.

Dave's new album is on it's way to my mailbox as we speak, by the way. Looking forward to that.

so lovely, but at 150 its a no since its only 3 discs that i'd want

Just downloaded all of their albums and making a concerted effort to go through the discography, but where do the wheels start to fall off? There are a lot of albums that I know little or nothing about from like the late 70's onward, and I am just curious about what others think of these later efforts. We all know the singles, but is there a lot to look forward to? Does their sound change dramatically? Very curious for input, onto The Kink Kontroversy!

well i'd say that they reached their peak with village green, but there were still a couple of crackingly good albums after that.

ray davies = genius.

Got on the Kinks bus late in their careers. Saw the Word of Mouth and Think Visual tours. I didn't think Think Visual was that great, but Word of Mouth is a good album. Side A is killer. I think their sound first changed at the Lola vs. Powerman album. Muswell Hillbillies was kind of throwback, and one of my favorites. It might be sacrilege, but I didn't get into the period from Everybody's in Show Business to Schoolboys in Disgrace. I was kind of bored with that period.

I think their sound changed again staring with Sleepwalker to Word of Mouth. I dug the sound during this time. New Wave and Punk were popular and I think their sound reflected that. State of Confusion was a little weak, but Misfits, Low Budget, Give The People What They Want and Word of Mouth had some really good songs on them. I think Give The People What They Want is such an under rated album. I wore that cassette out.

Village Green and Muswell Hillbillies are my favorite records, but you can't go wrong. All have gems.

I loved my journey with the Kinks, and have so much more to revisit and discover myself in their back catalog. So much great music.

God Save The Kinks!

Interesting take. I agree with much of it actually. My biggest quibble is that I think State of Confusion is the strongest record in that period from Sleepwalker thru Word of Mouth (or at least in a dead heat). Overall my favorite is probably Arthur, followed closely by Village Green and Face to Face, then Something Else, Lola and Muswell Hillbillies. That rock opera stretch has some great ambitious stuff in it, but I, too, have trouble really enjoying the records in the same way as I do the peak period, so I also found that next stretch a relief and full of great material. It was also the era where I was getting into them (my first album was Low Budget, which was current at the time). I find Low Budget to have aged the most poorly (despite the presence of "A Little Bit of Emotion", which still sounds fantastic).

Nice. Love talking Kinks. I never gave State of Confusion a proper chance. Come Dancing was such a massive pop hit that I kind of resented it at the time. Great song in retrospect, but I liked the snotty rawness of stuff like Destroyer at that age, and I just dismissed the album. One to revisit for sure!

Interesting about Low Budget. That is one that I've gotten into again recently and it really works for me. Sound wise it is kind of an outlier with such a diverse range of styles, and can see the 4 on the floor beat on Superman dating it a bit, but I think there are some timeless rockers on there too. I'm also finding the lyrics and subject matter more relevant to me than ever. As a kid I didn't really connect with the lyrics as much as I am as an adult. As an adult in another period of economic problems, this one hits me in a new and different way. From high gas prices to pulling my belt a little tighter, they did a great job of capturing a the mood of austerity, pessimism and desire for something better IMO. I like how all their stuff hits people in different ways. Ray knew how to write lyrics.

It wasn't me sharing stories of rock 'n' roll history but I kinda wish I'd been there for hear them !!!

I found the "Where's Dave" question to be in poor taste given all that we know about the Davies Bros. Way too many people at these types of shows think it's okay to just start engaging the performer in a conversation. Somehow I doubt you're one of those people. This happened at Jackson Browne, too, and at Gillian Welch (to a lesser extent). It's so inappropriate. Somehow, though, the "fuck you" moment was funny. You got me ...

Ray handled it in good spirits, though. He presents himself as a pretty happy guy, in contrast to the angst-ridden Ray we usually hear about in the press.

I agree that Ray was showing some respect for Dave in his own way - pretty classy. Even though Pete Quaife has left us, I'd still be pretty pumped for a Kinks reunion. t'll happen one day, I'm sure, but gosh, Ray's almost 70.

I'm still listening to the Kinks very regularly. The depth of their catalogue is astounding. Listened to "Sittin' On My Sofa" just 10 minutes ago - that song's better than anything lots of great bands could ever dream of, yet it's basically a throwaway for Ray Davies.




k

Dave Davies Hidden Treasures arrived today - looks like a nice collection, meaty liner notes and 27 songs deep. Sanctuary always does a nice job with these comps so I'm hardly surprised.

Once I've given it a listen I'll report back - it looks like there's enough unreleased material here to warrant the purchase.




k

http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs...ite-kinks-songs



Tommy Womack: My Three Favorite Kinks Songs
Posted by Tommy Womack on November 19, 2011 at 8:00amView Blog
By Tommy Womack

Bill Lloyd and I (with the trusty rhythm section from my band The Rush to Judgment – Dan Seymour and Justin Amaral) will grace you (if you deign to come) with a night of the Kinks at the Family Wash (Corner of Greenwood & Porter in East Nashvillw) on December 2nd. In honor of that noble undertaking, I’ve jotted thoughts on my three favorite Kinks tunes (at the moment) in the hope that, if you haven’t ever heard them, you’ll seek them out.

I find my three faves eschew the usual suspects: “You Really Got Me” (yawn), “Waterloo Sunset” (yawn) and “Lola” (triple yawn with a cherry on top). While I love those tunes, they routinely get their moments in the sun. Here are three that may or may not have drifted over your transom before.

“I Need You” (1965) – “YRGM” and “All Day & All of the Night” leave me cold sometimes now. Overexposure does that. “I Need You”, from the “Kinkdom” LP, has all their elements in spades, and 400 years later, it still sounds fresh.

What first drew me to the Kinks was not the charming tales of English life. That came later. It was those insanely catchy rocking riffs of the early days. After their first two hits, mentioned above, “I Need You” is third on the list of their early power chord masterpieces. First you have Dave Davies’ deliriously obnoxious Guild electric guitar through his El Pico amp with razor slits cut into the speaker cone and knitting needles stuck into a tube socket. Then you have that propulsive, infectious two-chord riff, tight as a tick with Pete Quaife on bass and Mick Avory punching the air with serious power.

The real star, however, is Ray Davies. Before being a lyricist with a poet’s touch, before writing those beautiful sophisticated melodies of years to come, Ray was already the preeminent massive talent in one facet that never gets mentioned: his profound grasp of laying down his voice in perfect rhythm with the track. His lyrics lay right with the drums. He’s the best rhythm singer in the world and I’ll stand on Elvis’s grave and say that. He’s better than Mick Jagger, better than John Lennon, better than Little Richard, better than even Chuck Berry. Before he was any of the things he later became, he was the best rhythm singer in the world. He still is. You can dance to his voice.

“Shangri-La” (1969) – At 5 ½ minutes, way longer than the average Kinks tune, with four different choral motifs, Ray skewered with a surgical lack of mercy the bland emptiness of a British middle class existence in houses that all look the same. If the Kinks had anything like a “Stairway to Heaven”, this one, epic in scope, building from quiet to Armageddon, is it. It’s even in the same key of A minor. Starting hauntingly in that second-saddest of all keys, as Ray begins by intoning “Now that you’ve found your paradise, here is your kingdom to command. You can go outside and polish your car, or sit by the fire in your Shangri-La”.

Enter the mournful horn section. Several minutes and three vignettes later, Dave kicks off a mean, Who-like slash-and-burn chordal onslaught and Ray lays it on the line, “All the houses on the street have got a name, ‘cause all the houses on the street they look the look the same…the gas bills and the water mains, payments on the car. Too scared to think how insecure you are. Life ain’t so happy in your little Shangri-La!”

Appearing on their “comeback” album, Arthur or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, “Shangri-La” inspired a flurry of protest letters to the BBC by thin-skinned middle-class Brits offended by this lyrical challenge to the staid and colorless English existence. The album, commissioned for a television drama, benefited from a production sheen probably germinated from a healthier budget than the Kinks had enjoyed on the records immediately prior to. It also sounds like their first 8-track recording, through a more modern mixing board that rounded the edges of their sound, producing a sonic leap not unlike the difference from The “White Album” and “Abbey Road” in the same time period. By the way, if it even needs to be said, “Shangri-La” more than holds its own against anything the fabs were doing. You might even say it packs the whole second side of “Abbey Road” boiled down to a tighter rocking package.

“All of My Friends Were There” (1968) – With hokey music hall oom-pah verses and a gorgeous, delicate, soaring chorus, this might be the funniest song Ray has ever penned. It is a tale of him drinking too much before a prestigious gig. “My big day, it was the biggest day of my life. It was the summit of my long career, but I felt so down and I drank too much beer. The management said that I shouldn’t appear.” Mortified in retrospect, Ray then dons a disguise and sings “I wore a moustache and I parted my hair, and gave the impression that I did not care, but oh, the embarrassment, oh, the despair!” Offered a shot at redemption the next week, “I nervously mounted the stage once again, got through my performance and no one complained. Thank God I can go back to normal again.”

This gem appears on the second side of “The Village Green Preservation Society”, which Creem magazine once cited as “arguably the best album anyone’s ever made.” I tend to agree with that. In my freshman year of college, that record was my best friend. I love it so much I’m going to buy it something to eat.

So there are my three Kinks favorites – at the moment. I hope you can fit it into your schedule to come see me and Bill Lloyd celebrate the music of the Kinks at the Family Wash in East Nashville at 9 PM on December 2nd.

God Save The Kinks.

(Tommy Womack’s new album “Now What!” is due in February 2012. His Kinks history includes a recording of “Picture Book” with Bill Lloyd on the Ray Davies tribute album This is Where I Belong.

Classic. I think (yawn) is a bit much but I get where he's coming from - that being said, this is like telling a teenager to stop fixating on the breasts and just head straight for the big score.




k

Dave Davies' Hidden Treasures is a pretty cool listen. I'd heard most of the songs on this already, and the things I hadn't heard aren't particularly revelatory. But the songs and music here sit well alongside the "golden age" Kinks recordings. While Dave may lack Ray's poetic turns of phrase, his Everyman insights on love and life are a welcome change-of-pace. Taken out of the context of Kinks albums (and their bonus tracks), this collection of songs would be a very solid late 60's pop-rock album.

I don't think I had any of Dave's "solo" songs on my favorite Kinks songs list. That was a mistake, as they are every bit Kinks songs as say "Death Of A Clown" or "Strangers" are. Ray produced, and the band backed him up on every song on this collection. "Lincoln County" "Mindless Child Of Motherhood" and "This Man He Weeps Tonight" all shoulda woulda coulda made my list.

Great liner notes and inexpensive, even as an import. If you're collecting Kinks albums, you should get this one too.

just got around to getting the mono box set.

just like the beatles and dylan, these early records were MADE for mono. they sound awesome; loving the eps and singles discs in particular.

Yes, mono's definitely better, up to and including VGPS, but it's not so good on Arthur - I think that was the last time the Kinks made a dedicated mono mix for an album though, so that might help explain things.

http://psychobabble200.blogspot.com/2012/0...s-you-need.html

21 underrated Kinks songs, nice blog post

This is a good list, a little heavy on Village Green Preservation Society material (at this point it's a stretch to call anything on that album underrated), but some nice choices. Great to see "Misty Water" included, and "Rosy ..." at #4 is a good call. You could probably go right ahead and list Face to Face in its entirety, since the prevailing view suggests that Something Else is their first "classic" album, and to me it's Face to Face. Also a little silly to include "This Time Tomorrow", as that song has gotten nothing but attention in the last few years ...




k

yeah, it's a good list. Just as a point of information, I'm pretty sure it's just chronological, so being #4 isn't significant at all. Also, I think the criteria for possible inclusion was basically any song that's never made an official compilation, so basic tracks from any album were eligible. I can quibble with individual selections, but really enjoyed the overall quality of the choices and the blurbs and the context it was put in. Was well done.

VERY detailed and interesting analysis of "Waterloo Sunset" is here:

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/postmoder...aterloo-sunset/

probably my all-time favourite pop song.

New take on Waterloo Sunset, and it's fantastic !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uABnKRPHMVk

best dave davies kinks-era tracks, according to uncut (jan. 2012):
death of a clown
love me till the sun shines
susannah's still alive
funny face
lincoln county
mindless child of motherhood
creeping jean
strangers
trust your heart
living on a thin line

can check the entire article here

nice blog about Arthur here: http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2012...-music-part-59/

Happy 65th Birthday, Dave!

Here's a toast to you:

http://psychobabble200.blogspot.com/2012/0...es-is-most.html