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Post by uncleson on Mar 7, 2007 15:38:16 GMT -5
This is almost as difficult as selecting the top three songs off of Face To Face. Well, I'll give it a try anyway!
Face To Face Lola Vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround Arthur Misfits Muswell Hillbillies
but....Schoolboys In Disgrace is rising on the list...
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Post by ilesofsmiles on Mar 7, 2007 17:13:06 GMT -5
Welcome Uncle Son.. It's been a long time since we've seen your name -- good you're here!
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TAG
Session Man
Posts: 468
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Post by TAG on Mar 7, 2007 18:54:05 GMT -5
Welcome Uncle Son.. It's been a long time since we've seen your name -- good your here! ditto
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Post by ilesofsmiles on Mar 8, 2007 23:21:42 GMT -5
Favourite KinKs release #2Was ARTHUR the first Kinks concept release? IMO, arguable. If you look at VGPS, it is quite like a mini concept. We are transported via the "Picture Book" to the England that existed long ago, either real or perceived. Each song a little story that somehow opens a window to a day in the life. With the opening song I imagine I'm at the meeting of "The Village Green Preservation Society," standing erectly in my simple cut, starched blue suit with matronly low hem and sensibly heeled shoes. We sing this as our anthem, our pledge of allegiance, that we will indeed preserve the old ways from being abused. Then treat ourselves to a piping hot cuppa with scones dripping in strawberry jam and clotted cream. ;D In the case of Wicked Annabella and Phenomenal Cat -- I'll light one up and I'll boast and brag....
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TAG
Session Man
Posts: 468
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Post by TAG on Mar 9, 2007 0:16:54 GMT -5
The next album on my list is VGPS. It is indeed like a little portal to the past... a window to a unique society. One of the things that impresses me the most about this album is that it is so distinctly out of step with the rock music trends of it's day. It says a lot about Ray's determination towards defining the complexities of the bands sound. The songs are stamped squarely with the Kinks identity. The seeds of sound that were germinating during Face to Face through Something Else become fully realized on VGPS.
Without going into a song by song detail, I'll just say that lyrically it just doesn't get much more original than this. The subject matter and the stories along with the flights of fancy all coalesce seamlessly. It's a very cerebral piece of work without alienating the listener. It's clever and romantic in all it's evocations of times past and of fading values and customs.
I fell in love with VGPS immediately. I will always appreciate it's existence deeply. It is a sacred thing.
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Post by uncleson on Mar 9, 2007 14:49:30 GMT -5
Thank you!
I wonder if Face To Face could be considered a concept album. That was released in 1966, I believe.
One thing is for sure, Ray, and The Kinks, have always been ahead of their time.
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Post by ilesofsmiles on Mar 11, 2007 22:48:13 GMT -5
Thank you! I wonder if Face To Face could be considered a concept album. That was released in 1966, I believe. One thing is for sure, Ray, and The Kinks, have always been ahead of their time. We would love for you to elaborate on this Komment UncleSon
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Post by terisong on Mar 11, 2007 23:26:24 GMT -5
This is almost as difficult as selecting the top three songs off of Face To Face. Well, I'll give it a try anyway! Face To Face Lola Vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround Arthur Misfits Muswell Hillbillies but....Schoolboys In Disgrace is rising on the list... I agree this is to difficult. Face to Face is my favorite... I think... but I forgot to even put Kinks Kontroversy on the list. What was I thinking. So my revised list would be: Face TO Fave KinKs Kontroversy Kinda Kinks Lola VS Powerman Arthur for runner up...
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Post by terisong on Mar 11, 2007 23:28:04 GMT -5
Oh NO!! I forgot my other favorite!!!
Muswell Hillbillies!!!! :-)
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Post by luis on Mar 12, 2007 7:27:38 GMT -5
A difficult task. Imposible not to end up being unfair to other albums, but my selection could be:
VGPS Lola vs Powerman etc.. Something Else Preservation Act 1&2 Muswell Hillbilies
I promise I will get down to commenting at least one of these ALBUMS in more depth. l
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Post by ilesofsmiles on Mar 12, 2007 7:49:39 GMT -5
Thanks Luis and Teri.. Yes, Please give us you thoughts. Since I am not a writer, it's difficult for me.. but I try! Deciphering the Preservation Acts, that is probably the most difficult of all the Kinks Koncepts -- but somehow I got it at a pretty young age. The Music on all three of those records is outstanding. Completely ahead of its time. It was hard for me to believe that "Money Talks" wasn't a commercial success One of the Survivors had some radio play but Sweet Lady Genevieve should not have been ignored. I know I am not alone, in confessing this to be one of my all time favourite KinKs songs.
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Post by uncleson on Mar 12, 2007 12:31:37 GMT -5
The Music on Preservation Act I is beautiful and thought provoking. Daylight, Sweet Lady Genevieve, Where Are They Now, One Of The Survivors, Here Comes Flash, and Sitting In The Midday Sun being personnal favorites of mine.
And Kinda Kinks and Kinks Kontroversey are simply wonderful albums.
Ray is a musical genius who has always been way ahead of his time.
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Post by uncleson on Mar 12, 2007 12:58:53 GMT -5
I was turned on to Face To Face when I was thirteen. A Well Respected Man had just been a big hit, and Face To Face seemed to continue with that powerful theme of social and economic structure. Dead End Street had also been released. These were innovative and insightful numbers, and several of the songs on FTF echoed that type of subject matter: Most Exclusive Residence For Sale, Sunny Afternoon, and House In The Country.
I've always thought FTF was about a fellow who makes it big, and the life he leads. Then, he loses his monetary wealth and the things that it bought him.
Then, Life Goes On!
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Post by complicatedlife on Mar 12, 2007 14:48:55 GMT -5
Although Arthur is #2 on my list, it will always be #1 in my heart. It was the first Kinks album I listened to as an entire album and is the album that forever turned me into a Kinks Kultist.
Once upon a time, I was a 10-yr old enjoying a summer staying with my Grandparents in Grimsby, Lincs. It was there I probably first heard YRGM and saw the Kinks on the telly. I continued to enjoy the Kinks for their singles, but never had the money to buy an LP (that money was saved for Beatles LPs). Fortunately, I was living in New Zealand (4/66-1/68) for the first half of their US ban, so I was able to enjoy the singles I may not have had the opportunity to listen to in the US (including Dead End Street, Waterloo Sunset, Death of a Clown). When I returned to the US and looked for their albums in records stores, all I could find was the 1st Greatest Hits. It was like they didn't exist anymore. One day, I found the Arthur LP, picked it up and looked it over, but unwisely returned it to the rack. Then came that fateful day at my friend's house - when he placed Arthur on the turntable.
I immediately remembered the album cover from that day in the store - it was so friggin' British! There were the Kinks pictured on that "Coronation" mug, the hilarious gatefold of that kangaroo, and the pull-out lyric sheet with the Good Queen Vic so lovingly embracing Arthur.
And the songs!!! "Victoria" rocked from one corner of the British Empire to the other. "Yes Sir, No Sir" was the most anti-war song I had ever encountered...that is, until I heard the next track - "Some Mother's Son". What visual images that song so forcefully portrayed. Ray hadn't just written one of rock's most powerful anti-war songs, he wrote two - and one amazingly segued into the other.
I couldn't wait for the needle to drop down on side two -- and I was instantly rewarded with "Shangri-la" -- and there was Ray was singing about my street! Because of a long-abandoned rail link that was in a gully behind the houses across the street from mine, that side of the block was an approximate 1/2 mile long uninterupted line of identical Cape Cod houses. Yes indeed - all the houses on the street have got a name 'cause all the houses on the street, they look the same".
"Mr. Churchill Says" incorporated Sir Winston Churchill's 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' speech (we had recently discussed it in our World History class) and it even mentioned my Mum's favorite singer, Vera Lynn. Finally, Ray probably immortalized chill blains for the only tme in the history of rock in "Nothing To Say" - and I could empathise with Arthur's Dad, as I suffered from them while living in New Zealand.
Needless to say, I immediately rushed out and purchased my own copy of Arthur...and I was on my way, happlily on a quest through Kinkdom and a life as a Kink Kultist.
...and he lived happily everafter
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Post by HollyH on Mar 12, 2007 15:03:59 GMT -5
Beautiful post, CL -- I wish I'd known your friend when I was a kid!! I had to languish with nothing but my Kinks Greatest Hits for another 3 years...
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