"So far on your passage ... you have been a hick, a nothing and an unheralded nobody. To be a well respected man must be your next aim,” Smyth says, as he goes on to note the importance of a “dedication to the dictates of fashion”: “The Carnaby Street. The striped natty suiting. Touches of velvet upon the collar. Touches of lace upon the underwear. And of course ties of polka dot and Persian-originated Paisley pattern.”
Next, of course, comes the reward for working so hard, the Shangri-la, the country house - then a yacht and a motor car “with white walls to its wheels smiling in the golden gravel drive.”
But what of the gold-digging trophy wife who’ll will lead you to ruination, the "big fat mama trying to break you?"
- Ladies of course. Ladies with long legs and little bosom, hair the colour of corn, very mini, very skinny dresses. Status symbol ladies with rich dark sheen in the depths of the skin. Dwindling in the end to one lady, one Special who gets in among the soul. The trouble being that the perfect woman becomes a bore, like having Venus de Milo constantly upon one's hands. So angry words are spoken, and she of golden hair and mini skirt, half woman, half thighs leaves. With car. Back to ma and pa. With tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
And as if things couldn’t get any worse, “fate flings its last custard pie” as “The taxman cometh.” All you have left, then, is “the sun on the uplands with dappled shadows and all"... and that glass of ice cold beer.
In the summertime, in the summertime…
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Nice article, Gordon! I was just listening to some Kinks yesterday and thinking they would be the good subject of an article. You did a great job with it.
2 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Thanks Connie--appreciate it.
3 - Vern Halen
Awwww.... this is the second Kinks' review in the past couple of weeks, and as much as I hate to disagree with the esteemed bc writers' pool, I'm still not gettin' it. There's something about this era of the Kinks that just doesn't move me. OK - so RD writes these great little sketches of English life - was he celebrating or mocking English society? And how were we supposed to take it here on the other side of the pond? Same question - does a stateside audience see these songs as positive or negative comments on Jolly Old Her Majesty's realm?
And the sound of the records is terrible - they must've been mixed in pudding. I do like a handful of songs that appeared on their RCA best of - Celluloid Heroes I think it was called. 20th Century Man rocked foro sure, despite the poor sound - Celluloid Heroes was a nice ballad, but Lou Reed's New Age was a better ballad pound for pound. Hmmm... only two I can even remember at this point.
I dunno - maybe I'll get it eventually. It's just that there was a lot of great music being made then, and I think a lot of it still holds up. Anybody ever hear an album by Neil Merriweather called Space Rangers?
4 - Glen Boyd
I'm probably most partial to mid-period Kinks myself. Much as everybody raves about albums like "Village Green Preservation Society," my all-time favorites are probably "Muswell Hillbillies" and "Schoolboys In Disgrace." Of "Schoolboys," the song "No More Looking BacK' in particular just really hits me on an emotional level as this really sort of bittersweet reflection of better days long past. On the surface it wouldn't seem to work within the "Schoolboys" concept, but surprisingly does so quite well.
Nice job as always though Gordon.
Vern -- the only Meriweather album I can recall is one called "Word Of Mouth" which as I recall was kind of a jam record that had some nice bits in it.
-Glen
5 - Mark Saleski
you guys are gonna kill me for this, but my favorite Kinks records are Low Budget and Give The People What They Want
6 - Glen Boyd
Your right Mark, we are gonna kill you for that.
Actually, I like "Sleepwalker" and "Misfits" from that same period....
-Glen
7 - fingerfood
The Kinks have never been a mainstream band; you either "get" them or you don't. Most of the time, the record-buying public hasn't - and that's - ok.
"Face To Face" is a wonderful record. I bought mine brand new, right around Xmas of 1966, and have loved it from first hearing. The sound of it, however, as noted above, is underwhelming, but the consistent high quality of Ray Davies's songwriting and The Kinks delivery makes it all worthwhile.
This album, coupled with their concurrent "Deadend Street"/ "Big Black Smoke" 45, placed The Kinks, and kept The Kinks, in The Major Leagues.
Thanks for shout-out, Glen.
8 - Glen Boyd
Shoutout? I dont recall a shoutout to anyone named "fingerfood"...
???
-Glen
9 - Vern Halen
Yep - Low Bud, Misfits esp. Sleepwalker - that's where I get my Kink's fix.
Glen - the fact that you even heard of Neil Merriweather is fascinating - Space Rangers has a great cover ofEight Miles High - very highly produced for a 70's recording.
10 - Glen Boyd
The obscure little corridors of my music knowledge can be a scary place Vern. The other night I was playing music trivia and someone thought they'd stump me with "Baron Tollbooth". Not a chance...
-Glen
P.S. The answer is it's a rather obscure Paul Kantner/Grace Slick solo thing...
11 - Vern Halen
... and the Chrome Nun.
How about Baron Saturday?
This is funny - on another website where I post my music someone just told me my material reminds him of Ray Davies. Didn't ask him which period RD to which he was referring, tho'....
12 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Thanks,all, for the comments. Part of the reason for "Arthur" being my favorite Kinks album--along with the quality of songs--is that by then the sound quality inmproved considerably. And the change in record labels with "Muswell Hillbillies" clinched it.
13 - Von Zipper
(this is Gordon H., but having comments-leaving problems as such)
Thanks all for the comments. Part of the reason for "Arthur being" my favorite--along with the great songs--is the increased sound quality By "Muswell Hillbillies" (a new record label for the Kinks) they had ait clinched.
I'm an all-era equal-opportunity Kinks' fan, but I don't have many choices for liner notes after the late sixties.