Tuesday, July 15, 2008
ONE FOR THE ROAD
Glaring omissions, the pit fall of the list-maker. On my recent post about great live albums not only did I leave off 'Get Yer Ya Ya's Out', which Fred schooled me on, I also forgot this fantastic record by the Kinks from 1980.
Recorded during the American leg of their tour in support of the stellar 'Low Budget' LP, 'One For the Road' is jam packed with Kinks classics, many of which benefit from the heavier approach the band was working at the time.
Indeed, Dave Davies blasts his way throughout the four sides of this monster. At some point around this time Dave was asked in an interview if he was being influenced by the Heavy Metal bands of the day.
"It wasn't called Heavy Metal when I invented it."
Opening with an instrumental version of 'You Really Got Me', the band sets the mark for what will follow, blast after blast of high energy Rock occasionally peppered with more introspective numbers like 'Celluloid Heroes', and 'Misfits'.
Kinks staples include 'Til the End of the Day', 'Stop Your Sobbing', 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone', 'All Day and All of the Night', 'Victoria', and a rousing encore version of 'You Really Got Me' with vocals.
Much of the record is spent on the current LP release, 'Low Budget', including the title track, 'Catch Me Now I'm Falling', 'Attitude', 'Pressure', 'National Health', and '(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman', and with good reason. That shit rocks.
The highlight is, of course, 'Lola'. A blistering rocked up take on the Kinks classic, the live 'Lola' was released as the single for the record, and it features the antagonistic charm and wit of bandleader Ray Davies. At the top of the track we hear Ray strum the instantly recognizable opening chord sequence and the audience naturally goes berserk at which point Ray stops. He then quips:
"Hey, I wasn't that good." And then after a pregnant pause:
"Because, uh, we're not going to play that one tonight."
Now the crowd fairly erupts, and Ray seemingly reluctantly gives in.
"Okay, but you've got to join in and sing along, I take a lot of persuading."
And then the band launches into the tune. That's called stagecraft, and Ray has it in spades.
Glaring omissions, the pit fall of the list-maker. On my recent post about great live albums not only did I leave off 'Get Yer Ya Ya's Out', which Fred schooled me on, I also forgot this fantastic record by the Kinks from 1980.
Recorded during the American leg of their tour in support of the stellar 'Low Budget' LP, 'One For the Road' is jam packed with Kinks classics, many of which benefit from the heavier approach the band was working at the time.
Indeed, Dave Davies blasts his way throughout the four sides of this monster. At some point around this time Dave was asked in an interview if he was being influenced by the Heavy Metal bands of the day.
"It wasn't called Heavy Metal when I invented it."
Opening with an instrumental version of 'You Really Got Me', the band sets the mark for what will follow, blast after blast of high energy Rock occasionally peppered with more introspective numbers like 'Celluloid Heroes', and 'Misfits'.
Kinks staples include 'Til the End of the Day', 'Stop Your Sobbing', 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone', 'All Day and All of the Night', 'Victoria', and a rousing encore version of 'You Really Got Me' with vocals.
Much of the record is spent on the current LP release, 'Low Budget', including the title track, 'Catch Me Now I'm Falling', 'Attitude', 'Pressure', 'National Health', and '(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman', and with good reason. That shit rocks.
The highlight is, of course, 'Lola'. A blistering rocked up take on the Kinks classic, the live 'Lola' was released as the single for the record, and it features the antagonistic charm and wit of bandleader Ray Davies. At the top of the track we hear Ray strum the instantly recognizable opening chord sequence and the audience naturally goes berserk at which point Ray stops. He then quips:
"Hey, I wasn't that good." And then after a pregnant pause:
"Because, uh, we're not going to play that one tonight."
Now the crowd fairly erupts, and Ray seemingly reluctantly gives in.
"Okay, but you've got to join in and sing along, I take a lot of persuading."
And then the band launches into the tune. That's called stagecraft, and Ray has it in spades.
Comments:
that's the great thing about lists
you always leave good stuff off of them.
when i go back and look at my top 50 records list, i cringe
Post a Comment
you always leave good stuff off of them.
when i go back and look at my top 50 records list, i cringe
