The Kinks - She's Got Everything

Here is a peculiar single from The Kinks. The single Days/She's Got Everything was released in the Summer of 1968 both in the UK (on Pye Records) and the US on Reprise Records as a desperation move by management. The previous single, Wonderboy, had bombed and Ray Davies had not yet completed his work for the album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. Days is an unlikely candidate for an A-Side, for sure. A good track, but more of an album track than a lead single. But it is the Flip-Side we are looking at today (of course we are).

The Flip-Side of the single was a song recorded more than two years prior, in the Spring of '66. The Ray Davies composition, She's Got Everything, was recorded during the sessions for the album Face To Face. Why the tremendous She's Got Everything was left off that fine album is up for debate. Some have said it was too dated for 1966. It was certainly dated (in a good way) by the time it saw the official release in June of '68. Rock at the time was getting hard and heavy and She's Got Everything is light and poppy. doot do-do, doot do-do-do. Thank goodness Ray decided to reach into the way-back machine for this one.

On a side note, I just picked this one up on a road-trip through Kentucky. Who woulda thunk?

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Song of the Week: Dave Davies (Kinks) -- Love Me Till The Sun Shines

Sometime around 1967, Dave Davies began to grumble about the dark shadow cast by his brother, Ray. Dave had it in his mind that he would make a solo record to be able to show how bright his light was. And he would use The Kinks to make that record. Ray and the rest of the lads played along and Dave managed to record and release some really fine, quirky singles. The first was this double sided gem from July 1967. Today, we focus (of course), on the flip-side of his debut single. The song os Love Me Till The Sun Shines, and damn, it really is great.

Ultimately, Dave's solo project was shelved and his wonderful compositions were added to the next Kinks Album, Something Else. I would argue that it is the addition of Dave's stellar tunes to that album, combined with Ray's usual perfect array of songs, that makes Something Else the Kinks' best offering.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Song of the Week: "Picture Book", The Kinks

Listen - The Kinks perform Picture Book

So it is, The Kinks make it into the vaunted category of getting two write-ups here On The Flip-Side. The first being the way cool Act Nice And Gentle.

Flip-Side's Rocky Mountain HQ hosted two visitors this past week. Both our visitors talked about The Kinks while in Flip-Side company. One even made me try to remember how to play Victoria on guitar. Thus we've been feeling quite kinky recently.

Today's SOTW is from the album that many consider to be the best work of the band, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. I'm more partial to Something Else, but I don't argue this point too strongly. It's like asking who you rather see in a skimpy bathing suit, Jennifer Aniston or Elizabeth Hurley. In other words, you can't go wrong with either. Our SOTW is Picture Book, the lovely little song with a ton of restraint and the infamous Ray Davies sardonic social-commentary wit in full force.

Picture book, your mama and your papa, your fat old Uncle Charlie out cruising with their friends. Picture book, a holiday in August, outside a bed and breakfast in sunny southend. Picture book, when you were just a baby, those days when you were happy, a long time ago.

Village Green was a huge success and a huge failure when it was released in '68 ('69 in the US). The critics generally loved it. The record buying public ignored it. Reportedly only a paltry 100,000 copies sold across the globe in it's first pressing. But time and word of mouth has made it The Kinks most successful album ever.

Picture Book, incidentally, was given new life a number of years ago for a clever digital picture ad campaign produced by HP.

Here is a bonus video of the boys (less Pete Quaife) performing the title track as recorded in '73.

Song of the Week: "Act Nice and Gentle", The Kinks

The flip-side is buzzing about this week but we wanted you to hear what we're digging right now anyways. Today's SoTW is the European flip-side of The Kinks' Waterloo Sunset. It's titled Act Nice and Gentle. The song is a funky little song originating from the awkward time when the always feeling under appreciated Dave Davies was preparing for a "solo album" (but with all the Kinks playing on it). The band cut a number of Dave's songs such as Lincoln County, Susannah's Still Alive and Love Me 'Till The Shines and a host of Ray and Dave co-written songs, in pursuit of the album. The album never happened and some of the songs were released as Dave Davies singles and some as Kinks songs. Most appearing on the knock-your-socks-off album, Something Else. So, I'll dispense with the verbiage this week and just let you get to it. Click here and enjoy the Dave and Ray Davies composition, Act Nice and Gentle.

Song of the Week: "Peacemaker", Green Day

Success for a band can be a damn pain in the ass. The reality is that for every fan the band brings in, they bring in probably twice as many doubters. And when the band has a huge breakout album that wins widespread acclaim and massive sales, the question immediately turns to "what's next?". The Who had to face that question after the success of Tommy. They responded with their magnum opus, Who's Next. The Clash had to answer that question after the success of London Calling. They responded with the spotty and wide-ranging Sandanista. The Beatles had to do it after every album. And it's the position that Berkeley, California's Green Day find themselves in after the breakout success of American Idiot. One could excuse them if they came out with a straight-ahead, play the expectations down album. Or even if they fell flat on their face. But they didn't do either. Instead, this week, they came out with an album, 21st Century Breakdown, that feels very much like a natural extension of American Idiot. But it is perhaps even more ambitious than Idiot.

From Latin inflected grooves to more nuanced George Harrison styled songs to straight ahead hardcore to T-Rex inspired glam rock, the album is a grand musical exposition that changes style and tempo as fast as Liz Taylor changes husbands. Lyrically Billy Joe Armstrong focuses on two characters, Christian and Gloria who struggle with intimacy and personalization issues in a high-tech 21st Century world. The musicianship is top notch, as is the large, lush production from Butch Vig.

Pete Townshend and The Who clearly have had a large influence on Billy Joe. One could argue that Ray Davies of The Kinks has had an influence as well. Both those artists were masters at creating characters in their songs. Characters we could empathize with, hate, envy and fear. Characters who had delusions of grandeur at the same time that they had feelings of unworthiness. And both artists were willing to use whimsy in their lyrics and in their music. A trait from their Song-Hall influences of Post War Britain. But it is Townshend's penchant for creating thematic albums (Quadrophenia, Who's Next, Tommy, Sell Out) that is clearly on display in Billy Joe Armstrong's album. But that is not to say that this is a rip-off. Far from it. It is simply an artist picking up on a creative conceit created by others and used as a tool to tell his own tale. The album's namesake, a massive, constantly evolving song employs nods to Townshend's early pick-up switching guitar work (hear Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere) and Mick Ronson's grand guitar work for David Bowie.

But that's not our song. Our Song of the Week is one of those more whimsical (at least musically) songs. It's Peacemaker and it sits right smack dab in the middle of the album sandwiched between that Mark Bolan type of song and a plodding, melodic, Weezer-like song.

I hate to pull out just one song, but take a listen to Peacemaker. If you like it, there is no guarantee you will like the rest of the album as every song is very different. Same for if you hate it. This is a complete album that, like Forever Changes by Love and American Idiot, needs to be heard in order and in context of the other songs.