The Kinks - "Got Love If You Want It" (1964)

Happy Friday Friends!

Here's a clip of The Kinks performing their version of the Slim Harpo classic, "Got Love If You Want It".

Some great early footage of the band, plus a couple of killer harmonica solo by Ray Davies!

We count at least 6 or 7 different camera angles being used in this footage which was pretty ahead of its time in 1964!

Enjoy!

You Really Got Me

The Kinks - "Kinks" (1964) - Sanctuary Records

Hello Friends,

In the early 1960's, a bunch of British pasty white kids with bad teeth and shaggy haircuts picked up some instruments and tried to learn (and emulate) black American R&B tunes. What could possibly go wrong?

Actually, everything went completely right and the rest went down as rock & roll history! No shit. Who woulda thunk it?

One of the greatest of the British Invasion bands is, of course, The Kinks.  Hailing from the North London hamlet of Muswell Hill, The Kinks were founded by the infamous brothers Davies, Ray & Dave.  Ray, 20, would do most of the singing and songwriting, while younger brother Dave (only 17) would provide the perfect foil with his punk-tinged lead guitar stylings. Their debut album (simply named Kinks in the U.K and re-titled You Really Got Me here in the States) captures a bunch of gangly, pasty British boys with more attitude than talent.  

The album, produced by the great Shel Talmy, would be an above average debut for any band. However there was one standout on the album that really catapulted to band into a stratosphere that most young musicians can only dream of!

"You Really Got Me" was a career-maker, full of distortion, attitude & power chords. A self-described "love song for street kids" and arguably the world's first punk song.  It would reach Number One in the U.K. and Number Seven in the U.S.  It would give the band International success and acclaim.  Luckily for us, the story didn't end there and The Kinks enjoyed a 30+ year career with dozens of amazing songs and albums.

Besides "You Really Got Me", the other Davies compositions on this record include the Stones-y "So Mystifying", "You Can't Go To Sleep" (a typical merseybeat number with a very Kinks-ian middle eight), "I Took My Baby Home", "Revenge" and the great, great, great "Stop Your Sobbing" (famously covered by The Pretenders as their first single, a couple of years before Chrissie Hynde & Ray Davies would actually start dating!  You go Ray!)

There's also the obligatory R&B covers here as well (all good by the way!) including two Chuck Berry tunes ("Beautiful Delilah", "Too Much Monkey Business"), "Long Tall Shorty", "I'm A Lover Not A Fighter", a Bo Diddley call-and-response rager ("Cadillac") and a Slim Harpo classic ("Got Love If You Want It").  

Producer Talmy even contributes two songs, his arrangement of the bluesy "Bald Headed Woman" and "I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain"... geez, did the guy have an obsession with losing his hair? 

On most of these early tracks, what would become Ray Davies distinctive vocals are hardly recognizable.  Also, there's a raucous, sneering speed to most of the songs. The arrangements are pretty straightforward and the acoustic guitar work* is sparse. The closest the album gets to a ballad is Davies beautiful and fragile-sounding, "Sobbing".*** Let's face it though kids, The Kinks didn't pull off the American R&B sound as well, or as convincingly as, bands like The Stones, The Yardbirds or even The Who did.  It didn't matter.  The stories and songs swirling around in young Ray Davies mind would provide the soundtrack to one of rock & roll's most beloved bands!     


* It should also be mentioned that for years there have been a slew of rumors that Jimmy Page played guitar throughout the album.  What seems to be confirmed is that Page, who played as a hired session guitarist** on almost everybody's record recorded in London at the time, played acoustic and 12-string guitar on a couple of tracks.

** In addition to Page, the legendary keyboardist Jon Lord (Deep Purple) was also rumored to be in these sessions as well.

*** The two most well-known songs on this record are, of course, "You Really Got Me" and "Stop Your Sobbing", which sort of become a yin and yang of the record.  One is abrasive, punkish and full of 'tude; the other is more contemplative, apologetic and is performed in more of a 1950's teen idol style.  One is written by Davies as a streetwise Angry Young Man; the other still has plenty of bite, but is written by a sweeter, more nostalgic young man. Both are great and both even had great success while being covered by bands in the late 70's (Van Halen & The Pretenders, respectively!) 

Finally, it should be mentioned that the record we've been spinning tonight is part of a Kinks' reissue series to celebrate their 50th anniversary.  Its beautifully remastered and restored to its original Mono.  On 180 gram vinyl, its doubtful that this album ever sounded so goddamned good!

RATING: 4.5 bald headed women gonna make me mean, yes, love, it'll make me mean out of 5

Little Games

The Yardbirds - "Little Games" (1967) - Sundazed

Hello Friends,

We're listening to this great 180-gram vinyl reissue of The Yardbirds' fourth and final studio record.

It sounds great on vinyl, especially the Jimmy Page guitar parts!  An overlooked record that sounds closer to something found on Led Zeppelin I rather than on previous Yardbirds releases! 

It's probably best known for its sugary title track and the british invasion minor hit, "Tinker Tailor". 

The instrumental track, "White Summer", would be featured by Jimmy Page at Led Zeppelin concerts throughout the 70's (usually paired as a medley with "Black Mountain Side"). 

"Smile On Me" is a searing rhythm & blues tune.  

Side One's closer "Glimpses" is a cool psychedelic instrumental with some Gregorian chanting thrown in for good measure.  It almost sounds like something to be found on Pink Floyd's More soundtrack or Atom Heart Mother.

Side Two's opener, "Drinking Muddy Water" is another driving blues tune that most closely resembles earlier Yardbirds songs.

"Puzzles" (a bonus track on this LP's release) and "No Excess Baggage" both sound as if they could have been an outtake from The Who Sell Out. 

The old timey sounding "Stealing Stealing", a Gus Cannon cover, is annoying.  As is the original LP's closer, "Little Soldier Boy" and the second bonus track, "I Remember The Night".  It really sucks when a gritty, down-to-earth blues rock band with an ear for melodies and a talent for song-structure gets too creative for their own good and wind up sounding showtuney!

The pensive "Only the Black Rose", penned by singer Keith Relf, again sounds like nothing else in the Yardbirds library, but there's something strange and hypnotic about it.  Its almost like a Bee Thousand-era Guided by Voices tune. 

One might wonder what would have happened if the band stuck around for another album or two.  Unfortunately, it probably would have been an increasingly scattered affair with a lack of structure and focus.  By 1967 everyone in the band seemed to be going in a different direction and, unless you were The Beatles, that usually doesn't make for the greatest results! 

RATING: 4 rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief out of 5

The Magnificent Moodies

The Moody Blues - "Go Now" (1965) - London Records

Hello Friends,

Picked up this early Moody Blues record at Record Store Day last weekend.

Sounds absolutely nothing like any Moody Blues' albums we've ever heard before.  Its R&B and Merseybeat tunes sung mostly by Denny Laine (who would later join up with the McCartneys to form Wings).  Not proggy in the least. No mellotron.  No psychedelic album artwork.  No spacey concept tying the album together.  Sounds more like a slightly above average British Invasion record that anything on the Moody's second album (which many people regard as their proper debut), Days of Future Passed.

In England, it was released in a slightly different incarnation as The Magnificent Moodies, while here in the U.S. they re-named it, Go Now - The Moody Blues # 1 to capitalize on the success of their Number One single, the cover of the R&B song, "Go Now."

There's also a James Brown cover, "I'll Go Crazy"; Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry's "I've Got A Dream"; the Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So"; Willie Dixon & Sonny Boy Williamson's "Bye Bye Bird"; et cetera.  Mister Sunshine Superman himself, Donovan, wrote the album's liner notes! 

The final track, written by Laine & organist Mike Pinder, is the British Invasion hit-that-never-was, "From The Bottom of My Heart".

Within the next two years, Laine and bassist Clint Warwick would be replaced by Justin Hayward & John Lodge, respectively, but we'll revisit the Moodys one night this Summer on a Prog-Rock Saturday.

Here's a live clip of Denny Laine performing "Go Now" as a member of Wings.

RATING: 4 Mitchells & Butlers Breweries out of 5

Who Sell Out

The Who - "The Who Sell Out" (1967) - Track Records

Hello Friends,

Who doesn't love the Who Sell Out?

Its The Who's third full length record and first attempt at a concept album.   Its not as well known as the trilogy of hugely successful albums that would follow (Tommy, Who's Next & Quadrophenia) but it holds up today as one of their best! 

It follows a very British concept of a fictional off-shore pirate radio station with jingles and commercials inserted between songs.  Such radio stations were all the rage in England in the mid to late 60's and were responsible for the corruption of innumerable youths!

Side One of the record is absolute classic: from the opening epic, "Armenia City in the Sky" to the fierce power chords of the albums only single, "I Can See for Miles."  

Other standout tracks include "Tattoo", "Our Love Was" and "I Can't Reach You".  After this album, the band would turn quite the corner and never look back becoming one of the most popular bands in the world.  

We also love the album cover as well.  If you look closely at Pete Townshend's right hand in the "Odorono" ad, you can see the cuts and scrapes from his constant guitar windmilling!

FUN FACT: Hey kids, did you know the song "Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand" is about a girl who gives great handjobs?  Neat-o!

RATING: 5 Heinz Baked Beans out of 5

Cleveland Rocks!

The Outsiders - "Time Won't Let Me" (1966) - Capitol Records

Hello Friends,

We've got some good old fashioned U.S. garage rock on tap for tonight!

Formed by guitarist Tom King in 1958, The Starfires were a hard-working band of Clevelanders who cut their teeth in the blue collar bars and dance halls of the North Coast.  When they signed to Capitol Records on the strength of their single, "Time Won't Let Me", the band was persuaded to change their name to The Outsiders.  Their debut LP was released in 1966 and is a perfect storm of American blue-collar garage rock, British Invasion-inspired arrangements and healthy doses of blue-eyed soul and Motor City Rhythm & Blues!

The album kicks off with the rousing, "Keep On Running"-- a Jackie Edwards song that was a hit the year before for England's The Spencer Davis Group.   The ballad, "Listen People", is up next and was also a hit for another British band, Herman's Hermits!  

The single, "Time Won't Let Me" combines an uptempo Mersey-inspired rhythm with a driving background of Motown-inspired horns.   Written by King and his brother-in-law, Chet Kelley, the song blew up on AM Radio and ensured that the Outsiders would be slightly more than a footnote in the annals of rock & roll history! 
   

The oft-covered, "My Girl", is a tip of the hat to the songs coming out across Lake Eerie while the Stonesy R&B rocker, "What Makes You So Bad You Weren't Brought Up That Way", is a nod to songs coming from across the proverbial pond!  Side One concludes with a mellow and strings-laden cover of the 1962 hit by Jay & The Americans, "She Cried". 

Side Two contains two more covers-- Buddy Holly's "Maybe Baby" and Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin"-- and the originals, "Chase Away The Tears", "Was It Really Real" and the tearjerker, "Girl In Love". In addition to being the B-side to "Time Won't Let Me", "Was It Really Real" contains a killer guitar solo!  

The Outsiders would release 4 more LP's, continually change personnel, ceaselessly tour and, by 1968, call it quits!  Another rock & roll dream left to history!  

Fun Fact: Hey kids, did you know that Outsiders' lead singer, Sonny Geraci, had a hit in 1972 with the one-hit-wonder band Climax and the soft-rock ballad "Precious & Few"?  Big Deal! That song sucks!

RATING: 4 Cleveland Steamers out of 5

Metamorphosis

The Rolling Stones - Metamorphosis (1975)

Hello friends!

This oft-overlooked Rolling Stones outtakes compilation has got us buzzing! (get it?) 

Tracks are compiled from their fertile period of '64 to '70 and include a demo version of "Out of Time"; an alternate version of "Heart of Stone" with Jimmy Page(!) playing lead; a great Bill Wyman original, "Downtown Suzie"; and a cover of the Stevie Wonder song,  "I Don't Know Why" which was reportedly recorded on July 3, 1969-- the same night that Brian Jones was murdered died.  

Great Franz Kafka-themed album cover, too!  If you haven't yet read Kafka's novella, "The Metamorphosis" you should stop playing on the computer and read it dummy!

RATING: 3.5 Memos from Turner out of a possible 5