I have neither in my countdown today. Although having listened again, I think I should have had Dave's 'Eastern Eyes' in there somewhere. 'Glamour' is an LP I didn't really listen to until it came up on this thread. It gained in my appreciation. Dave wins today.
Quality is not great, but it starts at 1:05:34 of this YouTube: I much prefer the final Americana version!
Been a few days since I’ve had a Dave selection, and today does not break that streak. Did not have the Ray tune either. So 0 for 2 today.
Eastern Eyes - # 16 on my Dave list. I know it's not the right album, but my own 16th place spot for this Bugs me now. Should have been higher. Much higher. This is my favorite track from Glamour and I really like how each instrument and the vocal contributes to the ebb and flow of the intensity levels both up and down in their own very specific but different ways with no one element dominating the others. I'll call out a couple of things like Dave's "nice" clear voice is on display here again with him going for the full octave leap within the same breath a couple of times which is very effective. The bass guitar sounds very good and is almost a lead instrument here being so high and powerful in the performance and the mix. This is played by Dave himself as it is on the whole Glamour album and he does a very nice job and is not just sticking to root notes but providing some very interesting melodic riffs and runs. There are even a couple of acoustic guitars in here one in each channel during the bridges that provide just that little bit of subtle extra flavor for these sections. Then there are the drums courtesy of Mr. Henrit (as a session player here - he was still a couple of years away from joining the Kinks) with the very strident and relentless slow half time tom tom groove at the start that when coupled with that sinewy bass gives this thing a very foreboding feel. The subtle release comes at the second verse when he switches over to the snare (tuned tight and crisp just the way I like it) which not only provides that release but that one change also ups the intensity level. The listener notices that intensity level going up, but they don't know why. The normal hi-hat snare groove finally comes in for the bridge before it starts all over again by reverting back to the toms and with strategically placed fills occurring more frequently as the song progresses. Heavy powerful drums overall but with lots of little subtle touches, changes, and sneaky drummer tricks going on that make for very interesting listening, at least for me. This type of song is all about sound, groove, atmosphere and mood and I think Dave (and Bob) have captured that beautifully here, no weirdness necessary, no bonkerz needed. Yeah, that 16th place ranking of mine Bugs me . A Place In Your Heart - Unranked. Did not find a place in my Ray list. Sorry to hear of your troubles and travails, Michael. Hopefully you have passed and gotten through the rock bottom phase of this and are on the way back to better days.
I have one pick from Glamour but it isn't Eastern Eyes (which feels like it belongs on Chosen People to me). I can't explain. Was I letting @Fortuleo 's lobbying get the better of me? This tune is always on my mind... A Place In Your Heart really wormed its way into my head - I've been humming it for weeks. I'm a convert - no. 15 on my list. (My only other Americana pick also came from 80 Days ... coincidence?) Scorecard: Dave: 2/9 (Where are my Dave tunes??! ) Ray 5/9
@All Down The Line very sorry to hear about your travails. It’s a lot on your plate. I had A Place in Your Heart at number eleven on my Ray list. I am also surprised the group didn’t rank it higher. I didn’t have Dave’s song on my list. In fact, I don’t have anything from Glamour on my list. Those first two Dave solo albums were mostly a disappointment to me, as I’d always been a fan of his playing and singing. These solo lists are showing more division in taste among the Avids than the Kinks list, and certainly more than the original Top 40.
tie 12 - Eastern Eyes (Glamour) This one did not make my Dave list. It just didn’t grab me, and wasn’t ever that memorable to me. But Dave sounds good, and solid guitar and bass as I relistened today. 12 - A Place In Your Heart (Americana) Had this at #7, and am a bit surprised it didn’t land higher. This one is so much fun, and doesn’t seem as long as it is. The driving backing vocals, Karen’s lovely lead, and Ray’s verse near the end all make me smile and sing along while listening. Interesting that on the album, this follows the other song resurrected from 80 Days.
Eastern Eyes / A Place In Your Heart Both songs were definitely contenders for my Top 20 lists, but ultimately ended up just outside them. I hadn't listened to the Glamour album for a long, long time until I started preparing my Dave Top 20 list. When I listened to the album now I discovered it does have a few gems on it which are really good. I agree that "Eastern Eyes" would probably have fitted better on Chosen People and I also think it would have made a fine addition to either Give The People What They Want or State of Confusion. To my ears, the song has a vivid, cinematic feel in terms of the layers of instrumentation, mood and how it keeps building in intensity. I like that Dave played most of the instruments himself and in many ways the song points towards his post-Kinks solo albums. And it is nice that the one other musician wasn't just anyone, it was Bob Henrit. His drumming adds a lot of flavour to the track. While it didn't make my Dave Top 20, I am very happy that it made it onto our collective Top 20. "A Place In Your Heart" is a very strong track. I like how it blends a theatrical feel with a sense of real life. Karen's co-lead vocals and the vocal harmonies by The Jayhawks add so much feeling to the song. In the history of rock music there have been quite a few songs featuring a narrator who is a touring rock star missing his significant other back home, but broadly speaking these songs often only include the narrator's perspective. In this song I feel we also get the significant other's perspective and that she has her community of friends around her and that the rock star narrator is missing out on those real life friendships by being away on tour. My score card so far: Ray: 3/9 Dave: 4/9
11 - Don't Wanna Grow Up (Open Road) 83 - 8. When I'm with you The feeling's other world Soon as you're with me Like a flash you're gone Watch the sun rise You're by my side Little whispers [?] You're in my thoughts again It's been a while, my old school friend Old school friend Closing time is near Let's have a drink, my old school friend Old school friend Don't be a stranger, my old friend [?] Life's too short, you know, so don't look back In the future when all is gone But we'll raise a glass to good we've done It's that time of the year I'm back again with my old school friends Old school friends As closing time is near Have one more drink, my old school friends La la la la, la la la la la la La la la la, la la la la la la La la la la, la la la la la la La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up You're in my thoughts again It's been a while, my old school friend Old school friend Closing time is near Let's have a drink, my old school friend Old school friend La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up La la la la, I don't wanna grow up Written by: Dave Davies and Russ Davies Published by: Dave Davies/Carlin Music and Russell Davies PRS/MCPS Here Dave reflects on his old school friends, and having a beer down the pub with them. The opening seems like Dave is going to be singing about a girl, or his partner, but the reflection is on his old school friend/s When he hangs out with them it feels like another world.... but it seems to be over too soon. and I get that. I imagine that his school friends aren't likely to treat him as Dave the rock star. They've known him since he was doing shady stuff in school, and although rock star Dave is a real person, these school friends know a certain core part of who Dave was... before. Not earth shattering, but an enjoyable little song. Full write up
11 - One More time (Working Man's Cafe) 112 - 10. stereo mix (4:28), recorded Mar 2007 at Room and Board Studios, Hermitage, Nashville,Tennessee. Drums & bass recorded at Konk Studios, I was walking on the coast road When the harbour came in view It was there I saw the hilltop That I used to walk with you We'd sing of the old country Now it's such a lonesome climb Our world faded once when you were mine Why is true love so difficult to find Wish you were here to see it with me One more time Lalalala lalalala lalalala lala Wish you were here to sing it with me One more time Those economic vultures Stole our dreams and told us tales Then they towed away our culture To their depot in south Wales Corporations get the tax breaks While the city gets the crime The profit's going somewhere But it isn't yours or mine Still we blindly trust in the divine Let's sing for the old country Come on, one more time Lalalala lalalala lalalala oh oh Let's sing it loud with feeling Come on, one more time You know I must be leaving And I know you've got to stay But you know that I'll be grieving When you're so far away And if this should be the last time I should ever see your face Let's part with no hard feeling And a positive embrace And I will speak well of you When they ask when you were mine Till then the jet stream up above Shows us the warning signs Till we meet again bravely walk the line Let's sing for the old country Come on, one more time Lalalala lalalala lalalala oh oh Let's sing it loud with feeling Come on, one more, one more time Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. We get this rising tone and then a nice guitar riff, that has a sort of country rock flavour, and then we move into this beautiful verse, and a melody that I really love. A song of reflection that comes from an old soul wandering around town and moving into a sort of review of the love of his life and what went wrong. It sort of seems like Ray may have sat down and tried to write a traditional verse chorus, verse chorus bridge track, and for me it works really well. Just the structure of the chorus is worth the price of admission here. Just a really solid song that is really enjoyable to listen to. Full write up
Don't Wanna Grow Up missed my list for Dave. I do have three Open Road tracks on my list though. One More Time was at 26 for me, but I feel it should have been higher.... In fact in going through my wrap up, I came to the conclusion that although happy with my Ray songs chosen, I'm not content with the order I placed them in. Dave 4/10 Ray 6/10
"Don't Wanna Grow Up" was my #14 - one of three Open Road tracks in my list. A very nice tune, and given extra vulnerability by Dave's latter-day voice. "One More Time" was #5 on my Ray list. Another great track from WMC with a very insistent tune, singable chorus and a bridge worthy of a Ray Davies song. Plenty of tracks like this on this album, but I feel they are harder to find on the other albums.
“Don’t Wanna Grow Up”/“One More Time”: The first song was #12 on my Dave list, along w/a bunch of other songs from Open Road, which struck me as being a real solid album. The Ray song didn’t make my list, although it’s pretty good.
Don't Wanna Grow Up was number 12 on my list. It's a charming, sentimental post-stroke song with some lovely la la las. I interpret "closing time is near" in the lyrics to be a reference to Dave's advanced years. One More Time wasn't on my Ray list, though I did pick several from Workingman's Cafe. It's a good tune, with a pleasant Celtic feel, but I think Ray's lyrics are terribly clunky. With apologies in advance to those who like the song, it has one verse in particular which I think could be nominated in a bad lyrics competition. Words like this make it impossible for me to enjoy the rest of the song. Those economic vultures Stole our dreams and told us tales Then they towed away our culture To their depot in south Wales He could have dumped that verse and its corporate tax breaks twin and it would have been a much tighter song.
Thanks Michael for your thoughtful post on Eastern Eyes, of which this is just the final part. You have dissected what is good about my favourite Dave song way beyond my abilities. I really enjoyed your analysis.
Don't Wanna Grow Up A song of considerable charm not least as we hear topics close to the authors heart though it doesn't pay the bills with a ranking today. One More Time A song of considerable charm not least as we hear topics close to the authors heart though it doesn't pay the bills with a ranking today. Dave wins today's head to head and I'm guessing in the voting cargo Ray is up by 25 or 6 to 4!
Apology accepted! If it were nominated in a bad lyrics competition, it would lose because it's a well-crafted quatrain. On its face it's end rhymes are alternating as ABAB, but at the same time it could be seen as AAAB because we can also consider vultures/tales as end rhymes, which is an interesting complexity of form. However we interpret them, the end rhymes are balanced by an insistent, repeated assonance at the beginning of each verse (Those/Stole/towed/depot) which establishes a unity and intensity that emphasizes the narrator's sense of betrayal. In the second verse, the alliteration and stressed, hard consonants (Stole/dreams/told/tales) communicate the blows the narrator perceives to have suffered, and a particularly nice touch is the alliteration and assonance on the second stress of the second and fourth verses ([stole our] dreams/[to their] depot) - this creates a sense of rhythm and momentum which helps the final verse land in a satisfying way, in conjunction with how the language shifts from the general to the specific; from the narrator's vague, metaphysical dreams to a specific, earthly location (a depot in south Wales). One More Time was #8 on my list; Don't Wanna Grow Up was not ranked.
The Russ and Dave tune of the day is my third favorite on Open Road, an album I intentionally reduced to just two picks because it's not really solo Dave, Russ being the main composer on it. But who cares ? I like what I'm hearing, this chiming guitar sounding like a harpsichord, the stumbling vocal arrangement and Dave's older voice. And I like what I'm reading in the posts before mine, "charming", "lovely", which is what this record's all about. I could add "tender", "warm", "intimate", all words that are not toot often associated with Dave's output. Talk about Dave's son(s), listen to (and look at!) that uncanny thing that was released yesterday…
Don't Wanna Grow Up was one of many pleasant surprises on Open Road but ultimately was not one of the 3 that I selected. Still, it's a good album. I don't think I said it on the thread but it's the only Dave album my wife will tolerate in the car! One More Time is a welcome addition to Ray's list! I ranked it #11. I get @Steve62 's point about the clunky and kind of random political lyrics, but they're there because they're personal to Ray. He's writing about his time with Patricia Crosbie, and IIRC from the Rogan bio, he spent plenty of time in this small, tight-knit Irish town that presumably was affected by "the wonderful world of capitalism". Not to say that I disagree with you though, it is kind of jarring to get this bitterness during an otherwise sensitive and wistful goodbye. Luckily, we actually have a nice version of the track from Electric Proms with that second verse excised: That said, I have some extra fondness for this song as, a couple of weeks ago, I had a dream that I got to meet Ray and I proved my fandom bona fides by singing it to him, and he was impressed! Anyway, it's another easy win for Ray today. I think I'm going to stop that tabulation and just count my hit rate on the overall list. For Ray, I believe I'm 4/10; for Dave, I'm 3/10.
Uncanny is right!! He's a spitting image of dad. He kind of looks like if early-80s Dave wore a Dave "Death of a Clown" Davies wig but died it gray to seem less jarring. And the mannerisms too... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
