This is a German band (sang in English) that had some minor success on the radio with a couple of songs, including ‘Time Bomb.’ My knee-jerk reaction would be to say they are Yes-lite. But the better description would be Styx’s German cousin.
So what’s the difference between Lake and Styx, Asia, or Toto? Record sales is about all I can see. Lake has the same skill-set: highly professional musicians who can put a polished sheen on a radio-friendly sounding tune.
They definitely were aiming for the radio, unafraid to lop a healthy dose of syrupy strings over there rock balladry — see ‘Do I Love You.’ Or is that keyboards?
My wife enjoyed this band, more than me. And that’s how I came to have these.
The band did receive an honor from MyVinylCountdown by being named by me as a band that should have had a bigger hit in the song ‘Jesus Came Down.’ It’s about Jesus coming back and being disappointed in what we’ve been doing. Now who might be behind this little outcome? I don’t know, who could it be? Ummm, SATAN. (Thanks for pointing that out church lady.
Both the albums I have, their debut and the second one, are almost interchangeable. They are both good solid examples, of the polished guitar and keyboard rock that came out of car radio speakers in the late 1970s and 1980s.
He had a gun Prosby noticed, a Walter PP, pretty bad-ass pistol.
Prosby didn’t realize he said that out loud.
“I’ll show you how it works and fired a shot that whizzed by Prosby’s right
ear.
“Now go ahead, piss and let’s go.”
Prosby turned to a tree. He took his time.
“Hey come on,” muscle head said. “Nobody takes this long.”
“I have a UTI,” Prosby said, confusing meathead.
And that’s when meathead made a meathead mistake.
He grabbed Prosby by the arm to turn him around and Prosby instantly had his hand on the gun, Using two hands with lightning speed, Prosby snapped it upward, the sound of the gunshot straight up into the sky almost overpowered the sound of muscle brain’s wrist snapping like a rubbery chicken bone. Almost simultaneously, Prosby smashed the nose with his elbow and kneed him in the groin.
That was too easy, Prosby thought, putting the pistol in his waistband. Yes
it was too easy.
The other Dani Boy, the 6-foot-7-inch Gladiator reject and part-time driver, had Prosby in a crushing bear hug from behind.
Prosby managed to grab the Gladiator’s pinkies and snap them like wishbones
while simultaneously stomping on his attacker’s foot.
“I love you too but not in the mood tonight,” Prosby said, grabbing a handful of his Thor-like yellow hair and bringing down his head to meet Prosby’ crunching knee lift to the face.
“Night-night,” Prosby said.
The fight moves were courtesy of an ancient but little know self defense art said to have emanated out of a game called basketball.
The defensive fight moves are called OMH, which no one can remember the meaning. It came from Alabama as basketball games became more and more violent. A tribe of older men needed a way to protect themselves, using techniques of basketball, like the Elbow Bash, the Wrist Snap, the Ankle Breaker, the Eye Gouge and the Rock Pick. These ancient techniques can be traced back to a day called Madness when tribes from near and far came to battle and ‘no blood, no foul’ became its creed.’
Now was time for Prosby to run. Dani would be coming and she will not be happy with her boys’ work. Now in a Level 2 Air Zone, gas masks were unnecessary in this part of Florida. But he took Gladiator’s anyway, and hung it with his own on a hip pack designed just for that.
He heard Dani’s voice calling out for her boys as he began to move lightly, quickly and decisively under the cover of the woods and darkness.
ALBUMS: Live at Kelvin Hall (1968); Lola versus Powerman (1970); Kinks on Pye (1970); Everybody is in Showbiz (1972); Preservation Act 1 (1973); The Kinks Present a Soap Opera (1975); Sleepwalker (1977); Misfits (1978); One for the Road (1980); The Kinks, A Compleat Collection (1984).
MVC Ratings: Kelvin 3.5/$$$$; Lola 5.0/$$$$$; Kinks on Pye $$$’: Showbiz 4.0/$$$$; Preservation Act 1 4.0/$$$$; Soap 4.0/$$$; Sleepwalker 4.0/$$$: Misfits 4.5/$$$; One for the Road 4.0/$$$$; Compleat Collection 4.0/$$$
*The numbers besides the title or artists’ names on the record reviews indicate the ‘countdown.’ In other words, with the Kinks now reviewed I have moved 10 spaces closer to my goal of reviewing my 678 albums in, more or less, alphabetical order. I have 368 records to go.
The Kinks are something else. Most times they are like no one else.
I heard them in a record store in high school in Athens, Ga. Nope it wasn’t WUXTRY where down the street my buddy Chuck would fix me up with records; the WUTRY where Peter Buck was handing out opinions on music when he was working there, before REM.
No, I don’t remember the name of this record store, down by the barbershop where they’d lather up your neck and take a straight razor to it. There was a guy in this store who played the Kinks all day and all of the night. Seemingly.
So I accumulated 10 Kinks records, most used, and I fell for the brothers Ray’s and Dave’s harmonies, Ray’s storytelling songs, Dave’s crunching and lyrical guitar, and their whimsical sense of humor.
This all came out of a brother-to- brother relationship that was mercurial at best. They fought so much, they were thrown out of the United States during the British invasion initiated by the Beatles, missing a payload of money as the Brits rang the till in America. But that was the Kinks.
Before getting kicked out, the Kinks were pioneering quirky singles like Stop Your Sobbing, heavy metal before it existed, ‘You Really Got Me,’ and “All Day and All Night” where Dave famously slashed his speakers to get a ‘fuzz’ effect on guitar.
Of course, Van Halen famously covered the 1960’s song and by the time I saw them in the late 1970s, Dave Davies in concert would give a nod to the VH version with a guitar assault in their live version of ‘You Really Got Me.’
My first Kinks album was either a Pye collection Vol. 2 or Lola (can’t remember) and, no, I didn’t immediately pick up the idea that Lola was about a transvestite. I was like, no, wait, and ‘so is Lola.’
From the used Pye compilation of early Kinks. I began to really appreciate the melodies and lyrical songcraft songs like ‘Till the End of the Day; Stop Your Sobbing; Dedicated Follower of Fashion Sunny Afternoon, Nothing in this World and Set Me Free.
Probably my favorite compilation I don’t have on vinyl, only on CD: The Kinks Kronikles. If I were starting off on a Kinks collection I would buy it first, then probably the Pye collection — just get a used record of Pye — not the giant boxed set unless you’re loaded. Another great album I don’t have on vinyl is Arthur, which is fairly well represented on the Kronikles compilation.
After losing out on the British invasion, the Kinks went on to a period that many critics deemed slow if not bad. I disagree. The Preservation Act records and Soap Opera era. I think there’s really good music in there. Soap Opera, to this American kid, was like a documentary on English life. The songs are part of a story, so may sound funny to a listener who is not in to sitting down and listening all the way through. But some songs are good on their own. Such as Sweet Lady Genevieve from Preservation Act 1.
The Kinks mean a lot to me for another reason beyond music. My high school love interest (now my wife Catherine) actually enjoyed the Kinks. This was about 1977-78. During her senior year, she had some serious surgery involving her gut, to put it in layman’s terms. She had the surgery, recovered a few weeks and we were off to Atlanta to see the Kinks at the Fox Theater. Kinks fanatic and friend Brian was driving. She told me later she wasn’t feeling well but didn’t want to ruin the fun. But once we got there she basically collapsed with gut wrenching pain. She was throwing up.
Luckilly we were a block away from the very hospital where she had the surgery. Otherwise, we were told in no uncertain terms that a longer delay would have killed her. That perhaps justified my bad behavior of screaming at them when they asked us to stop and fill out pages of forms.
She lived, thank God. And we even went to another Kinks concert about a year later, same venue. But it was only recently when we were talking about it that I said, ‘Funny thing, but the second surgery involved fixing a ‘kink’ in your intestine.’
Wha??? We laughed at the ‘coincidence’ but Catherine stands firm that it was no coincidence — she doesn’t believe in coincidences . WOG, I call it, for Wink of God. She says going to see the Kinks that night saved her life by putting her immediately in the hands of the hospital and surgeon who knew the medical history. That it was a kink needing fixing was the WOG, so she would say.
OK I am going to give you my off the beaten path Top 5 Kinks songs that aren’t Lola — with links..
Well Respected Man: This represents a Kinks’ go-to: applying whimsy to satire in a mostly loving way.
Waterloo Sunset. Just a beautiful song with lovely guitar by Dave.
Nothing in this World. Another early beautiful song, haunting melody, about broken relationships.
(Tie) Misfits/Full Moon. The 80s stuff is better than people think it is.
Which was a favorite of my daughter Hannah when she was living on Victoria in British Columbia.
I could have picked five songs off of my Lola album as well. If you noticed you will see I gave it a 5 out of 5 rating. I believe the only other 5 rating I have (so far) is Carole King’s ‘Tapestry.’
And of course, the real deal of a best Kinks’ song is on the video blow. Don’t know how I forgot this tears-of-a-clown Klassic.
His music is kind of like — and here I go with my sometimes inane, roll-em-up, comparisons — but he’s kind of like James Taylor, John Mellencamp and Tom Petty rolled into one. (I’ve seen Peter Case and Warren Zevon also in these comparisons.) Actually, in circumstance Joe Henry might be good comparisons in that both are outstanding and underrated. (I only have Henry on digital.)
And both have a famous family connection. Henry is married to Madonna’s sister. Peter is married to Bob Dylan’s adopted daughter.
But I digressl
Peter is Peter.
He’s a rock-and-roller from Minnesota whose lyrics are informed by his Orthodox Judaism, as the message and questions raised in his songs strike universal themes: life and death, pain and joy, war and peace — both globally and internally.
Peter is also a Grammy nominated children’s music maker and composer for TV and film (Judging Amy, Bones, among others).
For more about his story and how it is part of my story see the post I did last week for AL.com. In it I tell you how Peter came to send me three rare out of print vinyl records.
I need to live with these records for a while to give them their proper due, but I can tell you there are some strong songs.
The reason I have question marks on the price rating scale for these three albums is because they are no longer available in vinyl. And the only seller I could find online on several sites including Amazon had one copy of ‘There is no Calamity,’ for $198. It looks like you will have to go digital for any of these three records. I’m going to post links to two songs each off each he sent me and two other older songs. I’d urge you to listen.
There is no calamity
There’s two songs on this are so blunt both lyrically and musically and catchy I can’t believe they are not hits. Listen to them: Fear is our Undoing
Peter Himmelman, a Minnesota-born, California-based, singer-songwriter, rock star of cult-level status and observant Orthodox Jew, sent me three vinyl records recently in support of my effort to get the word out about a prevalent but little-known brain disease.
Woo hoo! I was so excited to rip open that box and play some new Himmelman music, which I find to be of the highest order.
Himmelman like a few of my favorite artists had not, heretofore, to my knowledge, put out LPs. Now that I have this vinyl, I can add him to the countdown. (In another post I will review his three albums.)
So how did this come about that a semi-famous rock star, Bob Dylan’s son-in-law, send me three excellent out-of- print vinyl records? Therein lies the story, a story about this singer, this journalist and my wife, Catherine, a Presbyterian minister.
I am excited to have found a new LBD resource. Unfortunately my finding led to another finding that I am probably a Stage 4 Lewy patient on a 7-part scale.
So glad she contacted me because the first thing I noticed going to her website was a post listing the seven stages of Lewy body. I have heard people talk of different stages. but I don’t believe I knew there were seven and I haven’t seen anything breaking that down in simple language like this.
I would classify myself in Stage 3 at best, but most probably Stage 4 based on this scale. Yikes. Although I believe I was diagnosed early. It has been nearly three years and it appears I am moving up (down?) the scale rather quickly. Makes it a little more serious when I put it like that.
I need to stretch my stages out a little longer, I think.
Without further ado, here is Norma Loeb’s post:
Dementia is a disease that affects millions of Americans. There are several types of dementia that we know of, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.
While forms of dementia vary in symptoms and severity, the Global Deterioration Scale aids in identifying the typical progression.
If you or someone you know may be in the early stages of dementia, here’s what you need to know about its seven stages:
STAGE ONE: NO COGNITIVE DECLINE
Stage one is entirely undetectable to the patient, loved ones, and physicians. At this stage, individuals do not experience or present with any cognitive decline.
STAGE TWO: VERY MILD COGNITIVE DECLINE
Stage two may bring subtle changes in the individual, such as mild forgetfulness. These instances may include forgetting names or having trouble locating familiar objects. In the second stage of dementia, it’s difficult or impossible to notice these minor symptoms, and a diagnosis is not yet able to be reached.
STAGE THREE: MILD COGNITIVE DECLINE
Stage three involves mild cognitive decline. The symptoms may become more noticeable to loved ones of the individual in stage three dementia, and a diagnosis may be near. This stage often includes mild memory loss, out of character forgetfulness, and a slightly decreased ability to concentrate.
STAGE FOUR: MODERATE COGNITIVE DECLINE
Many people living with dementia are officially diagnosed during stage four, which is when physicians are able to pinpoint cognitive decline with an exam. At this point, the patient will likely present symptoms such as life-disrupting forgetfulness and out-of-character difficulty performing daily responsibilities. It may become more challenging for those with stage four dementia to manage finances or navigate to new locations.
STAGE FIVE: MODERATELY SEVERE COGNITIVE DECLINE
Stage five is marked by moderately severe cognitive decline. Individuals in this stage often have notable memory loss and begin to struggle with daily activities. Significant details such as address or phone number may be difficult to recall, and those with stage five dementia will likely need assistance with tasks such as meal preparation and bathing.
STAGE SIX: SEVERE COGNITIVE DECLINE
Individuals in stage six need a high level of support to live comfortably. Memory loss tends to be significant, and many in stage six dementia are only able to recall memories of early life. Incontinence is common in this stage, and many patients also begin to lose their ability to speak. A change in personality may occur during this time period, which lasts an average of 2.5 years.
STAGE SEVEN: VERY SEVERE COGNITIVE DECLINE
Stage seven typically lasts for 1.5 to 2.5 years and is characterized by very severe cognitive decline. Patients in stage seven lose their ability to communicate, and are often unable to walk. Individuals in late stage dementia require extensive assistance with life’s activities, and often need round the clock support.
Dementia affects approximately 5 million Americans each year. Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) comprises approximately 1.4 million cases within this figure, and is often misdiagnosed. If you’d like to learn more about Lewy Body Dementia or seek support, please visit us online at lewybodyresourcecenter.org or reach out to our helpline at 516-218-2026.
Acceptance of a fatal disease diagnosis is the first step.
Listen up brain. I’m talking to you.
That doesn’t mean you are not angry
about it. That doesn’t mean you are not sad about it. And that doesn’t mean accepting
everything the doctor says. Do research.. Ask questions. I’m not saying give up
hope – for a cure, for a milder case, for, yes, even a miracle.
But be realistic.
To avoid despair – and that’s a weighty word
for giving up – you need to come clean with yourself primarily, and, then,
others as you begin to become comfortable talking about it.
I knew a person with a fatal cancer diagnosis who refused to talk about her cancer. Her friends and children eventually knew she was sick but had little to no time to prepare for her death. When she died her school-age children did not know death was even a possibility. Her death was a hard blow to handle without preparation, a sucker punch with long lasting effects.
Talking about my fatal disease, even
joking
about it has been my way of making this horrible thing bearable. I also
talk to my brain.
Now this might sound silly but try it: Stand in front of a mirror and say “I know I have Lewy body dementia (or Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s, or cancer, or whatever it is).
“I know you may kill me before I
want to die,” I say to my reflection, talking to my brain. “But I will fight
you. I will not go gently — until I can do that on my terms.”
Still standing before the mirror I say: “Lewy, I will resist your memory damaging brain attack. I hereby give you, my brain, permission to summon whatever resources you have to fight back to slow the proteins down.
“Step up brain. You are me. I am you. Together we can beat this.”
I received an email from a reader that
illustrates some of what I am talking. I am printing the email here in whole.
Anne Pinkston in Nashville brought a
tear to my eyes with this email.
I am guessing
you receive more emails than you can read, but still I felt compelled to write.
I am Anne
Pinkston in Nashville.
My husband Ken,
age 76, too has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia with Parkinsonism. Several months ago, a friend in Birmingham
told me about your articles, through which you are chronicling your
journey. That night, I sat up for hours
because I could not stop reading your articles.
At that time,
Ken knew very little about his “diagnosis” and had not been ready to embrace
the diagnosis. I began to read your
articles to him at breakfast. That is
how I have exposed him to everything “Lewy”.
Now, he can sometimes even make jokes.
Your articles
have been a great inspiration for me. I
love your sense of humor and your determination to not be defeated. I relate to your wife, Catherine.
Tonight,
I read your article about driving.
My husband had to give up driving in September, and should have
sooner. He has not adjusted yet. I will read your article to him in the
morning, with the hope that it will help him and will make him smile.
I believe you
and my hubby will both “beat the odds” and live longer and better than
expectancy for Lewy Body, so don’t give up.
Thank you so
much for your articles, your humor and your amazing outlook on life. You, Catherine, and your girls are to be
admired. I am guessing you have
inspired many, many people, as you have inspired me.
So your friends
pledge $$$’s if you dunk. Well, I pledge
$500 to your July Mike Madness B-ball Tournament, whether you dunk or not. But, I think you and Dr. J’ Erving could both do it! Is there a link for 2019 Mike Madness
pledges.
I have been
including you and your family in my prayers.
Keep that
“vinyl countdown” going!
Anne Pinkston
Thanks Anne for making my day!
– Mike
Post Script: Keep your eye on myvinylcountdown.com for information about the charity basketball tournament. We are in early planning stages right now. But I have a feeling this year’s Mike’s Madness is going to be a doozy.
Kerri Kasem and I talked recently about the disease that contributed to the death of her father, world-famous Top 40 disc jockey, Casey Kasem. He died in 2014 of complications of Lewy body disease.
Like myself (and countless others) the elder Kasem was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s. That’s one reason we need much greater awareness of this disease, which affects more than 1.2 million people nationwide, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.
Given that we had a similar mission — raising awareness of a little known and little understood brain disease — Kerri, co-host Ashley Marriott, and I talked for a podcast found on her KPOD her podcast website.
ALBUM: Local Hero (movie soundtrack 1983); Kitaro.
MVC Rating: Local”4.5/$$$’ Kitaro, 4.0/$$$
For the Now Playing portion of my column featured on this website and AL.com, we have a movie soundtrack from Mark Knopfler that is good, very good, as is the movie.’
Local Hero,’ beautifully filmed in Scotland is a droll and understated comedy fits right in with Knopflers’s smooth sounding finger-pick work. Like all soundtracks, there are incidents of incidental music, and the album is mostly instrumental. But the overall quality is superb.
I’m adding into this review another sleepy time album -by – a musician who happens to be in alphabetical order, more or less, as I reach into the New Age and pull out Kitaro. If ‘Local Hero’ puts you in a restful peaceful state, Kitaro will just knock you out . A New Age record, for those who don’t remember, is light bright soft serve ice cream. I don’t know that image just came to mind. But I’ve enjoyed New Age musicians, such as George Winston, Michael Hedges and Kitaro.
It’s also fine background music where you don’t want the music to drown out the talk. I find that a lot of folks get into New Age music when they have little ones, nothing like a soothing Kitaro waterfall with flutes to ease those temper tantrums. Because when you finish your tantrum, you’ll be able to help the children, right?
Got that?
I highly recommend Local Hero, a good one that has held up.
ALBUMS: Kid Creole: ‘In Praise of Older Women (1980);’ Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band’Meets King Penett.
MCV Rating: KC: 4.0/$$; Dr. B: 4.0/$$
And now for something completely different. Swing influenced disco jazz.
Stony Browder and Thomas Browder AKA August Darnell, started Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah band in 1974 and it sounded far different from anything on the radio at the time.
Buzzard was more swing-y old timey whereas Kid Creole and the Coconuts was more jump jazzy and funky.
Taking a break from my Kinks and Who and Stones, I really enjoyed the throwback exotica and tropicalia of these bands. August Darnell, whose parents were Italian and Caribbean, according to Wikipedia, had a Master’s degree in English and a way with words.
The fun dance songs were flirty with steamy romance. Either of these or anything by either of the groups would be a great bargain bin find. I’ll bet Prince had some Kid Creole in his collection.
