ALBUMS: Dave Davies — AFL1 3603 ( bar code album 1980); Chosen People (1983)
MVC Rating: Bar code — 4.0/$$$; Chosen People 3.5/$$
Dave’s brother Ray was the Kinks Kreative soul. Dave was the guitarist, and a pioneering one at that. The riffs in early 1960s classics like ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘All Day and All of the Night’ were much copied (e.g. Van Halen). One could make the case the distortion laden pieces paved the way for heavy metal.
I have lots of Kinks records, bought mostly in my high school years in Athens, Ga. I’ll write more when we get to the K’s in www.myvinylcountdown.com
Ray wrote the lions’ share of Kinks song. One notable exception was Dave’s ‘Death of a Clown,’ one of the Kinks’ most poignant songs ever, and they did a lot of poignant songs.
The Kinks went through so many style changes, every album was like a new band although all decidedly Kinks. They did English folk whimsy, straight-ahead rock and roll and clever commentary songs.
Dave had a way of doing falsetto harmony behind Ray’s lead vocals. I thought it was the coolest thing. Listen to one of their most famous songs, ‘Lola‘ to hear the brother harmonizing effect. It reminds a lot of Ronnie Lane’s style of singing, though with a rocking edge.
These two solo albums I have are hit and miss. Dave shows off his guitar chops. On the bar code album, he puts the bar code on the the cover as the main art for the album, perhaps making the statement that his music is seen as nothing more than a commodity? I’m just guessing here.
Best song on bar code album, ‘Doing the Best for You,’ simple little melody on piano with crunching guitars. The Chosen People has a lovely song called ‘Give Me One More Chance.’
These albums by members of supergroup bands going solo come to me with low expectations. They are usually forced at least in the musical sense by the artist working out of his role. That’s part of the appeal to the artist and part of the ego-driven decision.
Look at Diana Ross, they think. She didn’t need no Supremes.
Look at Mick Jagger’s solo work. He DOES need the Stones.
ROGER: Uh, Pete, it’s just a little side project like you did with Ronnie Lane.
But that side project — Rough Mix — was good! One of my favorite albums. One of the best songs in that Townshend-Lane creation is the song ‘Annie.’
Daltrey, who never learned to button his own shirt, put it all out there on “One of the Boys’ — ballads, rockers, a little country. Hoping something would stick.
Daltrey is a great rock vocalist and quintessential front man for one of rock’s greatest rock bands, The Who. But this album is fair at best. But not without ambition.
Best song (ironically): Avenging Annie.
I have Andy Pratt’s version of Avenging Annie — he wrote it. And you could certainly argue that Daltry’s is better.
Daltrey is a singer, an interpreter of other’s songs. Townshend did the lion’s share of writing of the Who’s classics not the chiseled, shirtless frontman with flowing blond hair.
Funny side note: In my album, which is a cutout has an advertisement sheet offering “RogerDaltrey Hologram’ pendant that makes Daltrey look like a cross between Andre the Giant and Thor.
So apopros that my alphabetical system provokes me to take a look at Danny and Dusty.
This all-star band, well, maybe minor league all- star, has some gut-barrel, singalong barroom music on it. ‘D’ for drunk, maybe?
This is a buddy group with Dan Stuart from the band Green On Red and Steve (Dusty) from Dream Syndicate. Members of those bands and the Long Ryders were the backing band.
I have some Green on Red somewhere, maybe disc, and this is reminding me of some great songs they did in the 1980s ‘post-psychedelic movement’ in the SF Bay Area. (To be honest, Green on Red sounded more country punk to me.) One song, I can’t recall it’s name, had a line it about ‘working at the Piggly Wiggly’ — it always made me laugh. I’ll try to find the song and post.
Now I live a block away from a Piggly Wiggly. But I also lived in the Bay Area for a decade and don’t remember ever seeing a Pig there?
Anyway, D&D is a fun listen, probably recorded most songs in 1 or 2 takes. The Dylan cover of ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ is a different take, and not bad. (Still my favorite cover of that song is probably Guns N’ Roses version, though I never was huge GNR fan—I felt like I was too old to enjoy them. Odd, b/c I like some Chili Peppers).
Creedence Clearwater Revival officially ends my C’s. As you may be aware, I have been counting down my 678 vinyl records here on this blog before I succumb to a fatal degenerative brain disease.
I’ve been counting them down alphabetically, more or less. I’m not super strict on that. On the menu at the right you can, for example, click on A-Music and see all of the reviews I’ve done for bands or individual artists whose names start with ‘A’ — first, letter last name for individuals. So Hoyt Axton would be in the ‘A’s, (if I had any Hoyt Axton.) The Beatles would be in ‘B’ (I do have some Beatles.)
I started this blog in late September, 2017 with 678 records to do. I made the pledge to finish, so I’m going toe-to-toe with this brain disease, Lewy body dementia, while I do this. All the while promoting awareness of LBD, which most people don’t know is the second leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. The average life span for an LBD patient is 5 to 7 years after diagnosis. I’m about 18 months from my diagnosis.
Record-wise, I am at 552 (those numbers which you will find adjacent to each title indicate how far down that particular album is in the count.) So I have completed 126. (678-552=126)
As regulars know, a lot of my posts are not ‘countdown’ posts, or music related at all. Intermixed with my vinyl record reviews are ruminations on life, love, and the proper way to remove a pinto bean from a child’s nose.
I repeat, the goal here is to raise awareness of this godawful disease I have. Some things I write may be offensive to some people, for example I did a post where I create a stand-up comedy act which pokes fun of my disease.
Quick background: The disease is named after Frederic Lewy, doctor who noticed upon death that certain people presenting with dementia had an oversupply of a type of protein that doctors figure is killing brain cells; it is the same protein associated with Parkinson’s disease, only the proteins seemed to set up a larger camp, thus affecting both mental and physical faculties. (Yes Dr. Lewy had to open the lid to look at these dead folks’ brains.)
I guess he was proud of his work and I’m glad he learned something. But would you want your name associated with this this brain dissolving protein? Sure, I know his findings provide a starting place. Did he know I wonder that the disease was given his name? Did they have a little ceremony? |
Master of ceremonies: And we officially decree the name of this degenerative fatal brain disease to be Lewy. (clap clap) …And our next award tonight goes to Dr. Cancer …
Weird if you ask me.
But Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer and Dr. James Parkinson, respectively.
QUICK: Musical interlude from the super handsome Robert Palmer.
Doctor Doctor, we just gotta be sure
I got a bad need for Dr. Cure
No pill’s gonna cure my ill
Which will only get worse when I see the bill
All right fun’s over. Sit back and enjoy my blog. I’ve been averaging about five posts a week, but they come at all times and sometimes I miss a day or two.
If you’ve seen the latest post, explore the rest of the blog. Lots of stuff. Listen to the music.
The more I talk to people, the more I realize that knowledge or awareness of a certain type of music or singer or group doesn’t match mine. Surprise surprise, I’m a 58-year-old man going through vinyl records I bought when I was in my teens or 20s — in the 1970 and 1980s mostly. (CDs got big, then digital, shareable, files, then programmable Internet radio. I’ve used them all. But the vinyl is still closest to my heart and it conjures special memories.
Young people tell me about musical genres I know little about, trip-hop, folk metal, shoegaze, different mashed jazz types. I’ve been too busy hunting my Apple ID number to pay attention, it seems.
But I think I have a lot of music people have missed; that they would like. That’s what this is about. When I hear someone say, ‘I’ve never heard of Tonio K, I want to play a few songs for them. Or David Lindley’s solo stuff and his first group Kaleidescope. Or Leonard Cohen or Randall Bramblett. Or Cream or King Sunny Ade or the Plimsouls. Or Easybeats or Rockpile or the Swimming Pool Q’s or Bud Powell or Eddie Hinton.
Most of the time I have a video at the end of the post, watch ’em.
My 80-year-old plus mother said she actually likes some of the songs.
