This Strange Effect: A Kink-Sized Obsession – Track 2 (Liam)

This Strange Effect: A Kink-Sized Obsession – Track 2 (Liam)

– and I like it – This Strange Effect, that is. Thanks to all for the comments, which have really excited me because now I can bounce off those ideas instead of trying to figure out what ridiculous level of minutiae to concentrate on next.

So, randomly – “Father Christmas”! Ah, the Christmas song. And its poor, poor, poor bastard son the rock Christmas song. There are really not very many good rock Christmas songs (that is of course if you leave out the entire Ventures Christmas Album – which has the advantage of having no dopey lyrics AND arrangements based on the top hits of ’65 – but that is an entirely other matter). “Jingle Bell Rock” is idiotic – but has those great guitar licks, so it gets a pass. Jeez, I cannot really think of anything in the category that is even decent! Excepting our boys – “Father Christmas” – the perfect mix of old style rocking Kinks with a kick in the ass from punk rock. The lyrics are hilarious and touching. There is the great break, again with the descending chords- “and give my daddy a job cause he needs one” – for some reason Ray never sounds sappy. No Christmas song would be complete without the obligatory sleigh bells, used to nice effect in the accappella breakdown. But of course my favorite part is Dave’s wailing leads, that pealing riff as Ray pounds out the power chords like its ’66. My favorite rock Christmas song, no doubt. I will go on the record as the best rock Christmas song – for what its worth. In the early nineties I was working at a magazine in Boston, we had our office Christmas party. Afterwards, we convinced a good portion of the staff and their “significant others” to go to a dive down the street called ‘Peking Tom’s that was well known for its high octane Scorpion bowls. After a few of those, everyone was in the Christmas spirit, and I bumbled over to the jukebox. Well you guessed it. Yes, 5 dollars worth of quarters on #131 – “Father Christmas” by the Kinks. They unplugged the juke box eventually. It was fun while it lasted!

And let’s see – the Rhino compilation – an excellent Greatest Hits package and certainly one of the best ways to start your own obsession. The discography situation is in much, much better shape now. There are reissues, packed with bonus tracks of mono or stereo versions, demos, alternate takes, etc. My cd of “Village Green” that has the complete mono and complete stereo versions. If you like “Sunny Afternoon,” “Well Respected Man” and “Dead End Street”-era Kinks, you have to get the reissues of “Face to Face” and “Something Else” – they are outstanding. For all of your discography needs, go to The Kinks Web Site – I won’t go into details, the site has everything a Kinks fan needs. Go. You will love the treasure trove of Kinks info and the wonderful circa-1995 web design. God bless the Kinks fans who maintain this.

“The Great Lost Kinks Album” really is going to have to wait for a more detailed look, but suffice to say that “Misty Water” is one of their best songs ever. Its got the descending bass line – and the stuttering power chords! Its got funny lyrics about a Maria and her daughters, who “believe in misty ways” and drink “misty water.” My buddy Paul and I jammed last night and had a blast working this one out. As far as I know, this song has not been “officially” released – but it can be found. I remember buying an LP called “Dead End Street” in Boston in the late 80s – it was the usual odd compilation of greatest hits – but it had a 10 inch that had all these songs I had never heard of, “Misty Water” included. If you can find it, get it!

I brought the “Dead End Street” album to the counter and was rewarded with the Kinks’ fan greeting! It is an unwritten, but generally well acknowledged and followed rule that if you work at a record store (of course I am not referring to “chains”) – you are ipso facto a Kinks fan. Most likely an obsessive like me. So when you bring a Kinks album up to the counter, instead of just paying your money and going home to listen to your record, you have a 10 minute conversation. “Dude, have you heard this one?” “I love that one, do you have this?” “I wonder if they are going to tour again.” “That last one kinda sucked, but there was that one good song!” “Yeah, that saved it.” “So my band is playing on Saturday at Bunratty’s, you should come.” “Dude, I’m there! Do you know any bass players?” And you have a new friend. The Kinks fan knows that the Law of Attraction is no joke. We will find each other! Buy a Kinks record today!

Good Lord, lots of exclamations! What else from the comments – ah “Picture Book.” Great, great, great number. What a riff! Ingenious! So good everyone rips it off. I think Green Day does the best rip-off/homage with “Warning” – which by the way is an excellent rock album with many Kinksy touches. But “Picture Book” – just the line “A picture of you, in your birthday suit”- kills me everytime. And the “fat old Uncle Charlie, out boozing with their friends.” You don’t hear those lines in the commercial. Like you didn’t hear the “engines stop running” line from “London Calling” in that stupid Jaguar commercial. And you don’t hear Gerry Roslie screaming about taking a bus or train in the Sonics’ “Have Love, Will Travel” – in that incessant SUV commercial. But to the matter at hand, what the hell, it is great that so many people are hearing “Picture Book” and getting turned on to that era of the Kinks.

God Save ‘Em.