In all seriousness, this may be The Kinks' absolute masterpiece.
"From the dew-soaked hedge creeps a crawly caterpillar/
When the dawn begins to crack/
It's all part of my autumn almanac"...
Come on, that opening lyric is so brilliantly evocative you don't even notice the record's great acoustic guitar riffs, the angelic harmonies and Ray's to-die-for vocal.
I should add that -- courtesy of my college radio station -- I owned a promo American 45 of the above song...
...which came out during the period, approximately from 1966 till the band had an out of left field hit with "Lola," when The Kinks couldn't get arrested commercial-success-wise in the States. And I used to play it obsessively.
And yeah, I still find it the most deeply moving rock record of its era. I mean, I can't think of another single by ANY of the major artists of its time that's better. I'm serious.
So there.
15 comments:
And a song that Andy Partridge cites as "one he wishes he wrote."
I knew I liked that guy.
that song makes this list - lots of other great ones too
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/fall-songs/
I like it but it's no "I Took My Baby Home" :-)
“Autumn Almanac” is total magic. It’s structure has always fascinated me. It starts at point A and musically never circles back. The lyrics create a visual movie for me to see as I sing along.
I remember when you were always turning me on to the latest Kinks’ single starting with “Set Me Free”! We always explored the B-sides in as great depth as the A-sides. The Kinks music of that era is some of the greatest music ever.
You were my Kinks guru! I knew there was a reason I liked you.
Captain Al
yes yes yes
Always loved that song but my vinyl has been unfortunately tucked for a while -
Kinks Chronicles... knew I heard it somewhere. Next to Exile, Never Mind, K/K is meant for top down in my turbo, fender system at max.
I hope that one day he is remembered amongst the best.
Victoria Rules
rob
Well put. 😎
Steve, while extolling the opening lyric to Autumn Almanac, I present one of my favorites - Village Green Preservation Society -
We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, Vaudeville and Variety
We are the desperate Dan appreciation
Society
God save Strawberry Jam and all the different varieties.
The rest of the lyrics rival Penny Lane, an English mans find rememberence of growing up in post war England
rob
Although I'm 2000 miles and a generation removed from him, Ray has often made me feel that I grew up next door in Muswell Hill. And this is a sublime example.
Nevertheless, I'm going to throw this out there:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXBNlApwh0c
We were profoundly lucky to have grown up with Ray's songs.
“And yeah, I still find it the most deeply moving rock record of its era. I mean, I can't think of another single by ANY of the major artists of its time that's better. I'm serious,” – Steve Simels.
But, wait a minute, I thought you said virtually the same thing about Waterloo Sunset. :- ) VR
Kinks could do little wrong from Kontrovery to Muswell. Gospel.
The Kinks’ US Singles Chart Drought Minutiae
12-09-66 Dead End Street / Big Black Smoke (US) #73 Billboard
#25 on KMEN San Bernardino
05-29-67 Mr. Pleasant / Harry Rag (US) #80 Billboard
#35 on KRLA
07-17-67 Waterloo Sunset / Two Sisters (US) Doesn’t chart
#15 of KPOI Honolulu
11-27-67 Autumn Almanac / David Watts (US) Doesn’t chart
Hitbound Airplay Los Angeles
05-17-68 Wonderboy / Pretty Polly (US) Doesn’t chart
Nada
07-22-68 Days / She’s Got Everything (US) Doesn’t chart
#24 KMEN San Bernardino
01-10-69 Starstruck / Picture Book (US) Doesn’t chart
Nada
07-28-69 Village Green / Do You Remember Walter Doesn’t chart
Nada
10-15-69 Victoria / Brainwashed (US) #62 Billboard
#7 KFXM San Bernardino
07-28-70 Lola / Mindless Child of Motherhood #9 Billboaed
#1 KGB San Diego; #4 KMEN San Bernardino
12-16-70 Apeman / Rats (US) #45 Billboard
#11 KFRC San Francisco
VR ( I hope it looks the way it looks now when it publishes. If not, it's blogger's fault. Bombs Away.)
Great write up VR!
Captain Al
"Autumn Almanac" versus "Waterloo Sunset": talk about a win-win :-)
Meant to say earlier, Harvest Festival (XTC) is a pretty amazing song about autmn
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