Face to Face (The Kinks album)

Face to Face
Studio album by the Kinks
Released 28 October 1966 (1966-10-28)
Recorded 23 October 1965 – 21 June 1966
Studio Pye Studios, London
Genre
Length 38:32[1]
Label
Producer Shel Talmy
the Kinks chronology
The Kink Kontroversy
(1965)		 Face to Face
(1966)		 Something Else by The Kinks
(1967)
Singles from Face to Face
  1. "Sunny Afternoon" / "I'm Not Like Everybody Else"
    Released: 3 June 1966
  2. "Dandy" / "Party Line"
    Released: October 1966

Face to Face is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released in October 1966. The album had marked the band's shift from the hard-driving style of beat music, catapulting them to international acclaim. Being their first album consisting entirely of Ray Davies' compositions; it has also been regarded by critics as rock's first concept album.

Background

Ray Davies suffered a nervous breakdown just prior to the major recording sessions for the album.[2] The new style of writing began gradually the previous year with compositions such as "A Well Respected Man" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" and in May 1966 with the hit single "Sunny Afternoon", which reached #1 in the UK. This song's great popularity proved to Ray and the Kinks' managers that the group could find success with this style of songwriting. The new album would follow this pattern, as would the group's recorded output for the next five years.[3] The 1966–71 period inaugurated by this album would later be called Ray's and the Kinks' "golden age".[4]

Rock historians have credited the album as arguably one of the first rock/pop concept albums, with the loose common theme of social observation.[1][5] In the album's original inception, Ray attempted to bridge the songs together with sound effects, but was forced to revert to the more standard album format by Pye Records before the album's release. Some effects remain such as in "Party Line", "Holiday in Waikiki", "Rainy Day in June" and on songs not included in the final album ("End of the Season", "Big Black Smoke").[6]

Recording and production

"I'll Remember" was the earliest track on the album, having been recorded in October 1965 during sessions for The Kink Kontroversy.[7] Two other songs recorded during the Face to Face sessions – "This Is Where I Belong" and "She's Got Everything" – were eventually released as B-sides to singles released in 1967 and 1968, respectively. Both songs eventually appeared on the 1972 US compilation album The Kink Kronikles.[8] Pete Quaife had temporarily quit the band before the June–July 1966 recording sessions, and his replacement John Dalton can be confirmed playing only on the track "Little Miss Queen of Darkness".[2] Contractual issues held up the release of the album for several months after final recording, and Ray was also in conflict with Pye over the final album cover art, whose psychedelic theme he later felt was inappropriate.[9]

Two songs on Face to Face, although written by Ray, were originally recorded and released by other British bands in the months prior to the release of this album. The Pretty Things had a minor UK hit in July 1966 with "A House in the Country", which peaked at #50; their final entry on the singles charts. Herman's Hermits, meanwhile, took their version of "Dandy" top ten in several countries (including #5 in the US and #1 in Canada), beginning in September 1966.[10][11] The Rockin' Vickers also recorded a version of "Dandy" which they released as a single in December 1966 in both the UK and the US. Despite what the sleeve notes say on The Rockin' Vickers "The Complete" the song Little Rosy was NOT written by Ray Davies.( Music:Herbie Armstrong/Lyrics:Paul Murphy )[12]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[13]

The album was released in a particularly tumultuous year for the band, with personnel problems (Pete Quaife was injured; he resigned and later rejoined the band), legal and contractual battles and an ongoing hectic touring schedule. The album was critically well received, but did not sell particularly well at the time of its release (especially in the United States), and was out of print for many years.[14] Reissues since 1998 have included bonus tracks of songs released contemporaneously as singles (most notably "Dead End Street") as well as two unreleased tracks.[15]

Unreleased songs

"Mr. Reporter" was recorded in 1969 for Dave Davies' aborted solo album and was released as a bonus track on the 1998 Castle CD reissue of Face to Face. An earlier version featuring Ray Davies on lead vocals was recorded in February 1966 and was apparently intended for this album or an unissued EP. The scathing track satires the pop press, and was probably shelved to prevent offending music journalists who had been crucial to the Kinks' commercial success. Other unreleased songs from the Face to Face sessions reportedly include "Fallen Idol", about the rise and fall of a pop star, "Everybody Wants to Be a Personality", about celebrities, "Lilacs and Daffodils" (AKA "Sir Jasper"), which is reportedly about a schoolteacher (and is the only Kinks track with vocals by Mick Avory) and "A Girl Who Goes to Discotheques". It is unclear whether any of the unreleased tracks will ever be released officially. Dave indicated they were never satisfactorily completed for release and some were later reworked into different songs such as "Yes Man", another song from these sessions which was an early version of "Plastic Man".

Cover Versions

Herman's Hermits released a cover of "Dandy" as a single in 1966, reaching #1 in Canada on the RPM national singles chart[3] and #5 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100; and on their 1967 album There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World.

The Rockin' Vickers also released "Dandy" as the A side to a 1966 single.

"Sunny Afternoon" has been covered by many artists including The Standells and Jan & Dean.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ray Davies (Dave Davies claims to have written "Party Line" in his autobiography Kink). On one of the earliest covers of the album (CVPV 76032.30), the song is credited R.Davies - D.Davies.[1]

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Party Line"   2:35
2. "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home"   2:34
3. "Dandy"   2:12
4. "Too Much on My Mind"   2:28
5. "Session Man"   2:14
6. "Rainy Day in June"   3:10
7. "A House in the Country"   3:03
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Holiday in Waikiki"   2:52
2. "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale"   2:48
3. "Fancy"   2:30
4. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness"   3:16
5. "You're Lookin' Fine"   2:46
6. "Sunny Afternoon"   3:36
7. "I'll Remember"   2:27
Note: The original UK CD release of the album reversed the two sides.


Personnel

Chart performance

Year Billboard Cash Box Record World
1966 135[16] 57[16] 47[16]

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1966-10-28). "Face to Face - The Kinks | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  2. 1 2 Schaffner 1982, p. 100.
  3. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 4.
  4. ↑ Heller, Jason (February 14, 2008). "Primer: The Kinks". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Scott Schinder; Andy Schwartz (1 October 2007). Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever. ABC-CLIO. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-313-33845-8.
  6. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 9.
  7. ↑ Chris Wade. United Kinkdom: The Music of The Kinks. Lulu.com. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4717-0604-2.
  8. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 104.
  9. ↑ Tony Dunsbee (1 March 2015). Gathered from Coincidence: A Singular History of Sixties' Pop. M-Y Books Ltd. p. 452. ISBN 978-1-909908-33-8.
  10. ↑ Schaffner 1982, p. 288.
  11. ↑ Stan Hawkins (2009). The British Pop Dandy: Masculinity, Popular Music and Culture. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-7546-5858-0.
  12. ↑ Tim Neely (28 June 2007). Goldmine Price Guide to 45 RPM Records. Krause Publications. p. 582. ISBN 0-89689-461-4.
  13. ↑ "The Kinks: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  14. ↑ Brock Helander (1982). The Rock Who's Who: A Biographical Dictionary and Critical Discography Including Rhythm-And-Blues, Soul, Rockabilly, Folk, Country, Easy Listening, Punk, and New Wave. Schirmer/Mosel Verlag GmbH. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-02-871250-5.
  15. ↑ Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 459. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  16. 1 2 3 Emlen, Dave. "International Chart Positions". Kindakinks.net. Retrieved 1 December 2009.

References

External links

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