Ray Davies - guitar, lead vocals
Dave Davies - lead guitar, harmonica, vocals
John Gosling - piano, keyboards
John Dalton - bass
Mick Avory - drums
Alan Holmes - flute, saxophone
Davy Jones - saxophone
Michael Cotton - trumpet
John Beecham - trombone
Songwriter, bandleader, social critic, poet, and humorist all apply to the Kinks' front man Ray Davies. Unlike other British Invasion-era bandleaders, he didn't seem comfortable as a front man. He wasn't cute like the Beatles or cocky like the Stones. The band's sound was also different. Much less rooted in American music, the Kinks had a more overtly English sound. Davies often sang in a shy, insecure voice over some of the wildest and rawest music anybody had ever heard. Davies' songwriting rapidly developed. Soon enough, his anthems of unrequited love transformed into beautiful pop songs teaming with vivid imagery. Unfortunately, during those key years of 1965 through 1969, the Kinks were not permitted to enter the United States. Due to a union dispute that caused this sad state of affairs, the Kinks never got the American exposure so critical to commercial success at that time. This prevented the group from the attention they so richly deserved. Regardless, the Kinks were crafting some of the most beautiful rock songs ever recorded during these years, many featuring melodies that were as impressive as anything being recorded at the time. Just as the American banishment was lifted, the band hit big with the sexually ambiguous "Lola" and an album that attacked the music industry and record companies at a time when the Punk generation was still in diapers. The Kinks entered the 1970s with the loose, drunken approach adopted by many groups of the era, but unlike contemporaries like the Faces, Davies lyrics often revealed a more mature confusion and sadness amidst his hedonistic fun.
In 1972, the Kinks released the double album Everybody's in Show-Biz, consisting of half studio tracks and half live recordings. The studio recordings were thematically focused on an Englishmen's adventures on the American road, while the live portion featured the Kinks, augmented by a horn section, enjoying themselves onstage—a real-time representation of the life described in the studio recordings. The band, with the horn section in tow, returned to America in the latter part of 1972 to promote the album. This concert, recorded at the University Of Virginia in Charlottesville, captures the Kinks in loose but fine form, with Davies joking with the audience in a stage persona that is both satirical and highly entertaining. In addition to many classic hits, this performance features a wealth of material from Everybody's In Show-biz, clearly showcasing Ray Davies' weariness, cynicism and humor about life as a rock 'n' roll star.
The recording begins in progress with "Top Of The Pops," one of Ray's classic commentaries on the recording industry. Next up is the rocker, "You're Looking Fine," performed here as a medley containing the classic 1950s hits, "Shakin' All Over," "Little Queenie," and "Be Bop A Lu La." Raw and loose, one can tell the group is fully enjoying themselves. During the "Shakin' All Over" sequence, Dave's savage guitar riffing recalls the Who's legendary Live At Leeds version of the song. Ray next jokingly engages the audience by pretending the show is already over, but then delivers delightful readings of several of the group's most memorable early hits. This begins with a raw "Till The End Of The Day" followed by "A Well Respected Man" segueing directly into "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion" and concluding with the breezy "Sunny Afternoon." Assuming a humorous Johnny Cash persona, Ray then leads the proceedings into the joyous country-tinged title track from Muswell Hillbillies.
The next half hour or so is devoted exclusively to material featured on Everybody's In Show-biz, beginning with Davies' greatest ballad of this period, "Celluloid Heroes." This bittersweet rumination on dead Hollywood screen icons vividly displays his melancholic longing for a simpler time. Davies vocal is particular touching on this number as he wishes his life were like a movie, "because celluloid heroes never feel any pain / And celluloid heroes never really die." Next up, the Kinks pound out the road rocker, "Here Comes Yet Another Day." Following a short campy "Mr. Wonderful," the band applies this same campiness to two Muswell Hillbillies tracks that were also featured on the live portion of Everybody's In Showbiz. The barrelhouse rocker, "Alcohol," complete with New Orleans style horn arrangements and "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues" are both thoroughly engaging romps down the path to self-destruction. The former contains a humorous monologue from Ray, before the group launches into their celebration of drunkenness. They conclude the new material with another powerful rocker, "Skin And Bone," increasing the tempo, volume, and power of the original.
Returning to classic vintage material, the Kinks continue with one of the first songs the group ever played, a rocking cover of "Good Golly Miss Molly," featuring Dave Davies fronting the band on vocals. This is followed by the ever popular "Lola," complete with audience sing-a-long and they conclude the set with a pulverizing double dose of the group's earliest hits, "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All Of The Night." The audience demands an encore and when the group returns to the stage, they wind things up with a celebratory "Victoria." Throughout this performance, rhe Kinks exude a sense of loose, ragged fun, showcasing the antics of a front man who had turned stage fright into a way of life.
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