Album Project Update! No. 4 out of 25 - 'Hunky Dory' (1971). This is a great album. My favourite so far by a long way. I don't think there's a bad song on here. Obviously there are songs everyone knows, like 'Changes' and 'Life on Mars'. But I really like 'Kooks'. What a charming song about parenthood! David Bowie wrote it due to the arrival of his new son, Duncan Jones (or Zowie Bowie, hehe). All in all, a brilliant album. :)
Labels: 1971, Album Project, David Bowie, Hunky Dory
Hmm, I have to admit I have hit upon a section of The Kinks that I like a lot less... Since I last blogged I have listened to 'Muswell Hillbillies' (1971) and 'Everybody's in Showbiz' (1972).
'Muswell Hillbillies' is the first album The Kinks made with their new record label RCA (they had formerly been with Pye). They set out to make an album that had no obvious singles on it, since Pye had been promoting singles to the detriment of the albums... I think the reason I like it less is the 'pub jazz' flavour bought to it by the Mike Cotton Sound (who stayed with The Kinks for many years). Still, it has some interesting songs, some of which are very dark.
'Everybody's in Showbiz' has the same sort of sound as 'Muswell Hillbillies', still featuring the Mike Cotton Sound. But it has a couple of songs I love, like 'Celluloid Heroes'. And it was a double album, with a second disc - a live show recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1972. For four years of their early career The Kinks had been banned from touring America, and now they were in and (apparently) big hits. 'Everybody's in Showbiz' (and indeed 'Muswell Hillbillies') do have a certain American flavour to them. Perhaps that was where the band wanted to make it big. I don't know. Apparently The Kinks had often had a bit too much to drink when they performed live, resulting in often shambolic performances. The live album does seem to reflect this!
Labels: 1971, 1972, Album Project, Everybody's in Showbiz, Muswell Hillbillies, The Kinks
