Something Else By the Kinks (Underwear!!)

Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10

Awhile ago, I stated that Something Else is the Kinks in full maturity. Face to Face was a great album that seemed like the group were free to explore their surroundings, but they locked into a distinct and mature style with Something Else. This album has style ... and nobody can deny it that. Though the Kinks might not have gained universal worldwide popularity (though they came *close* on a number of occasions), these '60s albums gave them their solid reputations among us fake music critics (AKA people without a life) and probably some real ones.

What am I talking about? Surely all you're going to have to do is listen to "Waterloo Sunset" to prove my point. That's the prettiest song these guys have ever done. The melody is not only pristine, but the vocal harmonies are just gorgeous. OK, they borrowed those ideas from the Beach Boys who were ultimately able to enact it better. But being a great musician is being able to borrow ideas from your influences and using them for good, right?

The quality characteristic of this album is tracks like "Harry Rag" and "Tin Soldier Man," which sees these guys combining British music hall and Vaudevillian ideas with Beatles-inspired art-rock. This is the distinct Kinks sound that made them semi-famous! (It's unfortunate though intriguing that the general public just knows them for a handful of hits that have nothing to do with their classic sound...)

It's hard to deny that there hasn't ever been anything like "David Watts." If there has, then I'm really missing something, and I'd be really interested to hear evidence to the contrary. That's a strange song --- it's droning and menacing and it's also enormously infectious. Very unique. Also, weird songs like "Lazy Old Sun" and "Situation Vacant" might not be so successful, but it's easy to tell that Ray's creativity was absolutely flourishing.

He even lets it get it away from himself in "Funny Face," which is just awkward. He also apparently run out of ideas in the straight-ahead bossa nova track "No Return" and the too-usual psychedelic track "Live Me Till the Sun Shines." I guess these instances are what's keeping this from becoming a true, bona fide unbeatable classic up there with Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds. It might be comforting to know that the Kinks were still scaling their mountain with two undeniably great albums immediately in the horizon.

But this is a definite classic, and there's no denying that.

Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10 (A major Kinks Klassic, Something Else is a glorious and distinctive album that every rock fan should own. There's really no substitute for this...)

Average Song Score: 9.0 (What a solid set of tunes --- They don't call Ray Davies one of America's finest songwriters for nothing, you know.)

Album Tilt: 9.0 (I think this is an extremely distinctive album and I wish I could give this a raise --- but there's some laziness and inconsistency that can't be ignored.)

Artist Tilt: 9.5 (The Kinks have certainly improved with age here --- Plus, this album has its own set of rules, and invented some new ones in the process. Some of these songs are both brilliant and unique.)

Track Reviews

David Watts 10/10

This is a peculiar song with somewhat droning tones, but it's unique and infectious. It's one of those great songs that you love even though it's hard to know why --- it's so different from everything else you're used to hearing. Even if you're listening to this on the point-of-view by somebody living in the '00s. It's strange. The production is thick and perfect --- similarly, the arrangements are great. Really, this song is just a piano, bass guitar, drums and vocals, but they're combined to create something unique (along with Ray's brilliantly simple chord progressions). Very creative.

Death of a Clown 10/10

Nice thing that they're getting more usual with "Death of a Clown," which is a beautiful little ballad. This melody is wonderful, and it's a nice surprise to learn that it's one of Dave Davies' songs. It's just perfect --- and I'm more surprised that rock bands don't cover this more often! Maybe it's just too perfect for them. They don't do anything fancy, but they sure know how to combine these simple elements to create something unique. That music hall piano plays while the acoustic guitar strums away and a bouncy drummer does his thing... Probably the most characteristic aspect about the instrumentation is this gorgeous falsetto voice in the background. Yeah, this song is great. You'll just have to hear it for yourself!

Two Sisters 9.5/10

How can Ray Davies have so many hopelessly catchy melodies in his system? "Two Sisters" doesn't even sound like it was designed to be a highlight or hit single or anything, but I absolutely love it. It's pretty simple and not as fundamentally unique as the previous two tracks. It begins with a clavinet and it slowly gains some more rocking instrumentals until the end when this beautiful violin begins to play in the background. Despite the simplicity in the melody and chord progression (which are excellent) this track has perfect development. This one is so easy to take to heart... And Ray seems like he did it without really trying. I guess that makes him more intriguing as a songwriter........

No Return 8/10

This track seems to give a lot of critics grief. It's just a simple old melody and bossa nova instrumentation. Ray was trying so hard to be unique and glorious in other tracks, and this one seems pretty tossed-off. It's not sloppy, mind you, and at least Ray delivers a nice and careful vocal performance. I honestly have no beef with this. Yeah, I wish that Ray would have come up with something a little more original, but --- let's not get spoiled here. If I heard this on a Madonna record, it would be a delightful surprise! (Though perplexing why Madonna's sounding like a man though that'd be less surprising.)

Harry Rag 9/10

This is a bouncy tune with a militaristic beat that's enjoyable to hear. The melody is extremely catchy ... and Ray's love for old-style Vaudevillian tunes was never so evident here. This sounds like an old-style tune set to more modern instrumentation. This is very entertaining!!!

Tin Soldier Man 8.5/10

Similarly, "Tin Soldier Man" sounds like a bouncy Vaudevillian song. The melody is extremely catchy and it's stuctured like an old-style tun. The instrumentation consists of a piano lightly pounding in the background and some usual drums. Goofy tubas, light-hearted trumpet sections deliver their input.

Situation Vacant 9/10

This turns out to be one of the album's more signature tunes. Though that's hard to say considering this album is book-ended by "David Watts" and "Waterloo Sunset." This track has plenty of interesting musical ideas that makes this so unique. A chorus that doesn't seem to fit the verses, but it manages to work perfectly. My biggest complaint is the end, which does this weird fade-in and fade-out thing.

Love Me Till the Sun Shines 8/10

"Love Me Till the Sun Shines" never struck me as much of an achievement. Unfortunately, this sounds a bit too much like a product of 1967 instead of those previous pandering homages to dusty old Vaudevillian recordings. Plus, this doesn't seem very inspired. The melody sounds like a lesser Bob Dylan song ... the fact that Dave's scratchy vocals take the lead doesn't do it any favors. (That said, he's not a bad singer --- he sounds great whenever he has the right material.) Needless to say, this isn't a highlight.

Lazy Old Sun 8.5/10

What an enormously unusual song, and it's a little bit droney to be honest. The song structure is definitely unique, and you have to fall in love with that bending cello that you hear at the very beginning. That trumpet chimes in at a perfect time but it turns out to be rather anti-climactic... Well, this is interesting, and I still like it. It's extremely original, but it might have been better if the melody were a tad more catchy.

Afternoon Tea 9/10

This one is a funny old song. The melody is catchy but unsettling in a way similar to how "David Watts" was unsettling. You'd wonder if the Kinks were only acting like grown-ups ... this is certainly not your average songwriting. The instrumentation sounds a lot like rock 'n' roll (even featuring a very quiet guitar playing some Chuck Berry-esque lines). Not so much infectious, but it's weird and I like it.

Funny Face 8/10

Well, it doesn't get funnier than "Funny Face." I mean, it's strange and I'm not too sure Ray can hide behind this shroud of creativity that he'd been so successful in doing. Well, he's enjoying this sandbox of creativity. The song structure is weird ... it transforms back and forth between a choppy, rocking section and an echoing choral bit. Not that it wasn't bold of him, but this track doesn't seem like he actually had his soul invested in it. Well, it's not unlistenable or anything.

End of the Season 9.5/10

It's time to end this album with a bang, at least. The penultimate "End of the Season" is a gorgeous tune done in an old 20s jazz style --- yet it's so characteristically the Kinks that it's actually in a style that's never been heard before. Ray's singing has a bit of reverb, and it hasn't ever sounded this beautiful. This is one of those perplexedly gorgeous songs that makes listening to Kinks albums so eternally rewarding.

Waterloo Sunset 10/10

But you haven't really heard any perplexedly gorgeous tunes until you've heard "Waterloo Sunset." Not only is the melody perfect, but Davies has a nice idea to inject some convincing Beach Boys vocal harmonies in this. This is absolutely beautiful and intoxicating. Who can't immediately fall in love with the Kinks after hearing this??? ... Well, I guess I couldn't. I bought this somewhere around 2002 and I honestly didn't think much of this song at first. I changed my mind of course! ... What a pretty ending for an album! Let's listen to it again!! ... Or maybe I should go do something else. OK.

A good album review? Or do you have discrepancies? Do you think minimum wage should be reduced? Leave your comments here!