Face to Face (The Kinks album)

Face to Face
Studio album by The Kinks
Released	28 October 1966 (UK) 7 December 1966 (USA)
Recorded	23 October 1965 – 21 June 1966 at Pye Studios, London
Genre	Rock, pop
Length	38:31
Label	Pye (UK) Reprise Records R-6228 (US)
Producer	Shel Talmy
The Kinks chronology
The Kink Kontroversy (1965) Face to Face (1966) Something Else by the Kinks (1967)

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Face to Face, released in 1966 on Pye Records in the United Kingdom and on Reprise Records in the United States, is the fourth UK studio album by The Kinks. A major artistic breakthrough^{[citation needed]} for Kinks' songwriter Ray Davies. On the album, the Kinks move away from the hard-driving rock and roll style of 1964-65, which had catapulted the group to international stardom. It was the first Kinks album consisting entirely of Ray Davies compositions, and was their first album recorded over several months, rather than in one concentrated session^{[citation needed]}.

History

Davies suffered a nervous breakdown just prior to the major recording sessions for the album^{[citation needed]}. 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 Number 1 in the UK^{[citation needed]}. This song's great popularity proved to Davies and the Kinks' managers that the group could find success with this style of songwriting^{[citation needed]}. The new album would follow this pattern, as would the group's recorded output for the next five years. The 1966-1971 period inaugurated by this album would later be called Davies' and the Kinks' "golden age".

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

Content

Some rock historians^{[citation needed]} have credited the album as arguably one of the first rock and roll concept albums, with the loose common theme of social observation. In the album's original inception, Davies had 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^{[citation needed]}. Some of these effects remain, in "Party Line", "Holiday in Waikiki", "Rainy Day in June", and other songs not included in the final album{{fact{{ ("End of the Season", "Big Black Smoke"). Contractual issues held up the release of the album for several months after final recording^{[citation needed]}, and Davies was also in conflict with Pye over the final album cover art, whose psychedelic theme he later felt was inappropriate^{[citation needed]}.

The song "I'll Remember" was the earliest track on the album, having been recorded in October 1965 during sessions for The Kinks Kontroversy^{[citation needed]}. 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^{[citation needed]}. Both songs eventually appeared on the 1972 U.S. compilation album The Kink Kronikles.

There is not consensus on who played bass on several of the album's tracks. 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". Ray Davies' autobiography X-Ray indicates a session player was retained for some tracks^{[citation needed]}, but no documentation survives to identify the player^{[citation needed]}.

Two songs on Face To Face, although written by Ray Davies, were originally recorded and released by other British bands in the months prior to the release of this album^{[citation needed]}. The Pretty Things had a minor UK hit in July 1966 with "A House In The Country", which peaked at number 50 and would prove to be the band's final entry on the singles charts^{[citation needed]}. Herman's Hermits, meanwhile, took their version of "Dandy" top ten in several countries (including number 5 in the US, and number 1 in Canada), beginning in September 1966^{[citation needed]}. 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. They recorded another Ray Davies composition, "Little Rosy", that was never recorded by the Kinks.

Track listing

All songs by Ray Davies (Dave Davies claims to have written "Party Line" in his autobiography KINK).

Side 1

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 2

8. "Holiday in Waikiki" – 2:52
9. "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale" – 2:48
10. "Fancy" – 2:30
11. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" – 3:16
12. "You're Lookin' Fine" – 2:46
13. "Sunny Afternoon" – 3:36
14. "I'll Remember" – 2:27

Bonus tracks on post-1998 reissues

Sanctuary Records SMRCD028

15. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" - 3:29
16. "Dead End Street" - 3:23
17. "Big Black Smoke" - 2:36
18. "Mister Pleasant" - 3:01
19. "This Is Where I Belong" - 2:26
20. "Mr. Reporter" (previously unreleased) - 3:58
21. "Little Women" (previously unreleased) - 2:11

2011 Sanctuary Records 2-disc deluxe edition

Disc one (mono)

Original mono album. Released in the UK as Pye NPL.18149, 28 Oct. 1966

1. "Party Line" – 2:38
2. "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" – 2:36
3. "Dandy" – 2:15
4. "Too Much on My Mind" – 2:33
5. "Session Man" – 2:23
6. "Rainy Day in June" – 3:20
7. "A House in the Country" – 3:09
8. "Holiday in Waikiki" – 2:55
9. "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale" – 2:51
10. "Fancy" – 2:32
11. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" – 3:21
12. "You're Lookin' Fine" – 2:54
13. "Sunny Afternoon" – 3:41
14. "I'll Remember" – 2:33

Mono bonus tracks

15. "Dead End Street" - 3:24
16. "Big Black Smoke" - 2:35
17. "This Is Where I Belong" - 2:27
18. "She's Got Everything" - 3:11
19. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" (Alternate take) - 3:22
20. "Dead End Street" (Early Acetate Version) - 2:56 (Previously released on "Picture Book" box set)

Disc two (stereo)

Original stereo album. Released in the UK as Pye NSPL.18149, 28 Oct. 1966

1. "Party Line" – 2:38
2. "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" – 2:36
3. "Dandy" – 2:14
4. "Too Much on My Mind" – 2:32
5. "Session Man" – 2:14
6. "Rainy Day in June" – 3:20
7. "A House in the Country" – 3:08
8. "Holiday in Waikiki" – 2:50
9. "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale" – 2:58
10. "Fancy" – 2:31
11. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" – 3:20
12. "You're Lookin' Fine" – 2:53
13. "Sunny Afternoon" – 3:40
14. "I'll Remember" – 2:33

Stereo bonus tracks

15. "This Is Where I Belong" - 2:46
16. "Big Black Smoke" - 2:51
17. "She's Got Everything" - 3:10
18. "You're Looking Fine" (Alternate Stereo Mix) - 2:53
19. "Sunny Afternoon" (Alternate Stereo Mix) - 3:49 (no fade-out)
20. "Fancy" (Alternate Stereo Mix) - 2:57 (fade-out extended)
21. "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" (Alternate Stereo Mix) - 3:22
22. "Dandy" (Alternate Stereo Mix) - 2:15

Song and album notes

The original UK CD release of the album (PRT CDMP 8829) reverses the two sides (that is it begins with "Holiday In Waikiki" and proceeds in order to "I'll Remember" which is then followed by "Party Line", from which the tracks continue in order, ending with "A House In The Country").

Unreleased Songs

The version of "Mr. Reporter", released as a bonus track on the 1998 Castle CD re-issue of the album, was actually recorded in 1969 for Dave Davies' aborted solo album. An earlier recording 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 was probably shelved to prevent offending pop press reporters, whom it targets for satire. Other unreleased songs from the Face To Face sessions reportedly include "Fallen Idol", a song 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 the only Kinks track with vocals by drummer Mick Avory, and "A Girl Who Goes to Discoteques." It is unclear whether any of the abovementioned tracks will ever be released officially. Dave Davies has indicated they were never satisfactorily completed for release, and some were later reworked into different songs, as is the case with another song from these sessions "Yes Man" (an early version of "Plastic Man").

Personnel

• Ray Davies – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, mellotron
• Dave Davies – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Party Line", "You're Lookin' Fine" and "Mr. Reporter", bass on "Dead End Street"
• Pete Quaife – bass, backing vocals (except where noted)
• John Dalton – bass on "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" (and possibly "Rainy Day in June," "Big Black Smoke," and "Dead End Street")
• Mick Avory – drums, percussion
• Nicky Hopkins – keyboards, piano, harmonium (on "Sunny Afternoon")
• Rasa Davies – backing vocals on "Sunny Afternoon", "Session Man", and "Rainy Day In June"

References

• Kinks, The – Face To Face at Discogs (list of releases)