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State of Confusion

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State of Confusion
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released24 May 1983
RecordedSeptember 1982 – March 1983
StudioKonk Studios, London (except "Bernadette": mid-1981)
Genre
Length41:20 (LP)
51:21 (cassette)
LabelArista
ProducerRay Davies
The Kinks chronology
Give the People What They Want
(1981) 		State of Confusion
(1983) 		Word of Mouth
(1984)
Singles from State of Confusion
  1. "Come Dancing"
    Released: 19 November 1982
  2. "Don't Forget to Dance"
    Released: 1 August 1983
  3. "State of Confusion"
    Released: December 1983 (Germany)

State of Confusion is the twentieth studio album by the English rock group the Kinks, released in 1983. The record features the single "Come Dancing", which hit number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was one of the band's biggest hit singles in the United States, equaling the 1965 peak of "Tired of Waiting for You". The album itself was a major success, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard albums chart. The album was certified gold in Canada by August 1983.[2] It was the last Kinks album on which drummer Mick Avory appeared as a full member of the band.[3]

While there have been at least 7 reissues of this album on CD in various countries (all with 4 bonus cuts), none of them have issued the extended "Come Dancing" 12-inch mix on CD (which contains an extended horn ending), which to this day is only available on vinyl. In addition, the extended 12-inch version of "Noise" has never been released on CD and is only available on vinyl. The UK 12-inch version of "Bernadette" has differences, including extra lyrics by Ray in the middle section.

Production

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The album was recorded between September 1982 and March 1983 at Konk Studios, London, and was produced by Ray Davies. It was recorded during another period of turmoil for the band, as Ray recalled:

It was a difficult time: '83, '84. Songs like 'Definite Maybe', 'State of Confusion', it's all got this concern about it. If you look at the album cover, everybody's going in different directions. And that was the last of ... that band's records. And it had our biggest single on it. So there you go.[4]

"Long Distance" and "Noise" were only released on cassette versions of the album. In 1984, "Long Distance" was released as one of the two B-sides on the "Do It Again" single in Germany (the other being "Guilty"). The song then appeared on both the LP and CD editions of the 1986 compilation album Come Dancing with The Kinks as the 13th track on the LP version and the 11th track on the CD version. Since then, it has made an appearance on the compilation album Picture Book and the box set, The Arista Years.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Blender[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
Rolling Stone[7]
Uncut[9]

State of Confusion saw acclaim from American critics. Rolling Stone commented, "Nobody but the Kinks could have made such a record in 1983, and no band deserves more to be at the very top, which is where this LP ought to place them".[4]

The track "Long Distance", which only appeared on the cassette version of the album, has generally received positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively praised the track as "wistful pop",[5] and went on to call it a "terrific obscurity".[10] Rolling Stone critic Parke Puterbaugh hailed the song as "astonishingly Dylanesque", and went on to say that "there's no excuse for omitting ['Long Distance' from the LP version of State of Confusion]".[7]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."State of Confusion"3:41
2."Definite Maybe"4:27
3."Labour of Love"3:54
4."Come Dancing"3:54
5."Property"4:19
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Don't Forget to Dance"4:34
2."Young Conservatives"3:58
3."Heart of Gold"4:02
4."Clichés of the World (B Movie)"4:51
5."Bernadette"3:41
Cassette edition

All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."State of Confusion"3:41
2."Definite Maybe"4:27
3."Labour of Love"3:54
4."Come Dancing"3:54
5."Property"4:19
6."Noise"4:38
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Don't Forget to Dance"4:34
2."Young Conservatives"3:58
3."Heart of Gold"4:02
4."Clichés of the World (B Movie)"4:51
5."Bernadette"3:41
6."Long Distance"5:23
CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Don't Forget to Dance" (Original extended edit)5:09
12."Once a Thief"4:06
13."Long Distance"5:23
14."Noise"4:38

Personnel

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The Kinks

Technical

  • Written and Produced by Raymond Douglas Davies
  • John Rollo – engineer
  • Damian Korner – engineer
  • Howard Fritzson – album design
  • Robert Ellis – photography

References

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  1. ^ "Billboard". Vol. 112, no. 44. 28 October 2000. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. ^ "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. ^ "The Kinks' Chart Positions". kindakinks.net. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b Hasted, Nick (1 October 2017). You Really Got Me: The Story of The Kinks. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-991-8.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: State of Confusion > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  6. ^ Powers, Ann. "Blender :: guide". Dennis Digital, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b Puterbaugh, Parke (7 July 1983). "The Kinks: State of Confusion". Rolling Stone. No. RS 399. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  9. ^ "Kinks Klassics". Uncut. No. 88. September 2004. p. 62.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: Come Dancing with The Kinks > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
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