If you look at a discography of The Kinks, you will see that they have released a number of live recordings down the years. The first was ‘Live At Kelvin Hall’ in 1967 and the next being ‘One For The Road’ in 1980. However, there was another, released in-between these but it was included with the 1972 studio album ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz – Everybody’s A Star’. This live album was not advertised as such. On the back cover, the tracks are listed as just being on sides 3 & 4 of the double album. All very confusing. However, what if these live tracks were not included on the ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz’ but were released as their own album.
On the 2nd and 3rd of March, 1972, The Kinks played two shows at Carnegie Hall in New York. The band were augmented by The Mike Cotton Sound whose horns had first been heard on the 1971 Kinks album, ‘Mussel Hillbillies’. All of the songs on the original incarnation from ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz’ were taken from the 3rd March, but when this album was given the deluxe treatment in 2016, songs from the 2nd March were also made available. What was most surprising was how few of the songs were same. The Kinks were known at the time for their unpredictability during their concert but it seems that they could pull out deep cuts from their earlier days. ‘You’re Looking Fine’ being the best example, as it was an album track dating back to 1966 and taken from the ‘Face To Face’ album.
With these additional recordings, it was almost possible to create a double live album. I say almost because without using the more than one version of a song, side 4 would be a little short. Luckily, the deluxe version of ‘Everybody’s In Show-Biz’ included the song ‘History’, a studio outtake which had remained unreleased until 2016. Putting a studio track onto a live album was not unheard of, even in the early 1970s. For example, ‘Live Cream’ by Cream included the song ‘Lady Mama’ which was a totally studio recording. Putting the song ‘History’ at the end of side 4 does mean that sides now match up roughly to each other.
Double live albums became popular in the 1970s, be it as a way of showcasing the band in a concert setting. However, most were released as a contractual obligation (especially if the band had spilt up and there wasn’t a possibility of any new studios recordings), during a period of writer’s block or as a stop gap between releases. It is for this last reason that I think this album could have come out. The Kinks, and in that regard, I mean main songwriter Ray Davies was a busy boy in the 1970’s. They release eleven studio albums during this period as well as being a major concert drawn, especially in America. However, 1976 is the odd year out as this was the only one where the band did not release a new studio album. This would be the year I would have putout this live double album out.
The first LP in this double album follows the original release from 1972, except that I have taken ‘Lola’ off and placed it on side 4 to end the concert performances. Doing this means that sides 1 & 2 match up a lot more closely in terms of playing time on each side and ‘Lola’ sounds as though it should be at the end of the album. It is also an edit so we do not get the full song. The unedited version of this song was not even on the deluxe version from 2016. One thing I would change if I had been in charge of producing this album was to make a mix that made it sound more like a live experience than what we got. There are some abrupt edits between songs and it really sounds a bit shoddy. I’ve heard live bootlegs with more care and attention put into them. I would also have liked to see what other songs were recorded on these nights so I could have taken out ‘Banana Boat Song’ and ‘Baby Face’. They sound a bit out of place to my ears, and they are not complete performances. It was like Ray Davies decided to have a quick sing song of an old tune to fill out the time. Interesting to see what was going through his head at the time, but not essential.
Side 1
Top Of The Pops
Brainwashed
Mr. Wonderful
Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues
Holiday
Side 2
Muswell Hillbilly
Alcohol
Banana Boat Song
Skin & Bone
Baby Face
Side 3
’Til The End Of The Day
You’re Looking `fine
Get Back In Line
Have A Cuppa tea
Sunny Afternoon
Side 4
Complicated Life
Long Tall Shorty
She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
Lola
History (Studio Outtake)
The cover is one of those rare occasions where I have created the back of the sleeve as well as the front. That is because the picture has pretty much the who band and the Mike Cotton Sound in view (apart from keyboard player John Gosling). As this is a double LP and would have had a gatefold sleeve (this was the 70s you know), having the whole image was the right thing to do.
This post is a celebration of the lost art of the children’s record. When I was a young lad, I had numerous records for younger listeners, be it compilations of songs from Disney films, nursery rhymes or even the absolute classic ‘All Aboard’ which featured songs by the likes of Bernard Cribbins and Arthur Askey. That album was one for the inspirations of this compilation and a number of the songs on that record appear on Disc 1. The second inspiration was a compilation released by Light in the Attic called ‘This Record Belongs To’. I was initially drawn to buying that as it contained the rather wonderful ‘Pinball Number Count’ by the Pointer Sisters, which was featured in episodes of Sesame Street. I also owned a couple of records on the BBC Record label which were soundtracks to children’s shows such as Play School and Play Away.
On listening to ‘This Record Belongs To’, I wondered if there was enough material to extend this to a whole CD worth of music. It did not take me long for this to turn into a three CD set. Not every song is directly aimed at children (e.g. the songs included by Pink Floyd and the Velvet Underground), but they fit the general theme of this compilation.
Disc 1
Dance Of The Cuckoos (Laurel & Hardy Theme) – Marvin Hatley
Tip Toe Through The Tulips – Nick Lucas
Trail Of The Lonesome Pine – The Avalon Boys feat. Laurel & Hardy
Whistle While You Work – Adrianna Caselotti
The Owl & The Pussycat – Elton Hayes
The Teddy Bears Picnic – Henry Hall & His Orchestra
Buckingham Palace – Anne Kinney Stephens
The Runaway Train – Michael Holliday
Nellie The Elephant – Mandy Miller
The Bee Song – Arthur Askey
I’ve Got No Strings – Dickie Jones
I Known An Old Lady – Burl Ives
Chim Chim Cheree – Dick Van Dyke & Julie Andrews
The Ugly Duckling – Danny Kaye
The Hippopotamus Song – Ian Wallace
Daisy Bell (On A Bicycle Made For Two) – Dinah Shore
Mr. Sandman – The Chordates
Robin Hood – Dick James
The Gnu Song – Flanders & Swann
Banana Boat (Day-O) – Stan Freberg
Goodness Gracious Me – Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf – Pink & Perky
Push Like A Button – Ninette
Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport – Rolf Harris
My Boomerang Won’t Come Back – Charlie Drake
Right Said Fred – Bernard Cribbins
My Brother – Terry Scott
A Windmill In Old Amsterdam – Ronnie Hilton
Puff The Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul & Mary
Lazy Moon – Oliver Hardy
Disc 2
Little Cowboy – Harry Nilsson
The Clapping Song – Shirley Ellis
Scooby Doo, Where Are You – Larry Marks
Yellow Submarine – The Beatles
Siamese Cat – The Cowslils
Simon Smith & His Amazing Dancing Bear – Harpers Bizarre
The Gnome – Pink Floyd
Lazy Sunday – The Small Faces
Barefoot & Tiptoe – Sweet Shop
Dream, Dream, Dream – Zion De Gallier
Lighthouse Keeper – Sunforest
Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ In An Aeroplane) – The Beach Boys
Lily Pond – Vashti Bunyan
Mickey The Monkey – Tiny Tim
Best Friend – Puppet
Mabel – Procol Harum
Mellow Yellow – Donovan
Everybody Wants To Be A Cat – Scatman Crothers
London Bridge – Jonathan Moore
The Scarecrow – Pink Floyd
I’m An Urban Spaceman – Bonzo Bog Do Dah Band
(Theme From) The Monkees – The Monkees
Poison Apples – The Happy Medium
Corduroy Joy – The Staines Glass
Alice – Gil & Johnny
I’m A Lonesome Little Raindrop – Tiny Tim
The Land Where Animals Are People – Brother’s Legend
I’m Sticking With You – The Velvet Underground
Cellophane Mary-Jane – Astronaut Alan & The Planets
Oo-De-Lally – Roger Miller
Pretty Tress Around The World – Ella Jenkins
Mornington Ride – The Seekers
Laurel & Hardy – Jan & Dean
Little Cowboy (Reprise) – Harry Nilsson
Disc 3
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – Steeleye Span
Play School Theme – Carol Chell & Brian Cant
Remember Your A Womble – The Wombles
Rupert – Jackie Lee
Rainbow – Tell Tale
Bang On A Drum – Rick Jones
Wotcher (Knocked ‘Em In The Old Kent World) – The Muppets
The Mandolin Man & His Secret – Donovan
Elementary, My Dear – Bob Dorough
Ernie (The Fastest Milkmen In The West) – Benny Hill
Gimme Dat Ding – The Pipkins
Snoopy vs. The Red Baron – Hotshots
Fat Sam’s Grand Slam – Paul Williams
The Smurf Song – Father Abraham
Pinball Number Count – The Pointer Sisters
Rubber Duckie – Ernie
Ricky & His Aeroplane – Derek Griffiths
Pure Imagination – Gene Wilder
Grandad – Clive Dunn
Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris
Autumn’s Really Here Now – Tell Tale
You Can Sing A Rainbow – Nina Simone
Love Is All – Roger Glover feat. Dio
Running In The Garden – Miss Abrahams & The Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class
Rainbow Connection – Kermit The Frog
You Give A Little Love – Paul Williams
Play Away Theme – Brian Cant, Toni Arthur, Lionel Morton, Julie Covington
The image on the front is a Fisher Price Music Box Record Player. This was a wind-up device which played plastic records. The tunes included classics such as ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ and ‘London Bridge’. I owned one back in the day and these records did better than the vinyl I was given as these were impossible to scratch. Some of the records I was given in my childhood were on the Surprise Surprise label. This was a subsidiary of EMI’s Music For Pleasure label and was designed to rerelease music specifically aimed at children. I thought that the logo of the rabbit in the box with the words Surprise Surprise above its head would be a perfect label for a release of this sort.
I’m not sure how I first heard of Hem. I can only assume that one of their songs was being played on late night radio in 2002, the year that their first album came out. I say this because I remember it being one of the first things I bought on line as I am pretty sure that it was only available on import at the time. Being so long ago, they were one of the first bands who had a website that I knew of where the band would upload songs that were not on the debut album for people to download. The bitrate of those recordings must have been very low compared to what we expect now, but it was nice to access that otherwise unavailable material.
It is hard to describe the music of Hem. Is it folkie, roots or Americana? I just think of it as beautiful. The band at the time were not really a band at all, but a studio based project for songwriter Dan Messe and producer Gary Maurer. They spent a considerable amount of time looking for a singer for this project, but after listening to a great number of bizarre and unlistenable demo tapes, they almost gave up with the project. However, Sally Ellyson contacted Messes and sent him a tape of a cappella recordings, but she did warm him she was not really a singer. However, Messe knew that Ellyson was the right person for his music and the groups debut album ‘Rabbit Songs’ duly followed.
The band then began touring and continued release music but as of this post, nothing new has come out since 2015 which is a shame. I always looked forward to a new Hem release and it was annoying when some of the songs from disc one in this collection were not available on Spotify. I would highly recommend you get yourself a copy of ‘Rabbit Songs’ and discover for yourself the beauty that is Hem especially as there looks to be a deluxe edition of that album in the pipeline, and the possibility of it being released on vinyl for the first time. Personally, I cannot wait.
