Product Description

Having closed out their hard-rock period, the Kinks went pastoral on SOMETHING ELSE. It's an album of folk and pop songs about the quiet pleasures of family life and the English countryside, dotted with harpsichords, acoustic guitars, and ethereal harmonies. A radical rejection of the Age of Aquarius, it was one of the boldest pop albums of its time, a commercial failure but an artistic landmark. In "Two Sisters", Ray Davies sings about a wild, swinging woman and her homemaking sister, and dares to side with the latter. Other songs include "Afternoon Tea", surely the first rock song ever written on that subject, and the majestic "Waterloo Sunset", which has been described as the most beautiful song ever written in the English language.

Track Listing

1. David Watts
2. Death Of A Clown
3. Two Sisters
4. No Return
5. Harry Rag
6. Tin Soldier Man
7. Situation Vacant
8. Love Me Till The Sun Shines
9. Lazy Old Sun
10. Afternoon Tea
11. Funny Face
12. End Of The Season
13. Waterloo Sunset
14. Suzannah's Still Alive
15. Autumn Almanac
16. Act Nice And Gentle
17. Wonderboy
18. Pretty Polly
19. Lincoln County
20. There's No Life Without Love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140419 in Music
• Released on: 1998-03-30
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Some fans argue that this 1967 release is one of head Kink Ray Davies's middle-period masterpieces (coming between two LPs that no kultist can deny: Face to Face and Village Green Preservation Society), while others regard it as an uneven collection of great singles and inconsequential filler; a stopgap move. Something Else does boast one of the great one-two punches in rock history: "David Watts", the rumbling tale of social envy, and "Death of a Clown", a slurring pub sing-along warbled by brother Dave. Elsewhere, the quartet dives headfirst into droning psychedelia on "Lazy Old Sun", whimsical balladry with "Afternoon Tea", suburban soap opera on "Two Sisters"--love that harpsichord--as well as one of the most poignant singles in rock history, "Waterloo Sunset". --Don Harrison

Customer Reviews

Why is it all in mono?
These recordings were made in 1966 and 1967, so why is it all in mono, while stereo was already very common then?!
According to the info, the Bonus Track: Lazy Old Sun, is in stereo, but my ears are telling me it's mono as well...
I own a very good stereo version of: Waterloo Sunset, released in 1991 on: The Kinks Greatest Hits, by: Sound-Products Holland b.v., SPHCD 7801. So why is is this great song in mono on this Re-master???
Just as well I bought this disc only for a couple of songs that were still missing in my catalogue. Apart from: Death Of A Clown and Waterloo Sunset, plus most of the Bonus Tracks, the other songs are pretty poor compositions.

you'll love it or hate it
This is probably the Kinks least inspired efforts, very little to engage you and every other track is a 'skipper'. Paradoxically, you've also got on this album one of the best songs they ever did...one of the best songs anyone's ever done. Waterloo Sunset. It's pure brilliance from start to finish and if they hit those high backing vocals without the help of a vice, it desrves an award all by itself. However one good song, no matter how good, does not a good album make. David Watts has something about it, Death of A Clown too. Not much else.

Almost 5 Stars, but why is it in mono?
On the basis of the songs this is the Kinks' finest release, and includes their finest song, Waterloo Sunset. It should be a 5-star CD, but for one thing. When compiling this otherwise beautifully remastered version, which includes some excellent bonus tracks, someone chose to use a mono version of the recording. Since I have the earlier CD version which appears to be in true stereo, I find this a strange decision. The Village Green Preservation Society remaster includes both mono and stereo mixes; I wonder why this one is mono alone. Was Ray Davies involved in the reissue, or did someone else prefer the mono mix?