The Kinks - "Face to Face" (1966)

This is the shit I've been waiting for all morning. Dense, layered production, lots of acoustic guitar (which I love). Cut three, "Dandy" is fucking beautiful to me. All of Ray's songs are about the average bloke at this point (reportedly a reaction to his difficulties dealing with the Kinks new-found stardom), and I think it's only at this point that he finds voice lyrically. The double time harpsichord part running through the back of the mix on "Too Much On My Mind" slays me. In fact, this album is rife with crushingly wonderful harpsichord parts. This is very much the Davies' Pet Sounds (released the same year), and absolutely kills Revolver. [One should note, however that I detest the Beatles, and my opinion of them and all of their work is totally invalid because of that. I cannot be impartial where those Liverpudlian mop tops are concerned.] I would highly, highly recommend this record. Not a bad track on it.
- posted by Mason @ 11:43 AM