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British Invasion - Who's Number Four?

grillebilly said:
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It is a great number, but the original in-studio version is marred by a single defect, being, the lead vocals were Dave, not Ray, a miscalculation remedied @ concerts early on, when it ws determined that Ray sang the number with a LOT more conviction than Dave, whose highly pitched --- and oft falsetto -- treatment was a bit on the light side for a number bearing such aggressive lyrical content. In fact, the best-ever rendition I've heard is a live "in studio" performance @ BBC during an appearance on the Emma Freud Show .... @ Maida Vale Studios, London, 1994. Ray absolutely growls his way through it. IIRC, it is this rendition that Dave Chase "fitted" into a segment of The Sopranos, one where Tony, after knocking the f*** outta someone and having a showdown w/ older sister Janice, struts through the 'hood, wordless, only this number accompanying his trek. It's a cool scene, one of the high moments @ The Sopranos.

cc: @KeninDC
 
grillebilly said:
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This rendition sounds rather like an @ BBC performance, not the original B-Side, as it bears a blending of Ray + Dave @ the vocals, rather than the original's Dave alone @ vocals misdeed. Already the thing, owing to Ray's contribution, carries more menace to the sound, an aspect that would be enhanced as the number became, over time, wholly Ray's thing. Note: the band also slowed the tempo somewhat over time, lending still another level of "menace" to the effect.

It is up there with "Till The End Of The Day" as my favorite number by The Kinks, but definitely @ later & live renditions, not the studio original. OTOH, every rendition of "Till The End Of The Day" is a delight.
 
grillebilly said:
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Live rendition that accompanied Ton's romp @ The Sopranos... note that Ray's introduction was not included in the televised program's scene:


Listen to the difference w/ Ray @ vocals... aggressive lyrics backed w/ more substance, grit, and menace befitting of the lyrical content.
 
Best song from '64 to '68 is "Jumping Jack Flash" (1968). Jimmy Miller's first Stones production. Back to rock & roll with enough psych (from Satanic) to keep things fresh. Monster riff. Maybe the best rock & roll song ever. A beast live before they started rushing through it ('76 and '77).

Listen for the tell-tale tape drag.
 
grillebilly said:
Out of all the bands, it's tough to beat The Animals and lead singer Eric Burdon. Probably the best singer of the day. Band was no slouch either.

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Up there for sure. Everybody recognizes House of the Rising Sun from the first sound of the guitar. A cover absolutely but they sure hit a big one with it. Turn it up ya know...
 
Number Four will always be The Kinks, but I have been, of late, in LOVE with these guys...


Burdon's vocals / sound is better than Jagger, Daltrey and Davies absolutely ... and I prefer it as well to the sounds of The Four-Headed Monster ... yeah, even (pope?) John~Paul.

Burdon's "Blues" voice was waaaaaay more convincing than that of all of the above.
 
Mystic said:
Number Four will always be The Kinks, but I have been, of late, in LOVE with these guys...


Burdon's vocals / sound is better than Jagger, Daltrey and Davies absolutely ... and I prefer it as well to the sounds of The Four-Headed Monster ... yeah, even (pope?) John~Paul.

Burdon's "Blues" voice was waaaaaay more convincing than that of all of the above.
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I can name that song in two notes. It is burned into the mind of anybody around when it was released and years later.
 
spicer said:
I can name that song in two notes. It is burned into the mind of anybody around when it was released and years later.
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Most folk (but not record producer Mickie Most, lol) would not recognize the name Hilton Valentine, the guy who played those famous introductory guitar notes on the original single by The Animals.
 
spicer said:
I can name that song in two notes. It is burned into the mind of anybody around when it was released and years later.
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The number is, of course, an old Blues number that crawled outta somewhere in the USA, likely New Orleans, in the Twenties or Thirties. But give 'em their due: There's not a recorded rendition of this number that quite stands up to the rendition recorded by The Animals and released in 1964.

Eric Burdon is one of the greatest Bluesmen who ever sang The Blues.
 
Mystic said:
Most folk (but not record producer Mickie Most, lol) would not recognize the name Hilton Valentine, the guy who played those famous introductory guitar notes on the original single by The Animals.
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Even if one forgot that name is instantly recognized by anyone who read the record jackets. I can see his picture in memory from one of the albums.
 
#4 is tough - probably The Who as The Beatles and Stones were so much more prolific.

Named my son Raymond Douglas so my #1 is set in birth certificate stone.
 
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The Top Ten
  1. The Beatles
  2. The Rolling Stones
  3. The Who
  4. The Kinks
  5. The Animals
  6. The Small Faces
  7. The Hollies
  8. The Moody Blues
  9. The Yardbirds
  10. The Zombies
 
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