From: DQuayle232@aol.com Date: Sat, 5 Aug 2000 05:23:16 EDT Subject: Kovers Three Olga said, "If I send you an early pressing, will you do a review for KPS so that more people will buy it." I tried to say "No" to the dame but ... well by now more of you over in the States will have discovered that this is not such an easy thing. This was a commitment I didn't need. Time, of course, and what if I hated it, or worse was only luke warm - sword of Damocles or what? Enough. I needn't have worried. It is a veritable cornucopia. Invidious though it is to single out individual contributions a bit of that inevitably goes on in what follows. Not mentioned doesn't mean dismissed, all right? There are many reasons why you should buy 'The Great Lost KPS Album' as soon as you can: 1. It is very very interesting; if the songs of Ray Davies are one of the main reasons you are on this list then what is on offer here is a great springboard for contemplation on the matter of what is a song (as opposed to a recording), what makes a good song, and what happens to a good song when liberated from the vision of the songs' writer and over-zealous, over-determining and often obsessive producer. Will Hawthorne's more relaxed version of 'Word of mouth', for example, made me listen to the words in a way I've never bothered with before - it's a personal song, with room for sadness as well as anger. Jim Smart's 'State of confusion' similarly gives a song that has never been one of my favourites room to breathe to great effect - nice one. 2. It is full of visceral pleasures and great performances - not all of it, but I bet you'll get more enjoyment out of this on the whole than the professional in-production Ray tribute album involving people like Ron Sexsmith that has been mentioned here and on alt.kinks lately which will probably cost you an arm and a leg. If you heard a fair number of these tracks wafting out a bar window on the other side of the street you would definitely cross the road. 3. It is ludicrously cheap and any profits will go the leukaemia charity championed by one of the Kast Off Kinks (sorry, I've forgotten, is it Dalton?) and supported by the OKFC in the UK. But you don't need the sanctity that brings to drink at this well. Even the bonus CD ('Kwirky' by the two Geoffs - spellchecker: goofs - and one Olga) has got bonus tracks - including someone masquerading as Genevieve Foquinelle doing a Piaf-ed 'Barques les Meuses' (say it out loud). 4. The cover art is borrowed from the rare Reprise vinyl compilation 'The great lost Kinks album' so if you don't know what that looks like you will have a visual reference to save yourself time when foraging at car boot and garage sales. Similarly, if like me you've never knowingly heard the song 'This strange effect' before (recorded by Dave Berry) you will have soon. 5. You will have fun and at times you may laugh like a drain. And I don't just mean Ayrton's two contributions, though they are worth your money on their own. (I presume that's the Portuguese language version 'Hatred', though for all us language limited Anglos know he could have slipped anything in). Shall I just say he touches on Zappa at his most joyful - I just bet he has a big moustache. 6. There's good rockin' tonight. From the familiar opening chords of 'Hard way' - the opener of the main CD - The Intricate Smears' take no prisoners. A very fine piece of noise making. Whose band is this? Are they regular posters or KPS lurkers? Any other 'names' in the bands featured? Doesn't Chris Locke have something to do with Dave's website? Shall I start a Heavy Jelly style rumour that Dave might have been involved with his version of INLEBE on aural evidence alone? Will that help sales? 7. You get a glimpse of what it might have been like if it had been John, Paul, George, Ringo and Ray with The Spivs' 'See my friends' (with a real - you know - synth sitar that intriguingly sounds more like a banjo at the beginning) and a 'Sitting in my hotel' which hints of 'Fool on the hill.' Patrick Costello deliciously highlights the similarity of Eric Clapton's enormous riff on Cream's 'Sunshine of your love' to that on 'King Kong.' And so it goes. Is that enough to make you seek out the information for easy ordering that Neil flags at the head of this estimable digest? Do it now. If I have one specific criticism to make of the enterprise it is that Geoff, Geoff and Olga probably weren't drunk enough when they assayed 'Alcohol.' I'd put a smiley there if I could be bothered to learn how to do one. Cheers Dave Q