To The Bone

Release info: Produced by: Ray Davies Release date: 3 Mar, 1997 Record label & catalog #: Guardian 7243 8 37303 2 1 Country: UK Format: 2 CD set Release type: Regular release

Tracks:

Disc 1
1. All Day And All Of The Night		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
2. Apeman		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
3. Tired Of Waiting For You		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
4. See My Friends		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
5. Death Of A Clown		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
6. Muswell Hillbilly		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
7. Better Things		stereo mix, recorded Apr 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
8. Don't Forget To Dance		stereo mix, recorded Apr 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
9. Sunny Afternoon		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
10. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
11. Do It Again		live (Ray solo), stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
12. Do It Again		live (with band), stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
Disc 2
1. Celluloid Heroes		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
2. Picture Book		stereo mix, recorded Apr 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
3. The Village Green Preservation Society		stereo mix, recorded Apr 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
4. Do You Remember Walter?		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
5. Set Me Free		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
6. Lola		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
7. Come Dancing		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
8. I'm Not Like Everybody Else		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
9. Till The End Of The Day		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
10. Give The People What They Want		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
11. State Of Confusion		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Mar, 1994 at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
12. Dead End Street		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
13. A Gallon Of Gas		live, stereo mix, recorded 11 Apr, 1994 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
14. Days		live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
15. You Really Got Me		live, stereo mix, recorded 12 Aug, 1993 at Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
16. Animal		stereo mix, recorded Mar-Apr 1996 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London
17. To The Bone		stereo mix (4:30), recorded Mar-Apr 1996 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London

Liner Notes:

This record came about almost by accident. In 1994 the Kinks went into Konk studio primarily to video tape some songs for their own archives. A handful of fans and friends were assembled at the sessions to give the recording an intimate-live feel. We wanted to record some of the lesser known songs that had not been on any of the numerous compilation albums. It was also interesting to perform some of the well known hits in a stripped down acoustic form. The band had been on a long world tour and were a very "tight" unit and so it was decided that the recordings were good enough to make it onto an album. The personnel were Ray Davies on guitar and vocals, Dave Davies on lead guitar and back vocals, Jim Rodford on bass and back vocals, Bob Henrit on drums and Ian Gibbons on keyboards and back vocals. These recordings have been cut together with some live concerts recorded during that same period. The tracks themselves were mixed down at Konk studio in two sections. There are also some fine performances on this record. Notably Dave Davies' guitar work on "I'm Not Like Everybody Else," and "Gallon Of Gas," just to mention a few. The band's sleazy groove in "Do You Remember Walter" is straight out of a beer cellar in 1930's Berlin. Bob Henrit's double bass drum flip during "Do It Again," is also worthy of mention.

The first batch of songs were mixed during the Summer of 1994 and the rest at the end of '95. We thought it would be a good idea to record a couple of new songs and so in April '96, we went in and recorded TO THE BONE and ANIMAL, both of which had been performed in my solo show.

I had, in fact, commissioned myself to write a song called TO THE BONE and I wrote a total of three songs with this title. The first was dedicated to one of my cats, Rusty. He became a minor "star" when his video appeared at the 1994 Kinks convention. I was unable to attend but instead sent a home video of Rusty listening to Kinks records. The song was about two warring cats (the other is called Rita. She is a pretty little bitch but she gives Rusty a terrible life). Rusty is a fat old Liverpudlian 'Maine Coon' tom cat who grunts like a dog and so, to totally confuse him, I called this song DOG PEOPLE. Rusty is also fond of hard rock and grunge. This is totally opposite of Rita who prefers slow melodic ballads. Between them, they seem to sum up what the Kinks are about. They also fight a lot, something which has been leveled at the Kinks and whilst I do not agree with the popular myth that has grown up around certain related parties in the Kinks, I would compare it to Rusty and Rita's relationship in that as much as the two of them fight and bicker, if one ever strayed the other would be devastated. The song ANIMAL was written for my solo show but in many ways the story line could apply to my cats. Watching the way they interact and the basic, instinctive way they related to each other, could easily be observed in human relationships.

The other incarnation of TO THE BONE was a love ballad about a man having a tooth extracted at the same time as he is breaking up with his girlfriend. This song was called THE DENTIST CHAIR. Both DOG PEOPLE and DENTIST CHAIR will probably turn up somewhere on a 'B' side or on a future album so don't fret too much. The song TO THE BONE that has made it onto the album was chosen primarily because it had gone down so well during live performance. The song is about a broken relationship. This guy arrives home after a long tour to discover that his woman has not only left but taken all the best pieces of furniture. All she has left behind is a copy of a Kinks record. The guy is obviously broken up about this, particularly as the record was a gift from her to him in the first place and all the songs remind him of the time when the two of them were in love. As he plays the record, he discovers that the songs on the record served as a soundtrack to their relationship.

I also featured the song on the Storyteller show I did recently for VH-1. It is often difficult to break in new songs when they have to compete with more established material but I am happy to say that in live performance, TO THE BONE has more than held its own. In fact I have recently discovered that there is an old Irish saying that goes: "Hold on to the bone and all the dogs will follow."

Which reminds me, I had better let the cats out. I hope you enjoy this record. I make no excuses for the live concert tracks being cut in and out of the more un-plugged sessions. I think this gives the record an edge. It is also very characteristic of the Kinks. Just when you think you are comfortable and you slurp into your easy listening mode, they snap back in live concert so that you have to sit up and take notice. I've got a few of my favorite Kinks songs on this record. And they are not necessarily the ones people might expect. I hope you find a couple of your own on this record.

Ray Davies
August '96

Vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards: Ray Davies
Lead guitar and vocals: Dave Davies
Bass and vocals: Jim Rodford
Drums and percussion: Bob Henrit
Keyboards and vocals: Ian Gibbons

All songs composed by Ray Davies with the exception of "Death Of A Clown"
composed by Ray Davies and Dave Davies

PRODUCED BY RAY DAVIES.
Recorded and mixed at Konk Studios, London and at various live concerts.

ENGINEERED BY STAN LOUBIERES
Assistant Engineers: Graham Hogg and Mark Aubrey
Studio Assistants: Will Pitt and Phillip Crosbie

"To The Bone" and "Animal" -
Recorded at Konk Studios, London
Engineered by Richard Edwards, Assistant Mark Aubrey
Mixed by Bob Clearmountain, Assisted by Jason Goldstein at Right Track Studios, NY
Mastered by Ted Jenson at Sterling Sound Studios, NY

Package Design: Studio Q Int'l
Photography and photo illustration by Gary Powell except:

Robert Ellis (Ian Gibbons)
Paul Cox (Dave Davies, Jim Rodford, Bob Henrit)
Ray and Dave Davies photo courtesy of Konk Studios' archives.

Management: Deke Arlon

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