Can the Kinks Hit Jackpot?
A disc that had HIT stamped on it before it was released was the Kink's version of All Day and All of the Night, their fab, crisp follow-up to their kinky, off-beat, You Really Got Me. The Kinks have a marvelous way of working. They seem to take every number and manage to get something different. Sounds, and is in a way, almost impossible, but somehow one gets the feeling that The Kinks just don't follow the usual way of recording. Just walk into a studio, have their number run through a few times and then record it. I believe they work hard on a number, hard enough to say that when they have recorded a stack of numbers, finding the best "A" side isn't too easy a problem.
Certainly The Kinks could do a lot better on their latest though. I have a feeling that this song could have been done well indeed for some people, but not for the Kinks as it is now. I'm sure that The Kinks could have taken this song and done it in another style and made a much better job. It doesn't to me, mean as big a hit as their You Really Got Me, which I didn't like at first but which later turned out to be well worth while.
To be very honest, I didn't think very much of The Kink's songs or first record at all. It was only after a great deal of playing that I eventually realized that this disc could be a really hot seller. Maybe it's the same feelings I have on the second one. So far I've only played it four times. Maybe another forty and I'll change my mind, but I'm not one of those people who say it's great, when I really don't think so. Judging by the rave receptions it has got everywhere it certainly looks as if I'm going to be wrong again.
In fact it could be the surprise disc of the month and pinch the No. 1 slot from Sandie Shaw or whoever will be at the top slot in the next few weeks. The Kinks are in fact already starting to lay claim to a big hit in the U.S. Their first disc has already paved the way by selling the odd 100,000 copies, and their second should do about double, if I've guessed the right American attitude. The Americans are much more gullible than British teenagers. It takes a lot of hard work to get accepted by them, but once you are, as a pop star you can be pretty sure of having at least four hits there, even if the records are bad, and some of them are.
The Kinks, anyway, will in my opinion hit a fortune whether they hit in America or only in Great Britain. They don't have to be great singers if they can produce a distinctive style.
Pop Weekly 11/14/64
