Sunrise, "Sunset"





Two live versions of my favorite Kinks song, the one about Terence Stamp, Julie Christie, and all those people swarming like flies 'round Waterloo station on Friday night. The first shows the Kinks, and while the sound quality could be a little better, I love the black-and-white transfer and how the fades and TV framings make Swingin' London seem like a transmission from some lost, fabulous alien planet. Given Blur's enormous musical debt to the Kinks, I shouldn't be surprised that Damon Albarn and Ray Davies harmonize so beautifully in the second clip, but I do really dig the older brother-younger brother chemistry they display here.

Comments

The Siren said…
one of my very favorite songs as well. I love the Kinks in general. Where do you stand on "Days"?
Brian Doan said…
Campaspe,
I like "Days" a lot, too. The first version of it I ever heard was actually Elvis Costello's, from the "Until The End of the World" soundtrack. I like his version a lot, but it's very different-- slower, less jangly, and more like a mournful hymn (Costello has that great voice that can sound angry, sad and wistful all at once).
Brian Doan said…
Oh, and there's also a lovely live version by a band I'd never heard of called the Submarines, on I-Tunes as a "download exclusive" or somesuch. As I said, I hadn't heard of the band before, but I love their version of the song-- it's a man and a woman, and the blending of their voices, and the way they trade verses, almost allows you to imagine that "Terry and Julie" are singing it themselves. Highly recommended.

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