Track Listing

1. David Watts
2. Death of a Clown
3. Two Sisters
4. No Return
5. Harry Rag
6. Tin Soldier Man
7. Situation Vacant
8. Love Me Till the Sun Shines
9. Lazy Old Sun
10. Afternoon Tea
11. Funny Face
12. End of the Season
13. Waterloo Sunset

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11144 in Music
• Released on: 1990-05-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Some fans argue that this 1967 release is one of head Kink Ray Davies's middle-period masterpieces (coming between two LPs that no kultist can deny: Face to Face and Village Green Preservation Society), while others regard it as an uneven collection of great singles and inconsequential filler; a stopgap move. Although no one could argue that it's as consistent as those classics, Something Else does boast one of the great one-two punches in rock history: the rumbling tale of social envy, "David Watts," and "Death of a Clown," a slurring pub sing-along warbled by brother Dave. Elsewhere, the quartet dives headfirst into droning psychedelia ("Lazy Old Sun"), whimsical balladry ("Afternoon Tea"), suburban soap opera ("Two Sisters"--love that harpsichord), and one of the most poignant singles in rock history ("Waterloo Sunset"). --Don Harrison

Customer Reviews

This is Yummy, but get the Import!
Okay...even in this "original format", this is probably the best Kinks album, but I must lead you to the remastered & expanded import. However, even its original format you get:

David Watts: The famous "fa fa fa fa" song. Great driving rhythm. Blueprint for the Jam (and covered by the Jam in the 70's).

Death of a Clown: over-rated, as far as I'm concerned, but most folks find it to be a classic.

Two Sisters: a transparent metaphor for the rivalry between brothers Dave & Ray. Dave was the rave-up sex toy, and Ray was the jealous domesticated husband/father (at the time).

No Return: absolutely BRILLIANT shuffling, jazzy ditty. Yo La Tengo does a nice cover of this...

Harry Rag: Music hall sing-along tune about everything being okay as long as you've got a smoke.

Tin Soldier Man: another song disparaging the middle class (such as "Well Respected Man"). Great horny section (I mean, section with horns).

Situation Vacant: an organ jiving 60's rocker about giving up everything to keep your mother in law happy (and being miserable as a result).

Afternoon Tea: one of several Ray Davies songs espousing the merits of tea (like "Have a Cuppa Tea")...great Beach Boy'esque harmonies.

Waterloo Sunset: probably Ray Davies single best song...poignant lyrics about love and love's ability to make a substandard environment (have you ever been to Waterloo station?) seem like paradise. Harmonies like melted gold boulion.

The album also includes several other second rate numbers (Lazy Old Sun, Love Me till the Sun Shines, Funny Face, & End of the Season), which are also good/great but pale next to their neighbors.

Finally, the import contains EIGHT bonus tracks included the marvellous "There is No Life without Love" (sounds cheesy, but it's sublime). Do you yourself a favor and get ANY VERSION of this album...even a stretched out 8 track tape. These songs represent, in my opinion, the pinnacle of rock's potential. The Kinks have MANY great albums, and made great songs as late as 1976 (I personally adore the "Soap Opera" album), but this one has the highest number of A+ tracks, and also the greatest stylistic variety.

The Kinks: what to buy
I will skip the babbling about how great The Kinks are. Here is the order in which I recommend buying their albums:

1. Something Else By The Kinks (5 stars)

2. Face to Face (5 stars)

3. Village Green Preservation Society (5 stars)

4. Arthur... (5 stars)

5. Lola Versus Powerman & The Moneygoround (4.5 stars)

6. Misfits (4 stars)

7. Muswell Hillbillies (4 stars)

The first five are masterpieces. "Something Else" and "Village Green" are cohesive ensemble pieces; "Face to Face" is a fabulous collection of songs. Note that this is not a ranking; this is just the order in which I recommend buying these gems.

My Personal Favorite
As I write this review of Something Else I am sitting under the framed album cover autographed by Ray & Dave Davies. I'd waited outside their hotel, sometime early '70's, hoping they'd pop out. I brought my favorite Kinks album, and as Ray signed it, he said: "I don't think even I have a copy of this record." I assumed he was kidding. In any case, he wasn't about to get mine!

My favorite period for the Kinks was part of the least popular in America - that period that encompassed Face to Face, Something Else, and Village Green Preservation Society. Record sales had slunk so low that Reprise Records famously advertised a compilation for one penny with the slogan - "God Save the Kinks!" I have that compilation in my record closet. For my money, everyone should own Face to Face, Something Else, and Village Green, a tryptich of classic songs perfectly delivered. With this era, the Kinks solidified their position as one of the most creative, adventuresome, and accomplished of all their peers.

Something Else opens with David Watts, a wonderful tale of adolescent jealousy and envy. Everybody has known a David Watts - someone who walks on water, someone who always gets their way, for whom everything in life comes easy. Death of a Clown follows this - a song that always makes me sing-a-long with it, even if I haven't been drinking. Something Else includes songs (for the first time?) written by Dave Davies - in addition to Death of a Clown, Dave penned Love Me Till the Sun Shines and Funny Face.

There are songs that harken back to music hall music, like Harry Rag or Tin Soldier Man. A gentle ambiance of nostalgia, bittersweet longing for simplicity, old traditions, times gone by. Afternoon Tea. Lazy Old Sun. End of the Season. Themes that become fully realized on Village Green, but this is the interlude. The transitional album inbetween. It's as much of a concept album as Sgt. Pepper or Tommy or Forever Changes. It's just different. And very British.

But the best is saved for last, Waterloo Sunset. It's been described as the most perfect pop song ever written. A song for the centuries. That's not just my opinion - it's been described that way by Paul Weller, Elvis Costello, David Bowie. It's breathtakingly beautiful. The perfect end to the perfect album.