| "Juke Box Music" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Kinks | ||||
| from the album Sleepwalker | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 3 June 1977 | |||
| Recorded | Begun 1976 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 5:32 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Juke Box Music" is a track from The Kinks' 1977 album, Sleepwalker. It was one of the first tracks recorded in The Kinks' Konk recording complex. The song was also performed for The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977.
Kinks frontman and songwriter Ray Davies described the song as being about "a girl who listens to the juke box all day and really believes all the lyrics. People like me write lots of lyrics and she really believes it." [1] "Juke Box Music" is about a music fan who believes in the lyrics of the songs that she plays repeatedly on the juke box. David Levesley of GQ called the song a "fresh take" on the female archetype in American rock 'n' roll culture, writing, "While this woman is obsessed with the romance and heightened emotions of music, it leads to everyone else wondering why she distances herself from reality." [2] Rolling Stone says that the topic "should be a pathetic song, yet Davies has us tapping our feet, singing along." [3]
"Juke Box Music" was released as the second single from the band's 1976 Sleepwalker album, backed with "Sleepless Night" in the UK and Germany and with "Life Goes On" in the US. Despite the moderate commercial success of the band's previous single, it did not chart. "Juke Box Music" has since appeared on the Arista compilation album Come Dancing with The Kinks . It also gets the rare airplay on SiriusXM's Classic Rewind channel as well.
"Juke Box Music" has been positively reviewed by many critics. Robert Christgau recommended the track in his review of the Sleepwalker album, [4] and Rolling Stone claimed that it "is the best song [on Sleepwalker]." [3] AllMusic called the track "exceptional", [5] and said it was "yet another impressionistic portrait by the Kinks' Ray Davies". [6]
GQ's Levesley named the song on his list of "sixteen The Kinks songs that soundtracked England perfectly," writing, "Even here, in a song that feels like very old-school Kinks, they manage to do something fresh thanks to Davies' idiosyncratic look at the world." [2]
David Russell Gordon Davies is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as a member of the Kinks.
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), often referred to as just Arthur, is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released in October 1969. Kinks frontman Ray Davies constructed the concept album as the soundtrack to a Granada Television play and developed the storyline with novelist Julian Mitchell; the television programme was never produced. The rough plot revolved around Arthur Morgan, a carpet-layer, who was based on Ray and guitarist Dave Davies' brother-in-law Arthur Anning.
Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, commonly abbreviated to Lola Versus Powerman, or simply Lola, is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, recorded and released in 1970. A concept album, it is a satirical appraisal of the music industry, including song publishers, unions, the press, accountants, business managers, and life on the road. Musically Lola Versus Powerman is varied, described by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "a wildly unfocused but nonetheless dazzling tour de force", containing some of Ray Davies's strongest songs.
"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by English rock band the Kinks on their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter between a young man and a possible trans woman or cross-dresser, whom he meets in a club in Soho, London. In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards Lola, who "walked like a woman but talked like a man".
Soap Opera or The Kinks Present a Soap Opera is a 1975 concept album by the Kinks. It is the fourteenth studio album by the Kinks.
The Great Lost Kinks Album is a compilation album by the English rock band the Kinks. Released in the United States in January 1973, it features material recorded by the group between 1966 and 1970 that had mostly gone unreleased. The compilation served to satisfy Reprise Records after executives determined that the Kinks contractually owed them one more album, despite the band's departure from the label in 1971.
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.
Come Dancing with The Kinks: The Best of 1977-1986 is a double album compilation by the Kinks, released on Arista Records in 1986. It contains thirteen tracks released as singles, only one of which did not also appear on album, and six album tracks. Every one of the band's seven albums released by Arista during the time period indicated is represented here. Designed specifically for the American market, it peaked at No. 159 on the Billboard 200 and failed to chart in the United Kingdom. A version for compact disc was issued in 2000 by Koch Records. Liner notes are by John Swenson, and the original recordings were produced by Ray Davies.
Low Budget is the eighteenth studio album by English rock group the Kinks, released in 1979. Following the minor success of their 1978 album Misfits, the band recorded the majority of the album in New York rather than London. Unlike the more nostalgic themes of many Kinks albums prior to Low Budget, many of the album's songs allude to contemporaneous events. Musically, the album is a continuation of the band's "arena rock" phase, resulting in a more rock-based sound and more modern production techniques.
Misfits is the seventeenth studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released in 1978. Following the minor success of Sleepwalker in the United States, Misfits featured a more rock-oriented style than many other Kinks records of the 1970s. Despite internal conflicts within the band, leading to both bassist Andy Pyle and pianist John Gosling quitting the band, the album made the Top 40 in America. The album also contained the minor hit single "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy", as well as less successful releases "Live Life" and "Black Messiah".
Sleepwalker is the sixteenth studio album by the English rock group, the Kinks, released in 1977. It marked a return to straight-ahead, self-contained rock songs after several years of concept albums. It is the first album in what critics usually call the "arena rock" phase of the group, in which more commercial and mainstream production techniques would be employed. The album also marks the last appearance of bassist John Dalton, who left the band during the recording sessions. Dalton plays bass on all songs on the album save for "Mr. Big Man". The lineup of the Kinks would be trimmed down significantly in 1977 following the album's release, as the brass section and backup singers were removed and the band returned to a standard rock band outfit.
Preservation Act 2 is a 1974 concept album by the English rock band the Kinks, and their thirteenth studio album. It sold poorly, and received a mixed response among critics. Ken Emerson, in Rolling Stone, held out the album as an "underrated" one in the Kinks' repertoire.
"Catch Me Now I'm Falling" is a song written by Ray Davies and first released by The Kinks as the second track on their 1979 album Low Budget. Written as a criticism of America's allies, the song depicts the fall of Captain America as a symbol of the United States' dire circumstances at the time. The song features multiple solos on different instruments as well as a riff similar to "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
"Starstruck" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks from their 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. Written and sung by Ray Davies, the song was recorded in July 1968. The song was issued as the album's lead single in continental Europe in November 1968 and in the United States in January 1969. The European release was accompanied by a promo film shot in Waterlow Park, Highgate. The song failed to chart anywhere besides the Netherlands, where it reached No. 13 on the Veronica Top 40 and No. 9 on the Hilversum 3 Top 30.
"Living on a Thin Line" is a track written by Dave Davies and performed by The Kinks on their 1984 album, Word of Mouth.
"Sleepwalker", written by Ray Davies, is the third track from The Kinks' 1977 album of the same name.
"A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is the lead single and fourth track from The Kinks' 1978 album Misfits. Written by Ray Davies, the song was inspired by the band's then-tumultuous state at the time, with two members leaving the band during the recording of Misfits. Released as the first single from the album, the track was the band's most successful single in years, reaching number 30.
"Black Messiah" is the third track from the Kinks' 1978 album Misfits. It was written by Ray Davies.
"Life Goes On" is a song by the British rock band The Kinks. Appearing on their album Sleepwalker, it was written by the band's main songwriter, Ray Davies.
"Big Sky" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks. Written and sung by Ray Davies, it was released in November 1968 on the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. While Davies has typically avoided providing a direct answer on the song's meaning, commentators often interpret it as describing God as unsympathetic towards the problems of humans.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)