Set Me Free (The Kinks song)

"Set Me Free"
Dutch picture sleeve
Single by the Kinks
from the album Kinda Kinks (US edition)
B-side	"I Need You"
Released	21 May 1965
Recorded	13–14 April 1965 [1]
Studio	Pye, London
Genre	Pop [2] R&B [1]
Length	2:12
Label	Pye (UK) Reprise (US)
Songwriter(s)	Ray Davies
Producer(s)	Shel Talmy
The Kinks UKsingles chronology
"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" (1965) "Set Me Free" (1965) "See My Friends" (1965)
The Kinks US singles chronology
"Tired of Waiting for You" (1965) "Set Me Free" (1965) "Who'll Be the Next in Line" (1965)

"Set Me Free" is a song by Ray Davies, released first by the Kinks in 1965. Along with "Tired of Waiting for You", it is one of band's first attempts at a softer, more introspective sound. The song's B-side, "I Need You", makes prominent use of powerchords in the style of the Kinks' early, "raunchy" sound. "Set Me Free" was heard in the Ken Loach-directed Up the Junction , a BBC Wednesday Play which aired in November 1965; this marked the first appearance of a Kinks song on a film or TV soundtrack.

Billboard said of the single that "hot on the heels of [the Kinks'] 'Tired of Waiting for You' smash comes this down home blues rhythm material with a good teen lyric." ^[3] Cash Box described it as "a snappy tune that’s taken for an engaging disk ride." ^[4]

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman: ^[1]

The Kinks

• Ray Davies  – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• Dave Davies  – backing vocal, lead guitar
• Pete Quaife  – bass
• Mick Avory  – drums

Additional musician

• Rasa Davies – backing vocal

Charts

Chart (1965)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [5]	54
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [6]	2
France (IFOP) [7]	29
Germany (GfK) [8]	32
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [9]	12
Sweden ( Tio i Topp ) [10]	11
UK Singles (OCC) [11]	9
US Billboard Hot 100 [12]	23
US Cash Box Top 100 [13]	24

References

1. Hinman 2004, p. 56.
2. Turner 2003, p. 560.
3. "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 5 June 1965. p. 35. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
4. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 5 June 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
5. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1965". www.top100singles.net.
6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5601." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
7. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
8. "The Kinks – Set Me Free" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
10. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. p. 447. ISBN   919727125X.
11. "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
12. "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
13. "Cash Box Top 100 7/17/65". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

Sources

• Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day by Day Concerts, Recordings, and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-0-87930-765-3.
• Turner, Alwyn W. (2003). "The Kinks". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 560–561. ISBN   978-1-84353-105-0.