What amazes me about this song is how humble is Ray Davies. After being kicked out and bared from the U S for 5 years, while the Stones, Beatles, Who, Led Z etc were pulling millions of $ out of there, Kinks were stuck at home. How much would that have cost them ? Wouldn't you want to hate US ? But no - no hatred, no animosity, Ray comes out and writes such a beautiful tribute to their greatest institution. A wonderful song and in my view, one of the most iconic songs of the Rock era.
I agree. I like the way he does more with the letter L than any other song I've heard of. The letter L is always part of the most beautiful alliteration.
One of the greatest rock bands ever. Ray Davies & his group were poets, visionaries, & killer musicians. I was lucky enough to see them in concert 3 times back in the 1970's...there was a quality to them which is hard to put into words to relay the magic they projected in live performances. They never received the recognition some of the other British Invasion bands did but in my opinion they were second to none.
I saw them on this tour with my girlfriend at the Milwaukee arena. Didn't even fill it up and it was a great show by a great band. That's when I really came to appreciate Dave's guitar skills.
Saw them a few times back in the 80s, great concerts. Also went to see Ray Davies solo in a more intimate venue when he was doing his one-man show using excerpts from his autobiography, which we had read. He interspersed his stories with his music (just him and his guitar). Wonderful show.
Saw Ray's first Solo Tour after his car accident in the early 90's and he was INCREDIBLE explaining many key Song influences for his AWESOME Songwriting. THE KINKS and RAY's work is surely as STRONG as the other British Invasion Leaders.
Oh yeah, first saw them in ‘68 at the Electric Factory in Philly- sat 10 feet from the stage and have pictures of them. Saw them about 5 times thru the 70s at Philly’s Spectrum.
We did songs as monologues in theatre and I chose this song. My teacher was in tears at the end. What a truly beautiful song. There is no other comparable song writer to Ray Davies.
@Lori Burns I love Dylan's songs but they're so different. Ray Davies understands something about the average person's feelings, women's feelings, poverty, fame, failure, mental illness and so many other things that most songwriters don't write about.
@@mollyfrom5556 Not to mention how humble he always seems. I think he and Chrissy Hynde of the Pretenders were together for quite a while. I didn't know until recently that "Stop Your Sobbing" was originally a Kinks song.
Many, many years later, Ray shocked an interviewer by saying that he tried autotune because he would Love something that would make recording so easy! But, he said using it made him sound like someone else, so that was useless! The interviewer seemed so shocked at his honesty! Knowing Ray, it could have been the truth, or it could have been a joke at his expense that he just thought he'd say at that moment! I think his bipolar mind was going faster than most at all times and just sometimes got him into trouble.
And a very humble and lovable genius, caring more about what he believed in, and wanted to play rather than his own ego or fame. My dad's now 81, and I have his original Kinks "You Really Got Me" album (thick vinyl) that he bought new at a music store in 1964.
I always liked the Kinks more than the Beatles, the Who or Rolling Stones. The Kinks had their own thing going and it was unlike everything else. No one else on earth ever did a song like this. The Kinks never got what they deserved, in my opinion. I think they were too good for this world. We didn't deserve them.
Imagining a world without the brothers Davies ~ terrible ! (I couldn't imagine.) Beside Ray Davies' unparalleled songwriting, I love Dave Davies' vocal harmonies, and his guitar playing has always been brilliant (underrated is he indeed!) - always just right for the song. --- I'm stumped though as to why, with Celluloid Heroes (for me a sentimental favorite), Ray never sings the fourth verse - in a way, my favorite: If you covered him with garbage George Sanders would still have style And if you stamped on Mickey Rooney He would still turn round and smile But please don't tread on dearest Marilyn Cause she's not very tough She should have been made of iron or steel But she was only made of flesh and blood ~ LONG LIVE THE KINKS ! ~
If we take Kinks, Who, Rolling Stones and talk about lyrics, the depth in their texts - yeah, they rule. But if we talk about music itself, the melody, the harmony - Beatles ruled, rule and will rule.
It's like pulling teeth to get radio stations to play the good ones like these. Most of the time it's the same three bands over and over until you wonder if anyone else wrote music back in the 70s. The radio world could do with a lot more Kinks for air time.
Baalze Bubba you know the reason I'm watching this now is because a station in Philly 933 with a guy named Pierre Robert played it the other day and he put it in his top ten all time songs and called Davies a genius. and I'm not that old but when i was younger I remember hearing this all the time on the radio. it's one of those i forgot about! one of my favs
They also had a few more new songs on the radio in the early 80s. More than twenty years after their beginnings. How many bands ever do that so far down the road?
gdrysmis I love Rush, and I agree: "Tom Sawyer" is getting tiresome. I asked my local radio disc jockey to play any Rush song: long and behold, "Tom Sawyer" was played on the radio.
One of the great songs from one of the great songwriters of this or any other era. From a time when songs had melodies and lyrics had clarity and something to say to people who ached to be considered in the ideal of a performance.
The kinks were among the best with their intelligent and witty lyrics pioneering use of power chords, overall too notch song writing, superb musicianship, class and style . One of my greatest regrets concert-wise is not ever having seen them live.
Underrated by the rabble. Only those who appreciate wit and sensitivity and simple but complex tales are swept away by his brilliance. He’s truly extraordinary.
I heard this song for the 1st time 2 days ago when my KJ sang it for Karaoke. I cannot listen to it without tears. It is even more powerful in the video that thumbs through all the pictures of the stars of old Hollywood. "Gone with the Wind" but not forgotten because Celluloid hero's never really die. I toast all whose lives were not always so happy but I toast the moments of happiness they had and when they lived as lions. Enough said.
The Kinks are just unreal! This is one of my favs and never fails to move me. The Misfits & Sleepwalker LP's were my fav albums and I still listen to them. The songwriting, the poetry. These guys are the real deal!
@@sdushdiu It's in my top ten with albums like Abbey Road, Who's Next and Led Zeppelin I ... In other words "one of the most important records in rock history"
I went to a School Boys in Discrace concert that was really a musical play. I was at a junior college in a town called Fullerton. One of the best shows ever!!
I so wish I'd seen that one! My husband and I only saw them once--1978 in Lenox, MA. Great concert and the band Charlie was the opening act--we have no memory of them whatsoever, unfortunately! Later on that tour, luckier people got to see Blondie as the opening act! I'm sure we would remember Blondie! I was always a fan!
Arggh! This song always gets me. It's like a delicate flower in danger of being crushed, and it speaks of the vulnerability of stars. One of my Kink favorites.
The most underrated bands of all time. Truly one of the finest ever in the history of Rock going all the way back up to the last recordings. Ask anyone if the like the Kinks and you will always get a yes. this song is a standard of Ray who wrote some of the most remembered song in my life and the lives of many others. Now that age has come and time has past there is not much coming out of Ray these days but I am sure there is plenty of material left unrecorded that I hope will be released some day. I'll be the first in line!!!
The kinks were always underrated in the shadow of the Beatles and other big bands of the time but their music was very powerful. Big influence on my life.
sorry...four years on... Pete the Bass Player tried to have a chat with Ray as far as their career was concerned...that was pretty early on...if you can guess what Ray's reply was, well everyone on here has the reason why they f***ed up.
I dearly love this song, it reminds me of when I lived in L.A.. I was very young then, my friends and I would go to Hollywood for fun and it was just such a wonderful time... so this song brings me back.
Unforgettable moment when we experienced Ray sing this solo with an acoustic during the Kinks tour at the Fox in Atlanta in early 80’s, not even one sound during the sing and a standing ovation at the end...
are you nuts??? How old are you? They had at least 8 top 20 hits between 64-67! They were all over the radio and on Shindig, Hullaballoo etc. TV shows in the states.They influenced more mid 60's American garage bands than you can imagine.
Yea I believe i wasnt watching to much hullaballoo and shindig at 3 fucking yrs old! Most of the kinks stuff i heard was from the 70's. Yea i know about set me free, sunny afternoon, well respected man, You really got me, till the end of the day, dedicated flower of fashon, all day and all of the night, tired of waiting, did i miss any? I am well aware of those songs ALL GREAT KINKS SONG!
Perhaps one of the British Invasion's SECRET WEAPONs? RAY DAVIES' #Songwriting and informal, almost "Casual" TV #Performances highlight how SPECTACULAR his #Musical contributions are... Thank You for #sharing this #Incredible Performance of such an #Influential Rocker! INCREDIBLE!!!! LONG LIVE ROCK....
Except that they were banned from America for those 4 years when they could have earned the most money and become most well known since their famous days in the sixties in England.
Paul McCartney's most recent documentary, done by Rick Rubin, was on tv and Rick asked Paul something like, "What did you see that had a big impact on The Beatles?" Paul said, "The Kinks!" They were so young and they had a hit with "You Really Got Me" and they opened for The Beatles. They hid in the audience so that they could watch The Kinks. Pete Townshend said he only ever wanted to sound as good as the Kinks. David Bowie said he never heard a Kinks song he didn't like.
Brilliant... absolutely masterful performance. "I wish that my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show... Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain.". Such a classic Ray Davies lyric. One of the finest songwriters of his, or any other, generation!
I don't know why this song chokes me up so much, maybe it's the lyric "And those who are successful, Be always on your guard Success walks hand in hand with failure, Along Hollywood Boulevard great song and this is a great performance.
What a brilliant tune. Saw the Kinks live in early 80s. As a live band they had few peers. Davies a master song writer. Especially this tune. Thanks for posting.
Ray announced a Kinks reunion today. I certainly hope they do a U.S. tour. I saw them in the 70s and in the 80s, and I’d love to see them one more time.
Enjoyed this. Thanks. Takes me back to a time when my whole life was ahead of me, everyone I loved was still alive, and times were much less oppressive.
I hear that loud & clear. I remember when I had this on a Kinks mixtape, cassette of course, that was permanently in the tape player in my old 1970 Datsun pickup. Well, there's no going back. All we can do is take a deep breath and go forward with such courage as we can muster.
Thank u for this. There is no one like the incredible masterful Mr Ray Davies . I’m a devoted fan since 1967 and never tire enjoying his glorious music ❤
Bought this album when it first came back. Very long time Kinks fan. This version is incredible considering its era. Great sound quality, nice close ups, no crap, And a stellar performance. Loved it!
What a composition and what a melody ! It was written and sung as if Ray was present in the studios and alleyways of Hollywood for a hundred years. I saw them perform it live at the US Festival in 82. There is no other song that sums up show business in this way.
Awesome, awesome song. I remember hearing it the first time when Joan Jett covered it back in the 80's (The Hit List). My dad immediately bought "Come Dancing With The Kinks" to let me hear the original. I just wish they played the song in its entirety like the original recording without cutting verses. "I wish my life was a non stop Hollywood movie show. A fantasy world of Celluloid Villains & Heroes. Because Celluloid Heroes never feel any pain. & Celluloid Heroes never really die."
I'm a writer of some forty years' experience, and am just now rounding off a retrospective of The Kinks in all their amazing range of changes throughout their career of over thirty years, in which they brought their unique approach to bring new life to rhythm and blues, folk and country, and much more, offering a contribution to rock that, for many of us, still goes unsung to this day. I plan to send my Kinks retrospective to Rolling Stone and other such magazines, hoping to bring more listeners around to The Kinks sound and achievement that made even Paul McCartney and David Bowie say how The Kinks had outdone even them.
mrbobevans Yeah, It s a great song but nota their BEST, though it s one of their 10 better Kinks songs. 1 Waterloo Sunset 2 This time tomorrow 3 Lola 4 Celluloid heros 5 Apeman 6 Victoria 7 You really got me 8 Days 9 Supersonic Rocket Ship 10 Come Dancing
📷Marvellous song, I Love Thiis so much!!!! Ray, You are very very Great, You are one of the Bigghest : Writer, Poet, and Singer Musician in the World!!! I Love Kinks, Forever in my Heart😊😊😊😊😊
I remember WNEW in NY playing this after talking about the passing of Peter Sellers. Loved the song before then and since, but that one memory sticks with me.
This is such an amazing song. Great writers & storytellers take you to a fantasy world (of celluloid villains & heroes) and it's hard to do that any better Ray Davies does with this song. Certainly one of my favorite songwriters ever.
"I think it's a good song..." Are you kidding? This is one of the best songs ever written and recorded. True, it's greatly unappreciated, but that is more a reflection of poor public taste than the obvious merits of the song. Full of angst and melancholia.... unfulfilled dreams. We can all relate. A truly great song!
