The Kinks - Mr. Reporter (Rare 1966 Demo)

[alonenjersey]

Sounds to good to be a demo. I bet this puppy would have charted well had it been released.

[AtomicVHPunk]

lady gaga should cover this one xD it would be mondial crisis

[Henryformusic]

Thank you very much PC 3900!!

This is such a rare piece wow

With Ray singing instead of Dave it sounds so different but great as well

Thanks again!

[elleJify]

this is dedicated to Beck, Limbaugh, S. Palin and all those "religious" nuts ,keep reporting LIES. No one believes you LIARS !

[newfuckingwave]

@elleJify don't forget keith olbermann

[BerkeleyMews7]

...the precursor to Give the People What They Want...

[StevieWonder501]

Mr. Spaceman?!

[Staffleberry]

@StevieWonder501 Definitely- I wonder which one came first cause the Byrds song was released in '66 too.

[StevieWonder501]

@Staffleberry Hmm...the government will have to look into this. It could be a conspiracy...sadly, I'm too lazy an unmotivated to even care. I guess we'll never know...go Kinks! (?...!)

[Staffleberry]

@StevieWonder501 Yes I think its a job for the Ministry Of Truth Comrade Snitchy.

[PC3900]

@Staffleberry This was recorded first, but was never released. It only found it's way out on bootlegs much later. The first "official" release was Dave's version as a bonus track on the 1998 Face to Face CD reissue.

[spamstoper3]

Thank you for the nice video !

[renotsecniv]

Thank you very, very much for this !!!

[worldsno1drwhofan]

I like this song mainly because of the passion that went into it; I mean its blatently obvious by the extremely passionate and angry way Ray is singing the words - much bigger impact than Dave's version. The Beatles had good songs but they almost never displayed raw passion or energy in their singing, which Ray always managed to do on his purposely insightful songs.

[PHAEDRIDER]

the kinks ought to be refered to as " the band that refused to suck ... EVER"

[Staffleberry]

@PHAEDRIDER Indeed. Except for "When I Turn Off The Living Room Light".

[rmaxinmass]

thanx for posting! I absolutely adore The Kinks' music.

[ACERAMGAD]

Fantastic))))))) Cheers!

[mtopper66]

This would have fit snugly on "Face To Face" along with songs like "Session Man" and "Dandy". Not their greatest tune, but a scathing lyric, and I think Ray sings it with more bite than Dave did (though Dave's version is fine, too!):

"I'll kill you rather than let you distort my simple sound--did your daddy stop you playing with your friends when you were young?"

[ManilaSyndicate]

Very strong Country influence on this one. They sound like The Rolling Stones in the latter's slower moments and The Beatles with Lennon singing.

Not one of Ray's best but a fine listen nontheless.

[DontTouchDat]

Niiiiice

[roryfromlondon]

i actually prefer ray's voice but the dave davies version is great with all the brass section in the chorus.

[uniformsmoker]

Thank you so much for posting this, never heard it, my favorite band ever; they were always on a mission to educate? communicate? not like the Beatles or the Stones who were always about money, the most 'English' band ever but from a true heart.

[nogrouchy]

Ray`s version is great because in fact it`s a fine song . Dave`s version is a bit more flowing, noncholant, I think. I just love the guitar at the end of the song.

[drumfanatic7]

ray davies = best song writer ever

[sbarr10]

I had no idea this was just a "demo" - it's great as it is. I love how snide Ray sounds.

Funny, Ray once said in an interview, laughing, that some of his best friends are journalists. I don't know if he was serious.

[mictrik]

This is great!

[PC3900]

Agreed - but Ray and Dave both seemed to have a bit of a self-sabatoge gene.

[art72]

I loved their "fuck off" attitude....they stayed pretty much true to themselves throughout their carreer

[jbirenz]

Great snarling vocals by Ray. Fantastic version. I love Dave, but this is a better version of the song.

[worldsno1drwhofan]

I agree. The vocals on this record completely blow Lennon's and McCartney's vocal abilities out the window.

[Huddiethegreat]

what the hell?

[sinclairmac]

Great rare song. I have it as bonus on Face to Face album, that great gem of several other gems of the same period. I wish a compilation would come out of all the rare, unreleased, odds and ends of their music from 1965-69. There is so much of it, but many of them are scattered around in different places, and some are simply not available on Cd

[PC3900]

The new 6-disc box set which came out today (Dec. 8) in the UK has this track (its first official release), and a few other rarities.

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

Does it have...EVERYTHING?

[jwwutube]

The master of this song has Dave Davies singing lead in two keys with his vocals double tracked. There is a big band sound on it also which sounds marvelous. This version has some different lyrics,than the master.

[PC3900]

The Dave Davies version was recorded in 1969, for his canceled first solo album.

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

Great song.

[Huddiethegreat]

This is great. its a shame the kinks are so overlooked

[leesystems]

Good straight ahead rock -- The Kinks ! Thanks for posting. Saw them in 1977 -- GREAT show.

[buttmunch001]

O_o You're right! lol Doesnt even look like a girl.. XD e

[LyraBB]

Hey what a GEM. Brilliant singing by Ray - never heard it before but its amaaaazing

[PC3900]

No - Page himself has denied this repeatedly since the rumors started in the early 1970's. But his fans want it to be true.

[kissIsbest]

The norwegian artist Jahn teigen made a cover of this song. but with other lyrics. Instead of mr reporter it is den jævla naboen(The fucking neightboor) lol

[jkrus10414]

Did Jimmy Page ever play with the Kinks or was he just a session guitarist for them?

[PC3900]

He was hired by producer Shel Talmy to play rhythm guitar on some blues tracks for their first album in August 1964, when he did session work. But he did not play the solo on "You Really Got Me", recorded in July 1964.

[Lamvesp]

What's Jimmy Page's connection with the band Fleur De Lys that brought a song called Circles. Thanks in advance if you know.

[worldsno1drwhofan]

Flippin brilliant song. This is far better than the 1969 version on the reissue of Face to Face: They need to release this on more CDs (only one in the world has it). The lyrics are so powerful with Davies's stunningly cutting voice everyone would love it.

[damnnakedsnake]

It is on the great lost kinks album

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

What...album again?

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

No, re-issued Face To Face.

[damnnakedsnake]

maybe both

[kinksboss1]

thanks for the rare listen! I have Dave's vocal, but never heard this one.

Greg Kinks fan from Sf bay area

[allgovtsrliars]

Is there any way to find this on an album??

[PC3900]

It's on the German bootleg album "Neue Revue - The Great Lost Kinks Album", that you can find online.

[allgovtsrliars]

Thanks

[3jsnac]

I actually have it on a CD that I got from ebay. It's on a very rare CD called the "Great Lost Kinks Album" that also includes the Dave Davies Album that never was. It has very rare Dave Davies songs (like Mr. Shoemaker's Daughter and Are YOur Ready Girl).

[vinylvendor]

There is a re-ish of "Face To Face' That has this track along with six other unreleased or bonus tracks.

[PC3900]

The "Face to Face" reissue includes the 1969 re-recording of this song, with Dave on lead vocals, and a softer arrangement.

[zoptap]

Thank you for this gem!The lyrics have a "nastier" feel when sung more slowly by Ray as opposed to Dave on the released version.

[allivegp]

Wow! nice, rare song - thanx!

[kinksfan1956]

Gratias maximas, PC3900!

I'd never heard this before.

[starsinmybeard]

I've always thought that Eddie Rabbit's song "I'm Driving My Life Away" was an absolute dead ringer for this song. Wonder if he ever heard this obscure, unreleased song ?