In a new interview with Greg Prato for AllMusic, The Kinks' Mick Avory discusses the band's new anthology, the classic hit "You Really Got Me", and if a reunion is possible. An excerpt from the chat follows...
AllMusic: Was "You Really Got Me" the first-ever punk rock song?
Avory: "I never thought of it that way, but I suppose… it certainly started off that guitar sound. It was in your face and had impact. Whereas all the other bands at the time - the Searchers and all that - they were good musicians and played nice melodies on the guitar, and nice little solos. But this was in your face - the riff. There was nothing else like it. So, that set a patent for people to cling onto and it all develops and it became sort of 'punk'. And it went over the top - you didn't even have to play the instruments in the end. I think the drummers were the best musicians in the bands. But it was an exciting time for the youngsters - spitting at each other, misbehaving, and being as horrible as possible. But Dave, it was probably just an accident - an accident that worked. And he had somewhere to put it because Ray wrote that song - it married the two things together. I couldn't believe it when they first introduced it to me. We played it on stage and I thought it was a departure from what we were doing. But as we played it more and we recorded it, it made more sense then. So yeah, it definitely started off a trend."
AllMusic: What did you think of Van Halen's cover?
Avory: "It was just an exaggeration of what the Kinks did, really. Because he [Eddie Van Halen] never played a real melodic solo - it was just a lot of notes, and very good technically. And the sound and everything was really good. It was just an exaggeration - 'I'll play more notes than Dave did and go over the top with it.' That's how things move on though, don't they? But I think it stopped there - at least they didn't just copy it, and did their own thing to it. I listened to 'Jump' the other day and I liked that song. But that's all synthesizer then - but it was interesting. He does do a short guitar solo, but the main theme is all synthesizer. Just a good song."
AllMusic: Several names have been linked to the Kinks early on, including Shel Talmy and Jimmy Page. How important of a role did they play in the studio?
Avory: "Well obviously Shel Talmy was taken on by Pye Records, so he had to try and make a name for himself - and 'earn his crust,' as it were. Make an impression. So, he had a style. I think it fit more when he produced The Who. The harder songs he was better at - he seemed to over-record things as they were then, because of feedback and all those things that were 'unwanted' in the early days. Everything had to be clean. But he seemed to be able to cope with the dirtiness and the production - so it's not all delicate guitar playing. But he missed out I think on some of the more quiet songs, that were a bit more subtle. But on the other hand, he was there with 'Sunny Afternoon' - I suppose he could cross-over.
"But Ray was always with him, so we didn't just give him the tapes and say, 'Get on with it.' Ray was over his shoulder. So, it was a joint effort in a way, really. The band recorded 'You Really Got Me' twice, and Ray wasn't pleased with it because there was too much echo on the original. That wouldn't have been done if Ray hadn't of been there. It just didn't sound right. But if you've written a song and you live with the damn thing day and night, you've got more idea what you want than someone coming in. Which is probably why Ray never had a producer, really.
"But it gets a bit tiresome when you have to do everything. That was Ray's nature, anyway – he knew that at the end of it, if he got someone else that ignored it until they finished it and then listened to it, that he'd go, 'On no. That's not how I envisioned it.' So, he'd have to do it again anyway. It was a difficult band because of that – it was difficult to work with him."
AllMusic: And what about Jimmy Page's contribution?
Avory: "He did very little as far as I remember. He came into the studio – I think he came in during 'You Really Got Me.' He sort of apparently snickered at what Dave had done, because he was a more 'polished player.' And then he spent the rest of his years saying, 'I played the solo on it.' He must have said it, because everyone else was asking the question. But that was definitely Dave Davies, because even without knowing, you know it's Dave rather than Jimmy Page. It just wasn't in him to play like that. It was just completely off the top of his head – that solo. It fit – the attitude off it. And I never heard that from session men. They just come in and play something they feel – not what is necessarily the right thing. So, not much."
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