80’s at 8: December 20, 2022- The Kinks & Pretenders
On tonight’s 80’s at 8 I started off with The Kinks’ “Do It Again.” It was the first single released from their 1984 album Word of Mouth. The song is an observation of stressful working schedules. That sure is relevant in today’s world.
It was written by Kinks front-man Ray Davies about his strenuous touring schedule and anyone who has a busy schedule.[1] Davies later said of the song, I think it applies to everybody who gets up in the morning and has to go out and do their job. Sometimes it’s not great being on tour. It’s a cliché now, but everyone knows what happens on the road. You have very little sleep, I usually go to sleep at about four or five o’clock, then I have to get up at eight or nine o’clock, get a plane and go somewhere else and play. When the knock comes on the door, I know I have got to get up. It’s not just in my job, people who are electricians and work in Woolworth’s have to do it.
Do It Again reached #4 on the BB Mainstream Rock chart and #41 on the BB Hot 100. “Do It Again” was described as a “circular, synth-spiked minor hit”, and praised as one of the few distinctive tracks from Word of Mouth by AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine.[4] Rolling Stone said that the track “has a recognizable kick, with Dave’s brisk uppercut fuzz chords counting off a spry Victoria’ rhythm”.he single was accompanied by a Julien Temple-directed video, featuring the band as well as former Kinks drummer Mick Avory and was in heavy rotation on MTV. Check out the Music video to Do It Again by The Kinks here:
The second track was Message of love by the Pretenders. It was released as the first single from their 1981 ED Extended Play and later re-released on the 1981 album The Pretenders 2. It reached # 5 on the Bb Mainstream Rock Chart and #11 on the UK Singles Chart. According to drummer Martin Chambers, the song was largely formed in the studio based on a rough sketch presented by Chrissie Hynde. “We never really got into the studio without any rehearsal and recorde] a song, but]we have done that once and that was ‘Message of Love’. Chrissie Hynde likes to come to the band when she has a song finished in her mind. But, this time she hadn’t really finished it and so we just rehearsed it already set up in the studio and it was on tape in two hours, basically.” Bassist Pete Farndon said, It initially featured multiple sound effects (among them were sounds of car accidents recorded by the band on Paris streets) but most of them were removed from the final released version.
“Message of Love” was described by Stewart Mason of All music as “a stop-start beat … with skittering snare fills that give the song a paradoxically driving rhythm.” Allmusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it was a “tough” rocker. Check out the music video of Message of Love by The Pretenders here:
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