Today I'm heading into the album, Word Of Mouth. Mind you, not the 1981 album from Jaco Pastorius, nor the 1982 released record from Toni Basil. Instead, I'm talking about The Kink's Word Of Mouth from 1984. Which one is the better of the three that share the same name? Well, I've not heard Pastorius's, nor does it appear to have any Billboard hits from it. Whereas Basil's has the iconic Mickey. Granted, that's no masterpiece by any means. So, I suppose The Kink's have a solid chance to blow it out of the water.
Let's find out, shall we?
As recording for the album began, tensions between Dave Davies and Mick Avory came to a head. The two had gone through numerous clashes since 1965, and after twenty years, the drummer had finally had enough. Avory packed up and left The Kinks. However, he wouldn't sever his ties completely. Instead, he'd take on management duties of Ray Davies Konk Studios. Bob Henrit would step in to take over his role in the band.
In terms of their career as a whole, The Kinks were not known for releasing mass appeal albums that moved enough units to reach sales certifications. However, they had managed to become Platinum and gold selling artists with 1979's Low Budget, 1981's Give The People What They Want, and 1983's State Of Confusion. This would end with 1984's Word Of Mouth, which achieved no sales status. This in turn didn't give me high hopes.
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Things are certainly off to a solid start with Do It Again, the bands last single to reach the Billboard Hot 100. Though the title track, which follows, is skippable, Good Day picks up the ball and starts running with it again. However, this wouldn't last.
I actually found myself losing complete interest in Word Of Mouth, virtually tuning it out as I focused on other things. The album features the highly touted hit, Living On A Thin Line, but candidly, it didn't even register for me when it came around. As such, I did actually go back to replay this one. It was okay, but I don't find it to be a masterpiece by any means.
In general, I just don't hear anything deep from The Kinks, such as what came from its predecessors. Instead, this is just filled with generic pop rock. Even when I wanted to say there were tracks that were okay, such as Guilty, and Too Hot, the truth of the matter is that they're relatively forgettable in the long run.
I hate to say it, but I think Toni Basil's Word Of Mouth may be the superior of all three shared titles. Not because her music is amazing by any means, but rather because it manages to have a timeless and iconic hit that will never get old.
Prior to moving into their next studio album, Ray Davies opted to broaden his horizons, writing and directing the British made for television movie, Return To Waterloo, featuring Tim Roth, Kenneth Colley, and Claire Parker. The subsequent soundtrack was intended to be the next Kinks album, but when brother Dave Davies refused to participate, Ray opted to release it as a solo project, despite all the other members of the band contributing to it.
Instead, the next full band album would be 1986's Think Visual. That's where I pick up tomorrow. Hopefully, things pick back up. Cause this one was a relative dud.
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