Willard's Wormholes

To The Bone (1996)
To The Bone – The Rehearsals (1994)
Is This Their Fond Farewell?

To The Bone stands today as The Kinks’ last album. A live album – half of it unplugged, before an intimate gathering at their own Konk Studios. The session and release were financed by the label-less band themselves, since apparently no one else was stepping up to do it for them. And since MTV didn’t invite them, Ray & Dave simply unplugged themselves and went to work. When I first heard it, I still loved The Kinks, but had tired of their 90s output. And while the “unplugged” phase may have been just another suit of clothes for the unfocused Kinks, the acoustic half of To The Bone was a fresh look at their catalog. A couple of years later, the album received a Stateside release as a two disc set with, unfortunately, even more of the live arena tracks (*) that peppered the one disc version. Routine power rock recordings of well-worn titles whose presence I could never understand, unless this actually was Davies’ idea of giving the people “what they want.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with these rockin’ anthem performances and audience singalongs, but who needs more of ‘em? Especially when there’s a more unique idea being under-used? Even the lazy sequencing suggests it was thrown together. That said, a little selective editing will produce a dozen fine, if extremely loose, acoustic sides from the Brothers Davies. Additionally, there are two new studio tracks – presumably the last studio recordings from “The Kinks.” Sadly, all of this may be their last hurrah, as Ray and Dave have yet to make musical amends. Not surprisingly, it’s out of print. Amazon. 

To The Bone – The Rehearsals may even be more entertaining, despite being even more fragmented. It’s an unreleased set of semi-acoustic work tapes captured during the run up to the official To The Bone/Konk show. The sound quality is real good, though the band is incomplete and Ray is singing casually off-key – or not at all, resulting in numerous instrumental passages. It’s a lot of unfinished threads, but fascinating fly-on-the-wall stuff for those (of us) who like this sort of thing. That’s Dave singing “I’m Not Like Everybody Else,” and the extended instrumental intro to “Low Budget” is cool. Unfortunately, due to its nature, The Rehearsals can’t really provide a consistent listening experience, but it’s all good fun. Hear their quickie 1:23 take of “Muswell Hillbillies,” below.

TO THE BONE
1
All Day And All Of The Night (4:27) *
Apeman (4:06)
Tired Of Waiting (1:49)
See My Friends (3:25)
Death Of A Clown (2:35)
Muswell Hillbillies (3:20)
Better Things (3:06)
Don’t Forget To Dance (4:50) *
Sunny Afternoon (2:39) *
Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (1:55) *
Do It Again (Acoustic) (1:47) *
Do It Again (3:54) *
2
Celluloid Heroes (5:23)
Picture Book (2:35)
Village Green Preservation Society (2:26)
Do You Remember Walter? (3:44)
Set Me Free (2:36) *
Lola (4:29) *
Come Dancing (3:40) *
I’m Not Like Everyone Else (5:43) *
Till The End Of The Day (2:37) *
Give The People What They Want (3:57) *
State Of Confusion (3:25) *
Dead End Street (2:30) *
A Gallon Of Gas (5:21)
Days (3:18) *
You Really Got Me (3:41) *
Animal (3:40) (New Studio Recording)
To The Bone (4:30) (New Studio Recording)

TO THE BONE – THE REHEARSALS
It/Announcement: Club Vegas Lounge (2:07)
Catch Me Now I’m Falling/Tired Of Waiting (1:46)
Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (1:12)
I’m Not Like Everybody Else (1:33)
Now And Then (3:44)
Victoria (3:18)
The Hard Way (2:41)
I’m Not Like Everybody Else (4:05)
Come Dancing (4:07)
Till The End Of The Day (2:08)
Top Of The Pops (3:27)
Tired Of Waiting (1:45)
Set Me Free (1:48)
A Well Respected Man (1:55)
Muswell Hillbillies (1:23)
Have A Cuppa Tea (2:25)
Uncle Son (3:05)
Sunny Afternoon (1:39)
Dead End Street (2:44)
David Watts (1:42)
Satisfaction (Intro) (0:24)
Autumn Almanac (3:14)
Around The Dial (3:23)
Low Budget (3:32)
Sleazy Town (6:16)
State Of Confusion (1:54)
Superman (2:55)
Superman/Destroyer (3:11)