Stray Rays: All Night Stand

THE THOUGHTS-All Night Stand/The Memory Of Your Love
U.S. Planet 45-118 1966

What could be better, a rocking, previously unrecorded Ray Davies track ("All Night Stand"), produced by Shel Talmy on his legendary Planet records label?!?! "All Night Stand" began life as a novel by a protege of Shel's named Thom Keyes about the day in the life of a fictitious rock n' roll group.  Shel called on the talents of Ray Davies, who's band, The Kinks, he was still producing records for to come up with a track for a proposed movie adaptation. The movie never happened and joining the legions of other brilliant R.D. tracks to never see a Kinks version comes today's record in question.

For those who've not heard this track before it's amazing.  It's a bouncy, in-your-face little ditty and is easily (alongside Petula Clark's equally rocking version of "A Well Respected Man") one of the best 60's R.D. "covers" out there.  Lyrically its about the rigors of life on the road, the business and the pressures which eventually, in 1966 led to Ray's breakdown of sorts right around the time this record was released on both sides of the Atlantic.  Maybe I'm reading into it too much but I often wonder if like Lennon's "Help" it was some sort of public plea for assistance and not the work of some Shel Talmy commission? What's curious is that there are two versions of the song cut by The Thoughts, one for the U.S. and one for the U.K..  Our specimen here, the U.S. pressing is the far superior version.  It's faster, more snarling and WAY more rocking and features an extra verse.  The version on the U.K. release is slower, more mid tempo and features a slightly better production with an organ thrown in during an almost a capella break (and it almost sounds like there is a different vocalist on each version) . It also resembles the weariness of Ray's demo because the vocalist (double tracked) sounds more down trodden than angry (like on the U.S. version).  Though both  versions are great but I prefer the U.S. one, perhaps that's because I heard it first?

I don't usually post song lyrics here but this track is such a great synopsis of what it must've been like in the mid 60's being a pop star it needs to be quoted:

All night stand,
Been around seen a thousand places.
All night stand,
Seen a good half a million faces.

Because I've lived this life,
And I made it for myself.
If you scandalize my name,
Then you scandalize yourself.

Because I'm not to blame,
For the things that I've been doing.
You all say that I'm bad,
And I'll only end in ruin.

All night stand,
With a different girl each night.
All night stand,
With two hundred miles to ride.

But I won't give it up,
As long as I can make the bread.
When I do, I shall stop,
Close my eyes and go to bed.

And forget all this night,
And all the people on my back.
Once I'm free from these chains,
I ain't never looking back.

All night stand,
Been around seen a million faces, yeah.
All night stand,
Seen a good half a million places, yeah.

All night stand,
Can't get these people off my back.
All night stand,
Ten percent for this and that.

All night stand,
All night stand.


The flip side "Memory Of Your Love" reminds me a lot of The Kooba's "Sweet Music" both musically and lyrically.  It's a mid tempo number mourning the loss of love with some slightly jangly guitar with a very heavy bass/drum backing, sort of rough edged beat ballad.

The U.S. version of "All Night Stand" appeared on the crucial "Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969" box set and on the out of print but equally essential RPM Planet records story CD.

"The Memory Of Your Love" graced the "That Driving Beat Volume 4" CD and also appears on the "That Driving Beat" box set which compiles all volumes of the series.

Ray's demo version has officially just seen the light on the amazing double CD deluxe edition of "The Kink Kontroversy" that just came out a few months ago.

Hear "All Night Stand" the U.S. 45 version:

http://youtu.be/MR6ShSC6W_8

Hear Ray Davie's demo of "All Night Stand":

http://youtu.be/phuss5J-ZT0

Hear "The Memory Of Your Love":

https://youtu.be/8Ti-pwRMrqM