Another One For The Road (no label)
Palladium, New York, NY – December 31st, 1980
(73:40): Opening, Hard Way, Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Catch Me Now I’m Falling, Bird Dog / New York Blues, Lola, Dead End Street, Till The End Of The Day, Low Budget, Imagination’s Real, Nothing More To Lose, You Really Got Me, Give The People What They Want, Gallon Of Gas, Celluloid Heroes, All Day And All Of The Night
The Kinks New Year’s Eve celebration from the Palladium in New York is one of their most popular, and most often bootlegged, radio show. The original live broadcast was produced by the Blair Starfleet Radio Network and was heard on fifty-seven stations in the U.S. and Canada and in New York on WPLJ.
In 1981 Starfleet edited the show and distributed the tape to various radio stations in London, the Netherlands and Germany. The edited show became the source for the many and various bootleg releases including the 2LP vinyl release New Year’s Eve 1980-81 and the CD releases New Year’s Eve : New York City, December 31, 1981 (CD-W-12) and Another One For The Road.
The original broadcast contributed “David Watts” to Missing Links (Tendor TDR-081). Most complete version, containing the complete broadcast from that specific night, is on Imaginations All Day (Physical Music PM-005-012/013) on professional CDR.
Another One For The Road is a low budget no label release. It has great sound quality but is sourced from vinyl. The mastering job is very good but there is some surface noise and the occasional pop and click. About an hour is missing from the show, including “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” and “Come On” after “Nothing More To Lose,” and the final four songs “Stop Your Sobbin’,” “David Watts,” “Pressure” and “Superman” which followed “All Day And All Of The Night.”
The New Year’s Eve celebration at the Palladium occurs during their Low Budget tour, their must sucessful in the US and is one of their career highlights. The edited tape focuses upon the first half of the show. The opening song “Where Have All The Good Times Gone” contains a short reference to the old sixites hit “I’m Tired Of Waiting For You.”
“Catch Me Now I’m Falling” is one of their biggest hits that year, and is followed by the Everly Brothers tune “Bird Dog” with an impromptu “New York Blues” coda affixed to the end.
“Lola” is played very early in the set, almost as if the band want to get past it early on so they can concentrate upon other songs. During the long instrumental passage in the middle they slip into a fast disco arrangement of the song. “This is the disco version. We all know disco sucks, right?” Ray says to the audience.
“Imagination’s Real” from Dave Davies’ first solo album AFLI-3603, issued earlier that year, is a nice addition to the show.
Before “You Really Got Me” Ray says: “I want to make a special announcement tonight…. it’s nearly twelve o’clock and would really like to say … this is a special event. Tonight’s special for me because this is the end of a really bad year. There’s somebody I wish were here tonight to see us play but unfortunately he couldn’t make it. And I would like you all to take a few moments out to spare a thought for the man who should have been here with us tonight. So let’s hear it for Barry Manilow. Alright, let’s not hear it for Barry Manilow.”
“Give The People What They Want” is an early glimpse into their next album Give The People What They Want released in 1982. “A Gallon Of Gas” is a cute blues jam lasting about seven minutes, much past the studio recording. “Celluloid Heroes” is given a two-minute instrumental introduction and a synthesizer instrumental passage by the end.
Ray shouts “rock and roll bands will come and rock and roll band will go, but rock and roll will go on forever,” his rallying cry during this period. “All Day And All Of The Night” is the final song on the disc and unfortunately fades out just as the song begins to cook.
The Kinks’ Palladium radio broadcast is one of the all time great shows and really deserves a proper silver release. That the complete original broadcast is in circulation means that a good label such as Godfather could finally do justice to such an important show. Another One For The Road is a good release, but has been superseded by the CDR title.
