Word of Mouth (The Kinks album)

Word of Mouth is the twenty-first studio album by the English rock group the Kinks. It was released November 1984. "Do It Again" was released as a single from the album in 1985.

Word of Mouth
Studio album by
Released19 November 1984
RecordedJune 1983–September 1984
StudioKonk Studios, London
Genre
Length43:04
LabelArista
ProducerRay Davies
The Kinks chronology
State of Confusion
(1983)
Word of Mouth
(1984)
Think Visual
(1986)
Singles from Word of Mouth
  1. "Good Day"
    Released: 1984 (UK)
  2. "Do It Again"
    Released: 1984
  3. "Living on a Thin Line"
    Released: 1985 (US, Radio Promo)
  4. "Summer's Gone"
    Released: 1985 (US)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Information

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The track "Living on a Thin Line" by Dave Davies was played three times in the 2001 episode "University" of the American TV show The Sopranos. According to producer Terence Winter on the DVD extras, it is the series' most asked-about song. The song was also played in the final episode of the HBO series Vice Principals.

The song "Good Day" includes an allusion to the death of actress Diana Dors.

The song "Do It Again" was featured in the film Click (released in 2006), and in trailers that were promoting the film.[5] It was also used in TV ad promotions for the 2013 edition of the Tour de France.

Three tracks ("Going Solo", "Missing Persons", and "Sold Me Out") were repurposed for Kinks leader Ray Davies' solo debut album, the soundtrack to his concurrently produced, self-directed film, Return to Waterloo.

Commercial performance

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The album spent twenty weeks on the US Billboard album charts and reached its peak position of No. 57 in February 1985.[6]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ray Davies, except where noted

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Do It Again" 4:14
2."Word of Mouth" 3:51
3."Good Day" 4:35
4."Living on a Thin Line"Dave Davies4:16
5."Sold Me Out" 3:44
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Massive Reductions" 3:15
2."Guilty"Dave Davies4:12
3."Too Hot" 4:08
4."Missing Persons" 2:53
5."Summer's Gone" 3:52
6."Going Solo" 3:58
1999 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Good Day" (extended edit)5:31
13."Summer's Gone" (extended edit)4:54

Personnel

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The Kinks

  • Ray Davies – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals, drum machine on "Good Day", "Do It Again" and "Living on a Thin Line"
  • Dave Davies – guitar, background vocals, lead vocals on "Guilty" and "Living on a Thin Line"
  • Jim Rodford – bass, background vocals
  • Bob Henrit – drums, percussion except on "Missing Persons", "Sold Me Out" and "Going Solo"
  • Mick Avory – drums, percussion on "Missing Persons", "Sold Me Out" and "Going Solo"
  • Ian Gibbons – keyboards, background vocals

Additional personnel

  • David Baker – engineer
  • Donn Davenport – art direction
  • Chris Morton – concept
  • Maude Gilman, Howard Fritzson – design
  • Renate Stürmer – illustration

Notes

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  1. ^ "Billboard". Vol. 112, no. 44. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 28 October 2000. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: Word of Mouth > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  3. ^ Blender review Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Fricke, David (31 January 1985). "The Kinks: Word of Mouth". Rolling Stone. No. RS 440. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
  5. ^ "Soundtracks for Click". IMDb. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Billboard 200: February 9, 1985". Billboard. 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
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