THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
865) The Kinks — “Mr. Pleasant”
This “[i]nsanely catchy Music Hall whimsy” (Thomas Martinussen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwpJGewUyYk) by the Kinks (see #100, 381, 417, 450, 508, 529, 606, 623, 753) displays Ray Davies “penchant for sarcasm. Even before the end of the song, with all those weird chord changes, it sets about a rather cloudy feeling, which really tells you something isn’t right.” (Elirosen1391, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwpJGewUyYk) The ’67 A-side reached #80 in the U.S. and was only released as a B-side in the UK months later.
Anorak Thing writes that:
Like most of their ’66-’68 material it was incredibly “too English” in the words of one scribe to make any impact in the U.S. T he lyrics are another brilliant Ray Davies exercise in people watching, this time our protagonist is a well to do guy who has everything he could want but his money and popularity mean nothing because he has a cheating wife. It’s all very un-1967 style with bar room piano and mild brass farting along giving it a neo-Edwardian feel (session piano player Nicky Hopkins would later cut his own version with whistling instead of singing coming across as an odd companion for Whistling Jack Smith).
https://anorakthing.blogspot.com/2019/11/more-obscure-uk-45s-on-us-labels-kinks.html
Martyj adds:
Musically, Nicky Hopkin’s OWNS this track. To say piano features prominently in this song is like saying a string quartet merely gives Eleanor Rigby texture. No, this would be a completely different song without that Western Saloon road house piano feel. If they edited out the guitar intro and the trombone flourishes it would still be the same song, but you could never lose the keys without this becoming something else. Could Ray or [Shel] Talmy have conceptualized this any other way? Nicky deserves a “Get Back featuring Billy Preston”-like credit on this one. . . . Leave it to Ray to juxtapose that kind of 1890’s musical imagery with lyrical imagery that suggests mid-20th century Mister button-down conformist business suit.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-kinks-album-by-album-song-by-song.1075714/page-155
Steve E and Doug Hinman explain:
The single was recorded, and then pressed up, at least at the “Advance Promo” stage, by Pye for the UK.
It was gonna be the next single. Then Ray wrote and recorded “Waterloo Sunset.” This was such an obviously more important song, and Pye felt it had so much more commercial potential, that the label decided to skip “Mr. Pleasant” for the British market, to give the best chance to the new song. . . . But they had all these advanced promo records pressed and ready to go. So those ones were sent to Denmark and mixed in with those already pressed up for the Danish market:
The following is from Doug Hinman’s book. I think we now know that it was released in many more places than just the Netherlands. Turkey, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Italy. In the US with “Harry Rag” as the B-Side:
Kinks ’67 – April – Friday 21st
Mister Pleasant” / “This Is Where I Belong” single briefly planned for UK release is instead released in The Netherlands. Plans for the British release are apparently advanced enough that copies have been pressed ready for sale, but once “Waterloo Sunset” appears as a contender it is decided to hold back UK release and export copies instead to sell on the Continent – where it becomes hugely popular.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-kinks-album-by-album-song-by-song.1075714/page-155
alternate take:
Nicky Hopkins’ instrumental single version:
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