THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,697) The Kinks — “Rosemary Rose”
The Kinks (see #100, 381, 417, 450, 508, 529, 606, 623, 753, 865, 978, 1,043, 1,108, 1,302, 1,330, 1,591) give us “a real joy” (David Levesley, https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/the-kinks-songs), “two minutes of pure genius” (MickBokulich-gg1ro, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmuKGpxYpAs), “a great song, the kind that leaves me shaking my head in amazement that it could just end up discarded and unheard. Extremely catchy. Very characteristic of [Are the Village Green Preservation Society] musically, and preferable to a bunch of VGPS songs to my mind.” (Vagabone, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-kinks-album-by-album-song-by-song.1075714/page-272). Is that Nicky Hopkins on harpsichord? Is that the “You Really Got Me” riff? So many unexpected and delightful surprises . . .
David Levesley writes:
The first verse starts off so conventional – “Rosemary Rose / Nature sure gave you such a beautiful nose” – and then subverts it immediately: “‘Though you’re not beautiful as someone would know / That Rosemary Rose.” It starts off like a cover of a Restoration ballad and then descends into a strange, oddly sinister look at obsession and desperation. Nobody gets to be loved in a Kinks song if they can help it.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/the-kinks-songs
Fortuleo adds:
You look nothing like a child / Yet you’re such a little baby. How great is this line? How sublime are the little harpsichord arpeggios? While it’s clear he doesn’t sing about his sister this time, Ray is back in a Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home [see #623] mode. Melodic chamber verse with a bluesy bridge/chorus, and some sumptuous Nicki Hopkins flourishes before the guitar chords take over. This doesn’t sound 100% finished or fleshed out (especially the lyrics), but unlike “Berkeley Mews”, it’s definitely in a Village Green vein, as evidenced by the pastoral feel of the music, the reference to “pictures taken when you were just three”, and the overall old-fashioned sensation.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-kinks-album-by-album-song-by-song.1075714/page-272
“Rosemary” was finally released in ’73 on The Great Lost Kinks Album. Matt_K tell us:
The Kinks actually recorded two albums in 1968 – before The Village Green Preservation Society an LP entitled Four More Respected Gentlemen was recorded to honour an agreement with American distributor Reprise for an original US market release. However, it was not published at the time (it’s thought the poor performance of single “Plastic Man” gave Reprise cold feet) and sat in a vault for five years until Reprise issued it (without The Kinks’ involvement or approval) to make a buck under its new fan-baiting name.
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-kinks/the-great-lost-kinks-album/
Richie Unterberger writes more on The Great Lost Kinks Album:
An aptly titled collection; out of print for many years, there are even some Kinks cultists who have never been able to hear this ragtag but worthy collection of late-’60s and early-’70s outtakes and rarities. Most of these were recorded around the same time as the 1968 LP Village Green Preservation Society; these low-key, wry, bouncy tunes would have fit in well with that record. Lyrically, they’re on the whole slighter than much of their late-’60s work, perhaps accounting for why the group did not deign to release them at the time. Still, songs like “Rosemary Rose,” “Misty Water,” and “Mr. Songbird” would have hardly embarrassed the group, and rank as the highlights of this anthology. Besides 1969-era outtakes, it includes the single “Plastic Man,” a couple of okay, way-obscure B-sides featuring Dave Davies, and some songs penned for long-forgotten film and television productions. It also has the dynamite 1966 B-side “I’m Not Like Everybody Else,” though that’s easily available on reissue these days. That’s not the case for most of the rest of this album; Kinks fans will find it quite worthwhile, and should be on the lookout for it in the used bins.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-great-lost-kinks-album-mw0000842127
Here is the longer stereo mix:
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