| "Living on a Thin Line" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Kinks | ||||
| from the album Word of Mouth | ||||
| B-side | "Sold Me Out" | |||
| Released | January 1985 | |||
| Recorded | June 1983 – September 1984 at Konk Studios, London | |||
| Length | 4:16 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dave Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Living on a Thin Line" is a track written by Dave Davies and performed by The Kinks on their 1984 album, Word of Mouth.
"Living on a Thin Line" is one of two songs on Word of Mouth written by Dave Davies (the other being " Guilty"). In his biography Kink, Davies said that the track was influenced by The Kinks' long and difficult career, along with his hatred of politicians. [1] The song was also influenced by the deterioration of English identity in the 20th century and Davies' longing for a return to "days of old". [2]
"Living on a Thin Line" was first released on Word Of Mouth, but has since been released as a 12-inch promotional radio single (backed with "Sold Me Out") in America, [3] and on numerous compilation albums, such as Come Dancing with the Kinks, Lost & Found (1986–1989), The Ultimate Collection, and Picture Book. The song has also been played live by both The Kinks and Dave Davies. [4]
"Living on a Thin Line" has been praised as one of Dave Davies's greatest songs. David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that "in 'Living on a Thin Line' – a dark variation on Ray's own death-of-England's-glory songs – brooding, goose-stepping chords and moping Pink Floyd synths underscore the desperate effectiveness of Dave's nervous croon." [5] Robert Christgau said, in his review of Come Dancing with The Kinks, that the track is the "second-best" on the album (to " Come Dancing"), and "'There's no England now,' he opines, which explains a lot." [6]
The track is featured three times in a 2001 episode of The Sopranos, titled " University". Sopranos producer Terence Winter has said that it is the series' most asked-about song. [7] The song was also used during the credits in the series finale of the HBO series Vice Principals. [8]
- ^ Hinman, Doug (2004). All Day and All of the Night. p. 272. ISBN 9780879307653.
- ^ Kitts, Thomas M.; Kraus, Michael J., eds. (2002). Living on a Thin Line: Crossing Aesthetic Borders with the Kinks. Rock 'n' Roll Research Press. pp. 71–72.
- ^ ""Living on a Thin Line" single". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ ""Living on a Thin Line" live performances". setlist.fm. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Fricke, David. "Word of Mouth Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Kinks". Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Living On A Thin Line by The Kinks". Songfacts. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Music from Vice Principals S2E09". Tunefind. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
| "Living on a Thin Line" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Single by The Kinks | ||||
| from the album Word of Mouth | ||||
| B-side | "Sold Me Out" | |||
| Released | January 1985 | |||
| Recorded | June 1983 – September 1984 at Konk Studios, London | |||
| Length | 4:16 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dave Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Living on a Thin Line" is a track written by Dave Davies and performed by The Kinks on their 1984 album, Word of Mouth.
"Living on a Thin Line" is one of two songs on Word of Mouth written by Dave Davies (the other being " Guilty"). In his biography Kink, Davies said that the track was influenced by The Kinks' long and difficult career, along with his hatred of politicians. [1] The song was also influenced by the deterioration of English identity in the 20th century and Davies' longing for a return to "days of old". [2]
"Living on a Thin Line" was first released on Word Of Mouth, but has since been released as a 12-inch promotional radio single (backed with "Sold Me Out") in America, [3] and on numerous compilation albums, such as Come Dancing with the Kinks, Lost & Found (1986–1989), The Ultimate Collection, and Picture Book. The song has also been played live by both The Kinks and Dave Davies. [4]
"Living on a Thin Line" has been praised as one of Dave Davies's greatest songs. David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that "in 'Living on a Thin Line' – a dark variation on Ray's own death-of-England's-glory songs – brooding, goose-stepping chords and moping Pink Floyd synths underscore the desperate effectiveness of Dave's nervous croon." [5] Robert Christgau said, in his review of Come Dancing with The Kinks, that the track is the "second-best" on the album (to " Come Dancing"), and "'There's no England now,' he opines, which explains a lot." [6]
The track is featured three times in a 2001 episode of The Sopranos, titled " University". Sopranos producer Terence Winter has said that it is the series' most asked-about song. [7] The song was also used during the credits in the series finale of the HBO series Vice Principals. [8]
- ^ Hinman, Doug (2004). All Day and All of the Night. p. 272. ISBN 9780879307653.
- ^ Kitts, Thomas M.; Kraus, Michael J., eds. (2002). Living on a Thin Line: Crossing Aesthetic Borders with the Kinks. Rock 'n' Roll Research Press. pp. 71–72.
- ^ ""Living on a Thin Line" single". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ ""Living on a Thin Line" live performances". setlist.fm. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Fricke, David. "Word of Mouth Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Kinks". Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Living On A Thin Line by The Kinks". Songfacts. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Music from Vice Principals S2E09". Tunefind. Retrieved 10 January 2022.