Friday Poll - Which really gets you?

[sunvalleylaw]

Kinks or Van Halen version of this classic rocker? Obviously, it was written by Ray Davies, was way before its time, and for that reason the nod would go to the Kinks, but the poll question is what version would you rather hear coming home from work after a long day?

Tough one for me. I like the "raw-ness" of the original so I want to vote Kinks, but I also really like the intensity of Van Halen's version. So I had to vote option 3, whichever came on that day, I like them both.

Here is an interesting wiki about the origin of the song, some stuff about the lead, and the power chord structure, and myths about then session player Jimmy Page playing the lead. Interesting read for a budding rock guitarist me thinks!

[sunvalleylaw]

P.S. When I was in middle school, and VH's first album came out, this song hooked me first, though I liked the whole album. I did not know at the time it was a cover.

[Spudman***]

If coming home from work after a long day...I would take the Van Halen just because of the energy although I would rather "listen" to the Kinks because of the history.

[R_of_G]

Without question I prefer the Kinks' version. :

[Brian Krashpad]

Kinks ftw.

Not even close for me.

[Guitar Gal]

I like both versions and would want to listen to either one after a long day of work.

However, if voting on which one I'd rather WATCH on You Tube.......I'd have to vote for Kinks......a little too much chest hair in VH.....


GG

[sunvalleylaw]

However, if voting on which one I'd rather WATCH on You Tube.......I'd have to vote for Kinks......a little too much chest hair in VH.....


GG

LOL!!!!

[Tone2TheBone]

I'm gonna wuss out and say both.

[aeolian]

I voted earlier but I should comment about my vote.

I'm 58 years old and I heard the Kinks during my formative years. Their early raw sound had a grip on me that has never let go, and their later songs have such wit and sarcasm that make me realize how good a song writer Ray Davis is. So for me it is the Kinks all the way.

[just strum]

KINKS

I can't play the videos here at work, but never liked VH so it was an easy decision.

Even on classic rock stations the Kinks don't get the airplay they deserve.

When I hear VH on the radio, I slip in a CD or just turn off the radio and listen to air.

[R_of_G]

Even on classic rock stations the Kinks don't get the airplay they deserve.

When I hear VH on the radio, I slip in a CD or just turn off the radio and listen to air.

+2

[marnold***]

Van Halen certainly did a good job of not just making a paint-by-numbers cover. It actually sounds like Van Halen. I don't mind either version. I'd rather play the Kinks version because it is easier

[wingsdad]

If every copy of every recording of DL Roth squealing and belching it and EVH (with all due respect) overplaying it to death suddenly got erased, I wouldn't miss the pretensious 'energy' of it a bit.

Kinks, hands down. It was genius then, and it still is.

I know. It's only Rock n' Roll. But I like it, like it. Yes I do.

[just strum]

If every copy of every recording of DL Roth squealing and belching it and EVH (with all due respect) overplaying it to death suddenly got erased, I wouldn't miss the pretensious 'energy' of it a bit.

Kinks, hands down. It was genius then, and it still is.

I know. It's only Rock n' Roll. But I like it, like it. Yes I do.

: :

[Ro3b]

That's a great video of the Kinks, more so because of the cutesy little floor show at the end. That speaks pretty eloquently about rock & roll's place in the culture back then: in the middle of all the squeaky variety-show all-american blandness comes this lurching, messy song about sexual obsession that bypasses head and heart and heads straight for the crotch. No wonder the girls were screaming.

Van Halen's version is a parody.

[Katastrophe]

I appreciate the original version for what it is, which is a song that helped kick in the door for modern rock. The Kinks are awesome.

However, for 1978, Eddie used the song, ushered in by "Eruption" to set the guitar world on it's ear. IMHO, it's a great cover, but it's no substitue for the original. It is however, fun to listen to, and I enjoy it every time it comes on the radio.

[duhvoodooman***]

Let me start this by saying that the 60's and early '70's were my personal musical heyday, so you would expect the Kinks version to be my favorite. The AM stations of the day played the grooves off it, and while it had a new and fresh sound to it, there were a lot of other "British Invasion" hits of that era that I liked just as well or better. A great tune, though, without a doubt.

What I find surprising here--especially at a guitar players' forum--is the total diss'ing that the VH version is getting. Yeah, I know DLR is one of the premier jerks on the face of the planet, and not much of a singer (but neither is Ray Davies, IMO). And I agree that the video is garish and overwrought--typical of the genre and times! But it's not the video that made any impression on me, it was the first time I heard the VH version on the radio that caught my full attention. I don't know about you, but there have only been a handful of occasions in my life as a guitar fan where I heard something that just made me stop and think, "Whoa, who the hell is THAT guy??" I can still remember exactly where I was driving when I heard it for the first time, the first VH song I'd ever heard.

I would argue that the guitar work on this tune, Eruption, and a handful of other early VH hits had the most influence on how rock guitar was played since the great late 60's guitarists (Hendrix, Clapton, Page, etc.). Perhaps a little too much influence, after watching some of those 80's hair-band videos! I don't think it was until SRV came along that there was an equally influential guitarist.

So while I like both tunes for very different reasons, I voted for the VH version 'cuz I don't think Eddie was getting enough love in this thread!

[Robert****]

I gotta say I dig the VH version a lot more. I just love EVH's playing during these years, and DLR fits right in there with all the hoopla and antics.

I also reminds me of my youth!

[oldguy]

I like both.Voted Kinks.
Sorry for the long post...