State of Confusion

State of Confusion
joey
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released 24 May 1983 (US), 10 June 1983 (UK)
Recorded September 1982 – March 1983
Studio Konk Studios, London (except "Bernadette": mid-1981)
Genre
Length 41:20 (LP)
51:21 (cassette)
Label Arista
Producer Ray Davies
The Kinks chronology
Give the People What They Want
(1981) 		State of Confusion
(1983) 		Word of Mouth
(1984)
Singles from State of Confusion
  1. "Come Dancing"
    Released: 19 November 1982
  2. "Don't Forget to Dance"
    Released: 1 August 1983
  3. "State of Confusion"
    Released: December 1983 (Germany)

State of Confusion is the twentieth studio album by the English rock group, the Kinks, released in 1983. The record features the single "Come Dancing", which hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was one of the band's biggest hit singles in the United States, equaling the 1965 peak of "Tired of Waiting for You". The album itself was a major success, peaking at #12 on the Billboard album charts.

While there have been at least 7 reissues of this album on CD in various countries (all with 4 bonus cuts), none of them have issued the extended "Come Dancing" 12-inch mix on CD (which contains an extended horn ending), which to this day is only available on vinyl. In addition, the extended 12-inch version of "Noise" has never been released on CD and is only available on vinyl. The UK 12-inch version of "Bernadette" has differences, including extra lyrics by Ray in the middle section. The album was certified gold in Canada by August, 1983.

Production

The album was recorded between September 1982 and March 1983 at Konk Studios, London, and was produced by Ray Davies.

"Long Distance" and "Noise" were only released on cassette versions of the album. In 1984, "Long Distance" was released as one of the two B-sides on the "Do It Again" single in Germany (the other being "Guilty"). The song then appeared on both the LP and CD editions of the 1986 compilation album Come Dancing with The Kinks as the 13th track on the LP version and the 11th track on the CD version. Since then, it has made an appearance on the compilation album Picture Book and the box set, The Arista Years. It was the last Kinks album on which drummer Mick Avory appeared on all the tracks and was a full member of the band.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic
Blender
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Rolling Stone

The track "Long Distance" has generally received positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively praised the track as "wistful pop", and went on to call it a "terrific obscurity". Rolling Stone critic Parke Puterbaugh hailed the song as "astonishingly Dylanesque", and went on to say that "there's no excuse for omitting ['Long Distance' from the LP version of State of Confusion]".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "State of Confusion" 3:41
2. "Definite Maybe" 4:27
3. "Labour of Love" 3:54
4. "Come Dancing" 3:54
5. "Property" 4:19
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Don't Forget to Dance" 4:34
2. "Young Conservatives" 3:58
3. "Heart of Gold" 4:02
4. "Clichés of the World (B Movie)" 4:51
5. "Bernadette" 3:41
Cassette edition

All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "State of Confusion" 3:41
2. "Definite Maybe" 4:27
3. "Labour of Love" 3:54
4. "Come Dancing" 3:54
5. "Property" 4:19
6. "Noise" 4:38
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Don't Forget to Dance" 4:34
2. "Young Conservatives" 3:58
3. "Heart of Gold" 4:02
4. "Clichés of the World (B Movie)" 4:51
5. "Bernadette" 3:41
6. "Long Distance" 5:23
CD reissue bonus tracks
No. Title Length
11. "Don't Forget to Dance" (Original extended edit) 5:09
12. "Once a Thief" 4:06
13. "Long Distance" 5:23
14. "Noise" 4:38

Personnel

The Kinks

Technical

  • Written and Produced by Raymond Douglas Davies
  • John Rollo – engineer
  • Damian Korner – engineer
  • Howard Fritzson – album design
  • Robert Ellis – photography