A Hole in the Sock of Dave Davies refers to an unreleased album of solo material by Dave Davies, lead guitarist and co-founder of British rock band the Kinks.[1] Apparently the album was, at least for a time, intended to be released under the name Lincoln County, however, numerous names have been applied to it, including The Album That Never Was.
In July 1967, Dave Davies readied his first solo single, credited entirely under his name (although co-written by his brother and fellow Kinks member Ray Davies), entitled "Death of a Clown". In the past, as a member of the Kinks, Dave Davies had only released his own compositions on B-sides and as part of larger LPs. The Kinks' record label sensed potential sales in a solo release from the overlooked Davies, and issued "Death of a Clown" as his debut. Although credited to Davies, it was technically a Kinks recording, as his backing band was, in fact, the Kinks.
Upon release, "Death of a Clown" unexpectedly rose to number three on the UK Singles Chart. Wanting to profit off the new buzz that was suddenly surrounding Davies, a solo LP was scheduled for release some time in 1968 or 1969.[1]
A follow-up single, "Susannah's Still Alive", was released in November 1967.[2] However, it only reached number 20 on Melody Maker.[3] The release of the solo album was held back, and it was decided to wait and see how another single would fare. As anticipation grew for the release of the new LP, fans nicknamed it A Hole in the Sock Of.[1] The name was based on a remark Ray Davies had made to a reporter during an interview about the title of Dave's forthcoming solo album and was, although meant ironically, taken seriously. The title was a send up possibly of the Beatles ambitious "A Day in the Life" or Traffic's "Hole In My Shoe".
"Lincoln County" was chosen as the next single but failed to chart. With subsequent singles meeting the same result, a combination of Davies' own lack of interest in continuing and Pye's decision to stop killed off any hopes of an album.[4]
In a 1999 interview, Davies stated that:
I was quite surprised when management and the record company wanted me to make an album. I thought it was quite daunting. There were a couple of tunes I liked - 'Suzannah's Still Alive,' 'Lincoln County' - but it had to feel right, and it didn't feel right. I did a few songs in a demo studio and I knocked out three or four songs, and one of them was 'Creeping Jean,' and I started to get very depressed about the whole idea. One of the last songs I recorded then was 'I'm Crying,' so you can tell what frame of mind I was in.[5]
Work began on the album project after the unexpected success of "Death of a Clown". Initially, proposed material included blues songs by Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy in addition to original material; ultimately, lack of both interest[clarification needed] and original material delayed further work on an LP until the very end of 1968, when four new songs were recorded at Polydor Studios in London. Work was to have completed early in 1969 but was delayed at least partly when Dave Davies fractured a finger. Much of the unissued material seems to have been recorded in June 1969, just after completion of recordings for Arthur (with John Dalton, not Pete Quaife, on bass). Two tracks ("This Man He Weeps Tonight" and "Mindless Child of Motherhood"), both released as B-sides of Kinks singles, were recorded as part of the Arthur sessions.
Reprise files imply that Reprise received tapes of this album, under the title Lincoln County, in July 1969 while it was still considered for release by the band. By September of that year, the decision was made not to release the album. Throughout 1970, reports of a reworked version with new material were discussed; the possibility of issuing Dave's LP as the second half of a 2-LP set was raised, but by the close of that year all talk of the LP's release had ceased. Oddly, tapes of this LP were not officially logged into Reprise's official master tape log until 1972, as part of their contractual settlement after the Kinks moved to RCA. Short of the existence of this acetate in their vaults, there is no other indication that Reprise ever seriously considered this LP for release in its entirety. All songs were mixed (in the case of "Susannah's Still Alive", remixed) in stereo for this release. The track listing given here is per Doug Hinman.[6]
Although the unreleased album is sometimes called The Album That Never Was, several other unreleased Kinks projects were called this over time. A compilation of Dave Davies' solo singles and B-sides was released under this title in 1987, and included "This Man He Weeps Tonight". In the version released in Japan, "Mr. Shoemakers Daughter" can also be found.
Compiled and researched by Russell Smith and mastered by Andrew Sandoval and released 31 October 2011, the first 13 tracks of Hidden Treasures represent Dave's unreleased album based on the tapes that were submitted to Reprise in 1969. Tracks 15-24 represent a mono version of the unreleased album.
