Living on a Thin Line

1985 single by The Kinks

"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

"Do It Again"
(1984)

"Living on a Thin Line"
(1985)

"How Are You"
(1986)

"Living on a Thin Line" is a track written by Dave Davies and performed by The Kinks on their 1984 album, Word of Mouth.

Background

"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]

Release

"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]

Reception

"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]

References

^ 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.

The Kinks singles discography

1960s singles
(UK & US)

1964: "Long Tall Sally"; "You Still Want Me"; "You Really Got Me"; "All Day and All of the Night"

1965: "Tired of Waiting for You"; "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy"; "Set Me Free"; "See My Friends"; "Who'll Be the Next in Line"; "A Well Respected Man"; "Till the End of the Day"

1966: "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"; "Sunny Afternoon"; "Dead End Street"

1967: "Mister Pleasant"; "Waterloo Sunset"; "Death of a Clown" (Dave Davies solo); "Autumn Almanac"; "Susannah's Still Alive" (Dave Davies solo)

1968: "Wonderboy"; "Days"; "Lincoln County" (Dave Davies solo)

1969: "Starstruck"; "Hold My Hand" (Dave Davies solo); "Plastic Man"; "Drivin'"; "The Village Green Preservation Society"; "Shangri-La"; "Victoria"

1970s singles
(UK & US)