Features / Interviews

Here at Second Disc HQ, we’re longtime fans of writer-producer-musician-historian Andrew Sandoval.  In addition to his groundbreaking work with The Monkees catalogue – including, most recently, helming the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. box set and penning the liner notes for the singles collection The As, The Bs, and The Monkees – Andrew has curated reissues from artists including The Everly Brothers, The Band, Love, Bee Gees, Van Morrison, and The Kinks.  Andrew’s longtime association with the latter band has led to a new release coming soon from his boutique publishing house, Beatland Books.  All Day and All of the Night: The Day-by-Day Story Pt. 1 – 1940-1971 is the definitive chronicle of the band’s early history.  Andrew has co-written it with Doug Hinman, author of the original 1994 volume which has been updated, expanded, and refocused for this edition.  We’re thrilled that Andrew was able to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to speak with TSD about this latest project.

Thanks for chatting with us, Andrew.  You’ve had a long history with The Kinks’ recorded catalog. How did you come to be involved with co-writing this update/reimagining of Doug Hinman’s tome?

Doug and I connected through mutual Kinks friends in the 1990s following the publication of his discography. He was working on the Day-By-Day companion, and I tried my hand at turning some of his raw data into narrative text. He ultimately found a home for his book at Backbeat in the UK and Tony Bacon did editorial work on bringing Doug’s monumental research into a narrative form. Coincidentally, my original Monkees Day-By-Day book was also published by Backbeat with Bacon as the editor.

Though Doug and I were both grateful for the exposure and mainstream distribution, it was both our dreams to have a more elaborate presentation for our works published down the road. Once I had redone my Monkees book, Doug and I spent a number of years discussing reviving and reworking his Kinks book to its present form. It now runs 520 pages with completely rewritten and revised text as well as hundreds of rare images and illustrations in full color (the original book was black & white print only).

Can you give us a hint as to what’s been added to the new edition?

We had greater access to recording information via Shel Talmy’s archive as well as a myriad of gig listings that have been collected through a team of skilled researchers. We also started from scratch on our BBC information and the book contains heretofore unpublished radio and television information. Furthermore, every Kinks recording is analyzed with a breakdown of players and background from contemporary interviews.

Wow!  Did you learn anything, or did anything surprise you, about the band while researching or putting the book together?

I learned more than I can recount from basic memory; that’s why I’m so glad it’s all in this book. For instance, the Davies brothers father Fred’s birth name is actually Kelly – which explains why Ray and Dave’s first gig outside of their home was as The Kelly Brothers. Their father adopted his stepfather’s last name of Davies and I can’t really think of The Kinks without thinking of Ray and Dave Davies. It almost seems unnatural to say Ray and Dave Kelly.

Another interesting detail that came to light was that Granada TV paid for all of the recording sessions for the album Arthur in the hopes that they would release the album rather than Pye/Reprise. In the end what would have amounted to the first TV pop opera was scrapped because the costs of production continued to increase and Granada’s recent forays into this area with their Johnny Cash At San Quentin special and The Doors Are Open led directly to their decision to cancel the TV portion of Arthur.

I know our readers are going to be as fascinated as I am with so much deep-dive information being uncovered for the first time.  Have the surviving band members been supportive of the book?

To an extent The Kinks have always been supportive of Doug’s research. And I interviewed all of the members for an extensive two-part article in Record Collector. These elements were the basis for a lot of our work on this book. Doug was particularly close with Pete Quaife and his story and point of view is accounted for accurately in this volume.

Fantastic.  What do you feel makes The Kinks’ music so enduring?

Ray Davies’ unique approach to recording and writing. He is completely without equal as a creative force. Not to mention Dave Davies gift as a vocalist and guitarist being an essential element that motivated Ray and drove The Kinks. I can think of no other artist from the era that strayed so far into territory where they were without contemporary influence. Yet, there are few to no examples where you could say The Beatles, The Stones, or The Who had any impact on what The Kinks created. They maintained a totally idiosyncratic output and it is remarkable that so much of their work escaped unfiltered by commercial necessities.

Many of our readers are familiar with your work in the world of The Monkees. If any of those fans who own The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story aren’t as familiar with The Kinks, would this book be a great place to start immersing oneself in their discography?

I have to be honest with you – this book is really for the major Kinks fans. Any time there was a question of whether to broaden its spectrum to engage a wider audience we went with making it the most definitive piece we could hoping to better any previous research that is available. I would hope my many Monkees friends feel well-served by the works I currently have out there and should I have enough time to detail the latter half of their career in a day-by-day fashion, I certainly will do it.

We truly hope that happens, Andrew.  Your Beatland books such as The Monkees’ The Day-by-Day Story and Micky Dolenz’s I’m Told I Had a Good Time are beautifully designed objets d’art.  We’re big fans here of your frequent collaborator John Sellards, who has designed the vast majority of The Second Disc’s own CD releases over the past decade including our recent Dionne Warwick box set and the cover to our upcoming Leon Russell collection.  What goes into the design of books this massive, and how does the design complement your work as author?

John and I now have a very long working relationship established. And there’s a great deal of trust on both our parts that we will come to a creative space on each book where we can do something that’s really different than your average team. It begins in the same place that we share, which is being collectors and appreciators of music in all formats. We both have nostalgia for the fonts that we see on covers and labels and we both draw our inspiration from our collections. Knowing that the artists that I love like The Monkees or The Kinks would never be afforded lavish coffee table books has driven me forward to make something no one else would make. And I couldn’t make these books without the dedication and help of John Sellards.

When might we expect the next volume of what we know will be a definitive series?

It will be based largely on public demand. These books are printed in limited numbers and the hope is to sell through what I’ve made. The sooner that the books are sold the sooner I can get on with the next couple of volumes.

Thanks for being here with us, Andrew.

Please visit Beatland Books to purchase Andrew Sandoval and Doug Hinman’s All Day and All of the Night: The Day-by-Day Story Pt. 1 – 1940-1971.  It’s available in various formats inclcluding a Flexibound Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Super Deluxe Edition, with the latter two editions also including a standalone Scrapbook volume (pictured above).  The Flexibound edition will ship in February with the Deluxe and Super Deluxe books following in March.  In any format, this is a stunning release and indispensable addition to any Kinks fan’s library.