Set Me Free (The Kinks song)

"Set Me Free" is a song by Ray Davies, released first by the Kinks in 1965. Along with "Tired of Waiting for You", it is one of band's first attempts at a softer, more introspective sound. The song's B-side, "I Need You", makes prominent use of powerchords in the style of the Kinks' early, "raunchy" sound. "Set Me Free" was heard in the Ken Loach-directed Up the Junction, a BBC Wednesday Play which aired in November 1965; this marked the first appearance of a Kinks song on a film or TV soundtrack.

Billboard said of the single that "hot on the heels of [the Kinks'] 'Tired of Waiting for You' smash comes this down home blues rhythm material with a good teen lyric."^[3] Cash Box described it as "a snappy tune that’s taken for an engaging disk ride."^[4]

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman:^[1]

The Kinks

Ray Davies – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
Dave Davies – backing vocal, lead guitar
Pete Quaife – bass
Mick Avory – drums

Additional musician

Rasa Davies – backing vocal

Charts

References

^ a b c Hinman 2004, p. 56.
^ Turner 2003, p. 560.
^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 5 June 1965. p. 35. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 5 June 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1965". www.top100singles.net.
^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5601." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ "The Kinks – Set Me Free" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. p. 447. ISBN 919727125X.
^ "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
^ "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 7/17/65". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

Sources

Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day by Day Concerts, Recordings, and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-765-3.
Turner, Alwyn W. (2003). "The Kinks". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 560–561. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.