Kinks - Lola "Coca-Cola" v. "cherry cola"

To EdisonLite:

I have the "Coca-Cola" STEREO version in fine sound on my 1986 British import CD PRT CDMP8836 'Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One'.

Wow, what an LP title...

Andy

jimct wrote: The band and die-hard "original version" Kinks fans probably always preferred the "Coca" version, and thought the lyric change was BS -

I had always heard that too, but in the late 90s our classic rock station carried some live-in-concert show (might have been King Biscuit Flower Hour) and they sang cherry cola in it. Not sure when this particular concert was recorded, but it was definitely late-70s or later since some of their Arista material was featured.

I just A/B'd my Reprise stock 45 with the track on my promo LP of Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround (with "Part One" shown on the front cover and spine, but not on the label itself) and you were right about the 45 being slower, Doug. I came up with an actual 45 time of a just-barely (4:03) and an actual LP time of (4:01.9) before it tracks into "Top Of The Pops." While the faster LP track contains maybe a half-second more music, the fade begins noticeably earlier, and is much more gradual than it is on the 45.

Some other interesting 45/LP "Lola" differences:

1. Different vocals on the verse which immediately follows the "cola wars":

"She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola.
El-oh-el-aye Lola. La la la la Lola..."

This verse is a solo lead vocal on the 45, but is sung in two-part harmony on the LP.

2. At 2:42 on the LP version, the word "well" in the line "well I left home just a week before..." is sung differently on the 45, with the second voice coming in midway through that word.

3. And from 3:20 (3:22 on the 45) through the fadeout, the lead guitar parts are entirely different between the album and single versions. The 45's lead guitar at this point is more prominent, too.

And available on iTunes. Yay.