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JIM RODFORD
Jim Rodford was the key figure in enabling the Zombies first rehersal back in 1961. Rodford used to be part of St Alban's biggest band in '61 called THE BLUETONES.
After the break-up of the Zombies, Rod Argent asked Rodford to help him form Argent. Find out more about the group's career by going to the Biography Page.
The following has been taken from the Kink's Website:
The beginnings of Jim Rodford's friendship with the Kinks stretches back to his tenure with the Mike Cotton Sound, which he joined in November 1964. The Mike Cotton Sound had toured with the Kinks late that year, and the members of the two bands stayed friendly. Although the Mike Cotton Sound dissolved as a performing unit in 1968, the horn section retained the name and concentrated on session work, and eventually (1971) worked with the Kinks in the studio and on the road. In 1968, Jim Rodford formed the band Argent with his cousin Rod Argent, ex-Zombies keyboard player; Argent also included Bob Henrit, who later played on Dave Davies solo LPs and subsequently became a member of the Kinks. The band Argent thrived until 1976, opening for the Kinks a couple of times in 1972 and 1973. After recording an LP for CBS/Columbia with this lineup, Rodford went on to play briefly with a band called Limey immediately prior to his joining the Kinks in 1978. Hired initially on a trial basis to fulfill upcoming tour obligations and still a member of the band, Jim Rodford is the band's second longest serving bass player and a key member in the band's long history.
Word Of Mouth (1984)
There are some strong tunes here, but none of them cracked either the British or U.S. singles charts, and the album marked the beginning of the Kinks' final commercial slide. The biggest numbers are really solid: "Do It Again" is a crafty rocker, great solo, great dynamics; the melancholy "Missing Persons" is pretty, if aimless; Dave's stately, mid-60's-style "Living On A Thin Line" is one of his best ballads ever, and his "Guilty" is a lively rocker that sounds remarkably like Midnight Oil. Elsewhere they go with the usual rock formula, either so tepid they're toothless ("Good Day," with Lee Oskar-like harmonica), or so noisy they're noxious (Stones-style pseudo-punk on "Sold Me Out"). Lyrically, there's the usual mix of introspection ("Summer's Gone"), slice-of-life character sketches ("Going Solo"), and anti-corporate anthems ("Massive Reductions"). Most of this is harmless if unoriginal - the only serious low point is the grating yuppy workout anthem "Too Hot," with a smarmy 50's nostalgia arrangement. During the sessions Mick Avory finally quit and was replaced with ex-Argent drummer Rob Henrit, who appears on more than half the tracks. (JA)Phobia (1993)
This one was a disappointment, doing more poorly than any of the band's new studio LPs back to the lean years of the early 70's. It's also more hard-rocking than their other recent records, and that's exactly the problem. With blaring power chords and pentatonic riffs everywhere, it's hard to distinguish the title track and many other tunes - especially Dave's "It's Alright" - from generic 80's metal. Ray does turn down the amps pretty often, but he doesn't have a lot of new ideas: just the standard four-piece instrumentation on tune after tune, with robotic drumming and drab, unimaginative synth ("Still Searching"; "Only A Dream"; "Don't"; "Close To The Wire"). Some good lyrical material like "Babies" and "Somebody Stole My Car" gets buried this way, and elsewhere the lyrics are often clichéd and platitudinous; "Only A Dream" is downright juvenile. Just a few cuts both sound good and deliver Ray's classic sense of humor and metaphorical inspiration, like the nihilistic, but deceptively snappy "Scattered," and the brotherly, speeded-up "Hatred (A Duet)." Still, if you like the Kinks' last few records you'll like this one too. The backing band is Rodford and Henrit. (JA)
