Working on it ....Jan 2020
The Kinks were formed in Muswell Hill, North London in 1963, by brothers Dave and Ray Davies. Ray Davies is the creative force - his brother Dave also wrote songs and was the lead guitar player, but remained a sort of slightly resentful and unsettled figure in Ray's shadow. The band are generally acknowledged as important and influential, but are afforded a much lower status than their contemporaries, the Beatles, Stones and the Who. After being banned from playing in America in the Sixties, success there was limited until the Seventies. They are respected by musicians and critics, but not given star billing, and are largely treated as a quaint, nostalgic Sixties singles band by the public - little more than the Dave Clark Five or Gerry and the Pacemakers. The regular albums are mostly ignored - people often preferring to buy the compilations, and as I am doing this Kitchen Table study, I am becoming aware of why: - the regular albums were often rushed in comparison to the singles, and most of the singles - the songs we know - did not appear on the regular albums when first released (the CD issues have rectified that by adding them as bonus tracks). With some notable exceptions, I am finding that the albums are not as good as the singles.
I grew up with them as a quaint Sixties singles band, and in the early Seventies I was aware that music critics respected some of their more ambitious late Sixties / early Seventies concept albums: Village Green, Arthur and Muswell Hillbillies, though I never really got into those albums. I loved some of the songs, and Waterloo Sunset is possibly my favourite song of all time. I saw the Kinks at the Hammersmith Palais in 1984, when they sang Waterloo Sunset, and later saw Ray Davies at Rochester Castle in 2007 when he got his timings wrong and wasn't able to do it. I was aware of how much other musicians in the Punk and Britpop periods respected him and either directly covered his songs, or wrote very much in his style. Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) in particular covered several of his songs very well, eventually having a relationship with him. I respect Ray Davies, and I have always kind of liked the Kinks, but I have never really got excited by them - which is I suspect how most folks feel. Davies writes great songs, but there's something about his and the band's image, which isn't compelling, and the music is often, though well done, a little Tin Pan Alley - competent, professional middle of the road music, created to carry and convey lyrics, but not thrilling, disturbing, or ground-breaking. Indeed, all too often, despite his intellect and song-writing ability, Davies tends to follow the music trends rather than lead them. The claims regarding the importance of "You Really Got Me" have, I feel, been overstated, and its importance is seen more in retrospect through the claims of Davies himself rather than in actuality. It's a great song, and it was released at an early point in the British blues movement, in the style which has come to be called garage music, but it was an attempt to capture the feel and sound of the Kingsmen's Louie Louie.
The band emerged in 1964 at the height of the British R&B movement and Merseybeat, and were a minor part of the British Invasion of the US until their touring ban in 1965. I have been surprised and impressed while doing this study at how early they began recording. Their first singles and album were released in 1964, slightly after the Stones, but just before the Animals, the Who, the Yardbirds, Them, the Spencer Davis Group, the Pretty Things, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Searchers, the Merseybeats, and the Moody Blues.
They were influenced by a variety of music styles, including rhythm and blues, British music hall, folk and country. The band's breakthrough, "You Really Got Me" in 1964, was their third single,. It became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States. Between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group's singles were successful, while their albums, such as Face to Face, Something Else, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround and Muswell Hillbillies (which usually did not contain the singles), were critically successful but commercial failures. They gained a reputation for Ray Davies' observational writing style, which displayed a wry wit in reflecting English culture and lifestyle.
The band's early 1970s theatrical concept albums met with less success, though they experienced a revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s with albums Sleepwalker, Misfits, Low Budget, Give the People What They Want and State of Confusion. In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Fall covered their songs, reviving the Kinks' reputation for a new generation. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence. The Kinks broke up in 1996, a result of the commercial failures of their last few albums and creative tension between the Davies brothers.
The group had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, the group had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums. Four of their albums have been certified gold by the RIAA. Among numerous honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Service to British Music". In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005.
The Kinks released original material singles and extended-play singles in between albums, so for a complete picture I am putting singles and other interesting material in between the albums, though not Dave Davies singles, as I don't find him interesting.
Debut release is a cover of "Long Tall Sally" (Feb 1964), the b-side is a R'n'B song by Davies, "I Took My Baby Home", which appears on the first album. Unremarkable.
"You Still Want Me" (Apr 1964), a Beatlesque song by Davies. Has only appeared on compilation albums. The b-side, "You Do Something To Me", is more of the same. Unremarkable.
"You Really Got Me" (Aug 1964) is a Davies original that appears on the debut album. This is the song that made them famous. Clearly a copy of The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie", including the legendary guitar break, but still insanely good. Dave Davie's guitar break is neat, but it's a copy of the Kingsmen's original, and is fairly wet anyway, what really works is the menacing da-da-da-dah riff throughout the song which is carried by all three guitars, combined with the steps in intensity, and the bringing in of the threatening background vocals. This is an intense track - full of menace. The b-side, "It's Alright", is an R'n'B song by Davies that could have been recorded by Them or the Yardbirds - it has a lot of energy, but has only appeared on compilation e-plays and albums.
* * *
 |
| Kinks (YouTube) (Oct 1964) |
Original release had 14 tracks ending with "Got Love If You Want It". Six tracks written by Ray Davies. Best song: "Stop Your Sobbing", and, of course, "You Really Got Me"
Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score: 4 1/2
* * *
* "All Day And All Of The Night" (Oct 1964), another blistering single with a crazy inept guitar solo in the style of Louie Louie. This one only appeared on compilation albums. B-side is a Davies R'n'B song "I Gotta Move".
* Kinksize Session (Nov 1964), an EP with a cover of "Louie Louie" (of course!), and three Davies R'n'B / MerseyBeat originals, "I Gotta Go Now", "Things Are Getting Better", and "I've Got That Feeling". None of the songs appeared on regular albums, just compilations and US albums. Unremarkable.
* Recorded as a demo around 1964, but never released as a Kinks song is "I Go To Sleep", which was released by The Applejacks (1965) and later covered by The Pretenders (1981). Gentle song with beautiful lyrics - like poetry. And Ray Davies has never even been nominated for a Grammy. Stunning.
Lyrics to I Go To Sleep:
When I look up from my pillow I dream you are there with me
Though you are far away I know you'll always be near to me
I go to sleep and imagine that you're there with me
I look around me and feel you are ever so close to me
Each tear that flows from my eyes brings back memories of you to me
I go to sleep and imagine that you're there with me
I was wrong, I will cry, I will love you to the day I die
You alone, and no one else, you were meant for me
When morning comes once more I have the loneliness you left me
Each day drags by until finally night time descends on me
I go to sleep and imagine that you're there with me
* * *
 |
| Kinda Kinks (March 1965) |
Original release had 12 tracks ending with "Something Better Beginning". All but two tracks were written by Ray Davies. Best song: "Tired Of Waiting"
Wikipedia
AllMusic: 6
Score: 3 1/2
* * *
* Set Me Free (May 1965) a ballad style R'n'B / Beat number by Ray. At this point I think all the compositions are originals, almost all by Ray, but the odd one here and there by brother Dave. B-side is the punchy I Need You in the style of All Night And All Of The Night.
* A curiosity - Kinky Music - The Larry Page Orchestra plays the music of The Kinks (June1965)
* See My Friends (July 1965) - a slightly psychedelic tune with an Indian raga sound that pre-dates the Beatles and the Byrds, though the Yardbirds had got there a month earlier with Heart Full of Soul / Unreleased sitar version. B-side was the unremarkable Never Met A Girl Like You Before.
* Kwyet Kinks (Sept 1965), an EP with a song by Dave, and three by Ray: the unremarkable Such A Shame, Don't You Fret, and the slightly more interesting A Well Respected Man.
* * *
 |
| The Kink Kontroversy (Nov 1965) |
There are twelve tracks on the original release, with all but two of them written by Ray Davies. The last track is "You Can't Win". Best song: "Where Have All The Good Times Gone"
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 3
* * *
* "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion" (Feb 1966) This is the first Kinks song I can remember hearing as a kid. I loved it. Odd that it only appears on compilation albums. B-side is the unremarkable "Sitting On My Sofa".
* "Sunny Afternoon" (June 1966) Another great Kinks pop song I remember from my childhood. The song does appear on the Face to Face album released later in the year, but the intriguing b-side, "I'm Not Like Everybody Else", does not.
Lyrics to I'm Not Like Everybody Else
I won't take all that they hand me down,
And make out a smile, though I wear a frown,
And I'm not gonna take it all lying down,
'Cause once I get started I go to town.
'Cause I'm not like everybody else,
I'm not like everybody else.
And I don't want to ball about like everybody else,
'Cause I'm not like everybody else,
I'm not like everybody else.
But darling, you know that I love you true,
Do anything that you want me to,
Confess all my sins like you want me to,
There's one thing that I will say to you,
I'm not like everybody else.
I'm not like everybody else
And I don't want to ball about like everybody else,
And I don't want to live my life like everybody else,
And I won't say that I feel fine like everybody else,
'Cause I'm not like everybody else,
I'm not like everybody else.
If you all want me to settle down,
Slow up and stop all my running 'round,
Do everything like you want me to,
There's one thing that I will say to you, I'm not like everybody else.
I'm not like everybody else.
And I don't want to ball about like everybody else,
And I don't want to live my life like everybody else,
And I won't say that I feel fine like everybody else,
Cause I'm not like everybody else,
I'm not like everybody else
* * *
 |
| Face to Face (Oct 1966) |
I
had this record in my collection. It's a fine album of mid Sixties
rock/pop songs. It shows Ray's ability as a songwriter. The band chug
along nicely and professionally, though add little character to
proceedings, indicating that by this stage The Kinks were essentially
just Ray Davies, and it didn't matter who his backing musicians were,
and they could well have been session musicians. This is probably their
best album, and one of the finest albums of the Sixties.
Best song: Sunny Afternoon (though this is an album chock full of great songs)
BlogCritics; DanielRachel; Sputnik; Crawdaddy (1967); RateYourMusic; Furious
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Best song: Sunny Afternoon (though this is an album chock full of great songs)
BlogCritics; DanielRachel; Sputnik; Crawdaddy (1967); RateYourMusic; Furious
| Released | 28 October 1966 (UK) 7 December 1966 (US) |
|---|---|
| Recorded | 23 October 1965 – 21 June 1966 |
| Studio | Pye Studios, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 38:32[3] |
| Label | |
| Producer | Shel Talmy |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Party Line" | 2:35 |
| 2. | "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" | 2:34 |
| 3. | "Dandy" | 2:12 |
| 4. | "Too Much on My Mind" | 2:28 |
| 5. | "Session Man" | 2:14 |
| 6. | "Rainy Day in June" | 3:10 |
| 7. | "A House in the Country" | 3:03 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holiday in Waikiki" | 2:52 |
| 2. | "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale" | 2:48 |
| 3. | "Fancy" | 2:30 |
| 4. | "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" | 3:16 |
| 5. | "You're Lookin' Fine" | 2:46 |
| 6. | "Sunny Afternoon" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "I'll Remember" | 2:27 |
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 10
* "Dead End Street" (Nov 1966) Another of those great Kinks singles that never appeared on a regular album. Powerful song, yet also so throwaway with it's music hall pastiche and mock jazz refrain lines.
The b-side was Big Black Smoke, which again didn't appear on a regular album, just compilations and re-releases.
* Mr. Pleasant (Apr 1967) with b-side This Is Where I Belong. OK songs that didn't appear on a regular album.
* Waterloo Sunset (Apr 1967), this appeared on Something Else, though the b-side, the country yokel Act Nice & Gentle, which is a concert favourite of the Black Keys, did not appear on a regular album.
This continues the sardonic, observant,
neat pop rock songs of Face to Face, but is far more trivial, uneven and
ends up feeling like a compilation of mostly b-sides, and comes over as
less than the compilation albums that outsold the Kinks regular albums.
There is little unity between the songs. They work as individual
pieces. Some folks rate this as the Kinks best album. It does contain
Waterloo Sunset, and has two other good songs, David Watts, and Two
Sisters, which are among the best Davies has written, but the rest is
slight and certainly doesn't work as well for me as Face to Face. No
Return is lyrically interesting, but though jazz influenced is musically
modest; the amusing, folksy Harry Ragg; the music hall, middle of the
road marching pop of Tin Soldier Man, with its trite lyrics reminiscent
of Paul McCartney at his weakest; etc. Having three Dave Davies songs
doesn't help. On the whole it's competent, clever, tongue-in-cheek, and
musically varied, but it gives a feel of something light, bubble-gum and
throwaway, and I can see how albums like this wouldn't have helped
generate a feeling that the Kinks were a serious band. This is 1967, the
year of the Doors first album, Laura Nyro's first album, Surrealistic Pillow, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Are You Experienced. The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and Sgt Peppers,
which shows up Something Else as dated and parochial. People can look
back on this album in isolation now and say it has some good songs, but
it is patchy, and for its time it was weak - without the cohesion,
impact, and progression of the major albums of the period, and Davies
knew it, and was already looking to make a more serious album.
I have been listening to this again, and I think I might have been a bit harsh on this album. Sure, it's not Piper, but by golly gosh some of these songs are actually quite good. Upping the score two points.
Best song(s): Waterloo Sunset; and David Watts; and Two Sisters.
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 6
This is such a muddy recording you wonder
why they released it. Surprised to hear that they spent some time in
post-production trying to make it sound better, and that much of the
irritating audience noise has been looped on. They would have done
better to record it again, or just not bother to release it. It's no
surprise to hear it didn't sell.
Wikipedia;
AllMusic:
Score: 1
* Days (June 1968). Another brilliant singles only song. The b-side, She's Got Everything, is an R'n'B rocker that is both a throwback to the Kinks early days, and is a look forward to the sort of songs that bands would be playing during the Punk era of the late 70s.
Village Green is Davies' Pet Sounds - his
quest to write a proper serious album; but it flopped badly, its
parochial nostalgia being seen as whimsical and out of step with a
forward looking and global rock community. It generated critical
interest in some American underground music papers, but on the whole was
ignored by critics and public. It has since gained some attention as
being Davies' most ambitious and best realised project, and while it was
out of step with the mood in 1968, it found an audience in the more
reflective 1990s, and that audience has slowly grown. The gentle,
reflective whimsy is attractive, but that attraction is fairly limited.
I've yet to be seduced by this album, though I will keep an open mind.
Best song: "People Take Pictures Of Each Other"
Wikipedia
BBC; Pitchfork; Rolling Stone - 1969; PopMatters; RateYourMusic; Esquire; CoS; Village Voice - 1969; Andy Miller; UltimateClassicRock; MakingTime
AllMusic:
Score: 5
* Till Death Us Do Part (Feb 1969), a song Ray wrote for the Till Death Us Do Part film. OK
* Plastic Man (Mar 1969) is a Chas n Dave type of jolly pub song; the b-side King Kong is more interesting, with a T. Rex feel to it, including Davies singing in a high warble, and doing absurd rhyming couplets like "I'm King Kong, got a hydrogen bomb".
More
critically and commercially successful than Village Green, Arthur was
praised on release and continues to receive praise, considered by many
as the Kinks best album. this is part of a group of albums from Village
Green to Muswell Hillbillies that are seen as the peak of the Kinks
albums, and Ray Davies' most mature writing.This feels more like a band
album, than just a bunch of Ray Davies songs. The band occasionally
groove, and there's a credible attempt by Dave Davies to play mature
rock guitar licks. This is a damn good album.
Best song:
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 7
With
things not going quite right for Ray Davies, with neither commercial
success, satisfactory artistic achievement (his tv rock opera Arthur had
been cancelled), good business management, nor the critical acclaim he
deserved, and combined with his awkward personality, it's no wonder that
by the time of Lola he's lashing out at pretty much everyone around
him. Considered by a number of commentators as a loose concept album or
song-cycle on the music business, it's a bitter album that - again -
didn't sell, even though it included the hits singles Lola and Apeman
that made the band once again popular in America and the rest of the
world. There's an attractive 70s country-rock feel about the album, but
despite being considered a concept album, it's really a messy collection
of songs, most of which don't work.
Best songs: Lola, and Apeman
Wikipedia
Uncut; Sputnik; WordPress; SuperSeventies;
AllMusic:
Score: 4
This
is a soundtrack album. I saw the film when it came out - a comedy about
a man who has a penis transplant, it was a bit of harmless fun to which
the Kinks' songs (mainly instrumental) seemed to comfortably fit. Not
an album to listen to, though I quite like Animals In The Zoo and Dreams.
Best song: God's Children
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 3
Good country feel to this album, the first for the band's new record label, RCA. Some of the tracks will appear on the live part of the band's next album, though there are enough good ones left that it's work seeking out for itself. "20th Century Man" was released as a single in the US, and was no more successful than the album itself. I like this album.
Wikipedia; Allmusic; Rolling Stone;
Best song: Alcohol
Score: 6
Not
sure what it was about this album that caught my attention over the
ones prior to it that have been acclaimed as classics, but I bought it
and liked it. Playing it again now, and I still like it. Good songs,
well played. And it contains one of Ray Davies' best songs: Celluloid Heroes, which was released (unsuccessfully) as a single. Supersonic Rocket Ship, at a more conventional length, was a more successful single. The album is a double, with the second disc being live.
Wikipedia;
Best song: Celluloid Heroes.
Score: 6
Generally disliked and dismissed on release, opinions are more divided these days, with some feeling there are worthy songs on the album, even if as a whole it fails. What interests most people is the mess of the idea. This, as the title suggests, is some form of reworking of the ideas and characters in Village Green. As with much Kinks stuff, it's hard to pin anything down, but it appears that Ray had big ideas for a theatrical reworking of Village Green, which got distorted, partly through his own changes of direction, and partly through his record company insisting on some form of release. What we end up with is a single album which introduces the main characters, and then the double album Act 2, which has the narration and story. Added to which there was a single, Preservation, which wasn't originally on either album, and was only released as a single in America, and which attempts to sum everything up. That single appears on later CD releases as the opening track, which seems to confuse people even more.
It's an interesting album. Initially off-putting as the songs feel a bit pretentious with laboured lyrics, and the music is fairly derivative of other bands including the Kinks themselves, but it is an album that rewards re-listening. Not a great album, but quirky enough to be interesting.
Wikipedia; AllMusic; AndrewHickey; BlogCritics; HokeyBlog; DonIgnatio;
Best Songs: "Sweet Lady Genevieve" and "Here Comes Flash"
Score: 4
Wikipedia;
Best songs: Mirror of Love; Second Hand Car Spiv
Score: 3
I had this double album in the early Seventies. It's an excellent selection of their late Sixties, early Seventies songs.
RateYourMusic;
Score: 6
Remarkably throwaway. You can see the intention of Davies to be given the same status as Pete Townsend, but despite the clear song-writing talent of Davies, this is very trivial, throwaway, and dull.
Wikipedia
Best song:
Score: 2
It's a shame that Davies went through a period of limiting himself with trivial "concept albums". It's almost as though song-writing came so easily to him, that he wanted to make it a little harder. The music on this album is quite acceptable but meaningless - it's all so throwaway. The songs are listenable, but rarely rise to being engaging. It's all so capable and pleasant but empty. I can't help but like it, though, and find it grows on me with repeat listening.
Wikipedia
Best song:
Score: 5
A very decent album with a collection of decent but run of the mill songs. Compared with what other albums were released in 1977, and the direction music was taking with the emergence of the Sex Pistols and the Clash, this feels rather tired, uninspired, and plodding. Life goes on and on and on. Yep. Ray Davies was sleepwalking to the end of his career. This is the beginning of the end.
Wikipedia
Best song: Juke Box Music
Score: 3
A pleasant rocking pop album. Easy listening and professionally made, but ultimately unremarkable.
Wikipedia
Best song: Misfits
Score: 3
A plodding rawk album strongly American influenced which is barely distinguishable from the average American adult-orientated middle of the road rock band of the period. Not surprisingly it did well in the US, but bombed in the UK. "Little Bit of Emotion" is the most familiar as a Kinks song.
Best track: Little Bit of Emotion
Score: 2
Picking up musical ideas from elsewhere (fairly typical of the Kinks, but perhaps more obvious on this album than others) this feels like second rate post-punk/New Wave album rather than a Kinks album. "Destroyer" references "Lola" in the lyrics and "You Really Got Me" in the music. However, this album is growing on me, and as well as hearing Davies echoing other writers, you can also detect his influence on Britpop bands like Blur and Pulp.
Wikipedia ;
Best track: Destroyer
Score: 5
There's
a Clash or Tom Robinson Band feel to the opening track with its blend
of RnB and reggae and group shouted chorus. The gentle and pleasant
nostalgia of "Come Dancing"
was a successful single, which drove sales of the album. There is an
Eighties feel to the album with synths and a hollow, superficial sound.
"Don't Forget To Dance" has promising lyrics, but the melancholy sound
feels forced and saccharine.
Wikipedia; KindaKinks;
Best track: Come Dancing
Score: 3
A rocky album, quite punky in places ("Sold Me Out" could be something by The Clash). It works quite well with driving songs, cleanly recorded, and with a fair degree of energy. The opening track, Do It Again, was a modest hit. These are decent, well written songs, better than the average released on any day of the week, and the playing is crisp and professional, with a firm, unfussy production, and I even like Dave Davies' Living On The Line, but, yet, somehow, the album doesn't really rise above the ordinary. It's likeable and listenable, but it doesn't move, excite, or disturb. There's something missing. Side One is pretty decent; Side Two sucks.
Wikipedia; AllMusic; Rolling Stone; KindaKinks; UltimateClassicRock; BlogCritics;
Best track: Pretty much all of Side One - "Good Day" is interesting, so I'll chose that
Score: 5
Nothing
here of interest. Move along. Lost And Found was released as a single,
and it's a competent song, one of the best on the album, but sums up the
state of the band. The music and singing is transatlantic and
uninteresting - it could be Huey Lewis and the News, or any other middle
of the road rock band. The story of a couple caught in New York as a
hurricane come in, putting their relationship in perspective, is subtle
and telling, but the music never lifts beyond MOR professional slick,
and the Americanism of the setting and Davies' voice takes away some of
Davies' uniqueness. Repetition reuses the tune from Lennon's Nobody Told Me
from two years earlier. Such musical borrowings had been there from the
start of Davies' career - You Really Got Me being a clear borrowing of
Louie Louie for example; but while such borrowings are expected and
fairly typical of artists starting out, by this stage in their lengthy
career, you'd expect the Kinks to be following their own course a little
more strongly rather than still following the crowd. And this in a
sense is part of the reason, perhaps, for the Kinks failure to really
catch the imagination of the public, they were never more than competent
copyists of other musical styles. While they popularised garage rock in
the UK (and apparently also in the USA), and were (almost) the first
band to utilise Indian raga rhythms in Western popular music, their
approach has tended to be to simply plod along with tunes that worked,
rather than creating a distinctive Kinks sound; sometimes, as here,
borrowing other people's tunes but without expanding on them. The
strength of the Kinks is mainly in their lyrics - something a little
harder for the public to get their teeth into, as it's the music and the
tune that catches the attention first, and which remains emotionally in
the memory. With songs like Waterloo Sunset, Davies did find a telling
and memorable tune, and allied it to wistful and suggestive lyrics that
will mean different things for different people. With the occasional
song down the years, Davies really hit the spot with a great tune to
back up his lyrics, but mostly the tunes were just a little too
ordinary, and his delivery just a little too light and throwaway -
lacking the commitment that moves people to excitement or tears. How Are You was the last single by the band to reach the charts. A nostalgic piece that uses a lot of words to say very little.
Wikipedia;
Best song: Lost And Found
Score: 2
It's the Kinks Jim, but not as we know them. I think this is widely acknowledged as the worse Kinks album.
Wikipedia: AllMusic; Lyrics; Blog; Stereogum; BlogCritics;
Best song: I don't think there is any song worth singling out.
Score: 1
A
lumpen album that thuds it's way through unimaginative middle of the
road rock songs. The best track is Only A Dream, which was released
unsuccessfully as a single. There's talent here, and the songs are well
constructed and on interesting themes and ideas, and Ray Davies' bitter,
slightly caustic observations, delivered in that vaudeville voice,
remind us that this is Ray Davies, but it doesn't work, and shortly
after this both the record company and the band called an exhausted end
to it all. There was so much better being done in the 90s by those bands
influenced and inspired by The Kinks, such as Blur, Pulp and Suede. The
album's strengths and weaknesses can probably be best summed up by The Informer, a country type song that promises to be a good song, but doesn't quite get there.
Wikipedia ; Lyrics; AllMusic; Rolling Stone; Lost Gems;
Best song: Only A Dream
Score: 2
The
Kinks last album. It's a pseudo live album with a mix of concert
recordings from Portsmouth (and one from America) plus some dubious
Unplugged style recordings in front of "a small audience" (roadies and
studio staff?) at their Konk studio. Without a major recording contract
the band paid for and released the album themselves. It's an ignominious
exit for such a legendary band. Best track is the opener - All Day And
All Of The Night recorded live in front of an appreciative Portsmouth
audience in 1994.
Wikipedia; AllMusic; KindaKinks
Best track: All Day And All Of The Night
Score: 1
Voice
I like Davies' voice, though its not ground-breaking or particularly remarkable. It works effectively, has an interesting Englishness to it, and is identifiable as the voice of the Kinks.
6
Image
Neither the band nor Davies projected a compelling image. They were not really bad boys, nor sexy, nor radical, nor political, nor clever, nor outspoken, nor charming. The band as a whole are anonymous, with the exception of the Davies brothers, and of those Dave is meaningless, other than his wheedling attempts to restrict others, and to bring attention on himself. With a more creative or interesting guitarist the Kinks might have stood more of a chance of getting the attention they deserved.
5
Lyrics
Awesome. Davies is one of the foremost song-writers of the 20th century. Subtle observations gently and interestingly explored. I Go To Sleep, Waterloo Sunset, etc, are brilliant pieces of writing. He walks hand in hand with Smokey Robinson (America's “greatest living poet”) as writer of subtle and evocative lyrics.
10
Music
Davies wrote good songs and brought a British sensibility to them which was important at a time when most British artists were going Transatlantic, is not outright American. It is quite possibly the rejection and ban by America which focused Davies on British music and subject matter, but whatever the reason, while it limited their appeal in the world's biggest music marketplace, it gave them a charm and a flavour that is interesting, and which provided food for thought, and indeed at times inspiration - particularly during the Punk era and Britpop, for other artists. However, apart from their early Kingsmen copies (You Really Got Me, etc), the band are not really known for their music. It is charming, and it works well as a carrier of the lyrics, but it's not exciting, dreamy, danceable, progressive, experimental, original, etc. It's just good pop rock music.
5
Impact/Influence
They were an early British Invasion band, and an early exponent of British R'n'B, and their early Kingsmen type songs woke up other British acts to power pop and power chords. Davies' songwriting skills have been hugely influential on other British artists, particularly during Punk and Britpop.
8
Importance
Very significant. It's astonishing that they are so little recognised, particularly in America, where they have never been nominated for a Grammy, let alone won one.
8
Popularity
During their Golden Era in the Sixties and early Seventies, they were often in the singles charts. Their albums are less cohesive, not helped by many of the hit singles not appearing on regular albums. They are a popular band, but a big selling one, and they have no great album to drive sales, just a series of compilation albums and under-appreciated regular albums.
7
Star quality
They do lack true star quality. It's Ray Davies who is the man, and during Punk and Britpop he did become a well respected elder-statesman, but his solo career is undistinguished. OK, but not great.
5
Emotional appeal
Waterloo Sunset is tops. Davies has a particular way with words, and a wry way of singing.
10
Legacy
Everyone who knows them knows they will endure and become more respected over time. God only knows, but Ray Davies may become respected at the greatest British song-writer of the 20th century. After all, really, who is better?
10
Total:
74/100
Links
*TheKinks.info - dull corporate site
*KindaKinks - good fan site
*RollingStone
*Rolling Stone album guide
*Britannia.com
*BestEverAlbums
*AdrianDenningAlbum Reviews
*RobertChristgau
*RateYourMusic
*Guardian blog on the Kinks being underrated
*Hall of Fame
*Wikipedia
*Adrian Denning Reviews
Live
*BBC concert 1973 - they look and sound like a pub rock band; there's no stage presence, no star quality, just a bunch of anybodies playing loose music. Here's Brinsley Schwartz, Bees Make Money, and Ducks Deluxe from the same year
*Old Grey Whistle Test 1977 - a mature and accomplished performance from what appears to be a band at ease with themselves
Documentaries
*BBC
*Biography Channel
Lists
*Top Ten Kinks Singles
* * *
* "Dead End Street" (Nov 1966) Another of those great Kinks singles that never appeared on a regular album. Powerful song, yet also so throwaway with it's music hall pastiche and mock jazz refrain lines.
Lyrics to Dead End Street
There's a crack up in the ceiling,
And the kitchen sink is leaking.
Out of work and got no money,
A Sunday joint of bread and honey.
What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No money coming in,
The rent collector's knocking, trying to get in.
We are strictly second class,
We don't understand,
Why we should be on dead end street.
People are living on dead end street.
Gonna die on dead end street.
On a cold and frosty morning,
Wipe my eyes and stop me yawning.
And my feet are nearly frozen,
Boil the tea and put some toast on.
What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.
No chance to emigrate,
I'm deep in debt and now it's much too late.
We both want to work so hard,
We can't get the chance,
People live on dead end street.
People are dying on dead end street.
Gonna die on dead end street
The b-side was Big Black Smoke, which again didn't appear on a regular album, just compilations and re-releases.
* Mr. Pleasant (Apr 1967) with b-side This Is Where I Belong. OK songs that didn't appear on a regular album.
* Waterloo Sunset (Apr 1967), this appeared on Something Else, though the b-side, the country yokel Act Nice & Gentle, which is a concert favourite of the Black Keys, did not appear on a regular album.
* * *
 |
| Something Else by The Kinks (YouTube) (Sept 1967) |
I have been listening to this again, and I think I might have been a bit harsh on this album. Sure, it's not Piper, but by golly gosh some of these songs are actually quite good. Upping the score two points.
Best song(s): Waterloo Sunset; and David Watts; and Two Sisters.
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 6
* * *
 |
| Live at Kelvin Hall (Jan 1968) |
Wikipedia;
AllMusic:
Score: 1
* * *
* Days (June 1968). Another brilliant singles only song. The b-side, She's Got Everything, is an R'n'B rocker that is both a throwback to the Kinks early days, and is a look forward to the sort of songs that bands would be playing during the Punk era of the late 70s.
Lyrics to Days
Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.
I bless the light,
I bless the light that lights on you believe me.
And though you're gone,
You're with me every single day, believe me.
Days I'll remember all my life,
Days when you can't see wrong from right.
You took my life,
But then I knew that very soon you'd leave me,
But it's all right,
Now I'm not frightened of this world, believe me.
I wish today could be tomorrow,
The night is dark,
It just brings sorrow, let it wait.
Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.
Days I'll remember all my life,
Days when you can't see wrong from right.
You took my life,
But then I knew that very soon you'd leave me,
But it's all right,
Now I'm not frightened of this world, believe me.
Days.
Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.
I bless the light,
I bless the light that shines on you believe me.
And though you're gone,
You're with me every single day, believe me.
Days
* * *
 |
| The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (YouTube) (Nov 1968) |
Best song: "People Take Pictures Of Each Other"
Wikipedia
BBC; Pitchfork; Rolling Stone - 1969; PopMatters; RateYourMusic; Esquire; CoS; Village Voice - 1969; Andy Miller; UltimateClassicRock; MakingTime
AllMusic:
Score: 5
* * *
* Till Death Us Do Part (Feb 1969), a song Ray wrote for the Till Death Us Do Part film. OK
* Plastic Man (Mar 1969) is a Chas n Dave type of jolly pub song; the b-side King Kong is more interesting, with a T. Rex feel to it, including Davies singing in a high warble, and doing absurd rhyming couplets like "I'm King Kong, got a hydrogen bomb".
* * *
 |
| Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (Oct 1969) |
Best song:
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 7
* * *
 |
| Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (Nov 1970) |
Best songs: Lola, and Apeman
Wikipedia
Uncut; Sputnik; WordPress; SuperSeventies;
AllMusic:
Score: 4
* * *
 |
| Percy (March 1971) |
Best song: God's Children
Wikipedia
AllMusic:
Score: 3
* * *
 |
| Muswell Hillbillies (Nov 1971) |
Wikipedia; Allmusic; Rolling Stone;
Best song: Alcohol
Score: 6
* * *
 |
| Everybody's in Show-Biz (Aug 1972) |
Wikipedia;
Best song: Celluloid Heroes.
Score: 6
* * *
 |
| Preservation Act 1 (1973) |
It's an interesting album. Initially off-putting as the songs feel a bit pretentious with laboured lyrics, and the music is fairly derivative of other bands including the Kinks themselves, but it is an album that rewards re-listening. Not a great album, but quirky enough to be interesting.
Wikipedia; AllMusic; AndrewHickey; BlogCritics; HokeyBlog; DonIgnatio;
Best Songs: "Sweet Lady Genevieve" and "Here Comes Flash"
Score: 4
* * *
 |
| Preservation Act 2 (1974) |
The odd second part of the already odd Preservation. Very odd and very Kinks. A little bit too obviously theatrical, and sadly lacking in ideas or strategy.
Wikipedia;
Best songs: Mirror of Love; Second Hand Car Spiv
Score: 3
* * *
 |
| Lola, Percy And The Apeman Come Face To Face With The Village Green Preservation Society...Something Else! |
RateYourMusic;
Score: 6
* * *
 |
| Soap Opera (1975) |
Wikipedia
Best song:
Score: 2
* * *
 |
| Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975) |
Wikipedia
Best song:
Score: 5
* * *
 |
| Sleepwalker (1977) |
A very decent album with a collection of decent but run of the mill songs. Compared with what other albums were released in 1977, and the direction music was taking with the emergence of the Sex Pistols and the Clash, this feels rather tired, uninspired, and plodding. Life goes on and on and on. Yep. Ray Davies was sleepwalking to the end of his career. This is the beginning of the end.
Wikipedia
Best song: Juke Box Music
Score: 3
* * *
 |
| Misfits (1978) |
Wikipedia
Best song: Misfits
Score: 3
* * *
 |
| Low Budget (1979) |
Best track: Little Bit of Emotion
Score: 2
* * *
 |
Give the People What They Want (1981) |
Wikipedia ;
Best track: Destroyer
Score: 5
* * *
 |
| State of Confusion (1983) |
Wikipedia; KindaKinks;
Best track: Come Dancing
Score: 3
* * *
 |
| Word of Mouth (1984) |
A rocky album, quite punky in places ("Sold Me Out" could be something by The Clash). It works quite well with driving songs, cleanly recorded, and with a fair degree of energy. The opening track, Do It Again, was a modest hit. These are decent, well written songs, better than the average released on any day of the week, and the playing is crisp and professional, with a firm, unfussy production, and I even like Dave Davies' Living On The Line, but, yet, somehow, the album doesn't really rise above the ordinary. It's likeable and listenable, but it doesn't move, excite, or disturb. There's something missing. Side One is pretty decent; Side Two sucks.
Wikipedia; AllMusic; Rolling Stone; KindaKinks; UltimateClassicRock; BlogCritics;
Best track: Pretty much all of Side One - "Good Day" is interesting, so I'll chose that
Score: 5
* * *
 |
| Think Visual (1986) |
Wikipedia;
Best song: Lost And Found
Score: 2
* * *
 |
| UK Jive (1989) |
It's the Kinks Jim, but not as we know them. I think this is widely acknowledged as the worse Kinks album.
Wikipedia: AllMusic; Lyrics; Blog; Stereogum; BlogCritics;
Best song: I don't think there is any song worth singling out.
Score: 1
* * *
 |
| Phobia (1993) |
Wikipedia ; Lyrics; AllMusic; Rolling Stone; Lost Gems;
Best song: Only A Dream
Score: 2
* * *
 |
| To The Bone (1994) |
Wikipedia; AllMusic; KindaKinks
Best track: All Day And All Of The Night
Score: 1
* * *
Summary
Voice
I like Davies' voice, though its not ground-breaking or particularly remarkable. It works effectively, has an interesting Englishness to it, and is identifiable as the voice of the Kinks.
6
Image
Neither the band nor Davies projected a compelling image. They were not really bad boys, nor sexy, nor radical, nor political, nor clever, nor outspoken, nor charming. The band as a whole are anonymous, with the exception of the Davies brothers, and of those Dave is meaningless, other than his wheedling attempts to restrict others, and to bring attention on himself. With a more creative or interesting guitarist the Kinks might have stood more of a chance of getting the attention they deserved.
5
Lyrics
Awesome. Davies is one of the foremost song-writers of the 20th century. Subtle observations gently and interestingly explored. I Go To Sleep, Waterloo Sunset, etc, are brilliant pieces of writing. He walks hand in hand with Smokey Robinson (America's “greatest living poet”) as writer of subtle and evocative lyrics.
10
Music
Davies wrote good songs and brought a British sensibility to them which was important at a time when most British artists were going Transatlantic, is not outright American. It is quite possibly the rejection and ban by America which focused Davies on British music and subject matter, but whatever the reason, while it limited their appeal in the world's biggest music marketplace, it gave them a charm and a flavour that is interesting, and which provided food for thought, and indeed at times inspiration - particularly during the Punk era and Britpop, for other artists. However, apart from their early Kingsmen copies (You Really Got Me, etc), the band are not really known for their music. It is charming, and it works well as a carrier of the lyrics, but it's not exciting, dreamy, danceable, progressive, experimental, original, etc. It's just good pop rock music.
5
Impact/Influence
They were an early British Invasion band, and an early exponent of British R'n'B, and their early Kingsmen type songs woke up other British acts to power pop and power chords. Davies' songwriting skills have been hugely influential on other British artists, particularly during Punk and Britpop.
8
Importance
Very significant. It's astonishing that they are so little recognised, particularly in America, where they have never been nominated for a Grammy, let alone won one.
8
Popularity
During their Golden Era in the Sixties and early Seventies, they were often in the singles charts. Their albums are less cohesive, not helped by many of the hit singles not appearing on regular albums. They are a popular band, but a big selling one, and they have no great album to drive sales, just a series of compilation albums and under-appreciated regular albums.
7
Star quality
They do lack true star quality. It's Ray Davies who is the man, and during Punk and Britpop he did become a well respected elder-statesman, but his solo career is undistinguished. OK, but not great.
5
Emotional appeal
Waterloo Sunset is tops. Davies has a particular way with words, and a wry way of singing.
10
Legacy
Everyone who knows them knows they will endure and become more respected over time. God only knows, but Ray Davies may become respected at the greatest British song-writer of the 20th century. After all, really, who is better?
10
Total:
74/100
Summary
Voice/Musicianship (15) Solid. Professional. [11]
Image/Star quality (5)[2]
Lyrics/Music (20)[17]
Impact/Influence (10)[8]
Popularity (5)[3]
Emotional appeal (5)[3]
Authenticity (15)[11]
Art (5)[3]
Classic albums/songs (5)[3]
Originality/Innovation (5)[3]
Legacy (10)[8]
Total: 72/100
Links
*TheKinks.info - dull corporate site
*KindaKinks - good fan site
*RollingStone
*Rolling Stone album guide
*Britannia.com
*BestEverAlbums
*AdrianDenningAlbum Reviews
*RobertChristgau
*RateYourMusic
*Guardian blog on the Kinks being underrated
*Hall of Fame
*Wikipedia
*Adrian Denning Reviews
Live
*BBC concert 1973 - they look and sound like a pub rock band; there's no stage presence, no star quality, just a bunch of anybodies playing loose music. Here's Brinsley Schwartz, Bees Make Money, and Ducks Deluxe from the same year
*Old Grey Whistle Test 1977 - a mature and accomplished performance from what appears to be a band at ease with themselves
Documentaries
*BBC
*Biography Channel
Lists
*Top Ten Kinks Singles
 |
| Kitchen Table Music Blogs Best Of The Best |
Jan 2020: 358
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