The Kinks Albums
The Kinks were a band that helped define and influence every group that came after them. They were very original in the way they approached music, arrangements, and melodies in their time and helped transform blues rock into something that was all their own creation. Many people would say the idea of a “concept record”, a record that played in order like a novel, began and was perfected by them. I get very tired of everyone saying "next to The Beatles, The Stones, and The Who, the Kinks were the best." They were just as good as those bands, and some ways superior and longer lasting in their influence. Very different bands, those four, the main thing they all they had in common really is that they were all British. So what makes the Kinks stand out: a blend of English heritage, mixed with great melodies and great consistent sometimes concept albums? That was a lot of it, though really when it comes down to it The Kinks we're not like everybody else.
They tried to sum everything up, the whole experience of life. They rocked as hard as The Who or The Rolling Stones, but had a nostalgic quality to them thar was sublime and authentic. Words like that define both this band and their sound. At a time when many groups went along with the trends, songwriter Ray Davies led the band into a stream of albums that harked back to old morale and days of yore, saying that many of their generation missed the point entirely. They were a lot like The Who in spirit, but more like the "cool parent" that would drink with you then the "rebellious youth" that was The Who. The Kinks felt like family, and that sense helps their relevance forty years after they began.
Like many 1960’s bands, I will try and mention their killer b-sdies and singles along side their albums as this was a very 60’s style thing to do, and many of their best songs were not on albums proper.
Band Members (classic line up) :
Dave Davies - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Ray Davies - Guitar, Vocals
Mick Avory - Drums
Peter Quaife - Bass (beginning - Something Else)
John Dalton - Bass (Village Green - present)
Best Album:
The Village Green Preservation Society
Biggest Influences:
Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Hank Williams, George Formby
Album Chronologically:
1964 - 66% - The Kinks
1965 - 59% - Kinda Kinks
1965 - 79% - The Kink Kontroversy
1966 - 82% - Face to Face
1967 - 92% - Something Else
1968 - 96% - Village Green Preservation Society
1969 - 95% - Arthur
1970 - 84% - Lola Vs Powerman
1971 - 91% - Muswell Hillbillies
Phase One: Early Kinks and the forming of their sound
1964
The Kinks – 66%
The Kinks start off with more of an edge than many of their contemporaries, in the shadow of Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker for sure. “Beautiful Delilah” is the opening track and best example of this, and the album is full of the brothers Davies dual guitar work. “So Mystifying” is a nice little back n forth, instrumental “Revenge” has a nice surf rock feel, and the ballad “Stop Your Sobbing” has the first the world got to hear of Ray Davies’ ballads and its one of his most distinctive. Best of all, buried deep in the album is the band’s first claim to fame, “You Really Got Me” and rarely has on song changed so much. This song with its memorable riff and sloppy, ragged feel defined much of what came after, from the garage rock bands, lo-fi movements, and even hard rock itself; there was simply not much like it before. In that same vein was “All Day and All of the Night” actually a single in 1964, but not on the original issue of this album. While mostly playing covers in the style of the British Invasion, there is not a lot memorable when looking back on this album except the songs I mentioned that Davies wrote. But even those few songs make the album worthy of a mention in 1964.
Best Songs: you Really Got Me, Stob Your Sobbing, Revenge
1965
Kinda Kinks – 59%
The second album by the band was a hasty follow up, and it shows. These aren’t exactly bad songs, but nothing really stands out. In 1965 to be fair, that wasn’t really the point as albums as “art” were just becoming fashionable. Some songs stand out- the obvious hit “Tired of Waiting” for you”, one of their first leisurely paced songs and one of the best songs they have made up to this point. Opener “Looking for My Baby”, “Come On Now”, and “So Long” (a charming folk/country ditty) are probably the other tunes that measure up all these years later, with “You Shouldn’t Be Sad” being a Beatles/ Yardbirds influenced raver. and all were original compositions by Ray or Dave Davies. But the majority of the album is blues based rock n roll that kind of jangles along and doesn’t set them apart from their contemporaries much. Even Ray Davies admits the final production on the album was rushed.
Sidenote: Singles around this album’s release- “See My Friends” was the first real use of sitar in a rock song, influencing my contemporaries like Beatles and The Who, and Rolling Stones to do the same. Rocker “I Need You” and crooning “Set Me Free” are better than anything on this album.
Best Songs: Tired of Waiting for You, So Long
1965
Kinks Kontroversy – 79%
There was always a nice mix of the harder rocking side of the band and the softer more pastoral one creeping in, but the band’s second record of 1965 was their best one yet and still holds up today. “Milk Cow Blues” is a hell of an opener, and though based around 12-bar blues the guys give it their own spin. This immediately followed by “Ring the Bells”, the best ballad they have done yet. On the pastoral side, “I am Free” was a very hippy sounding song and the most American sounding thing they had yet done, Ray Davies lyrics were also his best yet about fitting in in society. “I’m On an Island” is similarly pondering about the world. “Where Have All the Good Times Gone” is under the influence of Bob Dylan (perhaps also a prelude fo the Velvet Underground with it’s simple two-chord back n forth). This back and forth between soft and loud rings true throughout the rest of the album, and they have never sounded like they had a more distinct style before.
On the hard rock front, “Til the End of the day” is an all-time classic, with a hard rock guitar riff but also a harmonizing chorus with reverb and a pleasantly sloppy drum part by Mick Avory.”The World Keeps Going Around” has that same kind of lackluster feel as it trots along, “It’s Too Late” was perhaps their last great blues song and it already showed a kind of world-weary age. There are some throwaway tracks, “you Can’t Win”, “What’s in Store for Me”, “Gotta Get the first Plane Home” are the definition of filler, but even those songs have some interesting guitar solos.
Sidenote: singles around this time, “Dedicated Flower of Fashion” and bluesy, droney “Sitting and My Sofa” are pretty visionary.
Best Songs: Til The End of the Day, Where Have All the Good Times Gone, Ring the Bells, I’m On an Island
1966
Face to Face - 82%
The fourth album by The Kinks tends to get insanely good reviews, and I think much of that fact is attributed to the fact that it is a transitional album along the lines of The Beatles' Rubber Soul and The Rolling Stones' Aftermath, a trend of writing all the songs on the album with no covers at all. Face to Face is like those albums because it takes the old Kinks of the "You Really Got Me" days and combines it with the new refined old fashion pop of the new sound. The songs in that new style are amazing, such as "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" with its driving force and humble married life subject matter, and the classic "Sunny Afternoon", a perfectly hummable and hilarious toon about such what its like to go on vacation in the summer in ol’ England, which are two of the best songs the band ever did. "Dandy" is a fan bouncy tune, full of the verve and relaxation of a song like “Well Respected Man” and "Too Much on my Mind" has the grown feel of a Bob Dylan tune, "Session Man" has a funny feeling to it like the band is mixed really far back in the mix. "Holiday in Waikiki" starts off the second side of the album with a memorable Beach Boys feel and a memorable guitar line from Dave Davies in the middle, and “Most Exclusive Residence for Sale” is a stately paced rant by Ray Davies in only a way he could tell it.
Unfortunately not all of the album is a smooth ride, with "Little Miss Queen of Darkness", and "I'll Remember You" being pretty unspectacular. There are also aspects that ruin songs, like the cheesy thunderstorm effects of "Rainy Day in June" and the datedness of "Party Line" referring to an old way the telephones work that for its time it made sense but no seems a bit distant. the already done Indian-influenced sound of "Fancy" is nothing special, the band had already made an attempt at this and done it better. But still, "House in the Country" is a good tune that does have the feel of a Paul McCartney rant, and “You’re Looking Fine” has a sleaziness that Randy Newman would adopt in his career. There is a lot of harpsicord on this album…..it must be said.
What is neat about this record is that it shows the band changing into something else (haha) entirely, and one can sense the progress within the whole album. What the record is though is a nice glimpse of things to come, and should be obtained by already established fans of the band. Face to Face is the most consistent album the band had done yet, and a very good one with the highest ratio of good to great songs all written by the Davies Bros.
Sidenote: Singles around this time were straight up visionary and better than anything on Face to Face itself. “Dead End Street” basically invented Punk rock a long with some other songs from bands like Love and Zappa around 1966. And they did it in such a friendly way! “Big Black Smoke” shows what shape the band would soon take, bending old blues rock into a new shape. “She’s Got Everything” has arguably the best Dave Davies Guitar work of any song, and it may be their best rock song of the mid-1960s. which is saying something!
Best Songs: Rosie Won’t you Please Come Home, Sunny Afternoon, Holiday in Waikiki, Too Much on My Mind
Phase Two: Classic Kinks era
1967
Something Else - 92%
"Wow" is the first word that enters your brains upon listening to this record. How did the band get so refined and elegant? This is the album where the band came unto its own "sound", and it is a wonder to hear. From the first backwards-fuzz count off of "David Watts", all of the effects and echoes added to songs on this record help the songs, and don't deter from it. Where to start? Hmmm, well...... the classics of the album are "Waterloo Sunset" and "David Watts", the opener and the closer. Both of these songs are examples of the classy and classic sound of the band. Like any great album though, there are many great tunes to be heard on here. The three song stretch of "Harry Rag", "Tin Soldier Man", and "Situation Vacant" pretty much redefines the whole attitude of the band and is a rocking joy to behold. Yes, on these songs, the band actually ROCKS, but not in the vein of "You Really got Me" of old, in some new but familiar fashion. There is so much innovation in the songs on here that it is almost impossible to talk about without listening to it at the same part: That part in "Situation Vacant" with that guitar part! Oh! Those harmonies on "Afternoon Tea"! Yeah man! No, wait! I've got it! Where it stops except for vocals in "Tin Soldier Man!" Creeeepy "Funny Face" that is somehow spooky while being extremely happy at the same time! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You get the picture.
It should be mentioned that Dave Davies, singer and bro of Ray, wrote quite a many of these songs also (look them up yourself lazy!) and this helps it be one of the bands more varied records to date. The underrated "Two Sisters" is my favorite Kinks song, and maybe one of their most unknown. "She was so jealous of her sister/she'd throw away her dirty dishes just to be free again" but then "she saw her little children/ and then decided she was better off/ then the wayward mess that her sister had been/ no longer jealous of her sister." Magnificent lyrics, but also just amazing music to enjoy (it took me a while to also appreciate the lyrics, my mother pointed them out to me though. Mothers are good for such things.) Except for "Lazy Old Sun", no song on here is not well thought out and a constant joy to hear. If you are a fan of pop music and complex melodies, see what you think of this record. It’s one of the best records of 1967, which is saying a lot.
Sidenote: Great singles around this time: “Autumn Almanac” is a killer track that could easily fit on the album in place of a couple of bummer tracks, same for the pastoral “Act Nice and Gentle”, “Mr. Pleasant”, and the piano driven “Susannah’s Still Alive” which is one of the best songs the band ever cut.
Best Songs: Two Sisters, Situation Vacant, Funny Face, David Watts
1968
The Village Green Preservation Society - 96%
Something Else was a great album of old fashion pop songs, and even if The Kinks had never improved on it, the album would still be well known today. The band pressed on however, taking the lessons of Something Else and going even further, into a full-fledged ‘concept’ album about old fashioned English countryside life. There is not a connecting story here, but rather just a unifying theme. The songs that communicate this idea best are the fond memories found in "Do you Remember Walter", the accordion leads of the bizarre fairy tale quality found in "Sitting by the Riverside", the fond remembrances in "Village Green", and the driving merry-go around on the fantastic hard rocking "Picture Book". These songs not only paint vivid portrayals of the good ol' days, but also rock your pants off at the same time!
That is truly the miracle of Village Green Preservation Society, it is pop music that is very accessible, but at the same time it is challenging, intricate, and a supreme statement of what a great album can be. Some songs are nothing but pure fun, like the nostalgic tempo shifting “All of my Friends Were There", "Monica" (which would be an afterthought on some albums but here is profoundly thought out) and the magnificent "Starstruck" that shows how far the band has come in creating their own brand of rock n roll. Other songs that are profound while being easy to listen to: charming and over all emotional storytelling found in "Animal Farm", a song too good to describe in mere words; the closer "People take Pictures of each Other" asks the lyric finishes “too prove that they really existed”, and my personal favorite the religion challenging, life altering "Big Sky" a song that has the majestic presence of an Archangel appearing before you. That song in itself never gets old, and asks many 'why are we here' kinds of questions.
The only songs that don't seem to fit are the old lady hummed "Phenomenal Cat" (for real??) and old fashioned blues boogie of "Last of the Steam Powered Trains" which feels like it could have been left off and a b-side (replace those two songs with “Lavender Hill” and “Misty Water” from The Great Lost Kinks Album (1973) and this album is completely perfect.) and its not that those are BAD songs, they just pale in comparison to the quality of the thirteen other songs here. But hey, everyone has their favorites and on the bands best record, there are many to choose from. This is the album that every band wishes they could have made, it gets just about everything right and leaves happy melodies in your head for days. Forget being a singles band, Village Green Preservation Society should convince anyone that The Kinks are an album band and one of the best in the business.
Best Songs: Big Sky, Animal Farm, Sitting by the Riverside, Johnny Thunder, Do you Remember Walter, Wicked Annebella…I have trouble stopping listing favorites
1969
Arthur(or the decline and fall of the British Empire) - 95%
This is the concept album by which all others are judged by, and the best anyone has done to this date. Just look:
"Victoria" - long ago, this soldier guy fought for his queen, Victoria, and was proud to do so.
"Yes Sir, No Sir" - hardships of the army, corrupt army officials.
"Some Mother's Son" - every soldier is someone’s child, the heartache of seeing a friend die.
"Drivin' "- people try to cheer you up and make you forget that silly war.
"Brianwashed" - did the army train me to be nothing but a killer? Can I ever be anything else?
"Australia" - goes away to get away from it all in another country, pulled in by advertisements.
"Shangri La" - critical that other people live in a state of naive bliss.
"Mr. Churchill Says"- sees another war happening, and the futility of it all.
"She Bought a Hat Like Princess Maria"- some people believe in outside appearances (his daughter?)
"Young and Innocent Days" - reflects to the way children think.
"Nothing to Say" - son looks at father, doesn't realize he is like all the others.
"Arthur" - party for dad, forget all your worries old man (maybe his funeral?). They think they understand him. Yeah right, what fools.
The concept is easy to understand and clear, but also manipulative enough so you can get out of it what you want (hence, my interpretation is not definitive). The message is actually pretty bleak, though the music sounds happy as a circus. Arthur may not have been the first concept record, but it is the easiest to understand and enjoy, as well as one of the band's most rocking and complex. Outstanding songs include the diverse "Shangri La", which changes structure several time, perhaps a little prog-rock or Pete Townshend influence here ala Tommy; the demented and pounding "Brianwashed", which is perhaps the best hard rock song they ever did; and the circular, tempo changing "Yes Sir, No Sir" is my favorite as it is a complete mini version of the album in one song suite.
“Driving” harks back to Something Else era of pastoral living, a style that is still good to hear once in a while. “Victoria” has the chance to spoil everything being the lead track and being so awe-inspiring, Ray Davies has really perfect his song craft here. “Some Mother’s Son” is less a ballad and more a gut-wrenching tale, “Arthur” reeks of nostalgia and joy and is the perfect album closer. Honestly, the songs are enjoyable and great all the way through, though "Australia" and "She Bought a Hat like Princess Maria" are noticeably not as interesting musically and come off as little too engrained in the concept (a very minor complaint). The drumming is outstanding, thanks to Mick Avory. Arthur is an enjoyable album, but also very critical of modern English society and demands your full attention. It will not be time wasted.
Best Songs: Yes Sir Now Sir, Shangri La, Victoria, Brainwashed
1970
Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One - 84%
I dare say after Arthur, The Kinks didn’t need to refine the art of the concept album anymore. The things is…..after Arthur they never really do anything else, every album becomes a concept of some sort. The quality of songs can be strained somewhat on certain records, but the band was on such a roll quality wise that Lola comes off as a mostly great. The band’s penchant for charming melodies is still here: “Strangers” jumps out as an epic and meaningful, “Get Back in the Line”, which starts exactly like their previous great “Big Sky” is an interesting and literal tale, “Apeman” is one of the many ditties about monkeys Davies wrote around this time (the other great one being “King Kong”, later on Kink Kronikles compilation. “Lola” stands alone, a song with a taboo subject matter of the time that totally pulls it off with a catchy verse and piano and lead guitar lines that make it an all time classic and maybe the song they are most known for in certain circles.
The ”Contenders” is a country style romp with great use of circling percussion, a great way to open the record much in the vein of the last couple. “Denmark Street” is about trying to get your writing/music whatever art out there and how complicated the bureaucracy can be.
The concept must be talked about, something about a circus and the travels in and around the sideshow attractions there. “Top of the Pops”, “Got to Be Free” and “This Time tomorrow” don’t do much to move the soul in my opinion, almost too narrative when comparing to similar songs on Arthur that managed to pull all of this perfectly. Lola vs Powerman suffers a bit being more of the same thing as the album before, and having a weaker second side than the first.) though “Rats” has some powerful guitar solos and “Long Way from Home” is a strong song lyrically as a money doesn’t mean everything type of ballad. But still, the album has so much to offer here and there even if it is slightly inconsistent, especially ending with “Powerman” one of the groups most awe inspiring almost punk rock songs, that glides along the high wire brilliantly.
Best Songs: Powerman, Strangers, Lola, Get Back In Line
1971
Muswell Hillbillies - 91%
This album is like of the three predecessors, and all the stronger for it. It’s a celebration of everything that makes the Kinks great and some would even say their greatest album. As I don’t like it quite as much of their great 1960’s trilogy of Something Else, Village Green PS, and Arthur, it’s a close 4th. The band approaches music boldly as a mix of genres, though it heavily favors acoustic instruments this time around. “20th Century Man” is like rebuttal of the King Crimson song of similar name, saying Ray Davies prefers a more modest approach than some of his contemporaries; the song starts off like a campfire sing a long before morphing into a huge, bombastic hard rock number. It’s one of the band’s most successful long numbers too at about 6 minutes. There are old shuffles that feel like timeless remnants even as they are getting made, “Skin and Bone” and “Oklahoma USA” are great examples- these songs sound like old man sermons from a rocking chair. “Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues” and “Have a Cuppa Tea” are the same but also probably the best songs on the record, timeless and full of joy a certain kind of drunken personality. The latter song especially, is a favorite of my sister’s and we always turn it on at a party.
On the flip side, there are some parables and more serious tracks. “Alcohol” is a song full of regret and pain, spoken form the perspective of someone who has true regrets due to the drug. “Uncle Son” is another keen observation like only the Kinks can tell them. “Holloway Jail” sounds like an old blues shuffle that could have come from The Rolling Stones or Eric Burdon, but also show how well the group has absorbed the influences on the band’s of the era. “Muswell Hillbilly” itself is the typical album closer, a flashback to a life well lived the band members were still very young, they always had old souls. The lone song I skip is “Here Come the People in Grey”, again if I HAD to pick one. Muswell Hillbillies might just be the most enjoyable album the band ever made as this pure joy of music making shines though in an amazing way.
So this does stand as the last great Kinks record to me, and most people say something similar, I often wonder if the band knew it was their last great gasp of energy and songs. The next year they released a superb compilation of their songs (reviewed below) Kink Kronikles that collects many of their bsides and a sides before the advent of the internet, showing other groups how to do that correctly. The Kinks were leaders of their time and were always looked to as an example of excellence by their peers.
Best Songs: Have A Cuppa Tea, Acute Schizo, Alcohol, 20th Century Man
Phase Three: Everything Else that followed
Side Note: Yes, this is only a review of the band and their early output. They made many more albums, but nothing I have heard from those are extremely mind blowing, so there are other things I would rather review first. Someday I will probably get all of their stuff, but not today. If it means anything, what I heard off of State of Confusion and Word of Mouth is good (80's stuff) but much of the 70’s to follow are further versions of concept records that do nothing for me such as Preservation Act One and Two, Everyone’s in Show Biz, Soap Opera, Sleepwalker, etc.
Compilations
1988
Greatest Hits Vol. 1 - 87%
Instead of getting any of the first three kinks albums, I first got this. It does sum up the best of that era: Kinks, Kinda Kinks, Kinks Kontroversy were the first three records by the band (pretty much, American versions be damned), and this collects all of the singles and b-sides from that time period (1964-1966), hence "Sunny Afternoon" being on here which was an early single from their fourth record Face to Face. These songs are the bands most well known by many casual fans, especially since the band could not tour in America in their prime (1966-1969) because Ray and Davies fought all the time on stage! Early Kinks is still very interesting for a pre-album kind of mindset world, coming off with some great singles and some decent b-sides. Some lesser-known songs got the showcase here like “Dedicated Flower of Fashion”, “I Need You”, and "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" are the most outstanding b-sides by far. These rank with greats like "All Day and all of the Night", "You Really got Me", "Well Respected Man", "Till the End of the Day" and "Set Me Free”. Now, if you love every song on here, go get the first three / four records, though I find them inconsistent, which is why I find this collection of tracks essential.
1972
Kink Kronikles - 94%
This is an odd collection, but it proves an album-oriented mindset can work even with a compilation. This double record is half album tracks and half unreleased material from 1966-1970. This stuff is unbelievably good, even the unreleased stuff. I obtained this after I had most of those records, but now I can't imagine my image of the band now without the great rock of "King Kong", the piano driven "Susannah's Still Alive", the life encapsulating "Days" which might be the best song, the soul searching "God's Children", and the punky "Dead End Street" and optimistic "Autumn Almanac". “Polly” is a sweet ditty, “Mindless Child of Motherhood” has the swagger of few songs before it and an odd time signature, “She’s Got Everything” is quintessential 60’s rock. The thing is, each of these songs considered b-sides rival certain weaker tracks on the actual albums, especially the late 60’s stuff around Village Green. As far as a singles record aspect, you can’t beat “Victoria” as an opener, “Sunny Afternoon”, “Lola” and “David Watts” as standards, and underrated hits such as “Holiday in Waikiki”, “Shang ri la”, “Wonderboy”. Wait was that last song ever released before? I swear I confuse myself sometimes…..it all blurs together to me. The Kinks might be the leaders of non-album b-sdies ever, to collect them all is a madman’s game, so I wish you luck.
It’s kind of unbelievable how tuneful and powerful these songs were around this era it could only be chalked up to killer songwriting with Ray Davies at his prime. It didn’t matter what the subject of the songs were, they were played expertly and had few equals in the pop realm around this time. This is one of the few b-side collections that is worth the effort to get, and proves the band was among the best of its time. In fact, I can't believe that anyone hearing this would not become a rabid fan of every Kink-like (in their prime). I could not live without it and it’s what I play to convert most neophytes to the band.
Best Songs (that are not on actual albums): Deadend Street, Days, Susannah Don’t Cry, King Kong
1973
Great Lost Kinks album - 80%
And even more Kink Kronicle level stuff, here is the great lost kinks album as it was known at the time. Originally seeing the light of day in 1973, it wasn’t an album official even though none of these songs had been on an album proper. “Lavender Hill” and “This Man He Weeps Tonight” are classics, up there with the best songs the band ever cut bar none. The former has the production and feel of Village Green and im really not sure why its not on there, while the latter could have fit on Lola vs Powerman and made that album a bit more consistent. “Til Death Do Us Part” is a nice Hawaiian sounding shuffle, rivaling any the band had done before. This part of their songcraft is rather timeless, the fact they can just kind of toss of tunes like “There Is no Life Without Love”, “Mr. Songbird”, and “Misty Water” just goes to show you the group was one of the best pop groups ever. “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” It’s not a perfect record, as songs like “When I Turn Off the Light”, “Pictures in the Sand”, and “The Way Love Used to Be” could have been left unreleased and no one would have noticed, but the fact that 2/3 of this is good to great songs makes this one to lookout for in the world of streaming music or collections of vinyl to be on the hunt for.
Best Songs: Lavender Hill, This Man He Weeps Tonight, Misty Water, Rosemary Rose