Kinks Albums Ranked Worst to Best
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- I've considered doing album ranking videos for some time, and here's my first.
I chose the Kinks for this first video because they don't get a lot of wide exposure outside of their biggest hits.
If you enjoy this video, please 'like' and subscribe to my channel.
So great FACE to FACE is ranked so high. Quite deservedly so. What a great album and so is SOMETHING ELSE: a true classic!
I have never before encountered anyone who would rank Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround as the Kink's best album. I definitely prefer Muswell Hillbillies and Village Green Preservation Society. I also think that Schoolboys in Disgrace is under appreciated, in part because it seems a bit hurried and missing a couple of songs to compete the story. But there is not a weak track on the album.
I'm rather fond of Soap Opera--there I admitted it!
One my favorite albums.its so crazy that and muswell hillbillies never get the praise they deserve
The Kink Kontroversy is my #1. It was their last before they went all artsy.
Appreciate the effort and for giving me, a novice Kinks fan, some guidance. My favorite, as a historian of the British Empire, is, unquestionabley "Arthur." VGPS is a close second.
I put soap opera up in my top 7 maybe even 5..my daughter 20 and it’s her favorite .some great songs on this album.underneath the neon signs one of my favorite kinks songs .9 to 5 ,such a good album
The albums were grouped pretty accurately, the actual order needs adjustment...
Surprised you'd lost Young Conservatives as the week track off State of Confusion. It's a biting sarcastic protest song. Love how Ray does politics. One senses he has a side in the fight but he takes shots at everyone when he's political. I think it's a gem of a track just for that
I almost stopped watching after seeing "A soap opera" at the bottom. It's top-tier Kinks for me, certainly my favorite of the theatrical period. Not perfect but very clever concept/ story and several excellent songs with that old Kinks magic.
Very interesting. I've been a big fan of the Kinks for some 45 years and my ranking of their albums, as well as my picks for best songs on each album would differ so significantly from yours. It's a testament to the excellent catalog of the band that two people with obviously very different taste in music can still glean so much joy from their great songs. Cheers.
Thanks you, nice Rankings. Face to Face my favorite Album.
Lola vs power man is definitely the best kinks record. Undoubtedly. Indisputably. On another note, King Arthur is second and village green is third. Muswell is 4, something else is 5, and face to face is 6. I love the kinks discography but these are really the essential kinks albums
I fully agree
Great stuff. Lola versus Powerman and The Moneygoround is without a doubt my favourite. I bought it on vinyl all those years ago. As good now as it was then. With strangers being my simply the best.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The most impressive rock song, ever, in my opinion, can be found on the band's best LP, Muswell Hillbillies, "20th Century Man". Anyone who can rhyme Shakespeare with Gainsborough, is just showing off:
"You keep all your smart modern writers,
Give me William Shakespeare
You keep all your smart modern painters,
I'll take Rembrandt, Titian, Da Vinci and Gainsborough"
I've been a Kinks fan since I heard the opening chords of All Day and All of the Night roll out of my transistor radio, in late December, 1964 (I Feel Fine was #1 that week). It debuted at #69 the week of Dec 26, 1964 (one year after the arrival of the Beatles), but was topped by the debut of I Can't Stop (by the Honeycombs - extra points to all who remember that one), at #68. I'd heard You Really Got me (1st chart appearance Sep 26, '64, exactly 3 months before ADaAotN), and liked it, but wasn't committed to the band. I was getting my rock 'n' roll on, and YRGM was easy to play. All Day and All of the Night was as easy, my first experiences with "bar chords" (it would be a couple years before I tumbled to "barre"), and the solo spoke volumes to my restless young soul.
Best of the Kinks
01 M U S W E L L H I L L B I L L I E S (1971)
02 F A C E T O F A C E (1966)
03 L O L A V S P O W E R M A N (1970)
04 M I S F I T S (1978)
05 L O W B U D G E T (1979)
06 S O M E T H I N G E L S E (1967)
07 V I L L A G E G R E E N P R E S E R V A T I O N S O C I E T Y (1968)
08 G I V E T H E P E O P L E W H A T T H E Y W A N T (1981)
09 W O R D O F M O U T H (1984)
10 S T A T E O F C O N F U S I O N (1983)
11 E V E R Y B O D Y ' S I N S H O W B I Z (1972)
12 S L E E P W A L K E R (1977)
13 A R T H U R (1969)
14 S O A P O P E R A (1975)
15 K I N D A K I N K S (1965)
16 S C H O O L B O Y S I N D I S G R A C E (1975)
17 K I N K S (1964)
18 P R E S E R V A T I O N A C T I (1973)
19 T H E K I N K K O N T R O V E R S Y (1965)
20 P E R C Y (1971)
21 T H I N K V I S U A L (1986)
22 P R E S E R V A T I O N A C T 2 (1974)
23 U K J I V E (1989)
24 P H O B I A (1993)
(
Totally disagree on most of the list but it's your opinion. I thought the first Kinks album should have rated stronger. But it's ok.
#23 murdered my soul with that ranking hahahaha
Concept album Kinks is probably my favorite era hahaha
This was interesting, you have a deep appreciation of their music. Have you ever listened to the English band Family with the unique singer Roger Chapman, they only lasted from 1967 to 1973, imo they are the most overlooked bands of the period, they recorded 7 albums, all are very different and are a superior band with remarkable musicianship 😊
Wasn't Ric Greech the bass player? Just before he joined Blind Faith, as I recall.
@@elliottkolker4321 Yes he played bass and violin with Family. Other members like John Wetton went on to join King Crimson, Roxy Music, Asia. John Palmer played with Blossom Toes, Election. John Weider played with the Animals before Family, I could carry on, all the members of Family were incredible musicians in many great bands!
Hurts my heart to see Misfits so low - this really was the start of their great resurgence and the title track is gold, baby!
And Rock n Roll Fantasy is full of Rays patented melancholy. Beautiful.
Also my vote for the GREAT "lost Kinks song" is on Rays solo album WorkingmansCafe with "One More Time"
Thank you for the video!
God Save The Kinks!🤘😎🤘
I saw them at the Fillmore East. It was their first gig when they were allowed to enter. Each seat had a God Save The Kinks button. That was a good souvenir.
Village Green, Something Else, Face to Face. Best Compilation: The Kink Chronicles. Best Live: To the Bone (two fantastic studio tracks, "Animal, To the Bone".
Soap Opera is actually one of my favorite if not my favorite Kinks album great album think it is excellent many great songs yeah you where right on that but still love this album Rush hour blues that whole Medley and songs on the second side was always a favorite I like the woman who did the vocals I found a whole discussion blog on this album online oh I meant to say can't stop the music no way this is second worse 9 to 5 when work is over I know it didn't go over big but thought it was the best felt there wasn't a weak track this and School boys as well as Muswell Hill are my favorite Kinks albums was able to see them on the 1979 tour in Lenox Massachusetts. Yeah and Layla vs. Powerman also one of the best no doubt great album also I usually Skip Layla when I play it though. Not only is Soap Opera one of my Favorite Kinks albums it's one of my favorite albums of all time
I think you're getting your albums mixed up.
"No More Looking Back" is on the Schoolboys in Disgrace album.
@@ngobleus Yeah I meant "Can't stop the Music" both great songs sorry
I really love the last three songs on the Lola album.
1. Apeman
2. Power man
3. Gotta be free
Ray Davies really had a way of bing relevant and these three songs really show the essence of the 60’s movement. Apeman is brilliant. Why not be a natural man? Power man has great guitar and gives reasons why not to elect a power man as president….money on the brain. Gotta be Free is just obviously all about the spirit of the late sixties. My take is that “the sixties” lasted from like 1966-1972 pretty much ending with Nixon’s re-election. So many great songs about freedom from that era.
Erm… …Ray Davies notoriously had a hard time keeping up with current trends & fashion, misread the market completely many times, and that hurt the Kinks’ contemporary sales. He almost missed the psychedelic music trend entirely with “Something else”, “village green preservation society” sank without a trace on release (and only gained cult status years later), “Arthur” got little publicity and was seen by many as a Johnny come lately on the rock opera bandwagon. And he was always writing and releasing singles that were laughing at the wealthy and middle class like “plastic man”, “mr pleasant”, “tin soldier man”, etc to cash in on the success of “well respected man” in 1966. The “Lola vs powerman & the money go round” album was the one time Ray Davies got in on something contemporary, and that was under pressure from the record label. Even then; the band hated playing “apeman” all the time. And the next album “Muswell hillbillies” came too late to cash in on the country rock craze that began with the eagles & America.
Don’t get me wrong; I love the Kinks and the songwriting of Ray Davies and those albums are all stacked with great material. But Ray Davies was always out of step with what was current.
I'm an Apeman
face to face is widely regarded as a first of it's kind concept album, loosely strung together with ray's inimitable way of providing a context to the characters he's depicting. overtly british and equal to the who's a quick one.
Great video and insight. Thanks. 🙏
You're welcome. I'm thinking about doing more ranking videos but I also want to branch out into stuff other than music.
Thought i would disagree with your 1 & 2 then reconsidered. You nailed it. But Face to Face? Not so much.. just an opinion.
Absolutely agree with your number one - a ridiculously underrated album with superb, absolutely no filler, tracks. I personally would have placed Low Budget, Give the People and Phobia much higher. Nice succinct ranking though.
Soap Opera got produced as a TV show. I’ve seen it on RUclips. It’s basically a small play with Ray as the lead. Arthur is the one that never got produced. Preservation I is most underrated. Some great songs even if the concept doesn’t hold up.
Thank you for this short and sweet overview, which was very fair and respectful. Highly educational for us recent KINKS fans.
I don't feel "Art lover "is a weak song at all!!?? I think it's touching.
GOD SAVE THE KING AND GOD SAVE THE KINKS !
Nice job here!
Art lover ? thats a great tune ! I find more interest in think visual as well - how are you and natural gift are pretty excellent songs
What a great discovery! I was intrigued by this. I was born in England in 1955, so I do remember The Kinks from the first time around: oddly I cannot recall "You Really Got Me", but I do remember all their big UK hits from "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion" onward. However I only really became enthusiastic for the Kinks when I watched them give a concert on television in 1973: at this point they really appealed to me, and prompted me to embark on a life-long quest to collect as many Kinks records as I could. Back in 1973 was well before CDs, and when most of the Kinks material had been withdrawn from sale, so I used to frequent second hand shops looking for old Kinks records: not just albums and singles, but covers of Ray Davies songs by other artists.
I was interested in your choice. Like you I would place "Face To Face" very highly as one of the all time classic albums, not just from the Kinks, but from the whole 1960s.
"Something Else" is also an all-time classic (especially what would have been side one on the original vinyl album: of course, it then picks up with the final track "Waterloo Sunset", although "Waterloo Sunset" is really one of the all time classic singles, rather than an album track).
Well, you clearly say this list is your personal choice, and you expect people might disagree with you. One thing that intrigues me about Ray Davies and The Kinks is that they made what I would regard as some "all time classics", but I also am amazed that they managed to produce some amazingly poor quality stuff.
To this end I was surprised that you gave "Schoolboys In Disgrace" quite a high placing. I would regard it as not just the worst Kinks Album, but a contender for a high placing in a negative list of the worst albums of all time. "Schoolboys In Disgrace" is a "concept album" based loosely around Ray Davies and Dave Davies school experiences. So, to fully appreciate it one should have gone to a British secondary school in the 1950s or 1960s, which I did. When I was at school teachers were allowed to "cane" pupils: to make them bend over, and subject them to six blows on the bottom with a piece of wood. The boy on the cover of "Schoolboys In Disgrace" has just been subjected to this punishment. I think it is a truly awful, horrible album cover. Generally a boy was only given "the cane" as a last resort, for persistent and repeated bad behaviour. But there were occasional cases of teachers who were genuinely sadistic, and who actually enjoyed giving boys the cane (luckily I was never caned during my school career). One of the themes of Schoolboys in Disgrace is that the headmaster is a sadist and a pederast who genuinely enjoys caning boys. But, honestly, this is just NOT the sort of thing I want to hear songs about! Mind you, since we are taking about Ray Davies's schooldays, it is a little known fact that Ray Davies went to William Grimshaw School in North London, at the same time as another boy who would also grow up to be a famous singer, Rod Stewart, although it seems that they were not very close friends at the time!
As for "Percy". It was a sub standard "soundtrack album" for a film. I think Ray Davies was just paid a flat fee to create a soundtrack for a film, and the Kinks recorded the album as a "job" a piece of work for payment from the film company, rather than as an album to be sold commercially. "Percy" the film in question, was made just when heart transplant operations began to be made: this film is based on the idea that a man looses, shall we say, "his manhood" and undergoes transplant surgery to acquire a new "manhood". I have watched Percy, and I think it one of the worst films of all time. Oddly, the opening track of the album "Gods Children" is a recording that I would regard as among Ray Davies's very best and finest compositions. But I think most of the rest of the album is quite forgettable.
The "Preservation" trilogy is a bit unwieldy: Ray Davies was trying to pack way too much into the albums, and many of the songs only really work to move the story along: few of the songs work as standalone pieces. So I would agree with your placing this at the bottom end of the list.
Personally I would rate "Lola Vs Powerman" as one of the better Kinks albums, but in a large measure due to the standout tracks, "Lola" and "Apeman" which were massively successful singles in the UK. Indeed, by 1969 Ray Davies morale and confidence was rather low, and the other members of The Kinks were feeling dispirited. Had it not been for the success of Lola and Apeman, I think if is a possibility that the Kinks might have disbanded by 1971 or 1972, so I think the album does deserve a high ranking in any list of Kinks Albums.
I've completely immersed myself in the Kinks since 1980 and my favorite stuff is where Ray loses himself in wistfulness, nostalgia, nastiness, or characters like "End of the Season", "Dandy", "Sunny Afternoon", "Autumn Almanac", "House in the Country", "Dedicated Follower", "Two Sisters", "Do You Remember Walter", "Arthur", "Mr. Pleasant", "Waterloo Sunset", etc. A lot of those are singles that are not on the albums and it covers 66-69 mostly. I love playing their songs as well in bands - people love their deep tracks. The Kinks have given me much pleasure and raison d'etre in my teenage and adult life.
My favorites -starting with #1
VGPS
Muswell Hillbillies
Something else
State of Confusion
Everybody’s in Showbiz
Schoolboys in Disgrace
Sleepwalker
Lola vs Powerman
Kinks KONTROVERSY
Low budget
80 Days
Soap Opera
Pres Act 2
Muswell should be higher
Totally Agree with you on the number one pick. However I never understood the love for The VGP Society. It’s OK, but it wouldn’t be in my top 10 which would put me in the minority of Kinks fans.
Good video. I have all of the Kinks' albums myself, and agree with a lot of what you say.
I do rate "Preservation Act II" a bit higher...it has some really good stuff on it like "When A Solution Comes", and the sound quality is much improved over Act I.
I rank the "Misfits" album much higher, as it doesn't have a single song that I would skip ever.
I hardly ever played the "Percy" album. Soundtrack albums always seem to suffer from being soundtrack albums.
"Muswell Hillbillies" is my favorite Kinks album, and I'm still surprised at its relative obscurity.
This is a fair list. I had a feelling KINDA' KINKS would show up early on the list. I'm starting to actually like it for what it is. I'm very surprised it showed up before the Preservation Act albums. I change faves often, but I always go back to "Arthur".
Forgot the Superman song wish I could fly like Superman
I know it's because I grew up in the '80s, but I LOVE "Word of Mouth."
Very good list you got here. Surprisingly similar to mine in a few ways starting with an almost exact match on the top 5 except I switch "Arthur" and "Face to Face" rankings. So many people rank Kinks albums and have "Phobia" rated way too low. Not a great album, but a far better album than its been given credit for. I believe it would have made for a better listening experience if they had significantly reduced its length down to the best 12 songs as well as editing down some of the songs to a shorter length. No surprise with your lowest ranked albums where I have the same records though in a different order. I also agree with your somewhat elevated ranking of "Percy" which is another one that always seems to be ignored. Not even close to a great album, but some nice little bits of music make it quite interesting. I've always liked the song "Art Lover" from "Give the People". It is a rather difficult song to absorb for most people but I found it interesting how he used ambiguity to tell the story which gradually reveals itself.
Huge Kinks fan here. I would just point out that although you don't rate Young Conservatives from the State of Confusion album, had you grown up during the first years of Thatcherism in the UK, it would have meant a great deal to you. Many of RD's lyrics will lose their meaning if taken out of a UK environment.
On the whole though I would broadly agree with your assessment of the albums in general, though not necessarily the order you put them in. That's OK though this is all highly subjective, and it may encourage me to revisit some of the more obscure albums.
Muswell hillbillies is definitely NOT full Americana. There is still English music hall and folk on the album.
What a pointless video.
Lola is definitely number one. I believe l would rate muswell hillbillies even higher although it gets a little crowded up there. Still the feel of the album and the songs are great.
Kinks were a great band from an amazing musical era,to revisit but never repeat.
I've veiwed about 4 or 5 Kinks rankings, and this one is by far the most açcurate. Even pronounces "Davies" correctly, haha. Great job all around!
"Even pronounces "Davies" correctly, haha" Uh, despite being brothers Ray and Dave each pronounce "Davies" differently.
i think you pretty much nailed it, when i listen to the kinks i think of england.
I'm glad you said the list was only your opinion because it sucks. Your American, so can be excused for not really understanding Ray's song writing genius. His songs are personal, and about people who were real, from his family, to people he met. I doubt he ever wrote anything just to please somebody else. I've all the kinks recordings. Every album has stand out tracks. My own list would differ completely from yours.
I think that is a bit hostile. I agree that American audiences do not appreciate the more personal songs as much, but the number 2 and 3 choices are very personal albums, esp Village Green.
You're telling an American who loves the Kinks and Ray's writing, particularly the personal songs but also the satire/ social commentary, that we don't understand his "song writing genius". Bollocks. There was a relatively small group of us who helped keep the Kinks alive over here when their record company had more or less abandoned them (someone pilfered my Face to Face and it took me wo years to find a replacement) and a vindictive union blocked them from touring here. Writers (John Mendelssohn particularly), musicians, DJs (me as a college DJ. for one) kept them treading water until Arthur and Lola got them rolling again. We were fanatics precisely because of Ray's unique, more personal writing. And the fact that he never was one to follow trends, being in effect on an island, was a great part of the band's appeal.
Please stop with the vocal fry.
Could've mentioned your favourite songs on the albums!
I did. Check the bottom of the screen next time.
DAVIES not Davis!!
AIR-is-tah not a-RIS-tah
For decades, I always thought it was "Davies" too as spelled, but later learned that "Davis" is the British pronunciation.
Must disagree with you on this one. Both Dave & Ray pronuciated their last names as "Davis".
D0 you know what you are doing? For someone that is supposed to know So much about the Kinks, you have repeatedly called Ray, "Ray DAVIS and Dave DAVIS" and if you really knew the Kinks you would know their last name is DAVIES, I THINK you are looking for attention and you are a phony otherwise how could you make a mistake like that??? I knew their last name when I was 11 years old listening to "I'm not like everybody else". Do ya know that one??? Diane from R.I.
FYI, in Britain, "Davies" is pronounced Davis. He was pronouncing the name the way Ray says it. Americans pronounce it incorrectly.
I've been a Kinks fan since I heard the opening chords of All Day and All of the Night roll out of my transistor radio, in late December, 1964 (I Feel Fine was #1 that week). It debuted at #69 the week of Dec 26, 1964, but was topped by the debut of I Can't Stop (by the Honeycombs - extra points to all who remember that one), at #68. I'd heard You Really Got me (1st chart appearance Sep 26, '64, exactly 3 months before ADaAotN), and liked it, but wasn't committed to the band. I was getting my rock 'n' roll on, and YRGM was easy to play. All Day and All of the Night was as easy, my first experiences with "bar chords" (it would be a couple years before I tumbled to "barre"), and the solo spoke volumes to my restless young soul.
ADaAotN rose to #7, spent three weeks at that position, before slipping off the charts. You Really Got Me started at #92, beat out by Beach Girl (#90, Pat Boone), I'm Crying (#78, the Animals), All Cried Out (#75, Dusty Springfield), and I Like It (#66, Gerry & the Pacemakers). It also spent three weeks at #7, before slipping off the charts. Wikipedia show these songs at #1 and #2 (in order of release), but the Billboard Charts for 1964 and '65 tell a different tale. The band's third release, Tired of Waiting for You (yes, I know the Kinks released singles before YRGM, but neither Long Tall Sally nor You Still Want Me charted) hit the Billboard Hot 100 on Mar 13, 1965, the highest-charting new single that week, at #62. The record stopped at #6, for two weeks, stopped by Game of Love (Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders), and the juggernaut of Mrs Brown You Have a Lovely Daughter. Sunny Afternoon was stopped in its tracks at #14. A Well Respected Man also stalled out, at #13.
I became a fan, along the way, and saw the boys at Denver Municipal Auditorium in June '65, not an auspicious occasion. My band had been playing the first three singles, plus Set Me Free and Who'll Be the Next in Line, for months, and we'd become pretty practiced, so we were expecting a lesson in how one goes about creating 3-minute slices of ear candy. What we got was a gang of hooligans who paid less attention to their instruments than to internal strife in the group. I didn't miss the band, after they were "banned" from touring the US, but I kept buying their records, seeking that same elusive breath of pure pop essence that made them into ear worms. Something Else was such a disappointment, following the distinctive style of Waterloo Sunset, and it wouldn't be until late '68, when the Village Green Preservation Society peeked out, and quickly disappeared, that another Kinks' tune would grab my attention.
Lola grabbed everyone's attention, though, in the Summer of 1970, anticipating the androgynous phase, of Bowie, Bolan, Mott,, and eventually, Mercury. Again, the single didn't get much response from Top 40 (already in its death-throes), rising only to #52. The album is marginally good. Things changed for the better, though, with the band's next release, Muswell Hillbillies. Ray Davies' incomparable way of capturing humanity in his best songs was on full display in the band's 10th long-player (the less said about "Percy", the better. A long of noodling going on there, most of it forgettable). Twentieth Century Man has to be the most articulate rock song every written. I wore the grooves out on this one (I've replaced it several times, in addition to buying the 8-track, cassette and three CD versions).
I saw the band, the second time, at Houston Music Hall, Oct 28, 1972. Steely Dan was the opener, riding the hits Reelin' in the Years and Do It Again. Stoneground was the support act, led by the Beau Brummels' Sal Valentino and accompanied by Pete Sears (Rod Stewart, Jefferson Airplane/Starship), Tim Barnes, Annie Sampson, Lynn Hughes and later, by two of the three guys who went on to become Pablo Cruise (for completists, props if you can name ANY of their songs). There were about 14 of us who'd prepared for this concert by boiling the last of our 'shrooms and drinking the "tea" and eating the slices we'd used, so throughout the nearly 4 hours of the show, I was constantly rushing and coming down, clapping in counterpoint to the crowd, digging Ray Davies performance on a visceral level, thinking at the speed of light, and occasionally returning to reality for a moment, before soaring off again.
Steely Dan was good (they played the first album, in entirety), but Stoneground was electric, a constantly swirling mass of singers and performers, as tight as any band I have ever had the pleasure of watching -- the only show to approximate it, IMHO, was the show 18 months earlier, when ZZ Top opened for Steve Miller, with the Allman Brothers Band as support act (this was four months before Duane "ate a peach"), with Billy Gibbons, Duane and Steve all delivering smoking hot performances. Billy did his best Chuck Berry duckwalk, Duane lit the night up with ethereal soloes, and Steve Miller pulled out all the stops, as the top bill, trying to hang on to some credibility. The Steely Dan-Stoneground-Kinks concert was that kind of legendary show, where the opener was worthy of the star of the show, and the support act wasn't taking any crap.
Very few artists have written as many songs that connected as well with their audience, as Ray Davies. As for albums, Percy is the worst of the 15 LPs the '64-'76 band produced, the best being Sunny Afternoon, Lola versus Powerman and the Money Machine, and Muswell Hillbillies. The rest are singles beds, surrounded by gobs of filler. Then, the band released six albums in a row that proved they hadn't been a flash in the pan, but deserved to be celebrated as artists. Sleepwalker, Misfits, Low Budget, Give the People What they Want, State of Confusion, and Word of Mouth are as valid as the Stone's arc from Aftermath to Exile on Main Street, as well-developed, produced and realized as those timeless LPs, 1977-'84. By 1986, though Ray's tank was running dry, his long-running feud with brother Dave finally giving out, leaving Think Visual barren and unconvincing. The less said about UK Jive and Phobia, the better.
While few bands have been as prolific as the Kinks,too many of their songs were mere skeletons to hang weird lyrics on, half-finished ideas that suffered from conflicts in the band from its earliest versions. I've been a Kinks fan since Fall, 1964, have every one of their studio albums, plus On the Road and a half-dozen or more "Deluxe Editions", but I find I only want to listen to the songs that got the full treatment. I have a long list of Kinks songs on my iPod, still in heavy rotation. I can't help but sing along with Well-Respected Man, or Lola, and don't get me started on Twentieth Century Man and Acute Paranoia Blues! Some days are just not right, until one of those has blasted out of my speakers.
You are welcome to your opinions, but I have to say, unless your first experience with the band was the sound emanating from an inch and a half speaker in a transistor radio, you probably didn't get the full impact of Ray Davies, and the wizardry that made his quirky songs come to life (Jimmy Page deserves a nod, for his contributions). As for albums, only Sunny Afternoon, Lola, Muswell Hillbillies rise to a level of excellence, each with flaws, but none critical. Of the band's entire catalog, these three join the 1977-'84 sestet, for a total of nine. The Stones only had seven LPs that hit the mark, and have relied on singles to sell albums from much of their career.
It's an ephemeral talent, creating an album of content that reaches out and touches its audience so deeply, the songs become embedded in our brains. The Beatles did it twelve times, with barely a handful of clinkers, but the Kinks are closest. Tom Petty did it six or seven times, depending on how you feel about Southern Accents, or Wildflowers. Pink Foyd only made 5 LPs, six if you count Atom Heart Mother, and the Band did three, fairly typical of bands of the '70s thru the '90s. The skill seems to have been lost to time, in the 21st Century, as albums are seen as little more than excuses to peddle songs, that are mostly sold individually (I do have some great "Greatest Hits" and "Best of" compilations from the period).
I cannot name an album of the last 25 years that stands on its own merits as such, the way "albums" were created in the '60s-'80s. People are too easily distracted by bright shiny objects, these days, to invest themselves in an immersive experience, much less to do it two to five times a week, for month after month, year after year, as was the norm, from the mid-'Sixties, to the late Eighties, from 1964-1988. There haven't been issues to rally around (the issues haven't gone away, but our response to them is diffused), but the only one that seems to have taken root in recent times, is the rise of the Trumper-ninnies. Modern music is too diffused for songs to resonate with large audiences in similar ways, we are too distracted and divided to respond, leaving few, if any, songs that will still stand as beacons of their times, forty, fifty years later. The Kinks spoke the language of their generation, and the songs still resonate with those of us who grew up listening to them!
©BW2023
anarchitek™
Well said.
But one thing I've noticed that's definitely not a single-generation issue is that many people out there are merely casual listeners. They don't take the time to truly appreciate a musician or band's work (this is why hearing some people say they have no preference in music is a bit irritating to me) And I feel that despite its crucial role in the music industry, radio as a listening format is partly to blame because it tends to encourage listeners to listen without paying much attention to what they're hearing. It causes them to undervalue the work of bands & artists.
I agree with what you said about modern music--it's so indistinct because there's too much emphasis on cranking out hit songs and little in the way of creative expression.
I can't stand listening to the radio most of the time; few stations play what I like to hear and all stations have a bad habit of catering to short attention spans by repeating songs--sometimes replaying them at 20 minute intervals. No joke.
@@ngobleus I agree the emphasis on "hits" has had a chilling effect on creativity, and record companies have been their own worst enemies, thanks to "human" characteristics, greed, envy and ego. Add to that, rock never had the support that Country Music has had, from it's earliest days, from the Grand Ole Opry and WSM, and the cadre of dedicated stations that grew in the wake of thei GOO's popularity. Country music, as a commercial force, is unparalleled in its support of the genre.
In contrast, rock 'n' roll was always the red-headed step-child, vilified by no-neck self-styled "preachers' on Sunday, to crowds of young people who went out Monday through Saturday to play, create and enjoy the music. . Rock 'n' roll had Top 40, a format that allowed Perry Como, Barbara Streisand and Andy Williams longer careers selling "pop" to teens, and indulged the worst purveyors to rise to the top.
What was unique about Ray Davies was his ability to blend (what was then called "hard") rock with lyrics that sounded like John and Paul at their most fey, and pull it off. I loved Sunny Afternoon, from the first time I put it on my turntable, in late October, 1966. I'd been conditioned by Well Respected Man and Dedicated Follower of Fashion, and somewhere along the line, I picked up a taste for English Music Hall music, a genre the Kinks explored fully.
The band struggled to be allowed to tour the US again, but legions of dedicated fans bought their records, keeping the band alive while it waited out its "banned in the US" status. The concert I saw in '72 presented the band as strong and creative, featuring songs from their early days, the Muswell Hillbillies standouts and a couple new tunes from Celluloid Heroes, including Here Comes Yet Another Day, Sitting in My Hotel, and the title song, a tour de force by any measure.
Even their early throwaway tracks, like Something Better Beginning, and Where Have All the Good Times Gone, resonated with fans, imperfect pop slices with major tang. I saw the band in '65, '72, '80, & '87, saw them perform almost every one of my favorites, a couple repeatedly. When a band has a catalog as deep as the Kinks, it has to be difficult to decide what to leave out, what to keep, what to turn into medleys.
Only the Stones have as deep a singles catalog, bolstered by choice album cuts. The Kinks, Moody Blues, Stones, and Beatles were the only survivors of the 'Sixties maelstrom of Rock that started with the British Invasion, morphed into psychedelia and emerged into viable acts that rolled on and on. The Kinks were next to last to fall, only the Stones continuing to tour.
The last great recording by the Stones was 1995's live version of their take on Like A Rolling Stone. The Kinks' last LP, Phobia, was already two years old, by then, but the band had outperformed the Stones with their mid-'80s LPs. The Stones last "good" album was 1978's Some Girls., six years before the last great Kinks LP, Word of Mouth. The Stones had one thing the Kinks didn't, an attention-starved front man (and, maybe, a clear division of the spoils, the business model the Stones created in the midst of their early fame, circa 1966,, to share the wealth). Some of the Kinks' fisticuffs was undoubtedly over money, judging by the tempers and frequency.
Extremely underated
thanks for this
Great job
Did I miss something? What happened to Arthur?‼️
It's #6
Thanks, must’ve been distracted by “Too Much On My Mind” 🤔
I got into the kinks as a teenager in the early-mid 1990s. I quickly concluded that their golden era was between the “Kink Kontroversy” and “Everybody’s in show biz”. Prior to the Kink Kontroversy; they were just a run of the mill early 60s rock and roll band with primitive production & songwriting and musicianship (aside from the excellent drumming of Mick Avery). By the time they got to “everybody’s in show business”; they seem past their best creatively. “Low budget” and “give the people what they want” weren’t at all bad, but other than that; their catalogue’s not really worth bothering with after “everybody’s in show biz”.
They were definitely at their peak in the late 60s & early 70s. It’s such a shame that drugs and other personal issues took their toll on Ray and Dave. My personal favourite is “Muswell Hillbillies”, although I think that their best album overall was “Village green preservation society”.
"Phobia" is ranked way too high here. I only got less than half way through it with the first attempted listening, and have never desired to complete the rest of the album. "Lola"...is ranked too high. I do have all the studio albums, and feel the period 1964-1967 was their peak. Dave Davies guitar-playing has always been underrated.
😂 I didn’t think I liked phobia either until about a week ago. Now I love it
I'd rank Everybody's in Showbiz a bit higher, but you nailed it on your #1 pick1
yea, it has Celuloid Heroes on it!
Village Green number 2?? Pah