Ok, I know there's an awful lot of off topics on here recently, but I thought I'd add this one anyone. Let's talk Kinks people!!

I've always been a casual fan. In my younger days, my Dad had a couple of cheapo Marble Arch compilations and strangely he bought the "Village Green" album when it was released. I also managed to pick up "Something Else" at a bootsale. For years that has been the extent of my Kinks collection but I recently bought the entire back catalog on cd up to and including the "Percy" soundtrack.
All have loads of bonus tracks which are pretty much all superb!
At the moment my favorites seem to be Face To Face and Kinda Kinks.

I'm now only realising what a consistantly great band the Kinks really were.

Love the Kinks. Great band. Great sound. Great song. Second Best British Band of all time.

I'm Italian, but the Kinks are my favourite band after the Stones...Really Great songs!My favourite album are:
1)Something else by the Kinks
2)Arthur
3)Face to Face
4)Preservation Society
5)Misfits
Love the Kinks,and quote Rocky Dijon,they are the second Best British Band of all time!

Stunning band who somehow don''t seem quite as revered as they should be. Sure, rock aficianados tend to love them but to many people they sadly seem way down on the all time great lists. Ray Davies (and Dave) wrote many haunting songs that stand the test of time. Songs like Waterloo Sunset, Sunny Afternoon, Days will live in for years because they have great melodies. Their timeliness in perfectly reflecting the sunny mid 60s Carnaby Street/London scene however proved to be their undoing, as they found it hard to escape this stereotype.

They became synonymous with a time when England were World Cup winners and London was the centre of the universe - songs like Sunny Afternoon, Dead End Street, Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, A Well Respected Man and of course Waterloo Sunset again.

Ask many rock guitarists from the late 60s and 70s and they will say tell you that You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night (same tune really) and Till The End Of The Night helped invent rock.

They were never acknowledged for their albums but Face To Face; Something Else and Village Green Preservation Society are among the very best albums of the era. Bitter, sweet, lyrically poignant and above all extremely memorable.
They are in my top 10.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2009-02-12 19:13 by Silver Dagger.

I think the underappreciation of the Kinks comes from the fact that Ray Davies is a troubled mind, just like, say, Randy Newman. Though admirable artists and writers, both tend to be ambivalent (and sometimes cynical) about things which is not exactly a perfect platform for mass-appreciation.
Also both of them do not take themselves too seriously and are decidedly not (dediacated) followers of fashion, but rather "old fashioned" instead which doesn't help either.

Whith the Kinks, I have to add, it might also have to do with the music as such. As much as I dig them, there's often more admiration for the song than sheer exitement about the music behind.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-02-12 18:24 by Greenblues.

I just love them!!!

'cause I'm an Apeman

Love Me Till the Sun Shines!

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Greenblues

Whith the Kinks, I have to add, it might also have to do with the music as such. As much as I dig them, there's often more admiration for the song than sheer exitement about the music behind.

I feel much the same way--everytime I hear a Kinks song, I think why don't I listen more to these guys. Then I put on an album and get bored with it before it's over... I think the band is just not that exciting, which is why the attention goes to Ray as a songwriter and Ray/Dave as personalities.

I always thought Between The Buttons sounded like a Kinks album.

X



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-09-14 13:42 by UrbanSteel.

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UrbanSteel

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Sir Craven of Cottage
I always thought Between The Buttons sounded like a Kinks album.

Shame on you , Back Street Girl , Please Go Home , Miss Amanda Jones , She Smiled Sweetly , Something Happaned To Me Yesterday sounds like a Kinks album ?

In the sense that it sounds very English whereas all previous Stones albums did not.

their catalog is astounding; dave's guitar work is melodic imaginative and powerful. album after album of cohesive exiciting original brilliant stuff. muswell hillbillies, schoolboys in disgrace, soap opera, the arista stuff, beautiful...the RCA stuff, amazing original and genius; the woozy nawlins horns circa 'alcohol' tours and such...it's own sloppy, wondrous, hard driving amalgam; a brilliant, brilliant band. a brother band. a historic band. mick avory on lola vs. powerman and the money-go round...and on and on forever...the mighty mighty Kinks.

I catch Ray every time he comes to NY--three times inb the last few years. He always puts on a great show. Very different style from Mick but a wonderful showman for sure

some prior Kinks links:

[www.iorr.org]

[www.iorr.org]

The Kinks to me are right there after the Stones, The Who and dare I say it on this site the Fab Four!

God Save the Kinks.
A massively underrated and under appreciated band. They have a stunning body of work, which is gloriously celebrated with their new box set Picture Book, with all the songs selected by Ray. There a few misses...but some great unreleased stuff.
Really as a band they were top notch. Not only is Ray a great rhythm guitarist, he has sublime voice with great range and nuances. Dave was/is also massively underrated as a guitarist and had some of the most inventive and unique leads. My god his raga like lead on See My Friends was way ahead of its time.

My favs:
Muswell Hillbillies (incredible! Their Exile, with a New Orleans punk edge, and tons of paranoia)
Face To Face
Something Else
Lola vs the Powerman and the Money Go-Round
Everybody's In Showbiz (Celluloid Heroes, enough said! Worth the price of the collection. Also the fantastic single, Supersonic Rocketship)
School Boys in Disgrace (a return to form, and some sharp song writting, love Education, No More Looking Back, and Headmaster)
The Kinks at the BBC

The Rico re-releases were fantastic, chocked full of great bonus tracks and fantastic liner notes.

I have seen the Kinds 9 times in concert and never saw a bad show from them. Nurotic, hard edged, and inspiring. LOVE THEM!

I Appreciate the Kinks.

Where can I get an application to join the society?