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paulywaul
It's a source of complete frustration that I've never seen the Kinks, Ray Davies individually loads of times, but but never the Kinks. As for the Who, seen them innumerable times as well. I love them both in equal measure.

So for those lucky bastards that HAVE seen the Kinks, come on. Ruin my Saturday. Tell me what I've missed. I can well imagine they were dynamite ?

Saw the Kinks many times......Soap Opera tour...School Boys In Disgrace tour....Sleepwalker tour @ Winterland in SF......and a number of other shows.....and yes you really missed some great stuff! Always and I stress ALWAYS a fantastic show !

Saw the Kinks in the late 70s in a small auditorium. It was awesome. Father Christmas had just come out and it was Christmas Time when I saw them. Ray came out in a Santa Clause suit and sang father Christmas.

Who's next is a tour de force but edge to Kinks.

It's so very lonely, you're 2,000 Light Years from home

Yeah, the kinks live were phenomenal. I saw them many times starting with the Low Budget/One for the Road tour. I would have loved to see them for the Muswell Hillbillies tour, and School Boys in Disgrace. But I was too young and uneducated about Kinkdom.
The Who as well...I wish I could have seen them with Moon, I was lucky to see them several times with Entwistle, but Moon would have been amazing!
They both are incredible. No doubt.
Now bring on the deluxe version of Quadrophenia! YA!!!
I love the Kinks reissues, great love and care, remixed, they sound fantastic. And lots of unreleased stuff. The box set of Village Green is fantastic! As is the expanded Arthur. King Kong is a long lost masterpiece!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-12-20 15:45 by whitem8.

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whitem8
I was lucky to see them several times with Entwhistle, but Moon would have been amazing!

There is no "h" in Entwistle! But this discussion is pointless! Neither the Kinks nor the Who can ever hope to match the songwriting genius of Jon Lemmon and Saul McCarthy!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-12-20 16:00 by tatters.

The Who by an absolute mile!

Visually-the Moon era WHO. Musically I much prefer the KINKS.

I would love to see either.

Greetings from the Jersey Shore.

The Who

The Kinks made more great records, but the 1969-71 Who were the most explosive live act ever.

The Who by a mile.

The Kinks had many great singles but not an album worth spit. They were not as exciting visually and Townsend is a far more gifted songwriter than Davies. That said, davies did have a real talent for churning out clever rock/pop singles. I have a greatest hits of theirs that has 20 bonafide cracker hits on it. Just don't know why they could never get together a good let alone great album given Ray's talent.

Squando! The Kinks don't have an album worth a spit! WHEW That is a strong statement, that needs refuting. Just open your ears to Face to Face, Something Else, Lola, Arthur, Village Green Preservation Society, Musswell Hillbillies. WOW! Amazing albums! Classic and very influential and underrated.

The Who were more consistant with their album material and concert presentations. The Kinks had some great albums, but there were some stinkers along the way...

I think The Kinks didn't give two shits about #1's or big-selling albums. Ray was more in it to express himself and do what he liked. It usually pleased a good crowd, but Townshend definitely has a mantra to impress. I find the Kinks a little boring sometimes, so I have to say The Who. But I love the Kinks and have most of their re-masters with bonus tracks. I am missing Arthur and Lola though. So if anyone wants to email me a stereo copy of Plastic Man I would love that.

The Kinks.

sure--the KINKS

under the boardwalk---down by the sea

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Havo
sure--the KINKS

That's the THIRD time you make that statement in this thread -- This must be really important to you. Relax, it's just a matter of taste, it's no hangin' matter...

The Who

I've never looked into The Kinks much, never gave them much interest apart from their handful of well-known radio hits.

[thepowergoats.com]

Get Muswell Hillbillies. Incredible album, their Exile on Main Street! A stunning mix of New Orleans jazz, mountain music and vaudeville music hall tinged with Ray's paranoia and British humor. This is a good starting point for a Stones fan. Sure there are probably better albums that die hards would argue over, Face to Face, Village Green (stunning!), but this is one that just grabs my attention every time I listen to it. Have fun!

The Kinks I don't even have records with The Who.

the kinks, no doubt about it!

For me, the Who. They were great in the sixties and seventies while I feel that the Kinks started to be less consistent in the seventies. Still, two great bands.

I saw both The Who and The Kinks on the same bill at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago in what must have been 1970. This I believe was The Kinks first time back on tour since they had union problems. Kinks opened and were a great surprise, since most in the crowd was there to see the Who. Tommy had just been released. Anyway, The Kinks came on and the crowd just loved them. Ray came off as being as being kind of gay, which was amusing. He pulled it off and the band rocked it up. Their catalogue was large at this point so I remember the setlist being very strong. They got a huge ovation when they were done. I was most impressed by how great a guitar player Dave was. His tone was unique and he drove the band. The Who were always a strong live act. They had more power, but I always liked Kinks records better than Who lp's. Ray was a top notch lyricist. Few in his league. As live bands Both were great in their own way. I saw the Kinks at least 5 times and the Who 6-7 times. Always a fantastic time. Would love to see Ray and Dave make ammends. Long live the Kinks and The Who. Their music still sounds fresh.

Heard Ray Davis on the radio last night promoting a new xmas song with Chrissie Hynde. Undeniably a great great songwriter,(back in the day), his latest offering is piss weak and he now howls like a moose.
Mick Avory was never the cleverest of drummers and never played on the Kinks early singles stuff.

This is a close one, in my opinion:

Best albums 1964-1968 - WINNER = The Kinks (Face to Face, Something Else, Village Green Preservation Society) no contest

Best singles 1964-1968 - WINNER = The Kinks. Close but the Kinks just had way more great singles consistantly throughout this period.

Best albums 1969-1973 - WINNER = The Who (Tommy, Live at Leeds, Who's Next, Quadrophenia) by quite a bit, I love Arthur & Lola vs. but couldn't get into Muswell Hillbillies, Everybody's in Showbiz, Preservation..

Best albums 1974-1977 - neither, low period for both bands

Best albums 1978-1984 - WINNER = The Kinks, easily with a big return to form


So....you'd think I'd prefer The Kinks...but for whatever reason I have to say I've always loved The Who a lot more. In concert they certainly had the edge and had way more personality and were just much more interesting. Even their outtakes (on albums like The Who Sell Out and Who's Next) were stunning. Perhaps it's all because of the documentary "The Kids are Alright." I was sold after watching that right after it came out in 1979. A Kinks documentary just wouldn't be as compelling.

Nice breakdown Rochdale. Though I think the Kinks win 1974-77 because of the release of Sleepwalker in that period. Still sounds great.

I have the pleasure of working on a Kinks show in Feb 1979 when they did a small tour that yielded the live record: One For The Road. They played in Rochester, NY to open that tour. They were absolutely brilliant.

But, I do give the overall edge to The Who. Both were very creative and had great records. But, while I never saw a really bad show by The Who (though I did see a couple of boring ones in 1982), I saw a couple of bad ones by the Kinks in that same period and after. The Kinks tried to maybe go a bit 'metal' - louder, rougher...but it did not work.

I love them both. Historically speaking, both are absolutely essential.

It is peculiar to me that at the beginning, with their explosive first singles - which are part of the foundation of modern rock and roll - The Kinks seem more powerful and compelling...more "complete" to me. The Who at the start seem quirkier...less complete.

Thereafter roles seem to reverse radically. The Who became much more powerful and compelling...The Kinks quirkier and more cerebral.

Both bands at their peak were spectacular - but The Who flew much higher.

It depends on the mood...but if I had to choose one of the two to take with me on a desert island The Who are my choice.

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filstan
I saw both The Who and The Kinks on the same bill at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago in what must have been 1970. This I believe was The Kinks first time back on tour since they had union problems. Kinks opened and were a great surprise, since most in the crowd was there to see the Who. Tommy had just been released. Anyway, The Kinks came on and the crowd just loved them. Ray came off as being as being kind of gay, which was amusing. He pulled it off and the band rocked it up. Their catalogue was large at this point so I remember the setlist being very strong. They got a huge ovation when they were done. I was most impressed by how great a guitar player Dave was. His tone was unique and he drove the band. The Who were always a strong live act. They had more power, but I always liked Kinks records better than Who lp's. Ray was a top notch lyricist. Few in his league. As live bands Both were great in their own way. I saw the Kinks at least 5 times and the Who 6-7 times. Always a fantastic time. Would love to see Ray and Dave make ammends. Long live the Kinks and The Who. Their music still sounds fresh.

This has always been one of my dream concerts: my two favorite bands on the same bill both at their height.
That said, the who is my choice. I love the kinks, but unfortunately I cannot listen to all of their music like I can with the Who. I can listen to the Who's worst stuff (Face Dances, It's Hard) easier than I can to the kinks (anything after Word of Mouth). However, Davies and Townshend are better songwriters to me than Lennon or McCartney. Each had their own unique niche in music, Townshend was concerned with bringing the audience and music together, while Davies was seemingly concerned with "preservation" of the past and social commentary. Both were very strong in their goals.
On a side note, I'd like to know if there is anywhere to acquire Kinks bootlegs, mostly from the late 60's-70's if possible?

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Rochdale3
This is a close one, in my opinion:

Best albums 1964-1968 -
Best singles 1964-1968 -
Best albums 1969-1973 -
Best albums 1974-1977 -
Best albums 1978-1984 -

what's the thinking behind these period breakdowns? Are these common eras of rock, or something catered to these particular groups?

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Rochdale3
A Kinks documentary just wouldn't be as compelling.

why not?

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cc

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Rochdale3
This is a close one, in my opinion:

Best albums 1964-1968 -
Best singles 1964-1968 -
Best albums 1969-1973 -
Best albums 1974-1977 -
Best albums 1978-1984 -

what's the thinking behind these period breakdowns? Are these common eras of rock, or something catered to these particular groups?

- Just somewhat random time frames where both groups released albums...

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Rochdale3
A Kinks documentary just wouldn't be as compelling.

why not?

-Though their music is great, their personalities just aren't nearly as interesting. Yes there is the Ray vs. Dave stuff but that's about it. In "The Kids are Alright" you really get an insight into each member of The Who. The Kinks = 2 interesting members out of 5. The Who = at least 3 interesting members out of 4. Keith Moon really shines in The Who documentary, it's practically an ode to him, and it magnifies what a great loss his death was. Also, the interplay of the 4 members of The Who in concert (circa 1970) was unmatched, each had a pivotal role. The other members of the Kinks were mainly just Ray and Dave's backing band playing great songs.

Best Kinks album = The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society, miles better than any of their 70's stuff.