It's in my top 5 Kinks songs of all-time.

By the end of this thread we'll all find out together how many songs are in my Kinks "top five."

Kink Kontroversy is my favorite album by them. Every song is good. I've listened to it dozens of times. World Keeps Going Round is one of my favorites, definitely not filler I think.

I love this excerpt so much, I want to pee on Jason Josephes. Wait... what??

I didn't even know Van Halen covered where have all the good times gone, damn that was awful

This hit Rolling Stone today

Ray Davies Wants the Kinks to Reform
With both Davies brothers seemingly on board, a reunion could be imminent

Ray Davies, Mick Avory, Dave Davies of the Kinks in London, 2005.



April 11, 2011 2:40 PM ET
By all logic The Kinks should be on the verge of a reunion. "I’m seeing Dave next week," Ray Davies tells Rolling Stone in a new interview. "I hear that Dave is saying stuff in the press like, 'I’ll do it, but Ray doesn’t want to do it.' This is me saying, 'Ray will do it if Dave does it.'"



With both Davies brothers on board a reunion should be imminent, but Kinks fans have been teased like this for the 15 years and it never seems to happen. They came close to reuniting with the original line-up in the early 2000s, but that was derailed when bassist Peter Quaife started to develop severe kidney problems. "It's all water under the bridge now," Dave Davies told Rolling Stone shortly after Quaife died in June of 2010. "There was talking of doing weekends in New York with the four of us, but now we shall never know."



The Davies brothers were contemplating a tour without Quaife around the time that Dave Davies was sidelined by a stroke in the summer of 2004. "Our plans always weave in and out of peoples' health trauma," said Dave Davies, who added that he's fully recovered from his stroke. "A reunion is possible. There's nothing in the pipeline yet, but...we'll see. It's possible."

Let's face it, you can't have a Kinks reunion without Ray & Dave... Ray was hinting at doing a Kinks tour without Dave, but that was certainly a plot to get Dave to play ball.

That said, if they come anywhere near the southeastern US, I am so there. I'll go to Mississippi if I have to! *shivers*

It tells you something when two brothers have to set up meetings to see each other. Wonder if they even have each others phone numbers.

Their antipathy/loathing of each other is pretty legendary... but I'm sure both wouldn't mind the bread.

For me, The Kink Kontroversy is the first album of theirs worth listening to all the way through. Not as utterly brilliant as they would soon get, but very high quality indeed.

I'm assuming most of you are familiar with Big Star's cover of "'Til the End of the Day", featuring a fantastic performance by drummer Jody Stephens.

It's a great cover. Chilton also dueted the song with Ray on his recent "See My Friends" album, but I like the Third/Sister Lovers track better.

The less said of that Bon Jovi "Celluloid Heroes" abortion, the better...

They also covered Come on Now live

Face To Face - The Kinks



Original Release Date: October 28, 1966

Track Listing
1. Party Line
2. Rosie Won't You Please Come Home
3. Dandy
4. Too Much on My Mind
5. Session Man
6. Rainy Day in June
7. A House in the Country
8. Holiday in Waikiki
9. Most Exclusive Residence for Sale
10. Fancy
11. Little Miss Queen of Darkness
12. You're Lookin' Fine
13. Sunny Afternoon
14. I'll Remember

Re-Issue Bonus Tracks
15. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
16. Dead End Street
17. Big Black Smoke
18. Mister Pleasant
19. This Is Where I Belong
20. Mr. Reporter (previously unreleased)
21. Little Women (previously unreleased)

The First Great Kinks Album.

OK well obviously that's entirely up to debate and purely a matter of opinion, but wow if this album doesn't deliver one fine listening experience. Everything -- the songwriting, vocals, musicianship, album production -- is elevated to an entirely new level with Face To Face.

1966 was a good year for the band. The classic "Sunny Afternoon" topped the UK Singles chart that summer, and even hit #14 in the US. Later that year -- after Face To Face was released -- the non-album single "Dead End Street" was released to success as well, Top 5 in the UK (although it didn't chart very high in the US). In between, right before the Face To Face sessions were to begin, Ray went buggo and had a breakdown. The resulting album was recording over a longer period of time instead of the usual rushed production schedule, it consisted of entirely original songs, and Davies concentrated on subject matter more personal to him rather than the usual collection of blues covers and rock standards.

The result is an absolute 60s masterpiece and a top-tier Kinks album. It starts strong out of the gate with the admittedly-goofy Party Line, and it's a throwback to the Mersey/skiffle sound, but with a stronger vocal sound as if to emphasize the desparate paranoid whackadoo nature of the song's narrator. Rosie Won't You Please Come Home is another chimey winner, almost a crying plea for a wayward teenage girl to return to the comforts of her home. The song has a great vibe and strong musicality, and Davies's yearning for a return to familiar creature comforts will be a recurring theme for a long while. Dandy skewers the 60s manwhore brilliantly, especially when accompanied with an addictive uptempo acoustic vibe. Wonder what he means by the "You're all right!" repeated at the end. Is he vindicating a shallow existence? Pining for one? Or still making fun of it? Good stuff.

Too Much On My Mind is a haunting, painful, beautiful piece driven by some tasty acoustic guitar work. "There's too much on my mind and there is nothing I can do about it." Being as overwhelmed emotionally as Davies was before recording the album, this had to have specific meaning to him. The harpsichordy feel segues into Session Man, a reflection on the dehumanizing elements of the business as refracted through the existence of the studio hired gun. I like the song quite a bit, but it's not *quite* up to the same level as the opening four songs. I'm wondering what session pianist Nicky Hopkins thought, as he was brought in to spice up the songs with keyboards as well as a harmonium on "Sunny Afternoon". Some unfortunately thunder sound effects mar the otherwise powerful, often creepy Rainy Day In June. It doesn't sound like thunder as it sounds like demolitions work. A poetic examination of how it feels when everything turns to shit, it's a really great song.

Anger, or perhaps resentment, drives the uptempo House In The Country. Again it's a throwback to the earlier rock styles of the band, but the production and lyrics elevate the song beyond mere piffle. Not a standout, but a fine song. Holiday in Waikiki decries crass commercialism in the form of an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii, where everything is staged and fake and costs money to do anything worthwhile. It sounds like a vintage Stones tune, and while the lyrics are beautifully all Davies, the music seems slightly out of place. It's a good song -- I wouldn't even call it anything close to filler -- but it's the least of the tracks thus far.

The aristocracy gets theirs again with Most Exclusive Residence For Sale, this time in the form of a rich guy who fell on hard times due to excessive partying. It's almost like "House In The Country" part deux, and why not? Good beat, agreeable song, nothing extraordinary. On the other hand, the Indian-flavored Fancy is another exquisite song, beautifully written and sung by Ray. It's a short track, almost criminally so, but an absolute winner. The swing of Little Miss Queen Of Darkness keeps it somewhat notable to me, as do its sad lyrics that pity the desparate party girl looking to be loved by fucking anything that pays her attention. It's a lesser track, but an acceptable if not memorable one.

Strong blues hooks and honky-tonk piano drive You're Looking Fine, making it one of the rare songs on the album in which the quality of the music surpasses that of the lyrics by such a noticeable degree. Which makes the bouncy, music hall driven Sunny Afternoon such a tasty morsel. I first became aware of the song in the mid 90s when Jimmy Buffett covered it, but the original is such classic it's hard to imagine anyone daring to cover it in the first place. It's pretty gosh darn swell, beautiful structured and catchy as sin, a warm breeze of a strong. Finally the chimey I'll Remember wraps up the album in fine pop form, with beautiful harmonies and some fine licks from Dave.

There are so many great tracks on this album, it's almost impossible not to love it. But even the deep cuts are of quality, which makes Face To Face The Kinks' first really cohesive album from start to finish. It flows beautifully. Given the band had, comparitively speaking, more time to breathe and craft their songs, and it shows. Face To Face is, simply put, a great album, and if you don't like it you can go pound sand.

I'll cover the bonus material in a separate post.

The thing that sets Face to Face apart from the previous Kinks albums is the songwriting. Not only is it consistently strong, but often very inventive and surprising. Something like "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" is actually quite sophisticated. The album sounds new and fresh as well, even listening to it decades later. Not their absolute best, but damn close.

To my mind, Face To Face indeed is the first great Kinks album. This is the album where they finally ditch the R&B completely. And let's face it - The Kinks were great at a lot of things, but they were never great Chuck Berry or Muddy Waters interpreters.

BTW, "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" is, as far as I can tell, literal - one of Davies' older sisters married a man named Arthur (we'll get to that album at some point) and moved to Australia. He wrote the song about how much he missed her.

I love Face to Face but I like it a little less than Kink Kontroversy. I'm surprised so many people will dismiss that album because I think they're both great.

I really like The Kink Kontroversy -- I actually like it more now than I did before I started this thread -- but Face To Face smokes it IMO. But my appreciation of the former album has definitely... appreciated.

Well clearing the decks before we get into Something Else, I wanted to discuss the FACE TO FACE BONUS TRACKS. And why not?

Re-Issue Bonus Tracks
15. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
16. Dead End Street
17. Big Black Smoke
18. Mister Pleasant
19. This Is Where I Belong
20. Mr. Reporter (previously unreleased)
21. Little Women (previously unreleased)

I'm Not Like Everybody Else, the B-side to "Sunny Afternoon", was originally intended for The Animals, but Ray took his composition back home and Dave sang it. It's a killer track with a wicked groove, and a winner. I'd prefer Ray to sing it, but it doesn't detract from the song one iota.

Dead End Street starts out sounding like "Sunny Afternoon" -- the same kind of rolling piano drive. The single was released 11/18/1966, hitting #5 in the UK but barely charting in the US. It's a fantastic single, notable for its music hall bounce and call-and-response chorus. The band even produced a pretty stylish (if bleak) video for the single (although for some reason the song is slightly sped up in the video below)

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i0WPC-N3UYE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Big Black Smoke, the B-Side to "Dead End Street", is another strong tune. Folksy and acoustic, it's a pretty damning tale of a girl seduced by the big city and the local boy who took her for a ride. For those of you keeping score, that's FOUR AWESOME BONUS SONGS so far. The streak ends with Mister Pleasant.

The song is OK but kinda forgettable. It was the B-side to "Autmumn Alamanac", released on 10/13/1967, and as an A-side single in the US and Europe on 10/24/1967. This Is Where I Belong was recorded during the "Face To Face" sessions, a B-side to "Mister Pleasant" in the US and in Europe, but unreleased in the UK until 1984. It's pretty weak, flat and unimaginative.

Mr. Reporter is interesting in and of itself, recorded for Dave Davies's 1969 solo project but as that album fell by the wayside, so did the song. It's well produced, but not a good song. Droning and repetitive, it wears out its welcome REALLY fast, even with a pleasant vibe and a swingin' guitar solo. Blerg. The bonus tracks finish with the enjoyable Little Women, an likeable instrumental track featuring some sweet Mellotron playing by Ray.

With four strong songs, one good one, two forgettable ones and one bad one, the batting average remains strong enough. The strength of the good material elevates an already great album to an even more attractive deluxe package.

Something Else By The Kinks - The Kinks



Original Release Date: September 15, 1967

Track Listing
1. David Watts
2. Death of a Clown
3. Two Sisters
4. No Return
5. Harry Rag
6. Tin Soldier Man
7. Situation Vacant
8. Love Me Till the Sun Shines
9. Lazy Old Sun
10. Afternoon Tea
11. Funny Face
12. End of the Season
13. Waterloo Sunset

Bonus Tracks
14. Act Nice and Gentle
15. Autumn Almanac
16. Susannah's Still Alive
17. Wonderboy
18. Polly
19. Lincoln County
20. There Is No Life without Love
21. Lazy Old Sun (Unreleased Alternate Stereo Take)

So it's 1967. The so-called "Summer Of Love" is in full swing. Bands are taking advantage of newfound freedom to explore their musical boundaries, and the shift from singles-oriented bands to album-based music is already in full bloom. Psychedelia is the order of the day, or so it seems anyhow. So what were The Kinks doing? Album-oriented music, without question, but now with a homier, folksier, almost a conservative flavor to their songs. Compared to its contempoary ilk, their music was much more traditional than cutting-edge, and sounds all the better for it. The album was co-produced by longtime producer Shel Talmy and Ray Davies. This would be Shel's last production with the band, as Dave became more directly and increasingly involved with production starting with this album.

As a result, their 1967 release Something Else By The Kinks -- the second in a streak of albums that would comprise the band's "Golden Age" -- is easily their most consistent-sounding record to date, in terms of both production and style. The songs are distinct entities -- the album produced singles -- but most of them seem to flow effortlessly from one to the next, like a soft river of music. It's not a concept album, but the underlying theme of celebrating (or lampooning) British conventions unifies the album as almost a singular listening experience (and would be refined to even greater effect on the next album).

There are a host of great tracks here, although the album isn't quite perfect. The album shoots out of the gate with David Watts, a fast-paced rocker that eschews crunchy guitars in favor of a driving piano line and a catchy anchoring riff. Nicky Hopkins's simmering harpsichord opens Death of a Clown, one of Dave's three songs on the album, and easily the strongest of the bunch. It's a folksy number, almost with a country/western touch, and it's a quality track. Released as a single on July 7 1967, it was quite a success, hitting #3 in the UK. Its B-side, Love Me Till The Sun Shines, doesn't fare as well but is still a decent track. It's probably the most traditional "rock" song on the album, and as such it feels slightly out-of-place. The straining of Dave's vocals is a bit detrimental, but overall the song is agreeable.

Two Sisters features more Nicky Hopkins's harpsichords as Ray is in full storyteller mode, and it's a beauty, musically and lyrically. Also strong as No Return, with samba-like percussion and almost flamenco-inspired acoustic guitars. As a piece of music, it's one of the bands most interesting arrangements. The momentum keeps going with the strong acoustic, sing-along folk of Harry Rag, as good a toe-tapper as the band has ever released. Rolling snare drums, hand claps, and singalong choruses lend the song the feel of a popular drunken pub favorite.

The music hall bounce and big brass sound of Tin Soldier Man is infectious. It is beyond clear by now that the band is marching to its own drumbeat with this enjoyable throwback. We get back to more traditional sounding rock with Situation Vacant. Dig those funky keyboard licks under the chorus and Dave's awesome jangly solo! Lyrically Dave is storytelling again, and the strength of his lyrical skills (as well as its GROOVY beat, man) elevate the song to a fun little number.

Lazy Old Sun is an odd bird. It's the only "psychedelic" song on the album, and lyrically I find it to be exquisite, but the music is haunting and disjointed. That was the intended effect, but I don't quite know if it works for me. It definitely gives the album flavor. Back to the established vibe, we have Afternoon Tea, a fine piece of Britpop. You're pretty much hooked by the chorus. Dave returns for his third song with Funny Face, and the creepy, sad lyrics -- that of a dying or sick woman who either refuses to see him or is kept away from him -- are badly mismatched with some bland, unmemorable music.

End of the Season is the album's biggest throwback, with Ray doing his best shuffling crooner, haunted by the ghost of a woman who left him and the inability to cope with her loss. A recurring theme on this album, but never quite as dark as is presented here. The thin, reverb-drenched vocals add to the sense of dread, like a 78 record playing on a creepy old-school Grammophone. It's an odd song. Chilling. I don't quite know what I think of it.

And finally, we have Waterloo Sunset. One of the band's biggest, most heralded, most acclaimed songs of their career. It was released as a single on May 5 1967, hitting #2 on the UK charts. It's been covered a buncha times. How can I even review THIS song? I won't. It's a fucking stunner. If just for Waterloo Sunset... dayenu.

Something Else by the Kinks is a great album, no question. If I could live without songs like Lazy Old Sun or Funny Face, and if I'm just plain puzzled by the odd-duck End of the Season, it is more than made up for by the quality of the rest of the tracks. And more than just being a great album, Something Else is an ESSENTIAL Kinks album and a highlight of an already classic year for rock music. Anyone who thinks otherwise should be split vertically with a boat hook.

Reviews of the Bonus Tracks to commence at a later date.

Between you, me, and the internet, I think this is the best Kinks album and therefore one of the best albums in all of rock and roll. Every song isn't just good. Every song is fan-fucking-tastic. I could listen to this album on an endless loop for a year and not be sick of it. It's really that good.

this is a great album, not much more to say

It's got "Waterloo Sunset".

Yeah right up there with Revolver, Aftermath and The Who Sell Out in the pantheon of British Invasion awesome albums.

At this point, The Kinks were less British Invasion and more British Civil Air Patrol.

Hokeyboy - do me a favor and don't update this thread until Sunday. I'm leaving for Toronto later today and I would hate to miss out on the discussion of TKATVGPS, one of my "holy trinity" of rock albums (along with The Band and Sister Lovers.)