Best Kinks B-sides

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Fortuleo, Feb 6, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Results of round 14 (A-sides)
    1/ All Day and All of the Night (70 votes)
    2/ Days (64 votes)
    3/ Autumn Almanac (57 votes)
    Dead End Street (57 votes)

    5/ See My Fiends (56 votes)
    6/ A Well Respected Man (52 votes)
    7/ Set Me Free (39 votes)
    8/ Dedicated Follower of Fashion (33 votes)
    9/ Father Christmas (21 votes)
    10/ Wonderboy (20 votes)

    Epic A-sides round, incredible close call, so many mind blowing songs. This was just great (except I disagree with the majority on the post-Lola results here).

    Round 15 is about the B-sides, some of them A-sides in the US or other countries, some of them amongst the greatest Kinks songs ever, most of them worthy of being on any serious Kinks compilation. Well, what do you think we're trying to achieve here ?
    (thanks again to @LandHorses for his help)

    Enjoy!
     
    linclink likes this.
  2. LandHorses

    LandHorses I contain multitudes

    Location:
    New Joisey
    This is the hardest one yet.

    Big Black Smoke
    Mr. Pleasant
    She's Got Everything
    Creeping Jean
    This Man He Weeps Tonight
     
  3. pscreed

    pscreed Upstanding Member

    Location:
    Land of the Free
    I think you missed out "Where Have All The Good Times Gone"... and "Love Me Til The Sun Shines". My others to make up my top 5:

    I Need You
    I'm Not Like Everybody Else
    She's Got Everything
     
  4. Rekkerds

    Rekkerds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland
    I Need You
    I'm Not Like Everybody Else
    She's Got Everything
    Mindless Child of Motherhood
    Berkeley Mews

    and I wish I could also vote for Polly, Who'll Be The Next In Line, Big Black Smoke, Act Nice and Gentle, Mr. Pleasant, King Kong... heck, even Sitting On My Sofa is great!
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2017
  5. yesteryear

    yesteryear Wild Honey Laureate

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    I'm Not Like Everybody Else
    Big Black Smoke
    Act Nice and Gentle
    There Is No Life Without Love
    Berkeley Mews

    This would make a nice little EP.

     
  6. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    The Kinks are the only 60s band that can compete with The Beatles for singles to me. The quality of their B-sides is very strong.

    I went for:

    Big Black Smoke
    Mr. Pleasant
    Polly
    She's Got Everything
    King Kong (I love this one, probably my favourite and it's on the B-side of my least favourite 60s Kinks single - Plastic Man.)

    I like Berkley Mews, I'm Not Like Everybody Else, I Need You and Where Have All The Good Times Gone? as much as the ones I chose.

    Where is 'Where Have All The Good Times Gone?' in this poll? Probably the best known Kinks B-side. It was the UK B-side to 'Till the End of the Day'

    I've just thought that Where Have All The Good Times Gone? & Love Me Till The Sun Shines could be missing as they are album tracks too.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2017
    Adam9 and lightbulb like this.
  7. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    linclink likes this.
  8. strummer101

    strummer101 The insane on occasion aren't without their charms

    Location:
    Lakewood OH
    Big Black Smoke
    Creeping Jean
    Mindless Child of Motherhood
    Prince of the Punks
    On the Outside*****

    I might have voted for "New World", but I like it better here:
     
  9. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    Should be more love here for this one:

     
  10. Mr. D

    Mr. D Forum Resident

    I'm Not Like Everybody Else
    Polly
    King Kong
    Berkeley Mews
    On the Outside
     
  11. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    I Need You
    I'm Not Like Everybody Else
    Mr. Pleasant
    Polly
    Berkeley Mews
     
  12. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    I thought I knew every Kinks song, but you have stumped me. What is "Elevator Man" and where is it available?
     
  13. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    I'm Not Like Everybody Else is the obvious winner in my book.
    I also voted for Mindless, Creeping Jean, King Kong, and This Man He Weeps Tonight.

    "On the Outside" and "Look Through Any Doorway" are honorable later period mentions. Good Lord, they have some excellent b-sides.
     
  14. LandHorses

    LandHorses I contain multitudes

    Location:
    New Joisey
    It's a Sleepwalker outtake that didn't appear until an EP for the 1994 version of "Waterloo Sunset."
    Waterloo Sunset '94 EP

    I don't think it's one of their better songs.
     
    CheshireCat likes this.
  15. 3rd Uncle Bob

    3rd Uncle Bob Forum Resident

    1. Mr Pleasant
    2. Big Black Smoke
    3. She's Got Everything
    4. Polly
    5. Act Nice and Gentle
     
  16. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    A tough round!

    I'm not like everybody else
    Big Black Smoke
    Creeping Jean
    King Kong
    Look through any doorway
     
  17. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Round 1 winners
    Victoria
    David Watts
    The Village Green Preservation Society

    Round 2 winners
    Do You Remember Walter
    Death of a Clown
    Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home

    Round 3 winners
    Picture Book
    Two Sisters
    Dandy

    Round 4 winners
    Too Much on My Mind
    Johnny Thunder
    Get Back in Line

    Round 5 winners
    Lola
    Last of the Steamed-Power Train
    Alcohol

    Round 6 winners
    Till the End of the Day
    Tired of Waiting for You
    Big Sky

    Round 7 winners
    You Really Got Me
    Shangri-La
    Sitting by the Riverside

    Round 8 winners
    Animal Farm
    This Time Tomorrow
    Love Me till the Sun Shines

    Round 9 winners
    Where Have All the Good Times Gone
    Village Green
    Lazy Old Sun

    Round 10 winners
    Celluloid Heroes
    (I'm Not Like Everybody Else)
    Afternoon Tea
    Starstruck

    Round 11 winners
    Apeman
    Phenomenal Cat
    Better Things

    Round 12 winners
    Muswell Hillbilly
    Arthur
    All of My Friends Were There

    Round 13 winners
    Waterloo Sunset
    Sunny Afternoon
    Stop Your Sobbing

    Round 14 (A-sides) winners
    All Day and All of the Night
    Days
    Dead End Street
    Autumn Almanac

    12 Village Green
    7 Something Else
    4 Lola
    4 Face to Face
    3 Arthur
    2 Kontroversy
    2 Muswell
    2 The Kinks
    1 Kinda Kinks
    1 Show-biz
    1 Give the People What They Want
    (1 Great Lost Kinks Album)
     
  18. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    You're always full of surprises ! Still, Aggravation got ZERO vote in the "track 1" round…

    My eternal favorite as well. Stunning song.

     
    3rd Uncle Bob likes this.
  19. ~"I'm Not Like Everybody Else"
    ~"She's Got Everything"
    ~"Mindless Child Of Motherhood"
    ~"This Man He Weeps Tonight"
    ~"Berkley Mews"

    **Note for later in this post concerning Dave Davies & a shout out to my fellow Dave boosters here... this round could easily have gone a Dave vocals & 4 of 5 Dave authored- "I'm Not Like Everybody Else", "Mindless Child Of Motherhood", "This Man He Weeps Tonight", "There Is No Life Without Love" & "Creeping Jean"... I was sorely tempted to do this, just to make a partisan Dave point...

    Greater Honorable Mention: "I Gotta Move", "I Need You", "Big Black Smoke", "There Is No Life Without Love", "Creeping Jean", "King Kong", "Artificial Light"

    Honestly any of the 7 "Greater Honorable Mention" songs could, on any given day be in my top 5 here & are easily as great as & often greater than, plenty of other ones that I voted for... such great material this round!

    Lesser Honorable Mention: "Who'll Be The Next In Line", "Sitting On My Sofa", "Act Nice & Gentle", "Mr. Pleasant", "Polly", "Prince Of The Punks"

    **Let me also say, as we wind, down that I champion Dave Davies work in the 60's like I do George Harrison's!!! While Harrison was less prolific, for me, his work consistently moves me as deeply as Lennon or McCartney. Ray is writing as great as anything The Beatles are doing & more prolifically than John or Paul (or Mick & Keith too)- at an almost Dylan like clip, up there with Townshend. So Dave even more visibly lags behind, like Entwhistle to Townshend... except I'd argue Dave's songwriting is even more valuable to The Kinks than John's was to The Who... so much more, as I said, that I'd venture Dave's best work shone as brightly as Ray's- like Harrison's with The Beatles, and on a level with Harrison or any of The Beatles.

    And a quick moment to note a few other things... The Kinks are a great guitar band, period, but also a great 2 guitar band wherein Ray is often criminally overlooked. That's because he's as great a songwriter as there's ever been & a brilliant vocalist... but, both acoustic & electric, he's a terrific guitarist.

    That Dave is both the lead player & primary guitarist overall just further underscores his incredible contribution- even when he hasn't written the song or isn't singing lead, he's often at the forefront of the sonic architecture at large... and his vocals- whether lead, back up and/or harmony (sometimes with Rasa- Wow!), are just exquisite...

    You've got to dig deep to uncover the Dave gems Kinks fans!!! While he writes 3 songs on "Something Else" & 2 on "Lola Vs. ...", he is completely absent on Village Green, Arthur & Muswell Hillbillies... meanwhile, as one can see, he had loads of just fantastic material that ended up relegated to B-sides, or future oddities comps etc. ... So, on the albums proper, Dave is less of a writing presence than Harrison with The Beatles, but... he contributes loads to the overall Kinks canon or Kinks Kanon, if you prefer... I remember getting "The Kink Kronikles" & "The Great Lost Kinks Album" & just being blown away by his stuff.

    Someone else has highlighted the brilliant "Mindless Child Of Motherhood" & I think I highlighted "This Man He Weeps Tonight" previously...sooooo...

    Because it's got the least votes of any of my faves, let's start with "Creeping Jean"!! I still remember the first time I heard this! It was just jaw dropping guitar heaven!!! The mind blowing "King Kong" is cut from the same cloth- both just incredible, riff laden, guitar layered, rock 'n' roll classics!!


    "There Is No Life Without Love"... I don't know another song that is quite like this... just a perfect little world of it's own... Yo La Tengo did a beautiful cover of this recently that's also up on youtube now (might have highlighted that earlier myself)... I'm still thinking about voting for this even!! Does "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" really need my vote? ;) ... so far, I'm sticking to my 5... but "There Is No Life Without Love", "King Kong" & "Creeping Jean" are all knockin' loud...
    The Kinks - There's No Life Without Love (Official Audio)
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2017
  20. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Always love your posts ! Agreed on Dave's tracks in this poll. Like George H. or John E. or maybe Dennis W. a bit later in another country (and somewhat more than any of these guys), the most important thing about Dave is that he has personality and his presence is felt by the listener at all times. He adds to the band no matter what his actual contribution may be to any specific song. And it's not only the voice, or the guitar, it's the idea of what the Kinks should be, what they should be about, or how they should sound. On this matter, it can be argued he was even more important in the Kinks than Harrison or Entwistle (or Dennis) ever were in their respective bands . And of course it's saying a LOT.
     
    markelis and linclink like this.
  21. strummer101

    strummer101 The insane on occasion aren't without their charms

    Location:
    Lakewood OH
    That's probably because I didn't notice this thread until round 5 or so...
     
    CheshireCat likes this.
  22. Great points! Dennis Wilson is a perfect example contribution wise (his solo & later era Beach Boys works are up that level of wondrous) & a bonus since he's also in a band with brothers. Yeah, as siblings like The Everly Brothers, but in band, like the extended tribe that was The Beach Boys. Personally I don't know if I'd say more than Harrison's contribution to The Beatles, but I'd venture equivalent at least.
     
  23. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Which may have been frustrating for you. And is definitely frustrating for us in retrospect.

    Three reasons I said "maybe even more" : first, George's songwriting contributions in the Beatles seemed somewhat more insular, in his own world, than Dave's to the Kinks. Second : the Ray/Dave relationship is obviously the key dynamics in the Kinks, whereas it's still the John/Paul thing that dominates the Beatles, no matter our shared passion for George. Three : the Kinks lasted much longer so the story of Dave's impact, contribution, rivalry and/or resentment is more elaborate and intricate than George's.
     
    linclink and strummer101 like this.
  24. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident Thread Starter

    The track by track best of so far :

    CD1
    1/ Victoria (winner)
    2/ Death of a Clown (r.u)
    3/ Picture Book (w)
    4/ Too Much on My Mind (tie)
    5/ Last of Steam-Powered Train (r.u)
    6/ Till the End of the Day (w)
    7/ Shangri-La (r.u)
    8/ Animal Farm (w)
    9/ Village Green (r.u)
    10/ Celluloid Heroes (w)
    11/ Phenomenal Cat (r.u)
    12/ Muswell Hillbilly (w)
    13/ Sunny Afternoon (r.u)

    Bonus tracks
    14/ All Day and All of the Night (w)
    15/ Autumn Almanac (tie)

    CD2
    1/ David Watts (runner up)
    2/ Do You Remember Walter (w)
    3/ Two Sisters (r.u)
    4/ Johnny Thunder (tie)
    5/ Lola (w)
    6/ Tired of Waiting for you (r.u)
    7/ You Really Got Me (w)
    8/ This Time Tomorrow (r.u)
    9/ Where Have All the Good Times Gone (w)
    10/ Afternoon Tea (r.u)
    11/ Apeman (w)
    12/ Arthur (r.u)
    13/ Waterloo Sunset (w)

    Bonus tracks
    14/ Days (r.u)
    15/ Dead End Street (tie)

    Bonus CD (track by track best of post Lola)
    1/ 20th Century Man
    2/ Catch Me Now I'm Falling
    3/ Sweet Lady Genevieve
    4/ A Rock'nRoll Fantasy
    5/ Alcohol
    6/ Destroyer
    7/ The Hard Way
    8/ Supersonic Rocket Ship
    9/ Art Lover
    10/ Oklahoma USA
    11/ Better Things
    12/ You Can't Stop the Music
    13/ Scattered

    Bonus tracks
    14/ Father Christmas
     
  25. CheshireCat

    CheshireCat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire
    I missed the first round. I'd have voted for it probably :)
     
    strummer101 likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine