The Kinks - All Encompassing, All Things Kinks Thread

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Some of the great Kinks threads have long been closed. What remains are very fragmented threads that focus on a little here, or a little there, but I'd like to see things change around here for one of the greatest bands to ever walk the earth.

Even if you don't like the band, you can post in here (but please keep it civil). If people have questions about albums, or songs, remasters, stampers, etc. this is always a good place to post questions, comments, raving madness, and general Kinkiness.

I'd like to start here:

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"Masterpiece," might be too strong of a word, but a masterpiece of beat music is less arguable. Kinda Kinks represents to me the epitome of beat music (even if the Kinks were still trying to be a bit bluesy here and there.)

I wrote somewhere else that 1965 was a very powerful year for Ray Davies. I made a CD for my car that takes out the cover songs, and leaves in the Kwyet Kinks EP. It goes something like this (and just think, we're not even counting The Kink Kontrovery, also from 1965):

"Look for Me Baby"
"Got My Feet on the Ground"
"Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" - That Ray wrote this at the age of 21 is amazing.
"Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight"
"Tired of Waiting For You"
"Don't Ever Change"
"Come On Now" - Why does this sound like a lost Beatles song, without aping the Beatles?
"So Long" - See above, "Nothing in this World..."
"You Shouldn't Be Sad" - Sounds like Lennon would have given a tooth for this song to have been his.
"Something Better Beginning"
"Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" - Written the year before. All of those hooks in one song!
"Who'll Be the Next in Line"
"Set Me Free" - Should have been a bigger hit than it was.
"I Need You"
"See My Friends" - Should have been even a bigger hit!
"Never Met a Girl Like You Before"
"Wait Till the Summer Comes Along"
"Such a Shame"
"A Well Respected Man"
"Don't You Fret"
"I Go to Sleep" - In many ways I'm glad this stayed in a demo stage, just so you can hear the melody like it is.
"When I See That Girl of Mine" - How can this not be on an album?
"Tell Me Now So I'll Know" - How can this not be on an album?
"A Little Bit of Sunlight"
"There's a New World Just Opening for Me" - Another headscratcher of a beauty.
"This I Know"
"This Strange Effect"

That's 27 songs for the summer, don't you think?

Please carry on.

 

"Nothin in the World Can Stop Me Worryin Bout That Girl" and "See My Friends" both seem ahead of their time for 1965, as does the social commentary of "A Well Respected Man".

 

I have been (or should I say, WE have? my wife and kids do too) listening to the deluxe editions of Kinda, Kontroversy, Face to Face, Something Else and Village Green non-stop the last 4 years or so. How could Ray Davies write so many GREAT songs and develop a peculiar, instantly recognizable style in such a short span at such a young age? This is beyond belief. That's one of the best stretch of songwriting by anyone ever.

 

Kinda Kinks is great. Both of the hits I grew up with (though I didn't know until I started listening to the band that they were Kinks songs. "Hey - I recognize this song!") but the album is quite consistent. I saw the deluxe edition at a record shop not long ago, but they were asking $30 for it and I already had like $80 worth of stuff. I can get it imported for about $14 including the shipping, so I passed then. I'm probably going to order the deluxe Face To Face next, though. Tired of living without that album in my collection.

I've got the deluxe Village Green set and the Muswell Hillbillies Legacy set, both of which are great. The former is quite bright and a bit loud, but forgivable, while the latter just plain sounds great from a mastering perspective (not a fan of the muffled-sounding drums, but nothing can be done about that).

 

Just this year I set about re-evaluating the 1964 material. "The Kinks" was not compiled with much skill, but the band had enough songs in the can to make a great album that year, and they were not adverse to putting singles on. Here is mine:

1. You Really Got Me
2. Stop Your Sobbing
3. Beautiful Delilah
4. I Took My Baby Home
5. I've Got That Feeling
6. It's Alright
7. I Don't Need You Anymore
8. I Gotta Move
9. Revenge
10. Too Much Monkey Business (Fast Version)
11. So Mystifying
12. You Still Want Me
13. Got Love If You Want It
14. All Day And All Of The Night

This tracklisting is a great listening experience for the 1964 material.

 

Yes, I remember your thread, and I liked your track listing. Afterwards @ShockControl made a song list for the first album without any cover songs that I liked a great bit. I'm going to make a disc of his suggestion, like this:

Side 1:

It's Alright
So Mystifying
I Took My Baby Home
Just Can't Go To Sleep
You Do Something To Me
You Really Got Me

Side 2:

I Gotta Move
I've Got That Feeling
Things Are Getting Better
I Gotta Go Now
Stop Your Sobbing
All Day and All of the Night


I might add a couple of more originals for the album to round it out to 14, instead of 12.

What gets me, though, is that people tend to start their "classic" run at Kontroversy, when I think it started at Kinda Kinks. That's pretty much right out of the gate, with plenty of classic songs from 1964, to boot. My God, "Stop Your Sobbing," "I Gotta Move" "So Mystifying" and "Just Can't Go to Sleep" are classics outside of the singles!

 

An incredible list of songs, minus one - 'Everybody's Gonna Be Happy'. Geez those lyrics are bad. "Everybody's gonna be happy, which means you and me my love.' Ugghh I can see why it was a relative flop. Who gave the green light for this to be a single?

And I know, and I know
And I know that ev'rybody
And I know that ev'rybody be happy
As happy as you and me
'Cause I know, I know
Come on baby let me tell you
All the things I wanna say
Come on baby let me tell you
All the things I wanna say, and
Ev'rybody's gonna be happy
Which means you and me, my love
Ev'rybody's gonna be happy
Which means you and me, my love
And I know, and I know
And when I see ya walking down the street
Well it makes me happy to see you walkin'
It makes my life complete
'Cause I know, I know
Come on baby let me tell you
All the things I wanna say
Come on baby let me tell you
All the things I wanna say, and
Ev'rybody's gonna be happy
Which means you and me, my love
Ev'rybody's gonna be happy
Which means you and me, my love

 

Y

Yeah, b-b-but that jumpin' beat!

 

Haha! Yeah, I was gonna say, the lyrics are crap, but the melody and the hooks are top-flight.

Does anyone think that people start with Konstrovery because Ray hadn't turned into quite the lyricist yet?

 

I have nothing against covers in general, I just don't think that the covers on the early Kinks records are that strong. That said, I was tempted to add "Cadillac" to the album, as I consider that to be their most convincing cover from this period. "Milkcow Blues" from Kontroversy is great also.

My favorite Kinks period is Face to Face through Lola. While I like their early singles and most of the B-sides for their adolescent-adrenaline-rush quality, I don't think the early albums were very solid. Kontroversy is the strongest, but it could have been improved by removing a couple of the duds and including a few other tracks recorded during the same period. Just my opinions, for whatever they're worth.

 

Got tired of waiting for a complete album style box set to be released so I just bought on ebay all the Sanctuary cd's from the debut up to Arthur plus Muswell Hillbillies & 'Showbiz- all with tons of bonus tracks as well as the BBC sessions for about 70 bucks total . Also bought the Essential Kinks cd to round out my collection. I'll be getting Kinky for the next few weeks at least

 

I always thought the first album was very poorly compiled. There should have used 'Don't Ever Let Me Go' as an opener. Can't believe this was left in the can for 40 plus years:

 

I don't have anything against cover songs, either; it's just that I think Ray's originals that were cut were better than the covers they we're doing.

By the time 1965 rolled around I don't even believe my beloved Beatles had that many solid tracks in surplus. In some ways Ray was ahead of the game. Most definitely ahead of the Stones.

 

Great thread. I don't think the Kinks really hit their full maturity until Face to Face (Dave was 19!) but I'd like to point out that that Something Better Beginning hinted that Ray was thinking a lot more deeply about the usual relationship songs than his peers. The beginning has a Sinatra thing going, yet Ray felt his doubt practically the moment he got the girl into his arms! Then the idea that might never find a girl at all, since his heart has already been broken once. A harbinger of greatness as a composer, to be sure ...

They said this was the last dance
The lights went dim as I looked round the floor
Then I saw you standing there
Then I walked up to you and I asked for this dance

The band had started to play
I held you hand and I sighed
Is this the start of another heart breaker
Or something better beginning
Something better beginning
Something better beginning

I never thought I'd love like this until I met you
I found something I thought I'd never had
The only time I feel all right is when I'm with you
I wonder how long it will last

I walked you home in the night
The moon shone bright as we walked hand in hand
I've known this joy once before
But it came to an end just as it had began

Each step that I took with you
Brought one thing closer to my mind
Is this the start of another heart breaker
Or something better beginning
Something better beginning
Something better beginning

 

Nice thread!
When I See That Girl of Mine is on Kontroversy.
Carry on.

 

This is true, yet written during the sessions for Kinda Kinks. I had forgotten. There is a lot of crossover here.

Isn't the story that "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" also predates the writing and sessions for Kontrovery in rehersal form only? Don't think it was ever committed to tape until Kontrovery.

 

Don't forget that Reprise sat on Kontroversy for four months (released here 3/30/66) after it had been released in England (11/26/65), according to the Hinman Bible, due to "unresolved publishing arrangements." It then sat on Face to Face for six weeks after its 10/28/66 UK release. Something Else wasn't unleashed here for over four months after the Brits got it on September 15, 1967. I'm sure Ray and Company got a kick out of WB/Reprise's late 60s-early 70s reputation as an artists' label. I gave up and just ordered them from England every time the NME told me they were coming.

 

I Need You (and She's Got Everything) has the best sarcastic guitar solo ever

 

While I don't have every deluxe issue, extra track, b-side, etc...and I don't know all the tidbits about releases, dates, and such, but I do own a CD of every Kinks record.
I can say that about very few bands, and none with this amount of output.

I agree, The Kinks are one of the greatest bands to ever walk the Earth. Ever.

 

If you don't like the Kinks you are probably dead.

 

My first Kinks album was a Ronco album called something like 20 Golden Greats. It was all their UK A-sides from "You Really Got Me" through "Apeman." Everything was mono until the last 2 or 3 tracks.

My second Kinks album was, quite accidentally, Kinda Kinks. Truth be told, it was a UK budget album titled Golden Hour of the Kinks, Volume 2. It included something like 25 tracks. The volume level was fairly low due to the number of tracks. It essentially consists of non-hit stuff from the first four US albums.

Anyway, aside from the hits, I think think the entire Kinda Kinks album is represented on this collection. Years later, I got the (superior) US version which includes IMO a slightly improved track lineup. I do not share the OP's enthusiasm for this album, but I do like "You Shouldn't Be Sad" and "Something Better Beginning" quite a bit, along with the hits, which vary depending on whether you have the US or UK album.

 

the first kinks album is lots of covers and after that it was not that many covers. I know the band was on thin ice with the label around the time the fist album was complete. I don't have any poof but I always thought ray held back originals on purpose in case the band got dropped after the first album he'd still own those tunes he left off. again no proof but you are right ray had a big stockpile of original material even when the first album was released

 

Or have very questionable musical taste. In my opinion.

 

I've been listening to a lot of Kinks lately. Going through the Picturebook box set currently. Very impressed at the early stuff.

I got into the Kinks in 79 with Low Budget so I tend to like everything from sleepwalker to phobia. Once Picturebook is complete I will go through their albums one at a time in chronological order. I gave the early albums a cursory run through when I bought them on CD in the early 2000s, but not since then.

 

While I don't share Evolvist's love for Kinda Kinks, I do like a lot of it. I think the second side is superior to the first, except of course, for the magnificent, apostrophe riddled, "Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl". I do, however, absolutely love the deluxe edition of the album. The singles, B-Sides, EP tracks - and others that didn't even make those - are fantastic. Even if just a few of those extra tracks had been put on the album, it would have improved it immeasurably. I mean, how good a song is "There's A New World Just Opening For Me", or "I Go To Sleep".

Even as early as '65, these guys were setting themselves apart from every other band.