The Kinks - Album by Album (song by song)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Apr 4, 2021.

  1. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    All great albums, but I am no good at copies. I probably have all the wrong ones lol
     
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  2. Fortuleo

    Fortuleo Used to be a Forum Resident

    I can't add much to what's been posted since this morning. I agree with all of it: the greatness of the band, their ever evolution and progress, the studio sound being somehow their Achille's heel and the instrumental proficiency their most overlooked asset. I'm a bit reluctant to rank the records. In general, I tend to be contrarian towards the universal wisdom that one-off LP's like Pet Sounds or Village Green (or Astral Weeks) are necessarily the absolute best of their respective artists, because I'm not convinced they represent their output accurately or provide the best gateway to their discography. In that sense, I guess Something Else (and Face to Face) should maybe be favored.
    Furthermore, VGPS and Arthur are so idiosyncratic and unique that I would never want to choose between them. Please, don't try to make me. During our last few weeks of discussions, it's become clear to me that Arthur is a much more assured artistic statement, more precise, more determined, more fine-tuned and tightly crafted, whereas Village Green represents a more fluid exploration, a quest of sorts. But there's a charm and grace to Village Green that still enchants me thirty odd years after first falling for it, the feeling that whatever Ray Davies would've whistled absentmindedly during those 67/68 sessions would've been a miniature pop masterpiece in the making. At this point, I'm more than ever in awe of Arthur and in love with Village Green.
     
  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I reckon that Sums it up perfectly mate.
     
  4. jethrotoe

    jethrotoe Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Village Green
    Arthur
    Something Else
    Face to Face
    Kontroversy
    Kinds Kinks
    Kinks
    Kelvin
     
  5. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    For anyone interested in the charts. These are the chart figures according to wiki. I tried to neaten them up a bit, but it is what it is.

    The Kinks and the Charts


    Albums

    The Kinks – -UK 3 – Ger 7 – US 29 – Fra 60

    Kinda Kinks – -UK 3 – Ger 12 – US – 60

    Kontroversy – -UK 9 – Ger 8 – US – 95

    Face To Face – -UK 12 – Ger 12 – US 135 – Fin 2 – Nor 9

    Something Else – -UK 35 – Ger 31 – US 153 – Fra 50 – Nor 12

    Village Green – -UK 47 – Ger 84 *I believe these chart positions were attained in 2018 for the box

    Arthur – -Ger 68 – US 105 – Can 54

    Live at Kelvin Hall – US 162 – Fra 80

    *These are wiki chart records*


    When You look at the fact that Village Green didn’t chart in the sixties, it is a bizarre series of figures.

    Interestingly, to me at least, it seems that Germany seemed to be the band’s most consistent market.

    I am still at a loss as to why the Kinks declined in popularity in the UK. We see a slow decline, and then after Something Else, the band never entered the UK charts for a new album, ever again. The Village box finally got them back in the album chart in 2018. I am unsure if the German chart figure is from the sixties, or the box set

    Again, we see the steady decline in the US for the albums, and it seems like Ray dealt with the US problem just in time, as Village Green failed to chart, but Arthur brings them back into the picture.

    RIAA Gold & Platinum - RIAA

    The remarkable situation to me that the Kinks only have four gold certifications for The Kinks, and none from the sixties.

    Other records of British chart figures The Kinks | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company

    According to these figures the Kinks had 5 top ten albums, and 15 top forty albums.

    The 5 top ten albums were Kinks, Kinda Kinks, Kontroversy, Well Respected Kinks and Sunny Afternoon.


    Compiles

    64 Kinks-Size – US 13

    65 Kinkdom – US 47

    66 The Kinks – UK 3

    66 Greatest Hits – US 9

    66 Well Respected Kinks - UK 5 – Fra 65 – Fin 2 – Nor 2

    67 Sunny Afternoon – UK 9 – Fra 55 –


    EP’s

    64 Kinksize Session – UK 1

    65 Kinksize Hits – -UK 3

    65 Kwyet Kinks – - UK 1

    66 Dedicated Kinks – -UK 7


    Singles

    64

    Long Tall Sally/Took My Baby Home - -UK 42

    You Still Want Me/You Do Something To Me --------------

    You Really Got Me/It’s Alright -Uk 1, US 7, Aus 8, Can 4, Ger 38, Ire 6, Nld 23, NZ 2

    All Day and…/ I Gotta Move -UK 2, US 6, Aus 14, Can 12, Ger 22, Nld 9, NZ 5

    65

    Tired Of Waiting/Come On Now -UK 1, US 6, Aus 29, Can 3, Ger 13, Ire 3, Nld 18

    Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy/

    Who’ll be The Next In Line -UK 17, US 34, Can 25, Ger 29, Nld 28

    Set Me Free/I Need You -UK 9, US 23, Aus 54, Can 2, Ger 32, Nld 12

    See My Friends/Never Met A Girl.. -UK 10, Ger 36 Nld 26

    Well Respected Man/Such A Shame -US 13, Aus 11, Nld 6

    Till The End Of The Day/

    Where Have All The… -UK 8, US 50, Aus 63, Can 34, Ger 19, Nld 6

    66

    Dedicated Follower Of Fashion/

    Sittin On My Sofa -UK 4, US 36, Aus 36, Can 11, Ger 11, Ire 3, Nld 1, NZ 1

    Sunny Afternoon -UK 1, US 14, Aus 13, Can 1, Ger 7, Ire 1, Nld 1, NZ 1

    Dandy – -Ger 1, Nld 2

    Dead End Street -UK 5, US 73, Aus 62, Can 28, Ger 5, Ire 7, Nld 4, NZ 4

    67

    Mister Pleasant/Harry Rag -US 80, Aus 35, Can 79, Ger 12, Nld 2

    Waterloo Sunset/Act Nice And Gentle -UK 2, Aus 4, Ger 7, Ire 3, Nld 1, NZ 7

    Death Of A Clown/

    Love Me Till The Sun Shines -UK 3, Aus 31, Can 68, Ger 3, Nld 2

    Autumn Almanac/Mr Pleasant -UK 3, Aus 73, Can 13, Ger 5, Ire 15, Nld 17, NZ 17

    Susannah’s Still Alive/Funny Face - UK 20, Ger 27, Nld 10

    1968

    Wonderboy/ Polly -UK 36, Ger 29, Nld 4

    Days/She’s Got Everything -UK 12, Aus 77, Ger 28, Ire 16, Nld 6, NZ 11

    Lincoln County/There Is No Life Without Love Nld 15

    1969

    Starstruck -Nld 15

    Picture Book -Aus 36

    Hold My Hand/Creeping Jean –----------

    Plastic Man/King Kong -UK 31, Aus 97, Ger 34, Nld 16

    Drivin/ Mindless Child Of Motherhood –-------

    Village Green Preservation Society/

    Do You Remember Walter –---------

    Shangri La/ this Man He Weeps Tonight -Nld 24

    Australia/ She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina –

    Victoria/Mr Churchill Says/Brainwahsed -UK 33, US 62, Aus 57, Can 33
     
  6. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Here's another batch of Kink & Kink related articles from the World Radio History website, this time from the Melody Maker:

    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...3-19-IDX-10.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    (Dave & Barry Fantoni "Blind Date')
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0802-IDX-28.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0706-IDX-13.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    (Keith Moon on "Days")
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...1126-IDX-12.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    (Steve Marriott on "Dead End Street")
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...1224-IDX-16.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0520-IDX-1.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0824-IDX-8.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0812-IDX-9.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...1126-IDX-11.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0927-IDX-11.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0718-IDX-11.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    (That's John Dalton)
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-1209-IDX-7.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0506-IDX-12.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0708-IDX-13.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-1111-IDX-9.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0803-IDX-10.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...1028-IDX-13.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0909-IDX-16.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0520-IDX-7.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0927-IDX-32.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0527-IDX-7.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0406-IDX-3.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0211-IDX-10.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0629-IDX-17.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0413-IDX-14.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0118-IDX-2.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0304-IDX-6.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0705-IDX-3.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0318-IDX-5.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0222-IDX-6.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0503-IDX-6.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...0120-IDX-15.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...-0412-IDX-3.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...02-12-IDX-5.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"
    https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/I...01-22-IDX-5.pdf#search="the kinks ray davies"

    Sorry for the deluge, but there are vintage stories, reviews & tidbits, as well as a lot of piccys of Ray w/a mustache
     
  7. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA

    The Kinks Greatest Hits from 1966 did go Gold on 11/25/1968 according to the link. When my friend Jimmy visited Konk Studios, he saw it displayed in the hallway.
     
  8. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    This was the same with Heep. Once a fan, always a fan? (In Germany)
     
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  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    That's right, I forgot about that.

    Interestingly the Netherlands seems like the most consistent singles market for the band
     
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  10. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Something to go through on my vacation, if I have some downtime :righton:
     
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  11. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
    Boomer OK
    The Marriott and Moon bits are priceless! I'd buy a whole book of those...
     
  12. palisantrancho

    palisantrancho Forum Resident

    Looks like we have a week or two off before we head into Lola. The 60s albums may be my favorites, but there are still many treasures to be found in the next decade. The next few albums have many songs that still rank with their best tunes from the 60s. I'm looking forward to the 70s because it seems to be a period where there will be more division between us. I do believe these albums will benefit from a closer inspection. I appreciate all of the albums we covered more than before, and they were already some of my favorite albums of all time. My ranking has not changed from what it would have been before the discussion.

    My ranking:

    Village Green Preservation Society
    Face To Face
    Something Else
    Arthur
    Kinda Kinks
    Kontroversy
    Kinks
    Kelvin Hall
     
  13. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    It's really bizarre that the better the albums got, the less they sold! People sometimes say that XTC were too clever and quirky to be big sellers - maybe we could say the same for The Kinks?
     
  14. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    10cc got that a lot too. Great band also
     
  15. tables_turning

    tables_turning In The Groove

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic, USA
    For the perusal of the group, I've rounded up some images of the Kinks at work in Pye Studios. They are rough in quality, but they at least give us some sense of the working atmosphere within Pye during the 1960s.

    The large color image shows the Studio 2 console that was used on the Kinks' 60s recordings.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/T1tP2cgswyn5Wcxd9
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/XLcbeqmn1osnyGZP7
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/U9u5yLsWWhkvn9kX9
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/Jv8AHzgkFARjYzhj9
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/twk8ikcdpXMrX5Vp6
     
  16. jethrotoe

    jethrotoe Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I wasn’t here for the Face to Face or Something Else discussions, so I’ll post my thoughts on these albums here.

    Both are good, but the production on Face to Face is pretty bad (although not as bad as The Who’s A Quick One/Happy Jack). While I get why people like F2F so much, it’s uneven. There are holdover, old sound Kinks tracks that, in my opinion, disrupt the flow of the album. Imagine removing “Party Line,” “You’re Looking Fine,” and “I’ll Remember,” and placing those on an EP with “She’s Got Everything.”

    Open F2F with “This is Where I Belong,” and place “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” where “You’re Looking Fine” to get a Dave-led rocker. The closing track could be “Big Black Smoke” (depending on when that was actually recorded) or the Ray-led version of “Mr. Reporter” OR “End of the Season.”

    I think Something Else is a much tighter, more cohesive album than F2F. My problem with that album is “Tin Soldier Man”—it’s awful (well, maybe that’s a big harsh, but it’s not a great track). I know people here like it, but a big problem that I have with it is it sounds incomplete—Ray didn’t even bother to finish the lyrics, just filling them out with “wiki wakwak a boo.” Why did Ray scrap “Sand On My Shoes”? Anyway, replace “Tin Solider Man” with “Sand On My Shoes” or “Rosemary Rose” or “Lavender Hill.” The latter two are lovely tracks. Placing “End of the Season” on F2F (which is when it was recorded) and putting “Lavender Hill” or “Rosemary Rose” in its place would also work, but some might feel “Lavender Hill” is too much like “Waterloo Sunset” thematically. So maybe place “Lavender Hill” in “Tin Soldier Man’s” place and replace “End of the Season” with “Rosemary Rose.”

    I think these would make these great albums even better. They’d be VGPS good. It make the run from F2F to Lola arguably the best 5 album run in rock history.

    I'll Remember EP (goodbye to the "old sound" Kinks)

    Party Line
    She's Got Everything
    You're Looking Fine
    I'll Remember

    Face to Face

    This is Where I Belong
    Rosey Won't You Please Come Home
    Dandy
    Too Much On My Mind
    Session Man
    Rainy Day in June
    A House in the Country
    Holiday In Waikiki
    Most Exclusive Residence For Sale
    Fancy
    Little Miss Queen of Darkness
    I'm Not Like Everybody Else
    Sunny Afternoon
    End of the Season

    Something Else by The Kinks

    David Watts
    Death of A Clown
    Two Sisters
    No Return
    Harry Rag
    Lavender Hill
    Situation Vacant
    Love Me Till the Sun Shines
    Lazy Old Sun
    Afternoon Tea
    Funny Face
    Rosemary Rose
    Waterloo Sunset

    I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts on these tracklistings.
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2021
  17. donstemple

    donstemple Member of the Club

    Location:
    Maplewood, NJ
    The Kinks in the 1960s.

    Let me start out by saying that while I was on vacation in early July, we were going through VGPS. I had it on in the car while we were driving around from place to place. One afternoon, we were at the vacation house, and I just took my portable Bose speaker into the backyard, grabbed a cold beer, and just closed my eyes and listed to VGPS again. At this point, my sister (mid 40s) came outside and joined me. I was explaining this thread, the song-by-song format, and I played for her the song for that particular day - Big Sky. She thought it was odd. She asked what year it was from, I said 1968. Her reaction was "Oh wow, I didn't know they were that old." You see, I guess previously her only knowledge of the Kinks was Come Dancing and Father Christmas, and I guess she just didn't know that Lola was 1970. Anyway, this reinforced two things in my mind:

    1) Many people don't know the full breadth of the Kinks career. They know a couple songs. They know an era. They don't know it all. Not many do. Even I don't! The journey this thread will take me through once we get to 1972 -79 will be a brand new era for me. Looking forward to it. I had my first listen to Percy last night.

    2) A lot of Kinks songs are weird to the virgin ear. It's an acquired taste. It takes time. It takes getting to know Ray. It takes getting to know Dave. It takes following the journey to see how they have grown. How they've improved. The common themes they use. Knowledge of the historical names and fictional names and stories in these songs. It took me repeated listens over about 2 weeks to finally "get" Two Sisters.

    Ranking the albums is incredibly difficult. I just think that for the special place in my heart it holds, The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society holds the top title for me. But technically and musically, I think Arthur is the better album. I feel this:

    Something Else/Face to Face are neck & neck for 3 & 4. I have a longer history with Face to Face, and Too Much On My Mind will creep into my top 5 deep-cut Kinks song list every now and then. But Something Else is... just so diverse and revelatory to me. It's an astounding achievement that I overlooked for years.

    My rankings are almost in line with Mark's:

    Village Green
    Arthur
    Something Else
    Face to Face
    Kontroversy
    Kinda
    Kinks
    Kelvin Hall
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2021
  18. ARL

    ARL Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    I don't really draw a line in the Kinks material between the 60s and the 70s - for me the line is between Pye and RCA. When I was first discovering Kinks albums back in the 80s, I had no problem with the Lola or Percy songs - all of it seemed on a direct line from Arthur and all the great earlier stuff, but all of the RCA albums I tried (which were the middle 4 of the 6) I found impenetrable - it's only since this thread started that I've decided to go back and re-investigate those albums (and the two I've heard so far sound pretty good now).

    If I'm going to rank the 60s albums, I wouldn't include Kelvin Hall as I've probably only listened to it twice ever. Apart from possibly preferring Something Else to VGPS, I'd say it's a rare example of a run of seven albums where each one is a little better than the previous one - so I'd just rank them in reverse chronological order.
     
  19. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Really nice assessment.

    My wife says she loves the Kinks, but I reckon I could play her an awful lot of stuff that she wouldn't even recognize as the Kinks.
    Yes Sir No Sir was a good example, by accident earlier in the thread.
    She instinctively thought it was a great song, but didn't know it was the Kinks.
    On a hazy Saturday night either just before or just after we started the thread, I played Celluloid Heroes on youtube, same thing.
    The next week I was noodling on my guitar and I played Celluloid Heroes and she apparently taped it and sent it to one of her friends in a band.
    I get this call "hey mark, you wanna join a band, we want to play some Kinks and Jam and Elvis Costello?".... I was like "well I don't really play any of their songs, but i like them all.... I can't play with a band anymore because of my ear... oh well... but it was funny.
    He said I heard you playing Celluloid Heroes, I'm like, oh, I was following the chords on a website lol

    Anyway....
    Yea, there are tons of people that love the Kinks and barely know any of their songs... it's really interesting to me.

    I felt I knew them fairly well when we started, but I realise I know very little, but we're getting there :)
     
  20. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I’d accept Rosemary Rose for Tin Soldier Man. I don’t know whether Lavender Hill is better than End of the Season. The latter isn’t a play lister for me...but neither is Lavender Hill.
     
  21. seanw

    seanw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    I've heard Kinks songs on the radio my whole life without it clicking that it was same group. It was only a few years ago when I got into Village Green Preservation Society and then actively investigated other Kinks albums that I realized all these amazing songs that I'd heard, found catchy and remembered from yesteryear were actually Kinks' tracks!

    Before then I could have named maybe one or two songs as being by the Kinks, but by my estimation there were a good dozen or so over a span of decades--from You Really Got Me to Dedicated Follower to Days to Lola to Living on a Thin Line--that I dug that were by the Kinks. Honestly, if I'd known this cannon of songs was by the same group I'd have become a fan a lot earlier than I did. The number of stone-cold classics the Kinks put out over the years is quite amazing.

    Looking forward to the 70s records. This is where the band gets interesting!
     
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  22. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Kinks, Jam & Elvis Costello, sounds like my listening habits circa 1983, heck, I still listen very much to the first two acts (not so much the 3rd one anymore). Nice to know that you can play the guitar & write songs. I wish I could do that. As I probably said before, I appreciate hearing from those Avids that have a musical background so that they can explain the workings behind Ray & Dave's songs, which is quite illuminating.
     
  23. joejo

    joejo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    toronto
    Yes, it is not enough to just klick on the "Like" for this one.
     
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  24. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Thanks for this. I HOPE to get to read them all in this lifetime.

    and the mustache...oy vey...it did not suit Ray at all. Some people I know refer to it as the "breakdown 'stash" as he wore it shortly after his breakdown around 1966 or so (I believe he went on to write Sunny Afternoon shortly afterwards).
    But Ray and facial hair...a hard no!
     
  25. Wondergirl

    Wondergirl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Looking forward to it as well. I have listened to a lot of the 70s stuff. But there's still plenty I need to do a deep dive on and THAT I'm looking forward to.
    I think we may lose some folks along the way who have a preconceived notion that the Kinks ended at Lola or Muswell. Hopefully not. Let's keep an open mind and let the music flow over you. :D
     

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