Are The Kinks Underrated By The General Public?

Definitely not. Their greatest hits compilations are forever creeping back into the supermarket CD charts in the UK. They're granted lavish boxsets, extensive remaster series, vinyl reissues, merchandise...

The real underrated British 1960s group is the Hollies. They've maintained a fairly anonymous image yet are still touring (albeit with only two original members) and sell out surprisingly large concert venues all over the world. But they haven't had a remastered/expanded album since just three stand-alone releases in 2007. Their catalogue was last re-issued on CD in 1999 and vinyl way back in 1990. But they've had far more hits than the Kinks.

 

Well, there are three in the Rolling Stone Top 500 of all time list, if that's a somewhat valid yardstick. And "generally acknowledged" and "publicly known" are pretty random indicators, but I take your point. I hadn't chimed in "yes" they are underrated because of course they are. I (A good friend of mine in high school didn't like them because they were "gay" if you can believe that. In college people would hear stuff like Situation Vacant and Australia, to take two random examples I remember, and say "Who's that? This is awesome." )

 

I don’t disagree, and I question general tastes, as well.

Be that as it may, I don’t think they put together an acknowledged classic. And maybe it could be said that they had bad timing with some of their releases, too.

 

When in high school in the eighties everyone new the current hit "come dancing", the old hits "lola" and "you really got me". Beyond that there where only a few of us who had any albums or knowledge of their vast catalogue. During this period i sported a white rocker tshirt with black sleaves.
Usually those were reseved for zep, sabbath, maiden or such! But being a dork i had me a Kinks one. Something like this!

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To me they were, and still are under rated!

 

If Village Green is not a classic album then no album is.

 

What do critics and the public know? Van Gogh sold one painting during his lifetime

 

To his brother, even.

 

That is exactly the case. They had a run of albums from Something Else through Everybody's in Show Biz that compares to ANYBODY, but most people don't know them

 

Exactly. They had a run of albums from Something Else to Everybody's in Show Biz that stack up to ANYBODY

 

Mono Collection (vinyl) currently $140.69 (AUD) on the Australian amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/Mono-Collection-Limited-10-LP-Vinyl/dp/B01LA1YT68

 

In a word, "Yes."

 

the general public watch Dancing with the Stars so 'nuff said...ok the first season was alright but come on, how long can you watch over the hill celebs foxtrot??

 

I like General Public. I like The Kinks. Dunno what GP thought of The Kinks. RIP Ranking Roger

 

The Gen Pub may also know and like Kinks songs used in commercials without knowing who the band is

 

I’m not sure anymore. However one thing I’m sure of is that Ray Davies must have done a big poo in Chemically Altered’s Frosties at some point!

 

Actually it was my Wheaties. But let me digress, I've always felt that the Kinks were second string and deserve to be viewed as such. Now, wasn't that the point of this thread? If this was another Kinks appreciation thread I would have simply bypassed it.

 

This ^

The Kinks are bit like the Clash. I recall everyone loving the singles from Combat Rock and wearing Clash Combat Rock t shirts. These songs are still played on classic rock stations. But did anyone ever venture backwards and listen to the first album, Give em Enough Rope, or anything on London Calling besides Train in Vain? Nope.

So it is with the Kinks. There are around 5 songs most people are familiar with. But for some reason, the same people who probably love those songs are simply unwilling to engage in further explorations.

 

By the general public? Yes.

By music nerds? No.

 

I'm a music nerd that has listened to about 12 Kinks albums. Verdict: Just ok.

 

Face to Face, Something Else, Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur are all in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, now on its umpteenth edition. Those albums were all in the first edition of the book, and as of the 2018 edition they're all still there.

 

Personally, I would add Muswell Hillbillies to these!

Even their earlier albums are mainly great for their time, other than maybe half the first one.

 

Yup, me too... and Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround, which is my favourite album of theirs!

 

I would suppose the fact that they weren't allowed to tour in the US for the latter half of the sixties did not help them:

(fromWikipedia) Following a mid-year tour of the United States, the American Federation of Musicians refused permits for the group to appear in concerts there for the next four years, effectively cutting off the Kinks from the main market for rock music at the height of the British Invasion.[1][43] Although neither the Kinks nor the union gave a specific reason for the ban, at the time it was widely attributed to their rowdy on-stage behaviour.[43] It has been reported that an incident when the band were taping Dick Clark's TV show Where The Action Is in 1965 led to the ban. Ray Davies recalls in his autobiography, "Some guy who said he worked for the TV company walked up and accused us of being late. Then he started making anti-British comments. Things like "Just because the Beatles did it, every mop-topped, spotty-faced limey juvenile thinks he can come over here and make a career for himself." following which a punch was thrown and the AFM banned them.

 

Most of the population only know Lola and You Really got Me, maybe 1 or 2 others. So yes they are under appreciated. I like almost all of their music, except some of the Shel Tameny songs forced on them and to some extent Preservation.