The Kinks Appreciation Thread

There's enough quality material on Phobia to make it well worth getting. It's just got too many songs on it. If it were pruned back to 40 minutes or so, or many off the songs cut in length, it would be a killer album.

I like it anyway.

 

More than that ... Waterloo Sunset is THE best song ever written.

Now top that!

 

I always thought that people who dismiss not to mention refuse to listen to post-1971 output are insane. Some of Ray's best tunes and the best best albums came in the 70's and 80's. Records like Muswell Hillbillies, Everybody's in Showbiz, Sleepwalker, Misfits, Low Budget and Give the people what they want are classics in my book and even the band's weaker efforts ALL have a few songs that other great bands can only dream of writing.

 

Speaking of their later albums, I picked up UK Jive on CD recently and have been driving around with it for the last couple of weeks. For some reason this album is not available to stream. Fantastic to discover gems like Now and Then, Loony Balloon (with its Drift Away spoiler), and the Beatlesque War Is Over. Throw in some solid "of it's time" radio-ready songs like Down All The Days, UK Jive and How Do I Get Close and a couple of decent Dave tunes and you've got another solid Kinks album, not bad for studio release #23!

 

agreed

 

Listened to "To the Bone" for the first time in years. Man, that was a tight band! Ray's voice was in top form, and the energy in tracks like Dead End Street is amazing. And the two new songs are great, they could be in any classic album:

 

To the Bone is my favorite live album of all time. Killer performances on each and every track, in many cases I prefer To the Bone versions to the studio originals.

 

Not sure if this has been posted, but this ebook is only 7.59 on Amazon and looks great:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SGKQG68

 

I have heard every album from the start of their career up to Arthur. It is an incredible development and run. Loving the Mono LP box.
At some point I need to delve further but know there are diminishing returns ahead!
What would you advise me listen to next? I want to keep the HIGH for as long as possible!

 

First, listen to Arthur in stereo, it's the superior mix IMO. Next, Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround, it's still inside the classic run of albums (although I think a little below the 66-69 run, it's still great). Percy has some trow away tracks, but there are a handful of songs worthy of the best albums of the band. And then Musswell Hillbillies, a final masterpiece to many, the start of a different, lesser phase to others.

 

Now top that? Easy! Waterloo Sunset is the BEST song that will EVER be written!

 

This won't be topped.

WATERLOO SUNSET IS THE BEST SONG THAT WILL EVER BE WRITTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Go right in order until you start to bog down, which shouldn't happen until Preservation Act II. After that, post for advice again...

 

`To The Bone` was the album that got me back into The Kinks. I had all the albums up to the last album I had bought which was `Lola Versus Powerman...` so I started to buy all the albums that those crazy Americans liked so much! Some great albums amongst them, ``Muswell Hillbillies` being the stand out, I ended up buying them all and there are many more very good albums amongst them. I`m not going into which albums/songs I prefer, that`s all down to personal taste but I reckon The Kinks discography stands comparison to ANY other out there.

 

err? Isn`t that what I wrote?

 

But it was rewritten in larger letters!

 

Waterloo Sunset is the greatest artifact, now and evermore, in the category that includes music, dance, chess, gardening, and needlepoint.

 

Not sure about needlepoint. Otherwise, I'd agree...

 

It was a bold claim...I'm chastened.

 

How about wine tasting?

 

I think it's important we avoid hyperbole...

 

Gotcha. Discretion, subtlety... how about a little vintage cheddar over a snifter or two of Brandy?

 

I LOVE Muswell Hillbillies. LOLA VS is a masterpiece. Loved SCHOOLBOYS/SLEEPWALKER most of SOAP OPERA some of MISFITS, then, they lost me. Yes some gems in amongst the awful stadium rock stuff, but not many. Don't think I've ever even heard PHOBIA. But like others state, TO THE BONE is brilliant. And Ray's solo albums are good too.

 

FYI ALERT: Pop Market Closeout Crate has some of the vinyl EPS up for sale for under 5 bux! Also a couple Ray solo and KinKs lps.

 

Today European tv station "arte" had a 52 minute show about The Kinks: "The Kinks, die bösen Jungs des Rock'n' Rolls" (The Kinks, the bad boys of rock and roll)

The Kinks, die bösen Jungs des Rock'n' Rolls | ARTE

In the upper right corner you can choose among 6 languages, but only in German and French language you can see the show.