Thank you for an excellent analysis & presentation. I grew up in Philadelphia, Pa, USA loving the mid-60's hits. > Then because of The Kinks ban from US until 1969, I began to become aware of them through touring & albums in the early 70's. I've only recently gotten into the mid-70's conceptual & theatrical extrapolations which were probably too much, too different for the rockist crowd of the time. Recordings of the live tours show both how brilliant were the theatrical storytelling, & the fantastic musical triumphs. Even the albums contain multitudes of exceptional songs, & brilliant lyics. My latter day appreciation of the Extraordinary RCA years fills me with joy, sublime rock treasures, & smiles. > My next era loving current The Kinks albums was from Sleepwalker through Low Budget, & One for the road, personal highlights being 2 Low Budget gigs in basketball/hockey arenas in 1979, w Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, & w John "Couger" (Mellencamp), then again in 1986, at a big shed. I've had deep pleasure meeting Dave Davies @ tiny club in Philadelphia, & hearing Ray Davies @ Tower Theater, in Upper Darby, Pa. > Now, my fave eras are the early 64-65 perfect jems, 66-68-69 ever- improving expansions, 1970 through 1976 concepts, theatricals and unparalleled musical greatness. Finally I adore the heights of Sleepwalker/Misfits/Low Budget w a One for the road chaser. > I have just begun to deeply dive into the last era's albums, w some great songs quickly obvious. The University of The Kinks is in session. GD bless The Kinks. Thanks again for sharing your love & knowledge of Kinks music for others to learn from, & go enjoy listening to.
Congratulations for putting Preservation 1 & 2, Soap Opera and Schoolboys in your top 10. I’m so tired of decades of critical dismissal of those albums. I was in high school when Schoolboys came out and my first Kinks concert was the Schoolboys tour you skipped (I saw them earlier in San Diego). I wish you had seen it - they ripped through a 45 minute greatest hits set then came out in costume after intermission, used film and back-up singers to present the entire album as a narrative. I also caught two performances on the Sleepwalker tour, both around the Bay Area. The band never let up.- I attend shows in each decade from the 70s on, including each brothers’ solo shows - their solo albums are a delight. Phobia has grown on me over the years - probably as a result of hearing the direction each brother took subsequent to it. Their late live albums - One for the Road, Live-The Road and To The Bone do a great job of capturing the later iterations of the band live. Sorry to go on so long. Great job.
Interesting ranking. A few surprises. My top 5 right now is Everybody’s in Showbiz, Schoolboys in Disgrace, Arthur, The Village Green Preservation Society, and Lola Vs. The Powerman.
Watching this reminded me that of all the Kinks album covers only a few would, IMO, qualify as decent. The debut, the lads in their red riding jackets, is great in an introductory 'this is us' manner. 'Something Else' is effective, too. But most of the others are either bland, misguided, horrid...or feature just Ray (even the live 'One for the Road'). That latter point likely didn't endear brother Dave to burying the hatchet. For a band that was originally fashionably cool too many of the covers including 'Give the People What They Want', 'State of Confusion', 'Word of Mouth' (those three are on Arista) and others are bad, bad, bad. Fans mightn't have noticed, though surely many of the curious were put off. I was. There was no curation. I think that is wonderful. I also think that had Dave Davies (BTW, in the UK it is pronounced 'Davis', not 'Davies' - Ray will tell you that) had a greater say, possibly Ray would have come to realise that the Kinks were loved as a band, not just because he was the one who insisted on being in the spotlight. BTW, Kinks fans continue to insist on a reunion tour, but with Dave still suffering the effects of a stroke and Ray fading away - he is, along with a couple former Kinks including Mick Avory drumming, in the link below - that isn't going to happen. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YCTczRWWBYU.html
Arthur is my fave too, but I rate Face to Face and Something Else way higher. Still working my way through the 70s rock operas. I think I like the power pop-ish Sleepwalker more than all of them. Dig the bonus tracks, especially "On the Outside." Listening to that and Beach Boys' Holland, I'm hearing their influence on one of my favorite current bands, The Sonic Dawn from Denmark. Their fifth album is out later this spring, can't wait.
I was lucky enough to meet Ray Davies at London Liverpool St Station about 4 years ago, he was very frail, but he was pleasant to me, and I even got a photo with him (no one else recognised him).
Nice picks. I would put Muswell Hillbillies as my favorite as I'm a very educated but dedicated southerner and love the bluegrass and dixieland vibes. I would probably place the 60's albums higher and I love State of Confusion as that was what was popular when I was in high school. Lola vs. Powerman is good but the only songs that really clicked for me were Apeman and Lola. Can't argue against Arthur though Great album.
How about Kinks Kronicles, all the stuff that was unreleased in the US before then. Also The Great Lost Kinks Album. Lost on a desert island I'd want the entire Kinks caralogue.
Interesting list - Soap Opera above VGPS! I love Soap Opera too, and also the Preservation Act sets. Face To Face up to Muswell Hillbillies is one of the greatest runs of albums in music history. The Arista albums I'm lukewarm on, but I love Give The People What They Want. Fun list.
I disagree with the majority of your rankings, but I'm not gonna argue with a fellow Kinks fan. The mere fact that you hold them in such esteem proves yr heart and ears are in the right place. Keep on enjoying and I'll do likewise.
Arthur has been my #! Kinks Album since I first bought it in the late 70's and is one of the Greatest Albums ever Recorded. Love that you put Schoolboys In Disgrace & Soap Opera so high when I bought them in the early 80's they were both on high rotation. The Kinks have the Greatest Catalogue of Very Good to Great Songs of any Band/Artist in music history. One of the Four " Immortals" in Music along with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Neil Young & Crazy Horse & Howlin' Wolf.
I enjoyed that thank you , made me reach over for my CD boxset of their Pye catalogue….. I used to have a bricks and mortar second hand record shop here in the U.K. and you just never saw any original Kinks come in , I mean none! ….maybe a few old “Marble Arch” cheap comps but that was the limit of it. I can only imagine how hard it was to find original 1960’s albums there in the States
I’m a big fan of the kinks but they are one of the most frustrating bands ever to make albums. My opinion is all there albums are really uneven because one minute you are listening to one of the greatest songs ever written and the next one is disappointing. Saying that when Ray was on his A game he was as good as anyone else
Phobia is a GREAT ALBUM! It's Alright - Phobia - Hatred are in my top 50 Kinks songs list. And the other songs are fine as well. Definitely top tier stuff for this 55 year Kink fan born in the 50's.
Your wrong about phobia- great songs like Only a Dream / Still searching-, SOC is a modern day classic - KONTROVERSY is the album that git me addicted in 1966 - too low on your list -,first album where ray wrote almost all the songs! Holiday Live is awesome and you don’t mention it ???? Preservation act one sucks - granted there are some great songs on it -,act2 you don’t mention Artificial man? Spot on on schoolboys and soap opera - holiday romance where Ray sings the woman’s part at the end! Where’s the BOOTLEG 80 days ???? Incredible songs on it - Arthur is last on my list - again great songs on it but as a hold not good …I’m a fan from 64 - I am 74 now !!! 20 new songs coming GSTK!
It’s impossible to disagree with any of your choices here , as you are so obviously a true fan of the amazing kinks ( my number one would’ve been Something else 😀) and the only time a saw The kinks was when they played with Squeeze at The Alexandra palace in the late 80s early 90s ? Whilst experiencing a deep dive into the kinks a couple of years ago , myself and my family were visiting London and saw Dave having a coffee in Belsize Park . I introduced us to him and we shared a coffee for about half an hour , me reciting some of my poetry whilst he shared a couple of his personal experiences and some useful insights he had managed to acquire from being alive ….all rather nice really . I do enjoy a bit of afternoon tea …
Great ranking. I was pleased that you ranked preservation 1 & 2 as high as you did. The RCA Kinks was my favorite period. I noticed a few of your albums had been autographed. I was wondering what you thought of Rays solo albums.
Hi Monty, the Arthur album was signed by Ray Davies after his solo show back in 2010 at The Canyon Club in Agoura, CA and Soap Opera was signed after his solo show back in 2006 at The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Regarding his solo material I feel that it lacks that classic Ray humor from his Kinks material. Also it lacks the hooks and melodic lines which makes the Kinks catalog stand out so much. I bought all the solo records but traded in Americana. I just couldn’t get into it.
I've binge watched maybe 5 or 6 of your videos over the last 24 hours. You've got great taste! The Kinks are one of my faves and unfortunately I never got the chance to see them. I did get to see Dave Davies maybe 6 years ago and was standing 20 feet from him when he played "You Really Got Me" flashing back to the 1st time I heard that riff when Eddie played it on the 1st Van Halen album, thus leading me to The Kinks, who I only knew from "Come Dancin'". Keep up the great videos!
Just saw your rankings. To each his own. Good to see you are someone who really knows his Kinks stuff and can truly give helpful info. I guess you live in SoCal somewhere as I do.
What??? I was ALSO at the Low Budget concert at the Universal Amphitheatre prior to the roof being added. Had seen the Kinks a few times prior to that show and the band was the tightest I had ever seen them to that point. THEY ROCKED! Ray was in great form and had the entire audience engaged. I remember everybody singing along to "Sunny Afternoon".
I saw them a few times before as well, but was blown away by the energy from the get go at that concert on that particular tour. That show will always be a personal top 5 of all time.
Yea! Finally someone mentions Percy. A little long lost gem. Personally the Preservation LP's and Soap Opera would not make my Top Ten, but that's OK. The problem with these album rankings is great songs that were only on singles get lost in the shuffle. For example, Deadend Street, Big Black Smoke, Mr. Pleasant, King Kong, Days, Berkeley Mews and their one and only countrified song (before Muswell Hillbillies) Act Nice And Gentle, only to name a few. God Save The Kinks.
You did a great job ranking those albums. Of course, nobody is going to agree with everything you said, but I was surprised that you and I have similar inclinations as to which albums are the best. Like you, I was less fanatical about the Arista period, although there's some great stuff they did then. I also have actually never bought the first few albums, although I've heard pretty much all the tracks. My 1 and 2 would include Village Green Preservation Society, up there with Arthur. I also LOVE the rock opera period. Did I miss you giving a rating for Schoolboys in Disgrace? That one would definitely go in my top 10. Oh, we were also at several of the concerts you saw in the 70's. Anyway, great job!
I put “Schoolboys” at number 4. My favorite live show was the ‘79 show promoting Low Budget. The energy was off the charts and we were sitting in the last row against the wall at the Universal Amphitheater when there was no roof and completely outdoors. Thanks for watching. 😉
Great video. My top three would be Arthur, Village Green Preservation Society and at number one, Something Else. All three records pretty much document the decline of Britain in the 60s. For me, they are the best band to come out of the UK in the 60s. The only band to truly get into what was going on at the time.
I would rate Face to Face and Something Else higher but agree with all your song choices, except I like Party Line too. First saw the Kinks in ‘68: real small club and I still have the B&W photo I took. Saw them 5 more time in the 70s. Totally agree with #2 and #1.
Wow do I disagree. I saw the Kinks 7 or 8 times including their first show back in the US in'69 at the Tea Party in Boston (Lee Michaels and Frosty opened). Kinda pathetic actually as Ray could not remember half the ords, but the audience did and acted as his prompter. Except for "Muswell Hillbillies," I'd rate the RCA recordings all at one star. Not that that stopped me from seeing Ray three times with the Mike Cotton Sound. I was a glutton for punishment. I also saw the Kinks three times in the Arista years - one at UMass was recorded for the live album, "One for the Road" - which, along with "Kelvin Hall," you passed on ranking. I can see skipping "Kink Kronikles" as it was a compilation, but it did have a lot of unreleased (in the US), but you should have ranked "The Great Lost Kinks Album" which was an attempt to recreate the unreleased "Four More Respected Gentleman." But you'll listen your way, and I'll listen mine.
