This weekend staying in 60’s England’s great rock n’ roll bands I’ve not yet covered in my little TTT posts. This Sunday comes maybe the greatest or could be just the biggest underdogs of British invasion bands of that time, somehow kind-of missing the boat so to speak back then? I did read about them a long time ago which can’t remember all the details but was like just one fuck-up after another one on why they’re didn’t make as a bigger impact as some of the other bigger bands? Those bands who’ve I’ve already covered in these blog post sets but I guess, here’s The Kinks today so it’s better late than never! Anyway here’s a bio link here, if you need more info?
All songs below are by Ray Davis, I think? I should double check that before posting but I’m pretty sure, if not maybe someone can point it out for me, please! Minus the Louie Louie cover off course, who I’ve given songwriting credited too or if you want to known the name of the bloke behind that classic?
Here’s my ten picks of faves by The Kinks in order of release…
You Really Got Me – Self-titled album [1964]
Stop Your Sobbing – Self-titled album [1964]
All Day and All of the Night – Kinks-size [1964]
Louie Louie (Richard Berry) – Kink-size Session EP [1964]
Nothin’ in the World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl – Kinda Kinks [1965]
Tell Me Now So I’ll Know – Demo version now on reissue of Kinda Kinks [1965]
Last of the Steam-Powered Trains – The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society [1968]
Victoria – Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) [1969]
Lola – Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-go-round [1970]
Alcohol – Muswell Hillbillies [1971]
So that’s only seven years from 1964 to 1971 but the band made into the 80’s/90’s before break-up finally sometime? Also I’ve not included maybe one of the most well-known songs too but it’s only ten and can’t fit everything in and it’s my picks but please do tell me yours? It’s the debut self-titled album that I’ve got two cuts from and I guess, I would pick as a fave album too! Score line is eight 60’s and two 70’s tracks with four from 1964 and two from 1965 making up that eight. Even one demo song that was never recorded for any album at that time but I don’t know how? The amazingly Tell Me Now So I’ll Know song could be my fave of all of the tracks above, if I had to pick just only one by The Kinks! Fun fact today they wrote You Really Got Me while try to figure out how to play the Louie Louie cover, who does that? I guess, The Kinks do!
Changing music styles yet again next Sunday!
Please do now, tell me your fave/s by them too?
Cheers 🙂
a1000mistakes 
No love for Waterloo Sunset? Not only my favorite Kinks song- but in my All-Time Top 10 by anyone… all on your list- are excellent too!
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Yeah, i do know i missed it but kind-of say that in my intro or outro? Off course, it’s a great song but it’s my own little take on them!
One thing i seem to have learn from all the time I’ve spend blogging, it seems i don’t like the big hits much well, sometime but i like/love a lot of non-singles or albums tracks or lesser known songs somehow!?!
Cheers mate 🙂
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Village Green Preservation Society, Ape Man, Wonderboy they have so many fantastic tracks to pick from. Your ten is great. Oh and yeah, Waterloo Sunset is a towering song of absolute beauty
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Yeah, yeah they do! don’t they?
Cheers Steve 🙂
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Nice post, William 🙂 Of course, it is very difficult to narrow down their catalogue to just 10 songs [I actually divide them up over each decade, since there are so many great songs to choose from – right up to the end, for this lifelong fan].
They have such a vast output, that you could even break up the lists into “Rockers”, “Ballads” & “Other” [or Socio-Political, even]…. For example, just taking tracks from “Lola vs Powerman & the Moneygoround”, “Muswell Hillbillies” & “Arthur..”, alone, could generate a great top ten list, covering all of those categories 😉
By the way, you were correct – all of the tracks, aside from “Louie, Louie”, were originals….. but, the main riff for “Last of the Steam Powered Trains”, is taken from the Howlin’ Wolf song, “Smokestack Lightning” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTDjD_UdJYs
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Please feel free add them or tell me all those lists, I would be interested in hearing them! or you could even blog post them all yourself? Sounds like a great idea!
Cheers Michael 🙂
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One of THE great English bands…..interesting how the riff in ‘All Day and All of the Night’ sounds like “Hello, I love you’ by the Doors.
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Oh yeah, kind-of is too!
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Don’t get 10 together, but 2 song diamonds I will never forget:
1. Death of a clown – Dave Davis (Solo)
2. Mr. Pleasent
all good things are three:
3. Rock&Roll Fantasy
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Oh yeah, those are great tracks tooooooooooo!
Cheers mate 🙂
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Okay, William, here’s my attempt at the Top 10 list of “Rockers” from just the lps “Arthur..” through “Lola vs. Powerman…” [with a bit of cheating, since I’m also including tunes from the soundtrack to “Percy”, which has tracks recorded around the same time period] … This is what I consider their “middle period” of recordings, between leaving PYE Records, and heading over to RCA:
1. “Victoria” [from “Arthur, or the Decline & Fall of the British Empire”]
2. “Powerman” [from “Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround”]
3. “Brainwashed” [from “Arthur..”]
4. “Rats” [from “Lola vs. Powerman..”]
5. “Dreams” [from “Percy” soundtrack]
6. “Top of the Pops” [from “Lola vs. Powerman..”]
7. “20th Century Man” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
8. “Arthur” [from “Arthur..”]
and “bookends” from “Lola vs. Powerman..”:
9. “The Contenders”
10. “Got To Be Free”
Bonus lead-off track to the transition lp on RCA [before the ‘concept albums’ really begin their run]:
11. “Here Comes Yet Another Day” [from “Everybody’s in Showbiz”]
Now, for the “Ballads / Other”:
1. “Complicated Life” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
2. “Strangers” [from “Lola vs. Powerman..”]
3. “Oklahoma U.S.A.” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
4. “Young and Innocent Days” [from “Arthur..”]
5. “Long Way From Home” [from “Lola vs. Powerman..”]
6. “The Way Love Used to Be” [from “Percy” soundtrack]
7. “Uncle Son” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
8. “This Time Tomorrow” [from “Lola vs. Powerman..”]
9. “Holloway Jail” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
10. “Moments” [from “Percy” soundtrack]
BONUS Track:
11. “Alcohol” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
…. and, finally, the “Social Commentary / Criticism” from the pens of the Davies brothers, where I’ve taken the liberty of expanding the range of releases to choose from, so as to fill out the Top Ten, appropriately:
1. “Shangri-La” [from “Arthur..”]
2. “Get Back in the Line” [from “Lola vs. Powerman..”]
3. “Here Come the People in Grey” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
4. “Some Mother’s Son” [from “Arthur..”]
5. “Demolition” [from “Preservation Act I”]
6. “Dead End Street” [single/EP release]
7. “Muswell Hillbilly” [from “Muswell Hillbillies”]
8. “Yes Sir, No Sir” [from “Arthur..”]
9. “Slum Kids” [non-lp recording, finally released as a live track]
10. “Money Talks” [from “Preservation Act II”]
So many more tracks could be rotated in & out of that Top Ten, especially as the 70s and 80s saw The Kinks continue to release albums, such as:
11. “Father Christmas” [single]
12. “When a Solution Comes” [from “Preservation Act II”]
13. “God’s Children” [from “Percy” soundtrack]
14. “Living On a Thin Line” [Dave Davies, from “Word of Mouth”]
15. “Sold Me Out” [from “Word of Mouth”]
Okay, those lists are “subject to change”, ha ha, depending on how far back, or forward, into the catalog of their releases you’d limit yourself to.
Gotta run 😉
Best, Michael
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Wow-wee! This is going to keep me entertained for hours, starting on the rockers just right now, i am going listen to all of them in the order listed above and thank you very much for putting it together or listing them all! They’re a great band but i can tell they mean so much more to you than me! thanks yet again!
Cheers Michael 🙂
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My pleasure, William! I hope you enjoy what you hear – chances are, there will be a few that do not register with you, as they do with me 😉
But, if they give a reason to smile, even for a while, it is worthwhile! Best, William
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Well, it’s always cool listening in a diff order, mostly i put on the whole albums or fave track/s or both so the theme lists were wicked great listing yesterday! One more time, thanks mate 🙂
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OK here’s my ten…in no particular order
Lola
All and all of the night
Till the end of the day
So mystifying
Top of the Pops
Rats
Powerman
You really got me
Rock and Roll Fantasy
Tired of waiting for you
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Wicked cool!
Cheers Julian again 🙂
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Just came across this version…funky
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Sorry i missed this, it’s very cool!
Cheers 🙂
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