I constantly played the Kinks in high school and loved the band. For whatever reason, I haven't revisited them in a while. I'm wondering aloud why is that? Where would you place the band compared to their '60s and '70s peers (e.g., The Who, The Stones, etc). Are they underrated? What albums did you like?
Last edited by mozo-pg; 02-07-2013 at 10:20 PM.
I think that Ray Davies is a much better songwriter than Jagger-Richards. He has a wit and wryness about his world view that's akin to Lennon's.
In the late 60s, the Kinks were every bit as popular as the bands you mention, and unlike most, I rate the "big 4" of the 1st British Invasion 1. The Who 2. The Kinks 3. The Beatles and a distant 4. The Stones.
REVISIT THEM! THIS IS YOUR CONSCIENCE SPEAKING!
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
(Way) above the Stones, (slightly) below the Who
best
Michael
If it ain't acousmatique-It's crap
I find the Kinks a bit too quirky for me, good run of albums 69-72. Early-mid 60s order world be Stones, Kinks, Who, but by 70s order would be Who, Stones, Kinks.
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Beatles
Stones
The Who
The Kinks
Yardbirds
Animals
Hollies
Manfred Mann
Searchers
Troggs
Originally Posted by progeezer
REVISIT THEM! THIS IS YOUR CONSCIENCE SPEAKING!I will obey.
64-66
Beatles
Kinks
Yardbirds
Stones
67-71
Beatles
Stones
Pretty Things
Kinks
Who
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
The Kinks are one of favourite bands and I would rank them on par with The Who and slightly ahead of The Stones. Unlike alot of people here my favourites are Schoolboys in Disgrace, Misfits, Sleepwalkers and State of Confusion but I dig their late '60s and early '70s output as well.
Regards,
Jon
Same here. I have to rank The Beatles #1, though The Who kicked more ass. Then The Kinks right under them. Then The Zombies. (That's right!) The Stones aren't even on my list.
When you guys are making these lists, are you ranking them in terms of how much you like those artists, or are you ranking them in terms of remembered/perceived popularity/importance at the time? I could be wrong, but I interpreted some lists as one, and some the other.
The Beatles , The Who & then The Kinks !
Like them a lot, but the reason I don't own more of their albums is the sheer number of records they put out. So, I settled for a few key albums and some compilations, much like The Rolling Stones.
Depends on how I feel. Despite all coming out of the same basic scene and sort of evolving through it in a parallel type fashion, these four bands (Who, Kinks, Stones, Beatles) don't do the same thing for me. Moving through the '70s, I wouldn't even put them together anymore. The comparisons become increasingly strained and worthless.
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
How much I like them.
I didn't want the thread to be a pure list - the kinds of explanations you're giving on how you view this music, along with a comparison, makes sense. For example, their wry wit and satire and humour a qualities that drew me to the band. I also like their raunchy style of rock at time all within great melodies.
Top of the pile.
Never liked The Rolling Stones or The Who other than a couple of 60s hits, in fact I'd go as far as to say I find them both boring. As for The Beatles, I've never been what I would define as a fan as I only started listening to them actively in the 80s and I only like 4 albums: Rubber Soul, Revolver, Abbey Road, Let it Be. The rest of the later stuff I don't like nor do I like their pre-Rubber Soul stuff.
1. The Kinks
2. The Zombies
3. Small Faces
4. The Equals
5. Gerry and the Pacemakers
Spot on. Davies's songwriting might actually be slightly better than Townshend's, but the band didn't have the dynamics of the classic Who.
Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.
Gah, forgot about Small Faces!! They can jump on my list under The Zombies. Which means we're the same except I do put The Beatles at the top.
It does look like the albums were not 'pushed' at the time. Nowadays their 1966-9 albums in particular are viewed as some of the better ones of the period but most of them didn't even chart in the UK. Interesting to note that they were making much more progress in America by that time, and of course were rewarded much later with those big hit albums on Arista.
Also worth considering this was the era of The Beatles, and every band came off second-best commercially to them (creatively as well, for me personally). Practically every single they released went to Number 1 here, probably the same around the globe.
For my part, as I said, I view The Beatles as the best British band of the era. The Kinks would certainly be in the higher echelons of all the others, along with The Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds and The Hollies for my own taste. The Zombies would be there but that's a much smaller legacy really. You could probably fit all their output released at the time on two discs.
Peerless. Sui Generis.
I agree. I like them better than all the others. Best albums: Village Green, Muswell Hillbillies, Lola, Low Budget.
Always liked the song State Of Confusion. Do It Again is a pretty good one too. Apart from some of their singles and I think Waterloo Sunset is the one sort of mid period song I know, I'm not particular familiar with them.
I place them within two standard deviations of the top British invasion bands.
Hell i like them. Good songwriting and humor.
My regard for the Kinks has steadily risen as I age. Waterloo Sunset, 20th Century Man, Misfits, all of Village Green I find to be peerless songwriting. I never appreciated the insight of Ray's lyrics until I was older (I am now 52). Ray was a bit of a cranky old man by the time he was in his 20s and I think with his crankiness came some insight which showed in his song writing. Great stuff. I was lucky enough to see the Kinks in the early 80s in Toronto and Ray about a year ago also in Toronto where he sang Misfits with Ron Sexsmith. A moment of beauty.
For those who are interested all the Pye albums were released in expanded versions in the last few years and I bought them all. The 3 disc Village Green I really recommend. Today the Kinks for me are second only to the Beatles and I do love the Stones (up until It's Only Rock'n'Roll) and the Who (until Quadrophenia). I also bought the recent Kinks at the BBC and am working my way through it.
I have a friend that says they were as good as the Beatles. I'm not sure I totally agree, as the Beatles morphed into other genres like psych, and progressed a bit more, imo. But still, the Kinks were pretty good.
Here's a YT Ray Davies doc: http://youtu.be/yVYqVS_X6js
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