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The Kinks were part of what history dubbed The English Invasion of the mid- to Late sixties, following in the wake of more commercially successful bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, among others of the era. They had their hits and proved to be an important band in music and British rock history. They experienced a number of lineup changes over the years, although brothers Ray and Dave Davies, the mainstays, lasted their wholw thirty-two year run. The four original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first yeat of eligibility in 1990.The band finally broke up in 1996 because of creative tension between the Davies brothers and commercial failure of some recent albums.
Influencing a lot of bands over the years, I remember when Van Halen first made a splash covering YOU REALLY GOT ME, I had a disagreement with a young fan when I commented on it and he got mad that I would question Eddie and the boys. Oh, the young, forever thinking they discover everything and us old folks(though I was just barely thirty at the time) just don’t get it.
Some of my favorites over the years:
And this final clip. A funny story here. A young friend, whom I’d introduced the Kinks music to, got all excited when he realized the true subject of the song, thinking I’d never got it. If you don’t know, and probably there might be a few checking this out, pay close attention to the lyrics.
Here’s one I had to add. Been so long since I heard it, I’d forgotten until Cullen Gallagher reminded me of it. One of those how could you forget moments? Oh well, I am getting older.
Those were the days – hey?
A CD that may interest you is Ray Davies: See My Friends. Ray duets with Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Mumford & Sons, Lucinda Williams and more including Metallica on You Really Got Me.
It certainly would interest me. Thanks for the tip, Ray.
Even fully realizing the whole story behind Lola I used to sing it as a lullaby to my daughter. I don’t know why the Kinks aren’t held in as high regard here in the US as some of their other British Invasion contemporaries like The Who, The Rolling Stones, & The Beatles as I feel the best of their music holds up just as well as the best of the other British Invasion groups. However, some might argue they never had the same level of consistency in the quality of their music as any of those other bands.
Love The Kinks! Was listening to “Milk Cow Blues” the other day. Killer main riff. I sort of feel like their band name is more famous than a lot of their material, these days. For me, I “knew” about them for years before I started to dig into their discography. Lots of terrific songs!
The Kinks were a favorite for me from the first time I heard “You Really Got Me” on the radio. I bought that and the rest of the early ones on 45, then bought the vinyl greatest hits album. Then the greatest Hits CD. I think the reason they were much more appreciated was their limited output, compared to Beatles and Stones, and even other lesser Brit groups such as Dave Clarke Five, Peter & Gordon, Chad & Jeremy, The Zombies. Only The Who rivaled the big two.
that was supposed to be “the reason they were NOT more appreciated…”
Thanks for the reminder, Cullen. Completely forgot MILK COW BLUES when putting this together. Old age I guess.
I like the Kinks quite a lot, although “you really got me” will always make me think of Van Halen’s version.
The Kinks were one of the great “British Invasion” groups of the Sixties. They’re pretty much forgotten now, but well worth listening to.
Actually, folks, perhaps among very casual music fans, your perceptions are correct…they are not That well-remembered (though their biggest hits are staples of oldies radio…and the original “You Really Got Me” is far less forgotten than the Van Halen cover [except by people in the Van Halen demo at that time]).
Ray and Dave Davies are, if anything, more respected than Townshend and the Who and Jagger/Richard among the more serious musicians, and at least as much as the Beatles, for their compositions, of which there are plenty (they didn’t have as many hit albums as the Who, but produced even more albums, and the ’60s albums and the latter ’70s/early ’80s albums were filled with great songs…the other ’70s albums ran to more rock operatic materials that didn’t lend themselves to singles). And Mick Avory, the drummer, was with the band for the long haul…Peter Quaife, the bassist, did the first decade and then dropped out. The Pretenders’s cover of “Stop Your Sobbing” was only the biggest hit of Many Many covers by bands in the punk and environs schools of rock, and Van Halen was paying homage to the once loudest band in the world (“It wasn’t called ‘heavy metal’ when I invented it”–Dave Davies). When Annie Lennox was asked what her personal favorite song was, for BBC Radio a month or so back, she chose “Waterloo Sunset.” The work stands. Like the Zombies, they were screwed over by not being allowed to tour much in the US in the ’60s (while the Who and the Stones faced no such restrictions…you figure that one out).
Don’t that sun look good goin’ down? VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY might still be my favorite album of theirs, but the Yank versions of KINDA KINKS and KONTROVERSY are almost as stunning, as is ARTHUR…and the renaissance that came with LOW BUDGET and continued at least through GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT can’t be sneezed at.
And, hell, I’ll listen to even SCHOOLBOYS IN DISGRACE ahead of such Stones bores as BLACK AND BLUE or GOAT’S HEAD SOUP or comparable snoozers as FACE DANCES any day of the week.
I’m a big fan of The Kinks since seeing them live in Cortland, New York in the early 1990s. Favorite album is TO THE BONE and the live version of “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” from this cd remains my top Kinks song. It was featured in a memorable moment on THE SOPRANOS.