The Essential 10: The Kinks
- jamesgeraghty
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
This edition of The Essential 10, our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Kinks; an act that managed a staggering 26 studio albums over a career that spanned 1963 to 1996.
I have trawled their catalogue to come up with ten of my favourite tracks by them, including a few surprises (although, if you don’t know much about them, they may all be surprises).
The Kinks came into my life very early on, as there were several of their singles amongst my mum's impressive collection of early 1960s 45's. While the focus of British songwriting genius in the 60s has largely focused on Lennon & McCartney, Ray Davies is right up there with them, amongst the greatest of all time. His ability to craft great tunes and write these wonderful little social vignettes, are almost unparalleled, and you can hear his inspiration down through the ages - from Bowie, Costello and Difford & Tilbrook (Squeeze), to Weller and the Jam, and Damon Albarn and Blur.
1. You Really Got Me: let's start with a banger. Arguably where heavy metal began, with Dave Davies managing to elevate standard blues riffs with some high energy power chords and some filthy distortion he got by slicing up his speaker cone. (nice live performance on The Beat Room in 1964)
2. Tired Of Waiting: even though this was a slightly slower paced song, from second album Kinda Kinks, there was luckily still room for some of those heavy guitar sounds to drive it along. It also became their second UK number one - such a great tune. (official music video)
3. Till The End Of The Day: the bangers kept coming; Tired of Waiting and Kinda Kinks started 1965, and this song and third album, Kinks Kontroversy ended the year. Another great sequence of chugging power chords and vocal harmonies. (yet another blistering live version, this time from 1993 - they could still rock it)
4. I Am Free: a rare little Dave Davies outing for this one, again from Kinks Kontroversy; a delightful, slow waltz feel, with much of the heaviness gone, and some nice little chorus harmonies between the brothers. (audio only)
5. David Watts: I probably first knew this one, without realising its heritage, from the blistering version by The Jam (Top 30 in 1978). The original is not as in your face, but is a great song, with plenty of pace and of course, a great little story. Which is actually a real one - David Watts was someone they knew from the scene, and it could be interpreted that this was either Ray Davies showing some envy for this multi-talented guy, or perhaps even a bit of a man crush. (audio only)
6. The Village Green Preservation Society: quite a mouthful for this song and album from 1968. Ray Davies had hit his full quintessential British songwriter mod'e for this, considered by some to be among their best work. It fused their rock-pop sound with a little of the old time music hall genre that Davies loved, making for a strange and quirky mix of nostalgia and irony. (great live version, presumably from the early 70s, with some very loud brass)
7. Victoria: perhaps you are an indie kid who loved Mark E. Smith's deadpan interpretation of this song with The Fall's 1988 version. But the 1969 original is another great example of Ray Davies telling a story - fusing together the 'great' days of colonialism, with the grim and desperate reality for the majority of the population. A glorious tune. (high octane live version from the 80s)
8. Drivin': like Victoria, this was another one from the 1969 concept album Arthur (Ot The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire). It sees the albums protagonist, Arthur Morgan, persuading his wife to forget the troubles abounding in the world and go out for a nice drive instead. There is a delightful discordance to this one. (audio only)
9. Apeman: like many of his songs in the late 60s, this was another Ray Davies song about nostalgia, but this time he was longing to get away from the present day and all its troubles - with the aim is to go back to before human existence. They even went a little calypso for this one. (official music video)
10. Waterloo Sunset: not just their best song, but one of the best songs of the whole decade, and perhaps of all time. The story of Terry and Julie is beautiful, it's timeless, and the words paint such a picture that you could probably imagine it in any city you choose - that is just how good his songwriting is. Noted critic Robert Christgau (Village Voice) called it simply, "the most beautiful song in the English language." It's so good, I'm putting a second version below. (link above - audio only)
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