In praise of The Kinks

[Andy in Sig]

I've always sort of liked The Kinks, or at least those of their hits which I could hum but never bought any of their records until I picked up a 2 CD best of a couple of years ago and I have to admit that I've only occasionally played that. However, it appears that Ray Davies has recently made an album of rerecordings of the more well known songs with contemporary musicians. Fair enough.

That however, has led to some of The Kinks' stuff popping up on the radio. This week I've heard Waterloo Sunset, Lola and then this morning while driving to Ulm up popped Dedicated Follower Of Fashion and it was then that the penny dropped about just how marvellous these songs are. Very English, very whimsical, very hummable and very, very clever, perhaps even a sort of post-Noel Coward English pop.

So I'm going to dig out my CD again this afternoon. I don't know if anybody else will agree with these observations but I thought I would offer them up anyway.

 

[Haitch]

The best of both worlds: play loud, play often!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I saw them at Glastonbury in the early-ish 90s, they were really good. Bought a later album of theirs 'Low Budget', on the strength of a Fab Foodie recommendation, which is excellent. I like 'em, good rock and roll band.

 

[ThePainInSpain]

I saw them at an NME awards gig in the 60's and then in the early 70's did a gig with them in Northampton.

They had always been a fav band of mine, being an original mod and all that. But when I actually met Ray Davies, what a twat.

The music is still great, though, despite that.

 

[accountantpete]

Can't beat a bit of the Kinks

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TraFxjPyDns&feature=related[/media]

 

[raindog]

I always liked the two primitive ones - You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night - the same song really anyway. Dave Davis's solos on them sound like someone playing guitar who doesn't know how to play a guitar, yet they're perfect - can't imagine those songs being done any other way.

Turn up the sound

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMWNwHof0kc&feature=related


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk3Ei_yoI4c

 

[Fnaar]

I always liked the two primitive ones - You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night - the same song really anyway. Dave Davis's solos on them sound like someone playing guitar who doesn't know how to play a guitar, yet they're perfect - can't imagine those songs being done any other way.

Turn up the sound
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=dk3Ei_yoI4c

These are my two faves too... don't like 'dedicated follower...' though. Somewhere I have a glorious 10-inch album of great Kinks stuff... incl waterloo Sunset, which is one of my all-time fave songs.

 

[Hacienda71]

The Kinks are great as are a lot of the enduring acts from their generation, The Who, The Small Faces, The Animals, The Stones the list goes on, I wonder if their will be as many remembered so fondly in 40 years who are starting out now.

 

[ASC1951]

But when I actually met Ray Davies, what a twat.

The music is still great, though, despite that.

He is one of the great lyric writers. Complex ideas with very simple words, which is something very few people can do.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

One of the better beat combo's imo, and with a splendid family feud to boot.

 

[mr_cellophane]

There was a program about Ray and his music the other night. They all tell his life in some way.

I saw him in his show "Come Dancing" at the Stratford Theatre Royal a couple of years ago. Great show and a bit biographical about his sister.

 

[Smokin Joe]

He is one of the great lyric writers. Complex ideas with very simple words, which is something very few people can do.

+1.

You just don't get songs like Lola, Dedicated follower of Fashion or Come Dancing anymore.

 

[Renard]

I love the kinks. There was a good documentary on before Christmas where Ray Davies was interviewed by Alan Yentob about the songs he wrote...

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...1-oz-and-hugh-raise-the-bar-bbc2-2166330.html

 

[slowmotion]

Waterloo Sunset is a work of genius, and so wonderfully, gently English.

[Admin. Move to Pseuds' Corner]

 

[Intelligenthamster]

I bought a double Kinks CD as I liked a few of the better-known songs- Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me etc. I was really impressed with the songwriting and some very catchy tunes. Mentions in despatches for Lola- knew the song but hadn't really listened to the words before, made me chuckle- and I Wish I Could Fly Like Superman. This was written in 1979, to do with that downturn, but it's quite apt today.