Help me make a Kinks compilation

[matt]

This isn't for a commercial compilation (unless someone wants to make it one) but I just had this idea to make 4 CDs of 20 or 25 songs each representative of the greatest hits and best of four distinct eras of the Kinks. I thought I'd turn to a Kinks forum to help me out.

Give me some suggestions for the greatest hits and best songs from these eras:
*Beginning to The Kinks Kontroversy (1964-1966)
*Face to Face to The Village Green Preservation Society (1966-1968)
*Arthur to Everybody's in Show-Biz (1969-1972)
*Preservation to today

[uncleson]

Hello Matt, nice to meet you. Thats pretty difficult because all The Kinks material is great, including the solo work of both Ray and Dave.

[matt]

Nice to meet you too.

Yeah, they do have too much good stuff to easily narrow it down. That's why I was having trouble picking.

[Kinkcan]

Matt, you could always submit the songs you think should figure on these compilation CD's. Then we could suggest songs that we think should be added or removed from your list.

[matt]

Well I'll start with the first one I guess, 1964-1965.

Definitely on there:
You Really Got Me
All Day and All of the Night
Tired of Waiting for You
Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy
Set Me Free
See My Friends
Who'll Be The Next In Line
Till The End Of The Day
A Well Respected Man
Where Have All The Good Times Gone
Stop Your Sobbing

What else?

[uncleson]

Something Better Begining, So Long, and Come On Now

[HollyH]

In my humble opinion, Matt, you've divided up the eras very oddly. Only one CD for everything from Preservation onwards? That's not NEARLY enough room for all the great stuff of the later 70s, 80s and 90s.

Personally I'd divide with everything up through Face to Face -- then VGPS through Muswell Hillbillies -- then the "theatrical" era (Everybody's in Show Biz, the 2 Preservations, Soap Opera, and Schoolboys) -- and finally Misfits and beyond. That way the contents of each CD would reflect the different phases of their career. Just my 2 cents.

[Kinkcan]

I would add Dedicated Follower Of Fashion to your list.

And I agree with Holly: only 1 Cd for the 70s through the 90s is not enough.

[complicatedlife]

You can save burning a CD for the Face To Face - Arthur LPs by buying the outstanding compilation album, The Kinks Kronikles:

Side 1
1."Victoria"
2."The Village Green Preservation Society"
3."Berkeley Mews"
4."Holiday In Waikiki"
5."Willesden Green"
6."This Is Where I Belong"
7."Waterloo Sunset"

Side 2
1."David Watts"
2."Dead End Street"
3."Shangri-La"
4."Autumn Almanac"
5."Sunny Afternoon"
6."Get Back In Line"
7."Did You See His Name"

Side 3
1."Fancy" –
2."Wonderboy"
3."Apeman"
4."King Kong"
5."Mr. Pleasant"
6."God's Children"
7."Death of a Clown"

Side 4
1."Lola"
2."Mindless Child Of Motherhood"
3."Polly"
4."Big Black Smoke"
5."Susannah's Still Alive"
6."She's Got Everything"
7."Days"

[matt]

Jul 18, 2010 23:02:53 GMT -5 HollyH said:

In my humble opinion, Matt, you've divided up the eras very oddly. Only one CD for everything from Preservation onwards? That's not NEARLY enough room for all the great stuff of the later 70s, 80s and 90s.

Personally I'd divide with everything up through Face to Face -- then VGPS through Muswell Hillbillies -- then the "theatrical" era (Everybody's in Show Biz, the 2 Preservations, Soap Opera, and Schoolboys) -- and finally Misfits and beyond. That way the contents of each CD would reflect the different phases of their career. Just my 2 cents.

This was my reasoning behind the eras:
*The first one would contain the Kinks early stuff, most of their rock n' roll hits. I'll expand this from 1964 to some of 1966, because some of their music from around the time of Face to Face (i.e. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else") fits better in this era.
*The second one would be my personal favorite span of the Kinks' career, from 1966-1968. This was the time when they were banned from touring in America, when Ray had a shift in his songwriting style with his music becoming even more distinctly British. I would expand this to include "A Well Respected Man" (single released in '66) and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", because they fit this style more than the earlier songs.
*The third would cover the last few years of the Kinks' peak in popularity, after the end of the original lineup.
*I had planned for the fourth to be everything else, from the theatrical era on, but like you pointed out, they put out a ton of material during that time (1973-1993). I guess I could split this one and create a fifth, the first being from Show-Biz to Schoolboys and the next one being Schoolboys on. These periods are the ones I am least familiar with.

[HollyH]

Interesting. You may discover a lot of great music when you really start to listen to those later albums. In fact, those were the years of their greatest mass popularity, when they were filling arenas. (I know, go figure.)

[Iñakink]

So what do we have so far?

[HollyH]

Here's my choice for the first CD:

Got Love If You Want It
I Gotta Move
I've Got That Feeling
Stop your Sobbing
Nothing in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' Bout That Girl
Tired of Waiting
Something Better Beginning
Everybody's Gonna Be Happy
Who'll Be the Next in Line
Set Me Free
See My Friends
Well-Respected Man
When I See That Girl of Mine
I'm On An Island
Where Have All the Good Times Gone
It's Too Late

This misses a few of the obvious hits -- but don't you already know those by now? I love it when the compilation is nothing like a "greatest hits" CD.

[bamajohn1]

Hi Matt! I've made many multi cassette and cd collections for myself and others over the years. I sometimes will skew it toward the more hard rock stuff for some prospective listeners and more toward the lighter Britpop stuff for others.

Here is my personal 5 CD boxset that I made for myself especially for road trips. I go a little lighter on the early hard rock stuff than I used to as I have come to realize the Britpop stuff from the late 60s era is so loaded in great songs that a 60s compilation should be weighted toward it.

Essential KINKS Vol. 1

PROTO-Metal/Punk/Hard Rock 1964-1970

1. You Really Got Me 8-64
2. All Day And All of the Night 10-64 3. I Need You 1-65
4. Where Have All The Good Times Gone 10-65
5. Till The End of The Day 10-65 6. Sitting On My Sofa 2-66
7. I'm Not Like Everybody Else 6-66
8. Who'll Be the Next In Line 12-64
9. So Mystifying 8-64 10. I Gotta Move 8-64
11. Come On Noew 11-64 12. Revenge 8-64
13. She's Got Everything 68'
14. Love Me Till The Sun Shines Live BBC 7-68
15. Victoria 1969 16. Mindless Child of Motherhood 1969
17. King Kong 5-69 18. Top of the Pops 1970

Britpop 1964-1970

19. Tired of Waiting For You 2-65
20. A Well Respected Man 2-65 21. Sunny Afternoon 1966
22. Set Me Free 2-65 23. Waterloo Sunset 1967
24. Dedicated Follower of Fashion 10-65
25. Everybody's Gonna Be Haopy 2-65
26. Dandy 1966 27. Apeman 1970
28. LOLA (Coca-Cola version)


Essential KINKS Vol. 2

More Britpop 1964-1970

1. See My Friends 2-65
2. David Watts 1967
3. Death of A Clown 1967
4. Dead End Street 11-66
5. Days 6-68
6. Animal Farm 11-68
7. Picture Book 11-68
8. Stop Your Sobbin' 8-64
9. Nothin' In This World Can Stop Me Worryin'
'Bout That Girl 1965
10. The World Keeps Goin' Round 10-65
11. I'm On An Island 10-65
12. Something Better Beginning 2-65
13. It's Too Late 10-65
14. Ring The Bells 10-65
15. I Go To Sleep 1965
16. Too Much On My Mind 10-66
17. Little Miss Queen of Darkness 10-66
18. Rosie Won't You Please Come Home 10-66
19. Harry Rag Live BBC 1967
20. Plastic Man 1969
21. Last of the Steam Powered Engines 11-68
22. The Village Green Preservation Society 11-68
23. Sitting By The Riverside 11-68
24. Mr. Songbird 1968
25. Autumn Almanac 10-67
26. Susannah's Still Alive 11-67
27. This Is Where I Belong 4-67
28. Big Black Smoke 10-66
29. Mr. Pleasant 4-67

[bamajohn1]

continued

Essential Kinks Vol. 3

Britpop 1969-1976

1. Shangri La 1969
2. Strangers 1970
3. Celluloid Heroes (originally 1972) 1980 Live
4. Muswell Hillbilly (originally 1971) 1995 Live
5. 20th Century Man 1971
6. Skin & Bone 1971
7. Holloway Jail 1971
8. Mountain Woman 1971
9. Willesden Green 1971
10. God's Children 1971
11. You Don't Know My Name 1972
12. Supersonic Rocket Ship 1972
13. Sweet Lady Genevieve 1973
14. Sitting In the Midday Sun
15. Scrapheap City 1973 (w/ Belle and the Floosies)
16. Money Talks BBC 1974
17. You Can't Stop the Music 1975
18. I'm In Disgrace 1975
19. The First Time We Fall In Love
20. Schooldays 1976
21. The Last Assembly 1976


Essential Kinks Vol. 4

Hard Rock 1975 to Present

1. Everybody's In Showbiz 1975
2. The Hard Way 1986
3. Sleepwalker 1977
4. Juke Box Music 1977
5. Father Christmas 1977
6. Live Life 1978
7. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman 1979
8. Low Budget 1979
9. Destroyer 1981
10. Around the Dial 1981
11. A Little Bit of Abuse 1981
12. Labour of Love 1983
13. State of Confusion 1983
14. Do It Again 1984
15. Word of Mouth 1984
16. Sold Me Out 1984
17. Rock N' Roll Cities 1986
18. It's Alright 1993
19. Phobia 1993
20. Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After)- Ray Davies 06'