A Kinks Chronological Odyssey

[colb]

Since I joined this forum a couple of months ago I have been delving into The Kinks discography in no particular order, helped by recommendations from people on here - thanks Martin

I have now decided to explore The kinks albums in chronological order.  I am going to listen  to one a month, giving me time to listen for a while, get to know it, then take a rest and come back to it with fresh ears.

I will be starting on the 1st Feb with, surprise surprise, their first album

I will be posting my initial thoughts on first hearing the album and them posting  as often as I have something to add.

Or course it would be nice if other people added their likes and dislikes and opinions  about the album I am listeining to.

By my calculations they have  released 24 official albums not including compilations, so this should take 2 years give or take.

I hope this is something that will interest people on here ?

If this has already been done somewhere else on this forum please let me know ?

I have ordered the deluxe version of their first album.  Although I will mainly be listening to and commenting on the original songs I will also

give my thoughts on the extras, remixed versions and mono versus stereo where I think there is something interesting to add.

I will post as soon as I have heard the first album, hopefully on the 1st.

Although everyone who posts on here knows way more than me about The Kinks music I hope it will be worth reading.

[martin53]

My pleasure, Colb.

It's an excellent idea of yours to delve into the Kinks music chronologically and to come up with the respective evaluations step by step. We are really looking forward to reading your thoughts about the first Kinks album!

Good that you were able to get the deluxe version. It contains a lot of goodies.

[colb]

Oh well, here we go. Here is my first post about the first Kinks album.
It was a bit of a culture shock going from listening to Arthur to the first album.
First of all this is and sounds like a band finding it's way, like most albums before the Beatles and The Stones it is a few killer songs and a lot of filler.
Of course I love You Really got me and Stop Your Sobbing, I also like Beautiful Delilah and So Mystifying, but Just Can't go To Sleep, Bald Headed Woman etc are to me just bad songs but again this is after a couple of listens.
I have only listened to the stereo mix so I will try the mono mix next, I always seem to like the mono mixes of 60's albums because that is the way they were originally meant to be heard.
At the moment there are maybe half a dozen songs I really like, half a dozen that are obviously filler and the rest I am undecided about, I will be interested to the extra tracks on side 2.
I will give it a few listens and then come back when i get to know the album a bit better.

[martin53]

Looking forward to it, Colb!

[colb]

I have listened a lot over the last few days and must admit I am struggling. Of course I enjoy You Really Got Me, Stop Your Sobbing, I also like the first 2 songs on the album, Beautiful Delilah and So Mystifying but beyond that nothing sticks in my head.
Having said that, as I write this I am listening to Just Can't Go To Sleep and if you do not listen to the words it is quite a catchy song, so i am going to try putting the album on in the background and see how that works ?
Only listened to the extras on the 2nd side one but these sound interesting so gonna give them a bask and I love the little interviews.
I will post back in a couple of days and thinking about it this is their first album done in a rush and on a very tight budget in 1964 so maybe I came to it with too big expectations.
I have the album on shuffle while i write this and Revenge is playing and I am getting to like it a bit more.
I dont think a million listens would get me to like Bald Headed Women or I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain.
More in a few days.

[martin53]

Thanks for the interesting assessment, Colb!

The Kinks Debut Album was recorded in 1964 under a huge pressure and in a very short amount of time. It’s a great Beat/Pop record reflecting the positive spirit of The British Invasion. For most of the album the sound isn’t terribly distinctive. Of course like most young pop and rock groups back then record companies weren’t looking for anything unique; they just wanted something the kids would spend their money on usually surrounding a couple of hit singles with a number of fillers. Nevertheless the album has a lot more to offer than that even though only one of the songs was actually a hit („You Really Got Me“!); a song which many writers have credited as the birth of heavy metal and/or punk. The whole album provides plenty of room for joy, pleasure and entertainment. It’s fabulous to see how the Davies’ gems shine.

Favourite tracks – „You Really Got Me“? No, not really! I still have issues with that song as I always appreciated „All Day And All Of The Night“, „Till The End Of The Day“ and „I Need You“ much more. Great songs are the haunting rocker „So Mystifying“, an outstanding early Ray Davies tune standing the test of time (still mystifying me!); the super catchy „Just Can’t Go To Sleep“ with a creative drumming from Mick Avory and strong backing vocals plus „Stob Your Sobbing“ a typical Merseybeatish influenced pop song of the 60’s, a beautiful, quiet and romantic song later to be covered by The Pretenders in 1979.

Love „Cadillac“ from all the rhythm and blues covers best! A swinging version of the Bo Diddley song from a few years earlier. It’s a blast of fun especially those “C-A-D-I-L-L-A-C” backing vocals.

My favourite pick of the whole album is „I Took My Baby Home“. It was the first Kinks tune that I had ever heard in July 1964 while being on my summer holidays in a children’s camp. I didn’t know that it were The Kinks then, but I immediately took to the carefree song which introduced me to The Kinks Music. Still listening to it today!

And it was in July 1964 when Ray started dating a 17-years-old Lithuanian teenage girl called Rasa Didzpetris. They married in December 1964 and divorced in 1973.

[colb]

Sorry I am slow replying, am looking after a friends newsagents for 2 weeks while he is on holiday and the 6.30am starts are a shock to the system.
Really interesting to read your thoughts on their first album Martin, of course you have had a lot longer listening to it than I have.
I am finding, like the albums that I grow to love that The Kinks albums take a lot of listening to to make sense,they are like a jigsaw puzzle, the more you work at it the clearer the picture becomes.
At the moment my fav song is So Mystifying and I do really like Cadillac now though I am sure this will change.
I agree that "All Day And All Of The Night" and "Till The End Of The Day" are to me superior to "You Really Got Me."
Gonna give it a weeks rest now and give it a listen with fresh ears.
As a child of the 60's I do agree that compared to most of the albums from that era I have listened to, which is a lot, The kinks first album must come very high in any list of best debut albums of the 60's.

[colb]

Just listen to the album with fresh ears and music is a lot more enjoyable when you stop analyzing it and just listen to it.
Even the songs I did not like are growing on me.
Gonna but the 2nd album in the next week so I will have it ready for the 1st March, can't wait
Will keep listeing to the first album and give my very amateurish final verdict on the album not at the end of the day but at the end of the month

[martin53]

Cool!

[colb]

It's strange, I keep on putting the putting the album on, I intended to leave it alone for a while but I keep on playing it.
I know I am repeating myself but I find Kinks albums, from the few i have heard, to sound very ordinary on first listen but slowly the songs seem to burrow into my mind
Got the 2nd album today so will give that a first listen on Sonday.
Think i will now put some music on, i wonder what I will choose

[martin53]

Kinks Magic!

[colb]

Sorry I am slow posting on here this month, the days are just flying by, getting the house decorated and everything is in chaos
Before I get onto the second album Kinda Kinks i had better give the first album a rating out of 10, guess it is the best way to judge which ones I like the best or think are the best, not very well put but I am sure you know what I mean.
As I have posted before it is a superb debut album by a band obviously finding its feet and loving being in a proper studio for the first time.
I was going to award it 8/10 but that doesnt not leave much wiggle room for other ambums so i am going to award it 7/10, knocking a point off for the abysmal(in my opinion) Bald Headed Woman.
So all in all a great start to my Kinks Odyssey.
I have played Kinda Kinks a good few times and again it is taking its time getting to know the songs, although immediately I see the production is smoother and the band are more confortable in the studio and it is an album very much influenced by The Beatles, not in a bad way.
At the moment my fav songs are So long, Something better Beginning and Don't Ever Change, but i am sure this will change with more listens.
Gonna give the second disc a spin after writing this and looking at the track list, Everybody's Gonna Be happy, Set Me Free, A Well Respected Man etc, wow I am looking forward to this
On a completely different topic, I was very happy to get my tickets to see Steve Hackett in Liverpool in November, he is gonna be playing the whole of Seconds Out, that will be amazing but please please Steve next year do Foxtrot and I will die a happy man

[martin53]

The Kinks „Kinda Kinks“ is a consistent and promising album better than the predecessor. Many excellent songs here (though my two least favourites are „Naggin‘ Woman“ and „Come On Now“). The song material lacks the roughness of The Kinks‘ Debut Album. But that’s fine as Ray Davies‘ songwriting capability has improved significantly and the songs have matured along the way thus have become more refined.

My personal favourite tracks are „Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl", „Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight“, „Don‘t Ever Change“, „So Long“ (influenced possibly by Simon & Garfunkel's debut album released the previous year?), „You Shouldn’t Be Sad“ and „Something Better Beginning“.

Nuggets!

[colb]

Think I mainly agree with your fav songs and I think "Nagging Women" is embarrassing.
The production is smoother than the first album and as you say the songwriting has improved, "So Long" and "Something Better Beginning" are a lot more mature than anything on the first album and give a hint of the classics to follow
I am getting stuck into the second CD at the moment, of course I like all the well knows tracks but will post again when I have got to know all the new tracks.

[colb]

Still playing the second album and really enjoying it but I do miss end energy and sheer joy of their first album.
The second has better production and in the main better songs and is a more consistant album and I like the extra tracks on the second album more than the ones on the first album.
A very very hard choice if I had to pick my fav up to now. I had decided to give each album a score out of 10 at the end of each month but I forgot last month
I think I can score both the first 2 now. i am going to adjust my scores as I get to know more of their albums.
I think I have got to be a bit mean with my scores to start with as I need leeway as my journey goes on.
God this is hard. I am going to give The first album 6/10 and the second album 7/10. Of course they are both superb albums but I know I have the likes of Arthur and Village to come and the score can only go up to 10