Entertainment For Lively Minds
Ironing Out The Kinks
Posted by kcgrady on 8 April 2009 - 1:33pm.
My sister, god bless her, has just watched a documentary on the songwriting genius of Ray Davies. I missed it and she did not record it, damn. Anyway, earlier tonight she asked me to put together a single disc of the best of Ray's body of work. Hmmm. I just finished loading over forty CDs on to the computer, pulling out what I thought was the best, and listening to sngs I have not heard in ages and finding some more. The problem is, I have loaded 598 songs and only managed to narrow it down to 176 candidates! I can't choose! Can anyone tell me what should be on the disc, obviously some hits but what overlooked tunes are also musts?
- More from kcgrady.
- Login or register to post comments
-
Kinks Kompressed
Where to start??
Here are some essentials that come to mind which often get missed off the greatest hits collections...
Picture Book
Rainy Day in June
Two Sisters
Shangri-La
She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
Alcohol
Come Dancing
Celluloid Heroes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&v=yp_QkUVZGPc&gl=GB
This
Cheers
Two for Shangri-La, good - that confirms one of my choices. Hadn't thought to include 'Two Sisters', so that blows my candidates list out further! Nor '...Princess Marina' either. I'll have to listen closer to those two. Keep 'em coming. Thanks.
Two Sisters - absolute must
Always been one of my favourite Kinks tracks. Noting that the 'Arthur' album has been mentioned - I'd have said the title track was worthy of inclusion, too.
Could we address (no offence) the utter unreasonableness of your sister? 8-)
Can you not force her into accepting a 2CD compilation, or alternatively make her a single CD with NONE of the famous tracks on - she can surely go out and get a 'normal' Kinks best of for pennies. She isn't making best use of your expertise, you know.
Cowed into submission
As I have repeatedly had reinforced over the years - you don't mess with the big sister! I think that a 2CD of tracks that no-one outside of Davies afficianados has heard is a pretty good idea though. But when I give it to her I know she'll slap me and tear up my latest copy of Beano...
Time difference
Just noticed that I replied to Mr Specs an hour and a half before he sent his reply to me.
And this..
Not always included in Best of..
True
It is a great song and one I originally thought must be in the starting line-up. I actually pulled a couple of candidates from the 'Percy' soundtrack, 'The Way Love Used To Be' was better than I remembered it to be. Thanks for the suggestion, obviously 'great minds', and all that!
A must have
I love the Arthur album.
Humbled
I selected 8 tracks from the 'Arthur' CD, but not this one, only because I thought I was overdoing it! It is a great LP. What a run of amazing albums there was between 1966 to 1972.
Absolutely
Astonishing that most of them sold diddly squat too. Arthur didn't chart in the UK and only made it to #105 in the US.
What if...?
Apparently the latest Word has a 'what if...?' feature theorizing on how popular culture would be different if certain significant moments had played out differently. What if The Kinks had sold truckloads of albums in this era, how would the shape and sound of 'the modern song' be different? What if Ray Davies style and eloquence had been the blueprint for all to follow instead of Dylan, L & McC and the Glimmer Twins?
Personal favourites of mine
Personal favourites of mine (excluding the singles):
Last Of The Steam Powered Trains
You Do Something To Me
kinks tunes
What about two overlooked tracks from the kinks' more obscure early seventies 'concept' albums? I'm thinking about the plaintive Sitting in my Hotel. Also Sweet Lady Genevive is one of Ray Davies' best songs and really should have been a hit single.
A personal favourite
'Sitting In My Hotel' is sitting proudly on volume one already. 'Sweet Lady Genevieve' - a good suggestion, but which 'Preservation' was that on again?
Sweet Lady is on
Sweet Lady is on Preservation Act 1. Don't know if you've heard Davies' solo stuff but there's an amazing track on his other peoples lives CD called The Getaway - up there with celluloid heroes i think.
Overlooked Kinks songs
Really, a single CD compilation isn't sufficient for a band whose catalog rivals the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who. (Confession: I have more than 75 Kinks songs on my Ipod.) That said, here are a few arguably overlooked favorites:
Lazy Old Sun
Big Sky
Oklahoma U.S.A.
The Contenders
Some Mother's Son
God's Children
Get Back in Line
By the way, there's an interesting article in Magnet that focuses on highlights from the Kinks' later albums:
http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2008/06/01/10-great-overlooked-kinks-songs...
Overlooked Gems
Unlike most of the popular bands that started in the 1960's, The Kinks are the only one where you will find some of their best songs on obscure low selling records. Hence, as others have pointed out, the Arthur record is a great place to find more than a few; Victoria, Shangri-la, Some Mothers Son and Arthur would all be on my list. Other lesser known gems would include God's Children (from Percy), Too Much On My Mind (from Face to Face), 20th Century Man (from Muswell Hillbillies), Sitting in my Hotel (from Everybody in Show Biz), Hard Way and No More Looking Back (Schoolboys in Disgrace), Slum Kids (obscure track from Preservation not available on original releases), Lost and Found (Think Visual), Rock n Roll Fantasy (Misfits), Juke Box Music (Sleepwalker), Prince of the Punks (single B side), Better Things and Art Lover (Give the People What They want), Wall of Fire, Scattered and Still Searchin (from Phobia). Phobia is an enigma CD. It was never well received by critics nor Kinks fans, but I've always felt it had some spectacular songs buried in it amongst the filler.
Moments from the Percy soundtrack
Best Kinks MUST include
Shangri-La
Village Green Preservation Society
Celluloid Heroes
Come Dancing
Lola