The Kinks – The Best Of The Kinks (Songbook) (1975)

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s.[3][4] The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned “You Really Got Me”,became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks’ music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies’ wittily observational writing style, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit “Lola” (1970).

After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band’s most successful US hits, “Come Dancing”. In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks’ record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence.

The original line-up comprised Ray Davies (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals), Mick Avory (drums, percussion) and Pete Quaife (bass). The Davies brothers remained with the band throughout its history. Quaife briefly left the band during 1966 and was replaced by John Dalton, though Quaife returned by the end of that year before leaving permanently in 1969, once again being replaced by Dalton. Keyboardist John Gosling was added in 1970 (prior to this, session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins played on many of their recordings). After Dalton’s 1976 departure, Andy Pyle briefly served as the band’s bassist before being replaced by Argent bassist Jim Rodford in 1978. Gosling quit in 1978 and was first replaced by ex-Pretty Things member Gordon Edwards, then more permanently by Ian Gibbons in 1979. Avory left the group in 1984 and was replaced by another Argent member Bob Henrit. The band gave its last public performance in 1996, and broke up in 1997 as a result of creative tension between the Davies brothers.

The Kinks have had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100. chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, they have had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums. Four Kinks albums have been certified gold by the RIAA and the band have sold 50 million records worldwide. Among numerous honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Service to British Music”. In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005. (wikipedia)

And here is an interesting addition to any serious Kinks collection … a songbook (66 pages) with many of their (early) hits … but “You Really Got Me” is missing … no idea why.

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The back of the book:

More from The Kinks in this blog:

Various Artists – BBC Light Pick Of The Pops (with Alan Freeman) (October 4, 1964)

Pick of the Pops is a long-running BBC Radio programme originally based on the Top 20 from the UK Singles Chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 (simulcast on BBC Radio 2) from 1967 to 1972.The show was revived for six years in 1989 and its current production run started on BBC Radio 2 in 1997. It is currently hosted by Paul Gambaccini.

Initially, the show did not feature chart music, but in September 1957 Alan Dell introduced the format of running through the charts of the week, playing the top 10s from various music papers, plus entries to the top 20s.

David Jacobs broadcast the first averaged BBC Top 20 to the helm on Saturday 29 March 1958. Alan Freeman took over in September 1961, taking the show to a regular Sunday slot in January 1962. The program ended in September 1972, while the Top 20 continued as part of “Solid Gold Sixty”.

Freeman, who became the show’s longest-serving presenter, had been a radio announcer in Melbourne, Australia. Freeman arrived in Britain in 1957 and joined the Light Programme in 1960 to present Records Around Five. That same year he replaced David Jacobs as presenter of Pick of the Pops, which was then part of a Saturday evening program called Trad Tavern, named after traditional jazz, which had a following at the time. Pick of the Pops became a separate program in January 1962. It was produced by Derek Chinnery.

Denys Jones (producer 1961–72) and Freeman split the program into four sections: chart newcomers, new releases, LPs and the Top 10. The program attracted large audiences as the BBC had “needle time” restrictions and could play relatively few commercially available recordings each week. Freeman continued with the show when it moved to Radio 1 and stayed until the program ended on 24 September 1972.

Freeman revived Pick of the Pops on London station Capital Radio in 1982. This format broadcast on Capital until 1988 as Pick of the Pops – Take Two, combining the new chart (Top 15s compiled successively by Record Business, the NME, and MRIB) with a chart from the past. In 1989, Freeman returned to Radio 1 where the show featured three past charts each week, and was produced by Phil Swern through March 1992, and for the rest of 1992 by Sue Foster.[4] Freeman stood down from the program in 1992 after stating that he would not present the show again, and signed off with the Beatles’ “The End”.

However, Freeman revived the show on Capital Gold in April 1994 as Pick of the Pops – Take Three, featuring two vintage top 12s, and the “Battle Of The Giants”, and on other occasions featuring three vintage top 10s, two vintage top 20s and a rock request, along with competitions on Saturday mornings. (wikipedia)

Alan Leslie Freeman, MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed “Fluff”, was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting Pick of the Pops from 1961 to 2000.

One of the most familiar personalities of UK radio, the Australian disc jockey Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman arrived on British shores in 1957 for a holiday. Previously he had been employed as an announcer on Melbourne’s 3KZ station. His earlier ambitions had been to follow his operatic idols into singing, but when he discovered his baritone was not of sufficient quality to make that a realistic career choice, he opted for a job with which he could combine radio and music. Indeed, his early 50s radio shows in Australia combined the roles of presenter, reader of commercials and impassioned crooner of various ad hoc selections. Unimpressed at first by existing British radio, he opted instead for a position at Radio Luxembourg, where he was posted as a summer relief disc jockey.

By 1961 he had transferred to the BBC Light Programme with his Records Around Five show, introducing his signature tune, ‘At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal’. During September of the same year he introduced Pick Of The Pops, initially as part of a Saturday evening show entitled Trad Tavern, before the slot became a permanent show the following year. Freeman presented this well-loved programme until 1972.

An inveterate champion of hard rock and heavy metal, he quickly attracted a following who liked their presenters unpretentious. He eventually resigned from BBC Radio 1 (as it had become during his time with the corporation) in 1978, to the horror of many of those listeners. Within 12 months, however, he had transferred to London’s Capital Radio frequency, enjoying further popularity through his Saturday morning Pick Of The Pops Take Two slot. In the meantime, Freeman had become a fixture of British television screens via appearances on Top Of The Pops and his own show, All Systems Freeman, although an attempt to start an acting career in the mid-60s fell flat. He later made a cameo appearance in the 80s UK comedy The Young Ones, and in 1986 he had a small role in Julien Temple’s Absolute Beginners.

In January 1989 Freeman returned to Radio 1, broadcasting on Sunday afternoons until the end of 1992. When Pick Of The Pops finally ended with 30 years service behind it, the BBC commemorated the occasion with a special ‘Fluff day’. Moving to Virgin Radio in 1996 he was honoured by his colleagues with the Music Industry Trusts award. In 1998, he was awarded the CBE for his services to music.

Following a brief return to the BBC in the late 90s and early 00s on the Radio 2 light opera show Their Greatest Bits, Freeman’s health (he suffered from severe arthritis) began to let him down, and he voluntarily handed over the Pick Of The Pops mantle when he was forced to enter a nursing home in Twickenham, London. He died in November 2006. Freeman is fondly remembered as one of the legends of UK radio, with a rich and unforgettable voice. (by allmusic)

Enjoy this wonderful trip in the past, enjoy this sentimental journey throigh these UK hist from Octorber 1954:

Tracklist:

Pick Of The Pops (with Alan Freeman) (October 4, 1964):
01.01. Intro: Brian Fahey: At The Sign Of The Swinging (Fahey)
01.02. Hollies: We’re Through (Ransford)
01.03. Searchers: When You Walk In The Room (de Shannon)
01.04. Expectaining: Living To The River  ???
01.05. Kathy Kirby: Don’t Walk Away(Thomas/Sharp)
01.06. Unit 4 + 2: Sorrow And Pain (Parker/Moeller)
01.07. Rockin’ Berries: He’s In Town (Goffin/King)
01.08. Louis Armstrong: So Long Dearie (Herman)
01.09. The Four: It’s All Right
01.10. Michael Haslam: Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself (Ballard/Riela)
01.11. The Orlons: Knock! Knock (Who’s There) (Crewe/Santos)
01.12. Judy Garland: It’s Yourself (Bart)
01.13. The Honeycombs: Have I The Right (Howard/Blaikley)
01.14. P.J.Proby: Together (Brown/Henderson/de Sylva)
01.15. The Kinks: You Really Got Me (Davies)
01.16. Jim Reeves: I Won’t Forget You (Howard)
01.17. Judie Rogers: The Wedding (Jay/Prieto)
01.18. The Bachelors: I Wouldn’t Trade You For The World (S.Taylor/B.Smith/Kirk/B.Taylor)
01.19. The Four Seasons: Rag Doll (Crewe/Gaudio)
01.20. Roy Orbison: Pretty Woman (Orbinson/Dees)
01.21. Supremes: Where Did Our Love Go (Dozier/B.Holland/E.Holland)
01.22. Herman’s Hermits: I’m Into Something Good (Goffin/King)
01.23. Outro: Brian Fahey: At The Sign Of The Swinging (Fahey)

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The Kinks – Low Budget (1979)

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s.

The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965.

Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned “You Really Got Me”, became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks’ music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies’ wittily observational writing style, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit “Lola” (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band’s most successful US hits, “Come Dancing”. In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks’ record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence.

Low Budget is the eighteenth studio album by English rock group the Kinks, released in 1979. Following the minor success of their 1978 album Misfits, the band recorded the majority of the album in New York rather than London. Unlike the more nostalgic themes of many Kinks albums prior to Low Budget, many of the album’s songs allude to contemporaneous events. Musically, the album is a continuation of the band’s “arena rock” phase, resulting in a more rock-based sound and more modern production techniques.

Despite being a relative failure in the UK, Low Budget was a great success for the group in the US both critically and commercially, not only becoming their best-selling non-compilation album but also peaking at number 11 on the American album charts. The lead single, “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman”, was also a minor hit in the US, reaching number 41.

After spending the majority of the 1970s focusing on lofty concept albums, such as the two-part Preservation album, the Kinks began to lose the commercial success they had regained with their 1970 hit single “Lola”. However, upon switching from RCA Records to Arista Records in the summer of 1976, the band gradually began to regain commercial success in America. Abandoning the conceptual work they had created during their RCA years, the band’s 1977 album Sleepwalker and 1978 album Misfits were both modest hits in the United States, as were the respective first singles, “Sleepwalker” and “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy”.

However, throughout this period, the band’s lineup began to fluctuate, not only with both bassist John Dalton (and his short-term replacement Andy Pyle) and keyboardist John Gosling departing from the band, but founding drummer Mick Avory also considered leaving.[2] Avory eventually agreed to stay, while ex-Argent bass player Jim Rodford, and keyboardist Gordon John Edwards were recruited, the latter having played with the Pretty Things on their album Silk Torpedo. Edwards was shortly afterwards fired from the group for failing to show up to sessions for Low Budget (although he recorded piano on at least one of the album’s tracks), being replaced with Ian Gibbons following the album’s release.

Recording for Low Budget began in early 1979 at the band’s own Konk Studios in London, where “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman”, the result of Arista founder Clive Davis’s request for a radio-friendly hit, and the album’s title track were cut. After these sessions, the rest of the album was recorded at the Power Station and Blue Rock Studios in New York City. Studio engineer John Rollo said of these initial sessions, “The album before Low Budget, [Misfits] was beautifully recorded, but not that rock and roll. I think the first two songs I did, [“(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” and “Low Budget”] went extremely well and the band wanted to spend some time in New York, to get away from distractions and kept it as a raw band recording.”.

Recording in New York began in April 1979. After recently hiring and firing several keyboard players in quick succession, Ray Davies decided to play all of the keyboard parts for the tracks himself. Along with the tracks that appeared in the final running order of Low Budget, versions of songs that would appear on the album’s 1981 follow-up Give the People What They Want, such as “Destroyer” and “Give the People What They Want” (and possibly “Yo-Yo” and “Better Things”) are attempted. Also tried during the sessions were “Massive Reductions” (the B-side in the UK of “Better Things”), which was later re-recorded for the band’s 1984 album Word of Mouth, and outtakes “Hidden Qualities” and “Laugh at the World”. Final mixes and the running order for the album were worked on during June of that year.

After a decade of concept albums and songs that recalled simpler times, Low Budget marked a new direction for the Kinks by addressing contemporary issues such as inflation, labour disputes (which were especially severe in the UK during the 1978-79 Winter of Discontent), and the 1979 energy crisis. Songs such as “Catch Me Now I’m Falling”, which was Davies’ take on America’s declining influence in the world, “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman”, “Low Budget”, and “A Gallon of Gas”, epitomised these themes.

Mick Avory said of the album’s lyrics, “Ray’s writing was [previously] too subtle. When we did the big arenas in the late seventies he was writing harder stuff that would come across. When we signed with Arista, Clive Davis would always talk about getting us into the bigger venues and the music changed so we could get them across in the large places. When we made Low Budget, that was a turning point really.”

Prior to the release of Low Budget, “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” was released as a single in early 1979, backed with “Low Budget”. Although the single failed to make an impact in Britain, it became a modest hit in America, reaching #41. Low Budget was then released on 10 July 1979 in America and on 7 September 1979 in Britain. The album proved to be a major success in the United States, reaching #11 on the Billboard 200 (the band’s highest charting studio album to date).Despite the great commercial success the album achieved in America, the album, like every Kinks album since 1967’s Something Else by The Kinks, was unable to chart in their native Britain. Follow-up singles to “Superman” were issued (“A Gallon of Gas” and “Catch Me Now I’m Falling” in the US, “Moving Pictures” and “Pressure” in Britain) but they failed to chart.

Low Budget generally received positive reception from music critics, despite most feeling the album was not perfect. Melody Maker spoke positively of the album, saying, “Low Budget is actually worth spending money on.” Rolling Stone also praised the album, saying, “the Kinks haven’t mounted this kind of rock & roll attack since ‘Lola.'” They concluded, “Low Budget may not be the best of their twenty-odd albums released in America, but it’s not bad either.” Philip Bashe of Good Times wrote, “Strangely, Low Budget is an encouraging album. … Their playing on this record is heartier than ever, and Ray himself is no longer coy in his delivery[.]” Trouser Press critic Mark Fleischmann said of Low Budget, “Flaws aside, it’s still a great album.” Cash Box mentioned the album’s grittiness and topical lyrics thought that the song “Little Bit of Emotion” should become a classic.

In America, a version of “Low Budget” was issued on the 12″ single of “Superman” that had the addition of two more verses; this version runs 4:48. This version, like the extended “Come Dancing” four years later, has never been issued as a bonus track, despite many reissues of the album, and can only be found on vinyl.

The Kinks launched an extensive concert tour in America to support the album. Six of the eleven songs from the album are included on the double-live album One for the Road which was recorded in 1979 and 1980 during the Low Budget tour. (wikipedia)

Personnel:
Mick Avory (drums)
Dave Davies (guitar, background vocals)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Jim Rodford (bass, background vocals)
+
Nick Newall (saxophone)

Tracklist:
01. Attitude 3.47
02. Catch Me Now I’m Falling 5.59
03. Pressure 2.26
04. National Health 4.04
05. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman 3.35
06. Low Budget 3.48
07. In A Space 3.45
08. Little Bit Of Emotion 4.50
09. A Gallon Of Gas + Misery 5.38
10. Moving Pictures 3.41

All songs written by Ray Davies

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More from The KINKS

The Kinks – Guten Abend Deutschland (live Stuttgart, Germany) (1994)

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s.

The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965.

Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned “You Really Got Me”, became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks’ music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies’ wittily observational writing style, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit “Lola” (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band’s most successful US hits, “Come Dancing”. In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks’ record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence.

The original line-up comprised Ray Davies (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals), Mick Avory (drums, percussion) and Pete Quaife (bass). The Davies brothers remained with the band throughout its history. Quaife was replaced by John Dalton in 1969, with keyboardist John Gosling being added in 1970 (prior to this, session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins played on many of their recordings). After Dalton’s 1976 departure, Andy Pyle briefly served as the band’s bassist before being replaced by Argent bassist Jim Rodford in 1978. Gosling quit in 1978 and was first replaced by ex-Pretty Things member Gordon Edwards, then more permanently by Ian Gibbons in 1979. Avory left the group in 1984 and was replaced by another Argent member Bob Henrit. The band gave its last public performance in 1996 and broke up in 1997 as a result of creative tension between the Davies brothers.

The Kinks have had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40.[9] In the UK, they have had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums. Four Kinks albums have been certified gold by the RIAA and the band have sold 50 million records worldwide. Among numerous honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Service to British Music”. In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005. In 2018, after years of ruling out a reunion due to the brothers’ animosity[ and the difficult relationship between longtime drummer Mick Avory and Dave, Ray and Dave Davies finally announced they were working to reform the Kinks, with Avory also on board. However, comments made by each of the Davies brothers in 2020 and 2021 would indicate that in the years since the initial announcement, little (if any) progress has been made towards an actual Kinks reunion for a new studio band album. (wikipedia)

Two well respected men: Ray & Dave Davies in 2020:

And here´s a wondeful bootleg from their last period … what a perfomance …

.. Ladies & Gentlemen: The one and only Kinks ! What more can I say ?

Recorded live at the Hans Martin Schleyerhalle, Stuttgart/Germany, December 21, 1994
very good broadcast recording

Personnel:
Dave Davies (guitar, vocals on 11.)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar)
Ian Gibbons (keyboards)
Bob Henritt (drums)
Jim Rodford (bass)

Tracklist:
01. A Well Respected Man (D.Davies) 1.12
02. Sunny Afternoon (R.Davies) 2.26
03. Do It Again (tease) (R.Davies) 1.02
04. Intro / Countdown (R.Davies) 2.13
05. Till The End Of The Day (R.Davies) 2.17
06. All Day And All Of The Night (R.Davies) 4.03
07. Low Budget (R.Davies) 6.14
08. Celluloid Heroes (R.Davies) 5.44
09. Apeman (R.Davies) 3.49
10. Scattered (R.Davies) 3.55
11. Death Of A Clown (D.Davies) 2.35
12. Phobia (R.Davies) 6.08
13 Dead End Street (R.Davies) 3.29
14. Come Dancing (R.Davies) 4.29
15. Father Christmas (tease) (R.Davies) 0.11
16. Aggravation / New World (R.Davies) 10.56
17. You Really Got (R.Davies) 4.53
18. A Gallon Of Gas (R.Davies) 2.00
19. Welcome To Sleazy Town (R.Davies) 5.06
20. Deutschland (R.Davies) 0.32
21. Lola (R.Davies) 6.29
22. Days (R.Davies) 4.32
23. Twist And Shout (Medley/Berns) 3.18

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More from The Kinks.

The official website:

The Kinks – To The Bone (1994)

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned “You Really Got Me”, became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks’ music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies’ wittily observational writing style, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit “Lola” (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band’s most successful US hits, “Come Dancing”. In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks’ record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence.

Ray Davies (rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards) and Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals) remained members throughout the band’s 33-year run. The next longest-serving member, Mick Avory (drums and percussion), was replaced by Bob Henrit, formerly of Argent, in 1984. Original bass guitarist Pete Quaife was replaced by John Dalton in 1969. After Dalton’s 1976 departure, Andy Pyle briefly served as the band’s bassist before being replaced by Argent bassist Jim Rodford in 1978. Session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins accompanied the band in the studio for many of their recordings in the mid-to-late 1960s. The band became an official five-piece in 1970, when keyboardist John Gosling joined them. Gosling quit in 1978; he was first replaced by ex-Pretty Things member Gordon Edwards, then more permanently by Ian Gibbons in 1979. The band gave its last public performance in 1996 and broke up in 1997 as a result of creative tension between the Davies brothers.

The Kinks have had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, they have had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums.[10] Four Kinks albums have been certified gold by the RIAA and the band have sold 50 million records worldwide. Among numerous honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Service to British Music”. In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005. In 2018, after years of ruling out a reunion due to the brothers’ animosity[12] and the difficult relationship between longtime drummer Mick Avory and Dave, Ray and Dave Davies finally announced they were working to reform the Kinks, with Avory also on board. However, comments made by each of the Davies brothers in 2020 and 2021 would indicate that in the years since the initial announcement, little (if any) progress has been made towards an actual Kinks reunion for a new studio band album. (wikipedia)

Two well respected men: Ray & Dave Davies in 2020:

To the Bone is a 1994 live album by the Kinks. Recorded partly at Konk Studios with a small audience, and partly during their 1993 American tour and the 1994 UK tour, it was the band’s final release before their breakup in 1996.

Some tracks were recorded at Konk Studios during April 1994 with a small audience in an Unplugged style, other tracks were recorded live in Portsmouth in March 1994, and “You Really Got Me” was recorded live in Philadelphia in August 1993.[2] All the songs had been previously released as studio recordings.

Released 3 October 1994 in the U.K. on the band’s own Konk label.[1] An EP-single was released off the album to promote its release, “Waterloo Sunset ’94”, which in addition to a live take of “You Really Got Me” featured the unreleased demos “Elevator Man” and “On the Outside”, both recorded in 1976.

In 1996, an expanded double CD-version with 29 tracks was released in the U.S. on Guardian/Konk. Two new studio tracks – “To The Bone” and “Animal” – were included on the double-disc U.S. version, while two tracks on the shorter U.K. issue – “Waterloo Sunset” and “Autumn Almanac” – were omitted. (wikipedia)

Since the mid-’70s, the Kinks have not been able to stop themselves from attempting their own variations on pop music trends, taking stabs at everything from bombastic heavy metal to sleek disco-flavored pop. On To the Bone, the group became another one of the scores of veteran rock acts to record an acoustic, “unplugged” album. However, the group’s American popularity was at an all-time low in the mid-’90s and the band wasn’t able to score a major-label record deal, let alone land a spot on MTV’s prime-time ratings bonanza, Unplugged.

So, the bandmembers financed their acoustic greatest-hits record To the Bone themselves, releasing it on the U.K. independent label Grapevine. Naturally, Ray Davies’ songs work well in such a stripped-back setting, but the album is nothing more than a pleasant diversion, featuring a lovely version of “Waterloo Sunset,” possibly the most beautiful song of the rock & roll era. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Dave Davies (guitar, vocals)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Ian Gibbons (keyboards, background vocals)
Bob Henrit (drums, percussion)
Jim Rodford (bass, background vocals)

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. All Day And All Of The Night 4.27
02. Apeman 4.06
03. Tired Of Waiting 1.49
04. See My Friends 3.25
05. Death Of A Clown 2.35
06. Muswell Hillbillies 3.20
07. Better Things 3.06
08. Don’t Forget To Dance 4.50
09. Sunny Afternoon 2.39
10.Dedicated Follower Of Fashion 1.55
11. Do It Again (acoustic version) 1.47
12, Do It Again  3.54

CD 2:
01 Celluloid Heroes 5.3
02. Picture Book 2.35
03. Village Green Preservation Society 2.26
04. Do You Remember Walter 3.44
05. Set Me Free 2.34
06. Lola 4.29
07. Come Dancing 3.39
08. I’m Not Like Everybody Else 5.42
09. Till The End Of The Day 2.37
10. Give The People What They Want 3.57
11. State Of Confusion 3.25
12. Dead End Street 2.30
13. A Gallon Of Gas 5,21
14. Days 3.18
15. You Really Got Me 3,41
16. Animal 3.38
17. To The Bone 4,30

All songs written by Ray Davies
except CD 1, 05, written by Dave Davies

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More from The Kinks.

James Walter Rodford (7 July 1941 – 20 January 2018):

The official website:

Various Artists – Heartbeat (OST) (1996)

Heartbeat is a British period drama series, based upon the “Constable” series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by ITV Studios (formerly Yorkshire Television until it was merged by ITV)[1] from 1992 until 2010. The series is set during the 1960s around real-life and fictional locations within the North Riding of Yorkshire, with most episodes focused on stories that usually are separate but sometimes intersect with one another; in some episodes, a singular story takes place focused on a major incident.

Heartbeat proved popular from the beginning, when early series consistently drew over 10 million viewers, achieving a peak audience of 13.82 million in 2001, and 12.8 million viewers in 2003. Its success eventually led to a spin-off series, titled The Royal, as well as a special episode, and three documentaries. In June 2010, ITV announced the cancellation of Heartbeat after its eighteenth series, following discussions on its future.

Heartbeat is period drama set within the North Riding of Yorkshire during 1960s. Plots for each episodes take place within both the fictional village of Aidensfield and the fictional town of Ashfordly, as well as several other fictional villages and farms in the surrounding moors and countryside. On occasions, plots also include the real-life town of Whitby. Each episode in the series focuses on a set of at least one or two main storylines and a side story, some or all of which would cross over with each other and influence the outcome of their plots. Political tones for storylines, coinciding with the decade the programme was set in, were rarely featured in episodes, though some episodes featured occasional references to the counterculture movement, while others would sometimes delve into a dramatic single storyline concerning a major incident that characters would deal with and sometimes be affected by.

Scripps’ Garage from the series:

The programme’s title was chosen by writers to represent the series’ key characters who worked as police officers and medical staff – “heart” for the medical themes featured regularly in the programme; and “beat” based on the phrase “the bobby’s beat” (“bobby” being British slang for a police officer (from Robert Peel)).[5] Each episode’s set of storylines were inspired from those created for the Constable series of books, written by Nicholas Rhea (the pen-name of former policeman Peter Walker), which were focused on a police constable in the 1960s who came to Aidensfield, in order to serve the local community and solve crimes that took place on his new patch. Much of the characters and locations in the Constable series were directly used for creating the setting and plots in Heartbeat, under guidance from Rhea.

Across Eller Beck to Goathland railway station:

The series was originally intended as a launch platform for actor Nick Berry, following his involvement on the BBC’s soap drama EastEnders, who alongside actress Niamh Cusack, were the prominent main actors of the programme for its first two series. Storylines mainly focused around both their characters, as they offered aid to those around the village and beyond, though the tone of plots were portrayed with grittiness and social realism. From the third series onwards, the role of the village policeman continued to be central to the storyline, but supporting actors were redefined as the programme’s main cast, with their characters elevated in presence, effectively evolving Heartbeat into an ensemble drama that was themed as more cosy and comfortable compared to more modern TV police dramas. The changes were more notable by how supporting actors gained more prominence in the opening titles after being elevated into the series’ main cast – up until the fifth series, both Berry and Cusack were prominently featured in the opening credits, but this changed in later series so that by the beginning of the seventh series, all actors in the main cast were given proper credit for their involvement in the drama series.

After the fifth series, storylines became less centralized around the village constable, focusing on separate storylines that retained a set structure within episodes: one focusing on a crime solved by the village constable and his colleagues at Ashfordly police; one focused on a medical issue that the village doctor and/or nurse would treat; and a side story focused on the programme’s “lovable rogue” character which mainly was designed as comic relief, but sometimes featured light-hearted plots delving into heart-warming moments. In addition, over-arching storylines covering several episodes or even series, provided sub-plots between main characters, allowing for character and relationship development between them, with additional characters added in over time. In time, Heartbeat saw the cast being changed throughout its broadcast history, as new characters were introduced to replace those who left the show after being written out.

Sixties pop music features prominently in episodes, notably from the Beatles and Chuck Berry, forming the backbone of Heartbeat’s soundtrack, although music from other decades sometimes is played in episodes. Some 1970s records appear anachronistically, such as the Hollies’ 1974 song “The Air That I Breathe”, Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” (1971) or Pink Floyd’s 1971 instrumental “One of These Days.” The series 17 finale “You Never Can Tell” is accompanied by the Flying Pickets’ 1983 song “Only You”, an episode which featured a guest appearance by the band’s lead singer Brian Hibbard. (wikipedia)

And here´s the soundtrack … with a lot of hits from the Roaring Sixties …

A nice trip in this decade including many rarities like music from The Bachelors, Joe Brown & The Bruvvers nd The Fortunes.

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Nick Berry: Heartbeat (Montgomery/Petty) 2.15
02. The Swinging Blue Jeans: The Hippy Hippy Shake (Romero) 1.45
03. Sandie Shaw: (There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me (Bacharach/David) 2.36
04. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas: Little Children (McFarland) 2.48
05. The Kinks: All Day And All Of The Night (Davies) 2.23
06. Peter & Gordon: A World Without Love (Lennon/McCartney) 2.41
07. The Animals: The House Of The Rising Sun (Traditional) 4.30
08. Lulu & The Luvvers: Shout (O’Kelly Isley/Ronald Isley/Rudolph Isley) 2.53
09. Gerry & The Pacemakers: Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying (G,Marsden/ F.Marsden) 2.34
10. Herman’s Hermits: I’m Into Something Good (Goffin/King) 2.34
11. The Searchers: Needles & Pins (Nitzsche/Bono) 2.13
12. The Bachelors: I Believe (Drake/Graham/Shirl/Stillman) 2.06
13. Gerry & The Pacemakers: I Like It (Murray) 2.16
14. Joe Brown & The Bruvvers: A Picture Of You (Beveridge/Oakman) 2.20
15. Acker Bilk: Stranger On The Shore (Bilk/Mellin) 2.49

CD 2:
01. The Hollies: Look Through Any Window (Gouldman/Silverman) 2.18
02. The Moody Blues: Go Now (Banks/Bennett) 3.12
03. The Kinks: Tired Of Waiting For You (Davies) 2.33
04. Amen Corner: Bend Me, Shape Me (English/Weiss) 2.37
05. Georgie Fame: Sunny (Hebb) 2.37
06. The Shadows: FBI (Marvin/Welch/Harris) 2.20
07. The Small Faces: Itchycoo Park (Marriott/Lane) 2.50
08. Dave Berry: The Crying Game (Stephens) 2.45
09. Freddie & The Dreamers: You Were Made For Me (Murray) 2.19
10. Nick Berry: Heartbeat (Montgomery/Petty) 2.15
11. Jeff Beck: Hi Ho Silver Lining (English/Weiss) 2.55
12. Brian Poole & The Tremeloes: Do You Love Me? (Gordy Jr.) 2.24
13. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas: Bad To Me (Lennon/MCartney) 2.21
14. The Fortunes: You’ve Got Your Troubles (Greenway/Cook) 3.23
15. The Searchers: When You Walk In The Room (DeShannon) 2.22
16. Spencer Davis Group: Gimme Some Lovin’ (S.Winwood/Davis/M.Winwood) 2.55
17. Manfred Mann: The Mighty Quinn (Dylan) 2.52
18. Donovan: Catch The Wind (Leitch) 2.55
19. Joe Cocker: Let It Be (Lennon/McCartney) 3.32
20. Nick Berry: Daydream Believer (Stewart) 3.18

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The Kinks – Rockpalast Essen (1982)

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. #

The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965.

Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned “You Really Got Me”, became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.

The Kinks’ music drew from a wide range of influences, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. The band gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies’ wittily observational writing style, and made apparent in albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), and Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles including the transatlantic hit “Lola” (1970). After a fallow period in the mid-1970s, the band experienced a revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983), the last of which produced one of the band’s most successful US hits, “Come Dancing”. In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Romantics covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks’ record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence.

Ray Davies (rhythm guitar, lead vocals, keyboards) and Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals) remained members throughout the band’s 33-year run. Longest-serving member Mick Avory (drums and percussion) was replaced by Bob Henrit, formerly of Argent, in 1984. Original bass guitarist Pete Quaife was replaced by John Dalton in 1969. After Dalton’s 1976 departure, Andy Pyle briefly served as the band’s bassist before being replaced by Argent bassist Jim Rodford in 1978. Session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins accompanied the band in the studio for many of their recordings in the mid-to-late 1960s. The band became an official five-piece in 1970, when keyboardist John Gosling joined them. Gosling quit in 1978; he was first replaced by ex-Pretty Things member Gordon Edwards, then more permanently by Ian Gibbons in 1979. The band gave its last public performance in 1996 and broke up in 1997 as a result of creative tension between the Davies brothers.

The Kinks have had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, they have had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums. Four Kinks albums have been certified gold by the RIAA and the band have sold 50 million records worldwide. Among numerous honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for “Outstanding Service to British Music”. In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005. In 2018, after years of ruling out a reunion due to the brothers’ animosity and the difficult relationship between longtime drummer Mick Avory and Dave, Ray and Dave Davies finally announced they were working to reform the Kinks, with Avory also on board. However, comments made by each of the Davies brothers in 2020 and 2021 would indicate that in the years since the initial announcement, little (if any) progress has been made towards an actual Kinks reunion for a new studio band album. (wikipedia)

And here´s their legendary concert, recorded live at the Rockpalast, Essen/Germany:

There are lots of Kinks concert bootlegs out there, but few and far between that have excellent sound quality. Here’s one of those rare stellar sounding ones. It sounds so good because it was professionally recorded for the German TV show “Rockpalast.”

Alternate frontcovers:

In 1980, the Kinks released the live album “One for the Road.” This comes two years later, and one album later, the 1981 “Give the People What They Want” studio album. So there’s some overlap between the songs on “One for the Road” and here, but the Kinks have such a deep catalog of popular songs that there are lots of differences as well. Seven of the songs played come from the “Give the People What They Want” album, and one song, “Bernadette,” came from their soon-to-come 1983 album, “State of Confusion.” (http://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com)

In other words: Long live The Kinks !

Recorded live at the 10th Rockpalast Rockfestival,
Grugahalle Essen/Germany, April 3, 1982
(broadcast recording)

Personnel:
Mick Avery (drums)
Dave Davies (guitar, vocals)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar)
Ian Gibbons (keyboards)
Jim Rodford (bass)

Another alternate front + backcover:

Tracklist:
01. Introduction / Around The Dial 8.02
02. The Hard Way 2.34
03. Where Have All The Good Times Gone 2.27
04. (Catch Me Now) I’m Falling 3.38
05. Come On Now 2.41
06. Destroyer 4.53
07. Yo, Yo 7.09
08. Lola 7.06
09. Dead End Street 2.25
10. Add It Up 3.34
11. Low Budget 7.03
12. Art Lover 4.03
13. Back To Front 4.35
14. A Gallon Of Gas 4.15
15. Celluloid Heroes 8.25
16. Till The End Of The Day 2.41
17. Bernadette 4.51
18. All Day And All Of The Night 5.56
19. Give The People What The Want 4.45
20. Pressure 2.28
21. You Really Got Me 4.50
22. Stop Your Sobbing 1.21
23. David Watts 2.55

All songs written by Ray Davies

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The official website:

More from The Kinks:

The Kinks – Live At Kelvin Hall (1967)

Live at Kelvin Hall is a 1967/68 live album by British rock group the Kinks. It was recorded at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, in early 1967. The album was released in August 1967 in the US (as The Live Kinks), and January 1968 in the UK. Live at Kelvin Hall received mixed reviews upon release, and sold poorly.

The album was first re-released on CD in 1987. In 1998, the album was reissued with both the mono and stereo mixes present. Unlike many albums in the Kinks catalogue which have received Deluxe Edition formats, Live At Kelvin Hall was passed on by Andrew Sandoval, who, at one point, attempted to remix the album. The mono mix was absent from the 2011 box set The Kinks In Mono, but was present in the 2005 box set The Pye Album Collection.

The Kinks played two sets in the Scene ’67 Theatre inside Kelvin Hall on 1 April 1967; one at 6:30 and the other at 9:30 pm, with the bands Sounds Incorporated and the Fortunes opening. The entire concert was recorded on a 4-track Pye Mobile Recording Unit owned by the group’s label, Pye Records. The Kinks’ set was the finale of a ten-day teen music-festival, sponsored by a local discotheque club and The Daily Record, a Glasgow newspaper.

On 3 April, post-production was underway for the scheduled live album. The group also took part in sessions to “enhance” the recordings—writer Andy Miller notes that …Kelvin Hall “is perhaps not as live as all that. Sessions were undertaken to ‘sweeten’ the original tapes. Close listening seems to reveal that the audience hysteria is an extended, repeating tape loop.” It is also notable that an entire fourth of the 4-track mix was devoted to the crowd’s screams and yells. Doug Hinman, in his 2004 book All Day And All Of The Night, also states that “it appears that overdubs [were] made (noticeable … on the released album’s guitar solo on ‘Till The End Of The Day’, and the differing guitar solos between the mono and stereo mixes of ‘You Really Got Me’).” A press release followed on the same day, announcing that a live album was scheduled for future release.

Live at Kelvin Hall was released in the US as The Live Kinks on 16 August 1967, where it went virtually unnoticed. It stalled at number 162 in the Billboard charts, during a four-week[4] run.[5] The album fared no better in the UK; upon release in January 1968 as Live at Kelvin Hall, it received only moderate advertising and mixed reviews. New Musical Express: “… at Glasgow the Kinks had every encouragement to give a good show and what you can hear above the audience noise is good. I don’t know if I like a backing of whistles and screams.” Live at Kelvin Hall failed to chart. (by wikipedia)

Recorded in Glasgow, Scotland, while the Kinks were on tour in 1967, Live at Kelvin Hall (aka The Live Kinks) has the distinction of being the only undoctored concert recording of a British Invasion band at the peak of its popularity. Like the Stones and the Beatles, the Kinks faced audiences filled with screaming, shrieking teenagers. Often, the noise was so loud that it drowned out the amps on-stage, and since the band couldn’t hear each other, its performances were ragged and rough. The Kinks held together in Glasgow better than their peers, but Live at Kelvin Hall is still rough going. True, it does offer an audio document of the band in concert, but the crowd is so damn noisy, it’s hard to hear anything besides screaming. The band is buried under this cacophony, and while they turn out some energetic performances — not only of hits like “Till the End of the Day,” “You Really Got Me,” and the sing-along “Sunny Afternoon” — they’re just sloppy enough to be a little tiring when combined with the roaring crowd. Live at Kelvin Hall may be interesting as an historical piece to some collectors, but it falls short of being pleasurable listening. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Mick Avory (drums)
Dave Davies (guitar, backgroundvocals, vocals  on 04., 07. + 09.)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar)
Pete Quaife (bass, background vocals)

Alternate fromntcovedrs:

Tracklist:
01. Till The End Of The Day (R.Davies) 3.32
02. A Well Respected Man (R.Davies) 3.09
03. You’re Lookin’ Fine (R.Davies) 3.36
04. Sunny Afternoon (R.Davies) 4.54
05. Dandy (R.Davies) 2.11
06. I’m On An Island (R.Davies) 2.53
07. Come On Now (R.Davies) 3.58
08. You Really Got Me (R.Davies) 2.16
09. Medley 8.47
09.1. Milk Cow Blues (Estes)
09.2. Batman Theme (Hefti)
09.3. Tired Of Waiting For You (R.Davies)

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The Kinks – Muswell Hillbillies (1971)

Muswell Hillbillies is an album by the English rock group The Kinks. Released in November 1971, it was the band’s first album for RCA Records. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, where band leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies grew up and the band formed in the early 1960s.

The album introduces a number of working class figures and the stresses with which they must contend. It did not sell well but received positive reviews and critical acclaim.

Muswell Hillbillies was the band’s first album for RCA Records, their prior recordings having been released on Pye Records (Reprise Records in the United States). Their contract with Pye/Reprise expired the same year. The album was recorded between August and October 1971 at Morgan Studios, London, using a new brass section, the Mike Cotton Sound, which included Mike Cotton on trumpet, John Beecham on trombone and tuba, and Alan Holmes on clarinet.

The album was not a commercial success (it failed to chart in the United Kingdom and peaked at #48 in the U.S.), and its sales were a disappointment following the success of Lola the previous year. Stereo Review magazine called the poor-selling record “album of the year” in 1972 (even though it was released on 24 November 1971). In the 1984 Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rolling Stone editors gave the album five stars out of five and called it Davies’ “signature statement” as a songwriter. In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album a wide-ranging collection of Ray Davies compositions which focus on the tensions and frustrations of modern life.

The front cover picture was taken in the Archway Tavern, a pub in Archway (more than two miles away from Muswell Hill). The back inset picture, showing the band below a signpost giving directions to Muswell Hill, was taken on the small traffic island at the intersection of Castle Yard and Southwood Lane in Highgate. (by wikipedia)

How did the Kinks respond to the fresh start afforded by Lola? By delivering a skewed, distinctly British, cabaret take on Americana, all pinned down by Ray Davies’ loose autobiography and intense yearning to be anywhere else but here — or, as he says on the opening track, “I’m a 20th century man, but I don’t want to be here.” Unlike its predecessors, Muswell Hillbillies doesn’t overtly seem like a concept album — there are no stories as there are on Lola — but each song undoubtedly shares a similar theme, namely the lives of the working class. Cleverly, the music is a blend of American and British roots music, veering from rowdy blues to boozy vaudeville. There’s as much good humor in the performances as there are in Davies’ songs, which are among his savviest and funniest.

They’re also quite affectionate, a fact underpinned by the heartbreaking “Oklahoma U.S.A.,” one of the starkest numbers Davies ever penned, seeming all the sadder surrounded by the careening country-rock and music hall. That’s the key to Muswell Hillbillies — it mirrors the messy flow of life itself, rolling from love letters and laments to jokes and family reunions. Throughout it all, Davies’ songwriting is at a peak, as are the Kinks themselves. There are a lot of subtle shifts in mood and genre on the album, and the band pulls it off effortlessly and joyously. Regardless of its commercial fate, Muswell Hillbillies stands as one of the Kinks’ best albums. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Mick Avory (drums, percussion)
John Dalton (bass guitar, background vocals)
Dave Davies (lead guitar, slide guitar, banjo, background vocals)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar)
John Gosling  (keyboards, accordion)
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John Beecham (trombone, tuba)
Vicki Brown (background vocals on 04. + 09.)
Mike Cotton (trumpet)
Alan Holmes (saxophone, clarinet)
Ken Jones (harmonica on 07.)

Tracklist:
01. 20th Century Man 5.58
02. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues 3.33
03. Holiday 2.40
04. Skin And Bone 3:39
05. Alcohol 3.36
06. Complicated Life 4.03
07. Here Come The People In Grey 3.46
08. Have A Cuppa Tea 3.45
09. Holloway Jail 3.29
10. Oklahoma U.S.A. 2.39
11. Uncle Son 2.33
12. Muswell Hillbilly 4.59
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13. Mountain Woman 3.09
14. Kentucky Moon (demo) 3.55

All songs written by Ray Davies.

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More from The Kinks:

The Kinks – Live At The Fillmore West (1969)

This gem is one of the few available shows from this time period, probably the most productive of their career (coming on the heels of arguably their best albums, Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur, both of which were complete failures in the U.S.). This show was one of their first in the States after the ban barring them from appearing in the U.S. was lifted (after almost 4 years!). The exact reason for the ban by the American Federation of Musicians was never made quite clear (even to this day), but Ray and the boys did not perform in the U.S from 1966 through most of 1969. Anyway, here in their appearance at the the Fillmore West, the band was in fine form, and they delivered a very eclectic set that scattered some of their hits (‘Tired of Waiting’, ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Till the End of the Day’, ‘Well-Respected Man’) with numerous relatively obscure album tracks (‘Your Looking Fine’, ‘Big Sky’, ‘Mr. Churchill Says’, ‘Brainwashed’, etc), that were virtually unknown in the U.S., and were not often performed in concert in subsequent years. So enjoy this unique taste of ’60’s-era Kinks. (bbchron.blogspot.com)

Quality is so-so but I still love this recording. The Kinks are playing raw garage rock. If you imagine a less polished “Live At Kelvin Hall” minus the screaming you get the idea! The track listing (see below) is superb. By the early 70’s the Kinks went a bit too MOR/cabaret for me at times. This is their last period of being a proper rock band live until they reinvented themselves in the late 70s. An important show to track down for Kinks fans. (by bigbullyweedave)

Personnel:
Mick Avory (drums)
John Dalton (bass)
Dave Davies (guitar, vocals)
Ray Davies (vocals, guitar, harmonica)

Alternate front covers

Tracklist:
01. Till The End Of The Day (R.Davies) 1.53
02. Mindless Child Of Motherhood (D.Davies) 3.25
03. Last Of The Steam Powered Trains (R.Davies) 6.24
04. You’re Looking Fine (R.Davies) 6.50
05. Mr. Churchill Says (R.Davies) 4.22
06. Big Sky (R.Davies) 3.11
07. You Really Got Me/All Day And All Of The Night (R.Davies) 3.41
08. Love Me Till The Sun Shines (D.Davies) 5.40
09. Brainwashed (R.Davies) 1.10
10. Medley 1 / 9.34
10.1. Milk Cow Blues (Estes)
10.2. See My Friend (R.Davies)
10.3. Tired Of Waiting For You (R.Davies)
10.4. Brainwashed (R.Davies)
11. Louie Louie (Berry) 3.58
12. Victoria (R.Davies) 3.11
13. Medley 2 / 3.04
13.1. Well Respected Man (R.Davies)
13.2. Death Of A Clown (D.Davies)
13.3. Dandy (R.Davies)

The Kinks, live in 1969

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