The Noiseboy Online

A new header (above), for one of my favorite bands.

I didn’t truly fall in love with The Kinks until about four years ago. I’m not sure why I had never fully dug through their catalog, but it was a reviewer who had lauded Face to Face as an equal to Sgt. Peppers and Pet Sounds that peaked my interest. Up until then, my experience with The Kinks was primarily tied to their first two records and a smattering of their other hits, like “David Watts” and “Victoria.” (The first time I ever heard “David Watts” was via The Jam.) I used to spin The Kinks regularly at DJ gigs, but at the time I honestly wouldn’t have said that — as a band — they were one of my faves. That changed when I finally purchased Face to Face. I won’t say that the album is as good as The Beatles or Beach Boys’ pinnacle releases, but it’s certainly an essential album. “Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home,” a love letter to a departed sister, is just outstanding. And “House in the Country” and “Sunny Afternoon” are Top of My Pops.

Face to Face led me to fully investigate the rest of The Kinks late-Sixties, early-Seventies catalog, where I finally gave Arthur a chance. (I used to detest and dismiss “concept albums.”) Village Green, Lola (which was used to good affect in The Darjeeling Unlimited), Something Else, Muswell Hillbillies … what a truly stunning stretch of records. So, why aren’t more people in love with Ray Davies and The Kinks on a level equal to The Beatles or The Stones or The Who? I suppose The Kinks never indulged in the psychedelic era on par with The Beatles, but that’s no excuse in and of itself as The Stones quickly flopped in their attempts (Their Satanic Majesties Request). And it can’t be solely because The Kinks favored concept albums, because The Who and The Beatles both tampered with the genre as well. I suppose the problem may be that, lyrically, Ray Davies is far more esoteric than his peers. But then again, plenty of his songs are also about the average working man, or are written from the perspective of The Outsider who finds himself on The Inside (his rants against the music industry come to mind). Or maybe the reason for The Kinks’ lack of relative, longstanding superstardom is due to the fact that they often favored more baroque, delicate arrangements. While The Beatles were rocking out on Let It Be, The Stones were releasing rock albums like Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers, and The Who and Led Zeppelin were ushering in a new era of arena rock, The Kinks were recording oddball chamber pop like “Phenomenal Cat.” Still, Arthur and especially Lola certainly have their rocking moments to rival their peers.

Maybe The Kinks just lost out because they failed to successfully maintain stride in a musical era (the 1970s) that was all about progression and refinement. Soon, David Bowie and T. Rex and The New York Dolls would be hip. Progressive rock hit its stride. Funk began to splinter traditional R&B. Later, punk, disco, rap, reggae, and new wave all blossomed. Where did The Kinks fit in? They didn’t, really.

The Kinks — “Rosie, Won’t You Please Come Home?”

The Kinks — “Phenomenal Cat”

The Kinks — “Waterloo Sunset”

The Kinks — “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”

The Kinks — “Village Green”

The Kinks — “Powerman”

Update: Check out this video about a guy who feels much as I do, and is trying to get The Kinks to reunite.