Your Ten Favorite.......Kinks songs

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:52 am

Welcome to my new feature, "Your Ten Favorite". I will be occasionally posting new "Your Ten Favorite" topics, but I hope anyone will feel free to take the reins whenever they so desire. Today's topic: Your Ten Favorite Kinks songs.

Mine, in no particular order:

Waterloo Sunset (an all-time top 5 favorite)
Yo Yo (overlooked gem with beautiful lyrics and fantastic melody)
Some Mother's Son (anti-war Ray?)
Shangri La (might be mildly related to Yo Yo)
I'm Not Like Everybody Else (the first post-modern alternative song?)
This is Where I Belong (special meaning post-Katrina)
Come Dancing (joyous, nostalgic, musical)
Set Me Free (my favorite Kinks song to play live)
You Still Want Me (Ray channels Merseybeat)
The Village Green (more nostalgia- funny how Ray could be so wistful for the past at the ripe old age of 23)

This is definitely a list that changes from day to day. And yours?

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:22 am

Only familiar with best of... so:

Days
Waterloo Sunset
Sunny Afternoon
Lola
Apeman
You Really Got Me
Dedicated Follower of Fashion
All Day and All of the Night
Tired of Waiting for You
Where have all the good times gone

Post by **BlueChair** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:03 am

In no particular order:

1. Celluloid Heroes (it's too bad that the album this is on isn't very good, because it's one of my absolute favorite songs of all time)
2. Picture Book (infectious as hell)
3. Strangers (Dave Davies at his finest)
4. Sunny Afternoon (probably my favorite of the hits)
5. No Return (I think this was the song that convinced me of Ray Davies' versatility as a songwriter)
6. 20th Century Man (had to go with something from Muswell Hillbillies, plus this song is so damn fun to play on the guitar)
7. Get Back In Line (stunning)
8. Victoria (Canada to India, Australia to Cornwall, Singapore to Hong Kong)
9. Do You Remember Walter (love the nostalgia on this)
10. Village Green (ditto, plus the instrumentation is awesome on this one. I love the outtake version that's just the woodwinds and strings)

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:07 pm

Already mentioned:

Days
Waterloo Sunset
20th Century Man
All Day and All of the Night
Victoria

My other 5 - no order

Dead End Street
Big Black Smoke
Sometthing Better Beginning
She's Got Everything
Better Things

This is all subject to change tomorrow.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:35 pm

God, I forgot Dead End Street. Now my entire list is suspect....... damn.

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:03 pm

(A) Face In The Crowd
Daylight
Sweet Lady Genevieve
Waterloo Sunset
Dead End Street
Celluloid Heroes
Where Have All The Good Times Gone
David Watts
Rainy Day in June
Sunny Afternoon

strangerinthehouse · Post by **strangerinthehouse** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:24 am

Death of a Clown (One of my favorite songs ever)
Get Back In Line
Lola (The song that Introduced me to the kinks)
All My Friends Were There (so much fun)
A Well Respected Man
Waterloo Sunset
This Time Tomorrow
Village Green
Picture Book
Nothing in This World Can Stop Me Worrin' bout that Girl

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:31 am

pophead2k wrote:I'm Not Like Everybody Else (the first post-modern alternative song?)

Can you define what you mean by that term?

Just going from a best-of called Singles Collection & being familiar with I'm Not Like Everybody Else.

Sunny Afternoon
You Really Got Me
All Day and All of The NIght
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
David Watts
Waterloo Sunset
A Well Respected Man
Death Of A Clown
Days
Victoria

Lola was a pretty damn well conceived pop song (though well worn out by now), and unless popular Reggae had already been around Apeman seems to preempted the basic style of it.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:39 am

BN, the above reference was my awkward and poorly described assessment of the fact that I'm Not Like Everybody Else could have easily fit in the cannon of a slew of 80s-90s alt acts with its themes of defiance and alientation all mixed together over a whomping E minor chord. Easy to picture that song being written and performed by, say, Husker Du or Soul Asylum. I'm sure I've just muddied it even further......

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:49 am

So much more pure and potent though, don't you think? At least it is to my ears.

And what's the deal with 'Australia'? They take a broad swipe at us and think they can get away with it!

Post by **BlueChair** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 12:15 pm

I think there are a lot of people on this forum who need to go out immediately about Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society and Muswell Hillbillies. Contrary to popular belief, much of The Kinks best work is album-oriented and not available on Best Of compilations

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:48 pm

Muswell Hillbillies is my favorite Kinks album. Here are my ten - not so familiar with the early of later stuff, so it's mid-period Kinks intensive. In no particular order:

Victoria
Shangri-La
20th Century Man
Have A Cuppa Tea
Uncle Son
David Watts
Last Of The Steam-Powered Trains
Waterloo Sunset
Animal Farm
Here Come The People In Grey

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:25 pm

pophead2k wrote:BN, the above reference was my awkward and poorly described assessment of the fact that I'm Not Like Everybody Else could have easily fit in the cannon of a slew of 80s-90s alt acts with its themes of defiance and alientation all mixed together over a whomping E minor chord. Easy to picture that song being written and performed by, say, Husker Du or Soul Asylum. I'm sure I've just muddied it even further......

Indeed - Camper Van Beethoven did a nice cover of this in the mid 80's.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:42 am

BlueChair wrote:I think there are a lot of people on this forum who need to go out immediately about Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society and Muswell Hillbillies.

I've been vaguely aware of those records, Blue, but had no idea they had remained as a band till 1996 (just reading about their career now). I suppose I'll check out anything by Ray Davies - sure, I should check out the classic Kinks albums, but as much as that I look forward to mining for potential gems from all along his long career, especially from some of my old vinyl haunts. It's interesting when a songwriter feels the pressure of their past standards pushing them on to come up with something as good or better, and how that also might influence what they write about, so The Kinks are definitely pretty high on my 'to check out' list. Another interesteing aspect of it is discovering the histories of the songs which have been covered by The Pretenders, The Jam, etc. I'm Not Like Everybody Else, for instance, I first heard covered live and also a cover recording of it by two Australian bands before I knew it was a Kinks song.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:44 am

On the other hand, re the Kinks catalogue, can anyone comment at length on the later period, say from mid 70's to 1996? Any notable highlights?

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 5:51 am

I think that Give the People What They Want is easily the best post-60s album the Kinks put out. The songwriting is really, really strong and Ray covers a lot of ground as far as topics go. Check out the lyrics to Yo Yo or Killer's Eyes and you'll see a guy at top form.

Post by **BlueChair** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:55 am

pophead2k wrote:I think that Give the People What They Want is easily the best post-60s album the Kinks put out.

Better than Muswell Hillbillies? If so, I need to check that album out immediately!

RinghioStarr · Post by **RinghioStarr** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:39 am

I think that Muswell is a bore.

1. Autumn Almanac
2. Shangri La
3. I'll Remember
4. Village Green Preservation Society
5. Waterloo Sunset
6. Dead End Street
7. Till The End Of The Day
8. Stop Your Sobbing
9. Rainy Day In June
10. So Long
--------------------------------------------
11. Days
12. Tired Of Waiting For You
13. You Really Got Me
14. Sunny Afternoon
15. Village Green
16. Starstruck

I dunno anything about their eighties' efforts.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:43 pm

BlueChair wrote:
pophead2k wrote:I think that Give the People What They Want is easily the best post-60s album the Kinks put out.
Better than Muswell Hillbillies? If so, I need to check that album out immediately!

TOTALLY different from Muswell, mind you. And while I have a lot of time for that album, GTPWTW effectively mixes that late 70s arena rock sound with some very heartfelt songwriting and some of Ray's best singing.

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:35 am

I would say all Kinks fans need to ignore what theyve heard about the Preservation records and pick up "Preservation Act 1", the re-issue rather annoyingly tacks the single "Preservation" on to the start the single version of "One of the Survivors" on the end, but if you listen from the intended start "Morning" right through to the intended end "Demolition" it is right up there with their very very best records, ie a fantastic record indeed.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:13 pm

http://fuelfriends.blogspot.com/2006/09 ... f-ray.html

Ron Sexsmith covers This Is Where I Belong, a song I don't know.