ALSO for ABC Wednesday, Round 15, D is for Davies
I loved the early Kinks hits, but I didn’t buy many singles, of anyone. After buying Muswell Hillbillies and the subsequent Everybody’s In Show Biz LPs, I STILL had no Kinks hits collection, and I just don’t know why, because there were plenty of them out there. Got a couple albums from the early 1980s (Give the People What They Want and State of Confusion), and Lost & Found, a live album from 1991.
It wasn’t until early in the 21st century when I finally got The Ultimate Collection. Not only did it have the hits I knew, but it also showcased the songs I always associated with other bands: Dandy, which I own by Herman’s Hermits, and Stop Your Sobbing, covered by the Pretenders; the Pretenders’ lead singer Chrissie Hynde was going out with the chief singer/songwriter of the Kinks, Ray Davies, for a time, and they had a daughter together.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame just last week.
Here’s my post about Ray Davies from five years ago. Listen to the first 75 minutes of Coverville 1034 for 19 Kinks covers, a couple featuring the birthday boy himself.
Favorite Kinks songs
The ones cited as MH were linked previously; the ones starred (*) are linked here.
25. Skin and Bones, from MH
24. Give the People What They Want, from Give the People What They Want (1981) – a kicking song about consumerism, and how the people get harder to please.
23. Holiday, from MH
22. Better Things from GtPWTW – an optimistic ending to an angry album.
21. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman, from Low Budget (1979) – hey, I had to have the comic title on here, did I not?
20. Complicated Life, from MH
19. Where Have All the Good Times Gone, from The Kink Kontroversy (TKK) (1965)
18. Who’ll Be the Next In Line, b-side of Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy single.
17. Oklahoma U.S.A., from MH
16. Don’t Forget to Dance, from State of Confusion (1983). I think this is quite the sweet song.
15. I’m Not Like Everybody Else, b-side of Sunny Afternoon single (1966). I didn’t know this song until I bought the greatest hits collection.
14. Destroyer from Give the People What They Want (1983). Story is sequel to Lola, and borrows from a couple more Kinks songs as well.
*13. Tired of Waiting for You’ From: Kinda Kinks (KK) (1965)
12. Apeman, from Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970). There’s a song called The Monkey, by Dave Bartholomew, and in different ways, it seems to be the same message.
*11. ‘Till the End of the Day’ from TKK
10. Come Dancing, from SoC.
*9. Lola, from LVPatMPO
*8. Waterloo Sunset, from Something Else by the Kinks (1967)
7. Alcohol from MH
*6. Victoria, from Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)
*5. Sunny Afternoon, from Face to Face (1966)
*4. You Really Got Me, from Kinks (1964)
*3. A Well Respected Man, single (1965)
*2. Celluloid Heroes, from Everybody’s in Show-Biz (1972)
*1. All Day and All of the Night, single (1964)
Will the Kinks re-form? Maybe.
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Gerry Goffin died. He wrote a lot of songs you know.