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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Ryan Williams <ryan@jimmyether.com> |
| Subject | Re: Kinks |
| Date | Fri, 11 Jul 2003 12:20:51 -0400 |
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> I love the whole thing, even their much-dismissed '70s
> rock operas. This reminds me, does anyone have any insight into the
> Kinks
> catalog--particularly, what are people's favorite albums, how do they
> feel about
> the band's different eras, etc? Also, does anyone know of a place where
> you can
> read up on the story of their three rock operas (ie is there a site
> online
> someplace that distills the plot a bit?)
You should really read Ray Davies book X-Ray. It gives you a pretty good
view of the band in an interesting way.
I agree about the early 70's stuff being great. I love everything from
that period up to Pres Act 1, which I've always felt was way underrated.
"Morning Song", "Daylight", and "Sweet Lady Genevieve" are the perfect
three opening tracks for an album. It does have some weak tracks toward
the end, but how can you deny the melody for something like "Sitting In
The Midday Sun"? I do have trouble digesting Pres Act 2 though. It's way
too cheezy and ruins the series for me. Soap Opera has it's good and bad
points and can get a bit silly. Muswell and Lola are brilliant. The
first album of Everybody's In Showbiz is another great, yet slightly
silly, record along the lines of Lola, but focused on touring. I think
my all time favorite two are Arthur and of course Village Green. Those
are just two perfectly developed records and I love each and every song
like they were my children.
I'm actually not too crazy about the first couple of records.
Kontroversy is really where they started to shine for me with tracks
like "Gotta Get The First Plane Home" and "Where Have All The Good Times
Gone?". Something Else is another one in my top 10. "Waterloo Sunset"
may be one of the best songs Ray ever wrote. Oddly, I don't really care
for Face To Face, which so many people hail as a masterpiece. It has
some great tracks ("Dandy" and "Sunny Afternoon" in particular), but
over all seems weak to me. But then again, I never cared for Sgt. Pepper
either. :)
Ryan
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