I'm a huge Kinks fan but that doesn't blind me to the fact that they have 
some good, and some not-so-good albums both early and late in their career. 
To that end, I would not so easily dismiss the RCA/Arista years, and I agree 
with Rob's assessment. I thought Word of Mouth was also quite strong, with 
some blistering and kick ass songs by both brothers. It's also an 
interesting album in light of Ray's then-recent break-up with Chrissie 
Hynde, who appears to figure prominently in such songs as "Sold Me Out," 
"Missing Persons" and "Going Solo." 

Bottom line: you can't go wrong buying a Kinks album. 

rob@splitsville.com writes: 

> Schoolboys in Disgrace was a great album, as was Low Budget, which really kick-started their arena come back in America.
> Sheeyit, I also love Give the People What They Want. A lot of people got sick of Destroyer, but Killer's Eyes, A Little Bit of Abuse, Art Lover, all fantastic. And the best of the lot is the lead track, Around the Dial.  
> 
> Of course, a lot of Kinks fans hate this era, as they got away from their quaint 'Britishness'. But I was about 13 when Low Budget came out and saw the Kinks three times at the Providence Civic Center during this late 70's/early 80's period, and gobbled up everything they put out.