JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS LISTENED TO THE KINKS RECENTLY HERE ?...JUST GOT THEIR "VILLAGE GREEN" DELUXE CD AND RAY DAVIES WAS ON FIRE WITH HIS SONGWRITING AROUND THIS TIME....67-68 ...BRILLIANT SONGS BUT ALMOST ALL UNDER PRODUCED WHICH HE SEEMED TO PREFER WITH THIS ALBUM BUT ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE SIXTIES WITHOUT A DOUBT....IF YOU HAVENT HEARD IT , I HIGHLY RECOMMED IT...

Funny. These last months I've bought most of their albums (about 20, maybe more)
I like them but I'm still digesting so much music.

I bought several of their albums (1966-1971) over the past couple years, and they quickly became a favorite band of mine.

Village Green was the first. I have to say I was initially disappointed, as I expected a bunch of garage rockers. But it's become possibly my favorite of theirs.

As a lifelong Beatles fan I really have come to love the Kinks, and while they don't copy the Beatles, they are hugely reminiscent of them. More than any other band that I've heard (not including bands like Oasis that actually copy them), certainly more than the Stones.

Arthur is a close second to Village Green, and Something Else, Lola, and Muswell Hillbillies rounding out my collection. I like them all, though think these are probably the best of their albums. I guess Face to Face is also supposed to be great.

At some point I may venture into the late 70's albums like Sleepwalker.

They're one of my favorites since I was a young lad.Village Green is indeed a wonderful album, along with Something Else my favorite from the 60s.

I don't know if they really sound like the Beatles any more than most British bands of the early 60s but they had a similar quality, where they don't have just one signature sound. They changed up the style quite a bit but it still always sounded like them.

There's been talk of a reunion but Dave Davies doesn't want to do it apparently... he and Ray always fought & he's said recently that they couldn't pay him enough to go through the mental anguish again. Too bad as I saw them live many times in the 80s and they always gave 100%.

NDRU, if you decide to go for the later Kinks stuff I'd suggest you start with Misfits, that to me is the closest they ever came to the 60s era. And the 1983 album State of Confusion has a number of really nice tracks too though the production is very EIGHTIES with gated reverb on the drums and a pale, thin guitar sound.

bobzilla77 said:

right, Misfits may be the next purchase!

You're right, they don't really sound like the Beatles, but compared to the other British invasion bands like the Stones or the Who, or other psychedelic bands like Jimi or the Doors, The Kinks songwriting & style seems more thoughtful like the Beatles, where the others are more cool & bold rock.

just got their 1972 album "muswell hillbillies" which i would highly recommend....a total departure from all their previous albums ...a country bluegrass feel on most of the tracks but in a good way...again really good songwriting from ray davies and clever lyrics...one of the tracks is called " acute schizophrenia paranoia blues " .. must be one of the funniest song titles ever... ....give it a listen....the kinks are very unrated...