| The Essential Kinks | ||||
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| Released | October 14, 2014 | |||
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| Length | 2:38:54 | |||
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| The Kinks compilation albums chronology | ||||
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The Essential Kinks is a two disc compilation album by English rock band the Kinks, released on October 14, 2014, on Legacy Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.[1]
Background
The album celebrates the Kinks' 50th anniversary[2][3] of their first release with RCA Records. The album includes all the Kinks' biggest hits from 1964 to 1993. It was released as part of Sony's The Essential series and contains 48 tracks.[2] The liner notes were written by David Bowie.[2][1][4]
The Davies brothers, who had not played together since 1996, revealed in early 2014 that they had met in person and put their animosity behind them. They were writing new compositions and discussing the possibility of playing together again.[4]
Sony has acquired exclusive licensing to the North American rights to albums made by the Kinks for both RCA Records and Arista between 1971 and 1985. Hi-resolution digital downloads, including Muswell Hillbillies from 1971, Preservation Act 1 from 1973, Preservation Act 2 from 1974, and State of Confusion were released on 9 September 2014.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Classic Rock Revisited | B+[5] |
- Tony Peters from Iconfetch said, "This marks the first time that the entire Kinks’ 50-year journey has been captured on a single collection. Yet, even if you already own all of their material, you’re going to want this one – the improvement in sound is just that good. The Kinks sound monstrous in this new career-spanning collection. With all the negative talk about the music business lately, it’s easy to overlook the good things still happening. A fine example of this is the recently-issued, two-disc set, The Essential Kinks."[6]
- Pat Francis from Pop Culture said, "When a band has 40 years of recorded history under its belt it is almost impossible to whittle that amount of music down to a definitive 2 CD collection but the just released The Essential Kinks comes pretty close. Classics such as 'All Day And All Of The Night,' 'Waterloo Sunset' and 'Picture Book' prove why The Kinks are revered by musicians and music fanatics all over the world."[7]
Track listing
Disc one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Really Got Me" | Ray Davies | Kinks (1964) | 2:13 |
| 2. | "Stop Your Sobbing" | Ray Davies | Kinks (1964) | 2:05 |
| 3. | "All Day and All of the Night" | Ray Davies | Kinks-Size (1965) | 2:21 |
| 4. | "Tired of Waiting for You" | Ray Davies | Kinda Kinks (1965) | 2:30 |
| 5. | "Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" | Ray Davies | Kinda Kinks (1965) | 2:43 |
| 6. | "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" | Ray Davies | Kinda Kinks (1965) | 2:15 |
| 7. | "A Well Respected Man" | Ray Davies | Kinkdom (1965) | 2:41 |
| 8. | "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" | Ray Davies | Kinkdom (1965) | 3:00 |
| 9. | "Who'll Be the Next in Line" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1965) later appeared on Kinda Kinks as a bonus track. | 2:01 |
| 10. | "Set Me Free" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1965) later appeared on Kinda Kinks as a bonus track. | 2:11 |
| 11. | "See My Friends" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1965) later appeared on Kinda Kinks as a bonus track. | 2:44 |
| 12. | "Sunny Afternoon" | Ray Davies | Face to Face (1966) | 3:35 |
| 13. | "Dead End Street" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1966) later appeared on Face to Face as a bonus track. | 3:21 |
| 14. | "Death of a Clown" | Ray Davies, Dave Davies | Something Else by The Kinks (1967) | 3:12 |
| 15. | "Autumn Almanac" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1967) | 3:12 |
| 16. | "David Watts" | Ray Davies | Something Else by The Kinks (1967) | 2:37 |
| 17. | "Waterloo Sunset" | Ray Davies | Something Else by The Kinks (1967) | 3:17 |
| 18. | "Days" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1968) | 2:52 |
| 19. | "The Village Green Preservation Society" | Ray Davies | The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968) | 2:47 |
| 20. | "Do You Remember Walter?" | Ray Davies | The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968) | 2:24 |
| 21. | "Picture Book" | Ray Davies | The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968) | 2:35 |
| 22. | "Victoria" | Ray Davies | Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969) | 3:38 |
| 23. | "Apeman" | Ray Davies | Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970) | 3:51 |
| 24. | "Strangers" | Dave Davies | Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970) | 3:18 |
| 25. | "20th Century Man" (US Single Version) | Ray Davies | Muswell Hillbillies (1971) | 4:01 |
| 26. | "Supersonic Rocket Ship" | Ray Davies | Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972) | 3:30 |
| 27. | "Celluloid Heroes" (US Single Version) | Ray Davies | Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972) | 4:45 |
Disc two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Here Comes Yet Another Day" | Ray Davies | Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972) | 3:54 |
| 2. | "You Don’t Know My Name" | Dave Davies | Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972) | 2:34 |
| 3. | "Till the End of the Day" (Live 1972) | Ray Davies | Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972) | 2:00 |
| 4. | "One of the Survivors" | Ray Davies | Preservation Act 1 (1973) | 4:03 |
| 5. | "Sweet Lady Genevieve" | Ray Davies | Preservation Act 1 (1973) | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)" | Ray Davies | Soap Opera (1975) | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Life On the Road" | Ray Davies | Sleepwalker (1977) | 5:01 |
| 8. | "Sleepwalker" | Ray Davies | Sleepwalker (1977) | 4:04 |
| 9. | "Life Goes On" | Ray Davies | Sleepwalker (1977) | 5:01 |
| 10. | "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" (Single Version) | Ray Davies | Misfits (1978) | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Father Christmas" | Ray Davies | Non-Album Single (1977) | 3:41 |
| 12. | "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" | Ray Davies | Low Budget (1979) | 3:36 |
| 13. | "Lola" (Live 1979) | Ray Davies | One for the Road (1980) | 4:45 |
| 14. | "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" (Live 1979) | Ray Davies | One for the Road (1980) | 2:17 |
| 15. | "Better Things" (Single Version) | Ray Davies | Give the People What They Want (1981) | 2:59 |
| 16. | "Destroyer" | Ray Davies | Give the People What They Want (1981) | 3:47 |
| 17. | "Come Dancing" | Ray Davies | State of Confusion (1983) | 3:55 |
| 18. | "Don't Forget to Dance" | Ray Davies | State of Confusion (1983) | 4:39 |
| 19. | "Do It Again" | Ray Davies | Word of Mouth (1984) | 4:09 |
| 20. | "Living on a Thin Line" | Dave Davies | Word of Mouth (1984) | 4:14 |
| 21. | "Scattered" | Ray Davies | Phobia (1993) | 4:10 |
Personnel
- Ray Davies – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Dave Davies – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Andy Pyle – bass (tracks: 2-11)
- Jim Rodford – bass (tracks: 2-12 to 2-21)
- John Dalton – bass (tracks: 1-22 to 1-27, 2-1 to 2-9)
- Pete Quaife – bass (tracks: 1-1 to 1-21)
- Ron Lawrence – bass (tracks: 2-10)
- Bob Henrit – drums (tracks: 2-19 to 2-21)
- Mick Avory – drums (tracks: 1-1 to 1-27, 2-1 to 2-9, 2-11 to 2-18)
- Nick Trevisick – drums (tracks: 2-10)
- Ian Gibbons – keyboards (tracks: 2-13 to 2-21)
- John Gosling – keyboard (tracks: 1-23 to 1-27, 2-1 to 2-11)
- Nick Newell – keyboards, percussion (tracks: 2-13, 2-14)
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2014 | RCA Records, Legacy Records | CD, digital download | 88843066622 / 88843066622 |
References
- ^ a b c Steve Chagollan (20 September 2014). "Sony's Legacy to Release Several Classic Kinks Recordings". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Chris Coplan (11 September 2014). "The Kinks commemorate 50th anniversary with archival releases, liner notes written by David Bowie". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Marc Myers (29 October 2014). "How the Kinks Roughed Up Their Sound". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ a b "David Bowie: 'I've never heard a Kinks song that I didn't like'". NME. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "The Essential Kinks Legacy/ Arista". Classic Rock Revisited. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Kinks - Essential Kinks (Review)". Iconfetch. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Pat Francis (October 2014). "Music Review: "The Essential Kinks" CD". PopCultureBeast. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
This page was last edited on 5 January 2024, at 08:12