By Jason Diamond, eMusic ContributorFor those of you who can't get enough of The Kinks (I'm one of those folks), Pitchfork reported that a two-disc best of the band's BBCĂ‚Â sessions is coming out on August 13th. While that should… more »
By eMusic Editorial Staff, eMusic ContributorYou asked, we answered — the first installment of "Covers That Beat the Originals" was so successful, we decided to dive back into the crates and unearth a few more. In this installment, hip-hop is… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorFollowing the success of Low Budget, as the title suggests this was a little more of the same. Although it lacks the imagination of its predecessor, it does contain one song that has grown in… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorA new record deal with Arista saw the Kinks transforming themselves into a US-style rock band. While Sleepwalker may lack the lyrical finesse of its predecessors, Ray Davies was once again writing the kind of… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorThe second Kinks rock album aimed primarily at the US market, Misfits was recorded against a backdrop of disharmony, as Ray Davies drove his disillusioned band through countless retakes to achieve the sound he wanted.… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorThe appealing "Do It Again" would have ranked as a fine single under other circumstances, but coming a year after "Come Dancing" it couldn't lay claim to the same international appeal. The most listenable track… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorTaking his inspiration from 1968's The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Davies set about constructing a concept album based around the premise of the forces of capitalism placing his rural idyll in jeopardy.… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorFinally reaping reward from their US touring, Low Budget was the best and most successful Kinks album for some time, even though many of its themes were long-term Ray Davies pre-occupations: the National Health Service,… more »
By Chris Hunt, eMusic ContributorThe Kinks finally became pop stars again with the release of "Come Dancing," a nostalgic nod to the Ilford Palais and the dancehalls of the '50s. A huge Stateside hit six months before the release… more »
By Dan Epstein, eMusic ContributorWhen the Kinks signed with Arista Records in 1976, Ray Davies effectively abandoned the village greens of Britain for the basketball arenas of America. For the next decade, the band's theatrical concept albums took a… more »
By Barry Walters, eMusic ContributorReleased after the momentous two-act, three-disc Preservation suite, 1975's Soap Opera signaled a lighter approach toward the end of the Kinks 'concept album phase that had begun in the late '60s. Nearly universally panned upon… more »
By Barry Walters, eMusic ContributorUnder pressure from fellow founding Kinks Dave Davies and Mick Avery to bring back the rock after 1975's melodramatic Soap Opera, Ray Davies maintained the theatrical whimsy of the last several albums for Schoolboys in… more »
By Lenny Kaye, eMusic ContributorThe split personality that is Ray Davies 'genius is never more apparent than on this 1972 classic. Though the Kinks 'initial breakthrough was built on ruffled-shirt decadence and guitar distortion, Davies early on revealed a… more »
By Wayne Robins, eMusic ContributorHas any '60s band had such a prolific afterlife as the Doors? The Los Angeles quartet - singer Jim Morrison, keyboard player Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore - broke on through… more »
By Johnny Black, eMusic ContributorThe Kinks'original lead guitarist, Dave Davies, is considered by many to have been, if not the inventor of heavy metal axemanship, at the very least one of its foremost pioneers. Fueled by sibling rivalry and… more »
By Neal Pollack, eMusic ContributorA few months ago, somewhere between the I-35 North on-ramp and Texas State Highway 183, an important thing happened: I introduced my two-year-old son to jazz. Elijah had been particularly fussy after his nap, and… more »
By Ann Powers, eMusic ContributorStand tall with me, friends, and say it — I'm disturbed, these days, to be an American. I believe this is a bipartisan position. Whether you're a Kerry-hugging liberal or a Bush Leaguer, you've got… more »
