Kinks

UK digitally re-mastered and expanded edition of this 1964 album from the British Rock band led by the ever-bickering Davies brothers, Ray and Dave. Contains the original album joined by a myriad of tracks including the Chuck Berry compositions Too Much Monkey Business and Beautiful Delilah. The J. D. "Jay" Miller -  I'm a Lover Not a Fighter the Bo Diddley’s - Cadillac and the song written by J. Moore - Got Love If You Want It.

Ray Davies own songs include You Really Go Me, Just Can't Go to Sleep, I Took My Baby Home, Stop Your Sobbing and So Mystifying.

 Kink Kontroversy

This studio Album from the Kinks was first released in the U.K. in November 1965 and March the following year in the U.S.A.  It contains classic tracks including Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Milk Cow Blues, I Am Free, The World Keeps Going Round and I'm On an Island. The hit Till the End of the Day has been added to by another chart hit Dedicated Follower of Fashion amongst other tracks.

The album that ushered in a new era of Ray Davies' song writing, 1966's FACE TO FACE finds Davies penning, for the first time, a series of vignettes in the style that would become a staple for the rest of his career. Songs such as "Dandy" (a hit for Herman's Hermits), with its concise portrait of a '60s swinger, are a world away from the raucous rock of early hits like "You Really Got Me". The folky, Indian-influenced "Fancy", which may or may not be a self-portrait, and "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" (actually written about the Davies brothers' sister) are timeless, precisely crafted sketches, beyond musical fad or fashion, that still resound today.
Musically, some serious thought is apparent in the arrangements of songs such as "Too Much on My Mind", and much of the album is conclusive evidence that the rest of the Kinks, in particular guitarist Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory, were the perfect foil for Davies' song writing skills. Though the only bona-fide Kinks hit here is the breezy, sardonic "Sunny Afternoon", FACE TO FACE is a seminal Kinks album for its overarching vision and for displaying the first serious manifestations of Ray Davies' burgeoning song writing talent.

How Ray Davies made it through is anyone's guess. He fought constantly with his brother and band mate Dave. He received not a penny of royalties throughout the Kinks' late-1960s heyday, due to a management dispute. He endured two divorces--the first of which saw him hospitalised in a suspected suicide attempt--and a painful break-up with Chrissie Hynde. Under terrible stress, he announced his retirement every six months from 1967 onwards. Yet somehow he held together one of the 60s' most stylish outfits, and released a string of hits that rank among the wittiest, most provocative and most socially aware songs ever written.

The first disc of the two-CD The Ultimate Collection begins with their third single and first No. 1, the insistent "You Really Got Me", then races through the glory years with the absurdly infectious likes of "Sunny Afternoon", "Waterloo Sunset", "Lola" and "Apeman". Dave's two hits are included, too, and the disc ends with "Come Dancing" and other selections from The Kinks' early-80s comeback.

Disc Two includes songs that were hits for others ("David Watts" and "Stop Your Sobbing"), various B-sides and other rarities, including "God's Children", from the soundtrack of Percy, a movie about a fellow seeking the original owner of his recently transplanted penis. The Ultimate Collection is an excellent addition to the Kinks's cannon. --Dominic Wills

The Kinks - You Really Got Me:   Story Of The Kinks DVD

This DVD contains some of the Kinks finest moments and is full of rarely seen performances from the sixties right through to the nineties and also contains comments from the various members of the band including Ray Davies, Dave Davies and Mick Avory.

The story of The Kinks is not one for the faint-hearted, and in this updated biography Neville Marten and Jeff Hudson lift the lid on one of England's most idiosyncratic and charming bands. Through all the nervous breakdowns, resignations, guitars wielded as weapons, drug abuse, glasses without lenses, food fights, alien sightings, in-yer-face spitting, and mental torture The Kinks have become a rock 'n' roll legend! The songs of Ray Davies have inspired bands and artists across the full spectrum of pop and rock music, from Blur, Pulp, and Paul Weller to Van Halen. Their capacity for anarchy, humour, and storytelling has lead to some of the most durable and widely adored songs of the English pop canon, including Lola, Waterloo Sunset, and You Really Got Me. The band's inventive productions pre-dated even The Beatles, and their musical talent eclipsed The Rolling Stones. This is their story, compiled from interviews and anecdotes, and featuring photographs spanning Ray Davies' career. Previously published by Sanctuary.