The Kinks Albums (28)
What The Critics Say
Ray Davies continues to turn out three or four brilliant songs on albums that barely anyone will ever hear. For Kinks fans, that's enough to justify the purchase of any of their recent albums, and the harder-edged Phobia is no exception to that rule. ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
State of Confusion gave the Kinks their biggest single in nearly 20 years, but they didn't try to replicate the music hall-tinged pop of "Come Dancing" on its follow-up, Word of Mouth, preferring to concentrate on straight-ahead hard rock. Most of the material was well crafted, but only a few songs were distinctive, particularly the circular, synth-spiked minor hit "Do It Again." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Kinks' State of Confusion had its share of glossy hard rock in the vein of "Low Budget" and "Destroyer," but the record came to life on the quieter numbers, whether it's the elegiac "Don't Forget to Dance," the wistful pop of "Long Distance," or the buoyant nostalgia of "Come Dancing," which became the group's biggest hit since "Tired of Waiting for You." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Give the People What They Want'
Release Date 1/1/1981
Tracks 11
Label Arista
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Riding high on the success of Low Budget, the Kinks turned out another collection of hard-driving, arena-ready rock & roll with Give the People What They Want -- in short, they delivered exactly what the title suggests. Throughout the record, the band kicks up a storm, rocking out with a surprising amount of precision, and although Ray Davies' writing isn't as strong as it was on the group's two previous albums, he has contributed a set of professional hard rock that is distinguished by solid hooks and a clever sense of humor. After all, there's a certain charm in hearing him rework "All Day and All of the Night" into the paranoid "Destroyer," or his pure cynicism on the title track. But the minor masterpiece of the album is "Better Things," a sweet piece of charming sentimentalism that is the only time Davies lets his guard down during the entire album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Low Budget doesn't have a narrative like Preservation or Soap Opera, but Ray Davies cleverly designed the album as a sly satire of the recession and oil crisis that gripped America in the late '70s -- thereby satisfying his need to be a wry social commentator while giving American audiences a hook to identify with. It was a clever move that worked; not only did Low Budget become their highest-charting American album (not counting the 1966 Greatest Hits compilation), but it was also a fine set of arena rock, one of the better mainstream hard rock albums of its time. And it certainly was of its time -- so much so that many of the concerns and production techniques have dated quite a bit in the decades since its initial release. Nevertheless, that gives the album a certain charm, since it now plays like a time capsule, a snapshot of what hard rock sounded like at the close of the '70s. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Davies' songwriting fluctuates throughout the album, since it's dictated as much by commercial as artistic concerns, but the moments when he manages to balance the two impulses -- as on the disco-fueled "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman," the vaudevillian "Low Budget," "A Gallon of Gas," the roaring "Attitude" (possibly their best hard rocker of the era, by the way), and "Catch Me Now I'm Falling," where Davies takes on the persona of America itself -- are irresistible. Low Budget may not have the depth of, say, Arthur or Village Green, but it's a terrifically entertaining testament to their skills as a professional rock band and Davies' savvy as a commercial songwriter. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Kinks became arena rockers with Sleepwalker, and its follow-up, Misfits, follows in the same vein, but it's a considerable improvement on its predecessor. Ray Davies has learned how to write within the confines of the arena rock formula, and Misfits is one of rock & roll's great mid-life crisis albums, finding Davies considering whether he should even go on performing. "Misfits," a classic outsider rallying cry, and "Rock and Roll Fantasy" provide the two touchstones for the album -- Davies admits that he and the Kinks will never be embraced by the rock & roll mainstream, but after Elvis' death, he's not even sure if rock & roll is something for mature adults to do. Over the course of Misfits, he finds answers to the question, both in his lyrics and through the band's muscular music. Eventually, he discovers that it is worth his time, but the search itself is superbly affecting -- even songs like the musichall shuffle "Hay Fever," which appear as filler at first, have an idiosyncratic quirk that make them cut deeper. Although Ray would return to camp on their next album, Misfits is a moving record that manages to convey deep emotions while rocking hard. The Kinks hadn't made a record this good since Muswell Hillbillies. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace'
Release Date 1/1/1976
Tracks 10
Label RCA
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Ray Davies had indulged himself one time too often with Soap Opera, and his bandmates, namely brother Dave and founding member Mick Avory, revolted, insisting that their sixth RCA album sound more like a Kinks album (certainly, that's something RCA wanted too). So, Davies designed their next album as a return to a simpler, band-oriented sound. Of course, he didn't jettison his love for conceptual works, so Schoolboys in Disgrace was born. Working under the presumption that a return to simple rock demanded a simple theme, Davies constructed the album as a nostalgic trip through childhood, reviving '50s rock & roll (including the occasional doo wop harmony) for the album's foundation, then turning the amps up high. There's no actual story per se -- it's a series of vignettes, like a coming-of-age film. As such, it's intermittently successful, on both the hard rock ("Jack the Idiot Dunce") and ballads ("The First Time We Fall in Love"). [A Japanese edition was issued in 2009.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
