Record #960: The Kinks – Kinda Kinks (1965)

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I have said, often and loudly, that the Kinks were the best band of the British Invasion’s first footfalls. Compared to their contemporaries at the time, their songs were more electrifying than the Who, more charming than The Beatles, and had more swagger than the Rolling Stones.

But the ferocity of their brand of rock and roll had some drawbacks—namely, a few violent tempers that led to violent fights both within the band and with roadies that got them banned by the American Federation of Musicians. Essentially blacklisted in the biggest music market in the world, the Kinks soldiered on through the rest of the globe. During a brief trip back to Britain after a tour in Asia, they recorded their second full length in just two weeks. The tight turnaround made it so they were unable to address any of the unhappiness they had with the sessions, and Ray Davies in particular has expressed his displeasure with the finished product many times over the years.

Regardless of how the band feels about the record though, it is hardly a poor example of the group’s prowess.

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Record #920: The Kinks – Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)

There’s maybe no band that captures the imagination of speculative music historians than the Kinks. In the early days of the British Invasion, they had a raw energy that propelled their songwriting beyond their peers. Many have made the claim that had they not been blacklisted by the American Federation of Musicians on their first US tour for the exact sort of destruction people loved the Who for a year later, they would have surpassed even the Beatles (I have made this before).

This could have destroyed a lesser band. Instead, The Kinks, led by brother duo Ray and Dave Davies, put their heads down and made several of the best pop rock albums in their native UK, not finding much success across the pond until “Lola” in 1970, when the ban had run its course.

It’s a personal policy of mine that if I find any of their records from this period in a record store, it’s an instant buy. It’s never steered me wrong before, and in the case of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), it paid off exceptionally well.

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