I’ve made it a sort of life’s mission to sing the praises of unrecognized greatness in the realm of pop-culture. It breaks my heart when great works of art don’t get their due respect, so I shout like a crazy man to anyone that will listen, touting the merits of some obscure book or neighborhood restaurant or indie flick that has unjustly remained off of most people’s radar. Even worse, though, is when an artist is pigeonholed, and everyone assumes that they are simply a one-trick pony, that they have nothing else to offer. That is the sad state of the subject of today’s post/rant: the also-ran band of the British Invasion, the Kinks.
Everyone knows of the Kinks as a band that was popular for a split second, with back to back singles in 1964 with “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” – true innovations of hard rock, a primal proto-punk sound that was hugely influential. They were almost immediately overshadowed, though, by their contemporaries from across the pond: The Who, The Rolling Stones, and, of course, The Beatles. The Kinks would strike again more than five years later, but less so, with what seemed like almost a novelty song in “Lola”, or as everyone knows it, “That song about the transvestite and they sing about cherry-cola.”
The reason for this huge gap in cultural relevance is not because of a drop in quality, but because the Kinks were the victims of a ban imposed by the American Federation of Musicians, who refused to issue them a permit to perform in the US for all of the late 1960s, when the Kinks were producing not only some of the best music of their career, but some of the best rock music, period. The reason for the ban has never been clear, but many believe it was because of the Kinks’ infamously raucous stage performances. That’s right – the Kinks rocked too hard for American audiences. Without the ability to tour and promote their music, though, the Kinks were relegated to low record sales and never achieved the popularity they so justly deserved.
Well, I say it’s time that these wrongs be righted! Let us bring the Kinks back from cultural almost-obscurity and put them on the musical pedestal they so justly deserve. I argue that the Kinks, in their heyday, surpassed both the Who and Rolling Stones in quality, and even rivaled the Beatles as the eminent rock band of the 1960s.
Another possible reason they never made it in the U.S. was because of their rampant Anglophelia – where the Beatles weren’t obviously British, and the Stones embraced American blues and country so much that they almost seemed to be born here, the Kinks wore the Union Jack with pride. They have two songs singing the praises of a fine cup o’ tea, and even wrote a whole concept album about their love of their homeland, Arthur: Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire. I, for one, consider this a strength, but I’m a bit of an Anglophile myself, enjoying a good Sherlock Holmes story or episode of Monty Python as much, or even more, than the next guy. I love their unabashed love song to the glory days of the empire with “Victoria,” or the use of the air-raid siren sound effect in “Mr. Churchill Says.” And a hoedown (or is it a hootenanny?) about the benefits of tea? Count me in.
The Kinks also had an irascible wit, far funnier than the too-cool-for-school Stones, and more insightful and cutting than the Beatles, often taking aim at the pretentious and self-important in society. The song that kicked off my love affair with the Kinks, and really drove me look into their forgotten works, was “Apeman,” an ingenious critique of our modern society, while still working as a silly pop song with hints of reggae. (I actually have to give credit to my lovely wife for discovering this song. Thanks, hon! This more than makes up for making me watch Dirty Dancing.) “The Village Green Preservation Society” is a hilarious indictment of groups that try to cling to nostalgic, simpler times that never really existed. In hindsight, it’s one of the most prescient songs in rock history.
In fact, the Kinks were incredibly diverse in their subject matter. They could write a song named after a George Orwell novel, but is in fact about the joys of farm life (“Animal Farm”), or a song about a fabled Chinese city (“Shangri La”), or a song about the nostalgia of looking at an old photo album (“Picture Book”), or a murder ballad about the evils of alcohol (“Alcohol”), or yet another song about life in the English countryside (“Autumn Almanac”). There are also forgotten songs from their early garage-rock period that stand up just as well along any pop song released at the time (“When I See That Girl of Mine”, “Till the End of the Day”). They are all catchy, well crafted pop songs, but still have a distinctive voice. The personalities of Ray and Dave Davies, the founding brothers of the Kinks, always come through on their songs, and it’s a personality that I’d like to get to know – funny, smart, conscious of their own history, but with an eye towards the future, and with little to no posturing or pretension.
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Evan Mather lives just outside of Chicago and is a full-time student with hopes to eventually earn his Masters in Library Science. He spends his limited free time with his wife and cats, subjecting them to his cinematic, musical, literary and culinary interests. Sometimes this is a good thing, and sometimes it is not.
Well placed, sir. I can’t readily think of a band more deserving of a bit more attention than the Kinks. I definitely rate Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire among my favorite albums (and Apeman among my favorite singles).
I think they owe a bit of credit to Wes Anderson for his prevalent use of their music in his films to at least bring them some more indie cred these days. Their placement of Village Green Preservation Society in Hot Fuzz didn’t hurt either.
Yeah, they’ve been showing up fairly regularly in film. I really think they’re on the brink of breaking through to some extent, as silly as that sounds for a band who hasn’t made relevant music for years (though Ray’s newest albums ain’t too bad.) I hope this pushes more people to dig a little deeper and find all the gold they have to offer.
And if you haven’t given it a listen, Muswell Hillbillies is just as cohesive an album as those two, in my opinion, but a fair departure musically. They finally discovered American blues and country on that one, and they blend it perfectly with their own sound and style.
There’s a reason why the Kinks are underrated… its because they are shit. Only old farts dig them. Like you.
I think it’s important that we all just stop and recognize that we have now been trolled. This is a momentous occasion.
I think I just teared up a little bit.
Guys… we should frame that post.
I love this, thank you for posting it. I always knew the Kinks were extremely underrated, but I had no idea why (apart from assuming most people like shitty music), until now. Thank you also for the many links to songs, some of which I’d never heard. Awesome