I’ll tell you right now why this may be the greatest compilation album involving The Kinks EVER. Because Ray Davies was involved in putting it together. He personally picked some of the tracks and the fact that some of those tracks weren’t smash hits per se makes it all the better for a true music buff!
Of course you’re going to get the tried and true standards like “Lola” and “You Really Got Me” but, nestled perfectly in between the monster hits you get the demo for “I Go To Sleep” and “Powerman”.
This is not a “Best Of” collection at all.This is a detailed montage into the very history of Rock. Just ask artists like Billy Corgan, Van Halen, Stereophonics, Madness… the list goes on and on! What I am saying is that if you are covered by the best than you ARE the best!
Buy “Sunny Afternoon, The Very Best Of The Kinks” HERE.
@TheKinks [rotatingtweets screen_name=’TheKinks’]
About “Sunny Afternoon, The Very Best of the Kinks”:
One of the most iconic and influential British bands of all-time, The Kinks release ‘Sunny Afternoon, The Very Best Of ’ – a must-have 2-disc retrospective – on October 16th on the BMG label.
The album features original versions of all the songs from the hit West End musical with added bonus tracks not included in the production plus some of Ray Davies’s personal picks he feels fit into the context of the release, including other Kinks hits and classics, BBC interviews and BBC session tracks.
Along with a total of 9 UK top 5 hit singles including 3 Number 1s, the album, unlike other Kinks compilations, features tracks chosen by Ray that were not originally hits but over the years have become so due to TV shows, films and covers by other artists.
Following a sold-out run at Hampstead Theatre, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ opened in the West End in 2014 and won 4 Oliver awards including Best New Musical, Best Actor In A Musical, Best Actor In A Supporting Role In A Musical, and Outstanding Achievement In Music for Ray Davies.
From the very instant ‘You Really Got Me’ roared to Number 1 in 1964 The Kinks (along with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who) came to define a generation and confirm Britain as the rock ‘n’ roll centre of the world.
With incomparable legendary frontman Ray Davies at the helm, brother Dave on lead guitar, Mick Avory on drums and Pete Quaife on bass, classic after classic followed ‘You Really Got Me’ into the charts, from ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ – which, along with its predecessor, is credited with helping to invent heavy metal and punk– to the risqué ‘Lola’, the pastoral ‘Tired Of Waiting’ and ‘Sunny Afternoon’, a chart topper when England won the World Cup in 1966.
P.T.O
Their 1967 smash hit ‘Waterloo Sunset’ is widely considered to be among the greatest singles ever released – with Pete Townsend, Blur’s Damon Albarn and Paul Weller citing it as one of their everlasting favourites.
The influence of The Kinks on generations of British and US music makers is incalculable, from glam rockers such as David Bowie, Mott The Hoople and Marc Bolan, to the new wave of Ian Dury, Madness, the punk of The Clash and The Pretenders (who had two top 40 hits with Kinks covers), to the heavy metal of Metallica and Van Halen to recent acts like Blur, Oasis, Mumford & Sons and Supergrass… the list goes on.
The Kinks and Ray Davies in particular have been resurgent recently with not only the West End musical being phenomenally successful but also Ray closing the 2012 London Olympic games with a stunning rendition of ’Waterloo Sunset’, watched by nearly 1 billion people worldwide, and also releasing his autobiography ‘Americana: The Kinks, The Road and The Perfect Riff’.
The Kinks – ‘Sunny Afternoon, The Very Best Of’ track listing:
DISC 1
- You Still Want Me
- I Gotta Move
- Just Can’t Go To Sleep
- Denmark Street
- A Well Respected Man
- Dead End Street
- Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
- You Really Got Me
- Set Me Free
- Till The End Of The Day
- This Strange Effect (BBC Session)
- Stop Your Sobbing
- This Is Where I Belong
- Where Have All The Good Times Go
- All Day And All Of The Night
- This Time Tomorrow
- Maximum Consumption
- Sitting In My Hotel
- I Go To Sleep (Demo)
- I’m Not Like Everybody Else
- Too Much On My Mind
- Tired Of Waiting For You
- The Moneygoround
DISC 2
- Sunny Afternoon
- A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy
- Days
- A Long Way From Home
- Waterloo Sunset
- Lola
- Look A Little On The Sunny Side
- Party Line
- Who’ll Be The Next In Line
- Tell Me Now So I Know (Demo Version)
- Starstruck
- Victoria
- Brainwashed
- Powerman
- Gotta Be Free
- The Way Love Used To Be
- Kinks BBC Interviews (1964-1966)
- You Really Got Me (BBC Session Track)
- Tired Of Waiting For You (BBC Session Track)
- Death Of A Clown (BBC Session Track)
- BBC Interview
- BBC Interview
- BBC Interview
- Death Of A Clown (BBC Session Track)
- WPIX U.S. TV Interview (1965)
“I never heard a Kinks song that I didn’t like” – David Bowie
