- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- The Kinks were in the first rank of British Invasion bands, with bandleader Ray Davies being among the most accomplished songwriters of the 1960’s.
The Kinks – The Kinks’ Greatest Hits (1971): This was the first compilation of hit singles by the Kinks, but it would not be the last. The Kinks were in the first rank of British Invasion bands, with bandleader Ray Davies being among the most accomplished songwriters of the 1960’s. Their first two hits in 1964, “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” caught my ear right away; nothing by the Rolling Stones or the Beatles had quite that kind of punch. But their very next single, “Tired of Waiting for You” (all three were Top Ten singles in the U.S., and #1 or #2 in England) was already showing the nuances and textures that marked their future work.
The Kinks’ Greatest Hits is far from exhaustive, though this album provides an excellent overview of their early songs during the height of the British Invasion.