So why is The Kinks’ Kinks on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
When you get into the depths of a project as frankly gargantuan and crazy as this best 1,000 albums ever one, you run into challenges that – when you take them seriously, as I do – get nearly agonizing.
Case in point is The Kinks’ song, “All Day and All of the Night.” Here’s the non-agonizing part: it’s one of my favorite songs of the 1960s, and flat out one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s pure rock ‘n roll bliss, pure garage rock bliss, pure British Invasion bliss.
It’s pure bliss is what I’m saying – hopefully you’re picking up what I’m putting down.
So what’s the problem, you’re asking?
“All Day and All of the Night” was originally released as a single in the UK, and this was back when vinyl singles were very much in vogue. It was then also included on not one but two other albums: Kinksize Hits, an EP released in the UK, and Kinks-Size, promoted as The Kinks’ “second American album.”
Cut to 60 years later, and the current “home” of “All Day and All of the Night” in terms of album format, for all intents and purposes, is part of the “deluxe” version of Kinks the album – the slimmer, non-deluxe version of which was originally released in 1964.
Now, in terms of the scope of the best 1,000 albums ever project, I’ve leaned toward being “inclusive,” meaning that I’ve decided to include things like “best of” albums when warranted, live albums, and even bootlegs and mashups here and there. Which is all to say that part of the reason why Kinks the album landed at #408 in terms of the best 1,000 albums ever is because it includes “All Day and All of the Night.”
Now, as it turns out, the rest of the album is also fantastic. And it includes what’s easily a Top 5 Kinks song and another one of the best garage rock and 1960s songs in “You Really Got Me.”
It’s another garage rock classic, and that opening crunchy riff is absolutely perfect. Part of The Kinks’ genius is the way that Ray Davies phrases his vocals unlike anyone else: you got me so I can’t sleep AT NIGHT.
There’s also something about The Kinks’ sound that’s so bold and confident, the way that there’s space between the guitar chords where there’s no sound for a microsecond, and it emphasizes every guitar stroke and drumbeat. Minimal, raw, well honed, and just fantastic.
Van Halen later did a hair metal-y cover of “You Really Got Me,” and it’s quite a lot more fun than I recalled.
“Stop Your Sobbing” is a really sweet, softer song with a wonderful melody. It’s ever so slightly Beatles derivative, but since when is that a bad thing?
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with The Kinks’ Kinks
It seems there’s some long running controversy over whether The Doors’ classic song, “Hello, I Love You,” ripped off or copied “All Day and All of the Night” in some way.
Maybe I’m crazy*, but I’ve listened to both songs countless times and never once related them to one another. The rhythm has a TINY similarity, but really they’re both catchy 1960s rock songs by two great bands in my view.
* Okay, we know I’m at least a little crazy for embarking on this here lunatic project, but I mean otherwise crazy if you can dig.
Some stats & info about The Kinks – Kinks
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, British Bands, British Invasion, Garage Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was Kinks released? 1964
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #408 out of 1,000
The Kinks’ Kinks on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Kinks’ Kinks that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Girl, I want to be with you all of the time – all day and all of the night.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.