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The Essential Kinks
Compilation album by
the Kinks
Released14 October 2014
Genre
Length158:54
Label
Producer
The Kinks compilation chronology
Waterloo Sunset: The Very Best of The Kinks & Ray Davies
(2012) 		The Essential Kinks
(2014) 		Sunny Afternoon – The Very Best of The Kinks
(2015)

The Essential Kinks is a two disc compilation album by English rock band the Kinks, released on 14 October 2014, on Legacy Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.[1]

Background

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The album celebrates the Kinks' 50th anniversary[2][3] of their first release with RCA Records. The album includes all the Kinks' biggest hits from 1964 to 1993. It was released as part of Sony's The Essential series and contains 48 tracks.[2] The liner notes were written by David Bowie.[2][1][4]

The Davies brothers, who had not played together since 1996, revealed in early 2014 that they had met in person and put their animosity behind them. They were writing new compositions and discussing the possibility of playing together again.[4]

Sony has acquired exclusive licensing to the North American rights to albums made by the Kinks for both RCA Records and Arista between 1971 and 1985. Hi-resolution digital downloads, including Muswell Hillbillies from 1971, Preservation Act 1 from 1973, Preservation Act 2 from 1974, and State of Confusion were released on 9 September 2014.[1]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Classic Rock RevisitedB [5]
  • Tony Peters from Iconfetch said, "This marks the first time that the entire Kinks’ 50-year journey has been captured on a single collection. Yet, even if you already own all of their material, you’re going to want this one – the improvement in sound is just that good. The Kinks sound monstrous in this new career-spanning collection. With all the negative talk about the music business lately, it’s easy to overlook the good things still happening. A fine example of this is the recently-issued, two-disc set, The Essential Kinks."[6]
  • Pat Francis from Pop Culture said, "When a band has 40 years of recorded history under its belt it is almost impossible to whittle that amount of music down to a definitive 2 CD collection but the just released The Essential Kinks comes pretty close. Classics such as 'All Day And All Of The Night,' 'Waterloo Sunset' and 'Picture Book' prove why The Kinks are revered by musicians and music fanatics all over the world."[7]

Track listing

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Disc one

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No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."You Really Got Me"Ray DaviesKinks (1964)2:13
2."Stop Your Sobbing"Ray DaviesKinks (1964)2:05
3."All Day and All of the Night"Ray DaviesKinks-Size (1965)2:21
4."Tired of Waiting for You"Ray DaviesKinda Kinks (1965)2:30
5."Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl"Ray DaviesKinda Kinks (1965)2:43
6."Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy"Ray DaviesKinda Kinks (1965)2:15
7."A Well Respected Man"Ray DaviesKinkdom (1965)2:41
8."Dedicated Follower of Fashion"Ray DaviesKinkdom (1965)3:00
9."Who'll Be the Next in Line"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1965) later appeared on Kinda Kinks as a bonus track.2:01
10."Set Me Free"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1965) later appeared on Kinda Kinks as a bonus track.2:11
11."See My Friends"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1965) later appeared on Kinda Kinks as a bonus track.2:44
12."Sunny Afternoon"Ray DaviesFace to Face (1966)3:35
13."Dead End Street"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1966) later appeared on Face to Face as a bonus track.3:21
14."Death of a Clown"Ray Davies, Dave DaviesSomething Else by The Kinks (1967)3:12
15."Autumn Almanac"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1967)3:12
16."David Watts"Ray DaviesSomething Else by The Kinks (1967)2:37
17."Waterloo Sunset"Ray DaviesSomething Else by The Kinks (1967)3:17
18."Days"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1968)2:52
19."The Village Green Preservation Society"Ray DaviesThe Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)2:47
20."Do You Remember Walter?"Ray DaviesThe Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)2:24
21."Picture Book"Ray DaviesThe Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)2:35
22."Victoria"Ray DaviesArthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)3:38
23."Apeman"Ray DaviesLola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970)3:51
24."Strangers"Dave DaviesLola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970)3:18
25."20th Century Man" (US Single Version)Ray DaviesMuswell Hillbillies (1971)4:01
26."Supersonic Rocket Ship"Ray DaviesEverybody's in Show-Biz (1972)3:30
27."Celluloid Heroes" (US Single Version)Ray DaviesEverybody's in Show-Biz (1972)4:45

Disc two

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No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."Here Comes Yet Another Day"Ray DaviesEverybody's in Show-Biz (1972)3:54
2."You Don’t Know My Name"Dave DaviesEverybody's in Show-Biz (1972)2:34
3."Till the End of the Day" (Live 1972)Ray DaviesEverybody's in Show-Biz (1972)2:00
4."One of the Survivors"Ray DaviesPreservation Act 1 (1973)4:03
5."Sweet Lady Genevieve"Ray DaviesPreservation Act 1 (1973)3:27
6."Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)"Ray DaviesSoap Opera (1975)2:59
7."Life On the Road"Ray DaviesSleepwalker (1977)5:01
8."Sleepwalker"Ray DaviesSleepwalker (1977)4:04
9."Life Goes On"Ray DaviesSleepwalker (1977)5:01
10."A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" (Single Version)Ray DaviesMisfits (1978)4:00
11."Father Christmas"Ray DaviesNon-Album Single (1977)3:41
12."(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman"Ray DaviesLow Budget (1979)3:36
13."Lola" (Live 1979)Ray DaviesOne for the Road (1980)4:45
14."Where Have All the Good Times Gone" (Live 1979)Ray DaviesOne for the Road (1980)2:17
15."Better Things" (Single Version)Ray DaviesGive the People What They Want (1981)2:59
16."Destroyer"Ray DaviesGive the People What They Want (1981)3:47
17."Come Dancing"Ray DaviesState of Confusion (1983)3:55
18."Don't Forget to Dance"Ray DaviesState of Confusion (1983)4:39
19."Do It Again"Ray DaviesWord of Mouth (1984)4:09
20."Living on a Thin Line"Dave DaviesWord of Mouth (1984)4:14
21."Scattered"Ray DaviesPhobia (1993)4:10

Personnel

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  • Ray Davies – vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Dave Davies – vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Andy Pyle – bass (tracks: 2-11)
  • Jim Rodford – bass (tracks: 2-12 to 2-21)
  • John Dalton – bass (tracks: 1-22 to 1-27, 2-1 to 2-9)
  • Pete Quaife – bass (tracks: 1-1 to 1-21)
  • Ron Lawrence – bass (tracks: 2-10)
  • Bob Henrit – drums (tracks: 2-19 to 2-21)
  • Mick Avory – drums (tracks: 1-1 to 1-27, 2-1 to 2-9, 2-11 to 2-18)
  • Nick Trevisick – drums (tracks: 2-10)
  • Ian Gibbons – keyboards (tracks: 2-13 to 2-21)
  • John Gosling – keyboard (tracks: 1-23 to 1-27, 2-1 to 2-11)
  • Nick Newell – keyboards, percussion (tracks: 2-13, 2-14)

Release history

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Country Date Label Format Catalog
United States 2014 RCA Records, Legacy Records CD, digital download 88843066622 / 88843066622

References

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  1. ^ a b c Steve Chagollan (20 September 2014). "Sony's Legacy to Release Several Classic Kinks Recordings". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Chris Coplan (11 September 2014). "The Kinks commemorate 50th anniversary with archival releases, liner notes written by David Bowie". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. ^ Marc Myers (29 October 2014). "How the Kinks Roughed Up Their Sound". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b "David Bowie: 'I've never heard a Kinks song that I didn't like'". NME. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. ^ "The Essential Kinks Legacy/ Arista". Classic Rock Revisited. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Kinks - Essential Kinks (Review)". Iconfetch. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  7. ^ Pat Francis (October 2014). "Music Review: "The Essential Kinks" CD". PopCultureBeast. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
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