The Kinks: Something Else by the Kinks

The Kinks: Something Else by the Kinks

Album #78 - September 1967

Episode date - August 5, 2015

The Alternative Top 40
    0:00
    0:00

    The music of Ray Davies and the Kinks may be one of most undeserved gifts bestowed on America. Our reaction to the Kinks was abysmal, once you consider the quality of the music that the band presented. In actuality, England didn’t show the band much appreciation either. A lesser band surely would have given up the ghost in the face of such ignorance, but the Kinks plodded on…and on and on and on, outlasting 98% of their contemporary competition.

    Why was America so late to the game for appreciating a catalog of songs that, in retrospect, is one of the most consistently excellent of any band, English or otherwise? You could blame any number of things, but most likely it’s a combination of overtly English subject matter, a nearly willful self-destructive streak, and plain old bad luck. Songs about “Afternoon Tea” or “Harry Rag” (Cockney slang for ‘fag’ or cigarette, thus a song about tobacco addiction) could not resonate with an audience incapable of deciphering the author’s intent, and the Davies brothers practically invented the storied legacy of warring siblings, but it surely could not have helped matters that the Kinks found themselves banned from entering America, or even appearing on television.

    Inter-band arguments were legendary in the Kinks, and not limited exclusively to Ray and Dave Davies. During one live performance in Australia, a violent exchange between Dave and drummer Mick Avory actually caused Avory to flee the scene, thinking that he had actually murdered Davies during the ‘performance’ (in actuality, he knocked him unconscious with his hi-hat stand, resulting in numerous stitches to the head). Such antics led the American Federation of Musicians to prevent the band from entering the United States. Looking back, it’s not so hard to understand that America could have been so narrow-minded and insular, as it’s obviously difficult to appreciate something that you don’t know.

    The violence associated with the Kinks stands in direct contradiction to the gentle, introspective nature of “Something Else”. Taken as a whole, the refined brilliance in these pop songs is nothing short of stunning. “David Watts,” “Death of a Clown” and “Waterloo Sunset” are compact mini-masterpieces of songwriting. Each deserved to be a hit in its own right, but the album’s real strength comes from its overall consistency. The band abandons the ‘stomp-rock’ energy of their earliest hits, opting for observational vignettes with vivid characters. “Two Sisters” and “Situation Vacant” are stunningly concise and yet descriptive and fully realized, like reading a collection of short stories. Over the course of thirteen tracks, the quality never sags. The Kinks may have been neglected in the late sixties, but they never sounded better.

    September 1967 - Billboard Charted 153

    Related Shows

    The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz

    The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz: Part 3

    Album #174 - June 1973

      0:00
      0:00
      West End Blues – Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines

      The Smithsonian Collection of Classical Jazz: Part 2

      Album #174 - June 1973

        0:00
        0:00
        King Porter Stomp - Jelly Roll Morton

        The Smithsonian Collection of Classical Jazz: Part 1

        Album #174 - June 1973

          0:00
          0:00
          The Wailers: Catch A Fire

          The Wailers: Catch A Fire

          Album #173 - April 1973

            0:00
            0:00
            The Eagles - Desperado

            The Eagles: Desperado

            Album #172- April 1973

              0:00
              0:00
              Paul Kelly - Don't Burn Me

              Paul Kelly: Don't Burn me

              Album #171 - March 1973

                0:00
                0:00
                John Cale – Paris 1919

                John Cale: Paris 1919

                Album #170 - March 1973

                  0:00
                  0:00
                  Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure

                  Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure

                  Album #169 - March 1973

                    0:00
                    0:00
                    King Crimson – Lark’s Tongue in Aspic

                    King Crimson: Lark’s Tongue in Aspic

                    Album #168 - March 1973

                      0:00
                      0:00
                      Little Feat - Dixie Chicken

                      Little Feat: Dixie Chicken

                      Album #167 - February 1973

                        0:00
                        0:00

                        Iggy and The Stooges: Raw Power

                        Album #166 February 1973

                          0:00
                          0:00
                          Gram Parsons - GP

                          Gram Parsons: GP

                          Album #165 - January 1973

                            0:00
                            0:00