The Legacy Recordings is celebrating 50 years of The Kinks with a historic release of a career-spanning retrospective anthology featuring classic hits like “You Really Got Me”, “Set Me Free”, and “Tired of Waiting for You”. Released this October, I had the greatest time listening to the collection. To be perfectly honest, my experience with The Kinks was largely limited to their more well known hits – specifically with “You Really Got Me”. You’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard of that song! So it was really great getting acquainted with the rest of The Kinks’ collection.
This collection received a full endorsement from the band, including Ray Davies who was recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The collection also features liner notes by David Bowie who says “I’ve never heard a Kinks song I didn’t like…”
“Of course, from their noisy and brash beginnings, the Kinks have come to stand for some of the most enduring and heart-clutching pop of all time. They are in the gut of every British song-writer who followed them and are indisputably a cornerstone of everything pop and rock. I love ‘em. The world loves ‘em.”
Not one to disagree with David Bowie, I definitely recommend that you pick up a copy on Amazon. Despite hitting ears and airwaves long before I was born, I found The Essential Kinks an entirely enjoyable collection – a perfect gift for Kinks fans or music lovers in general! It’s definitely an essential addition to any music collection.
Also, be sure to keep your eye out, on November 10th Legacy will be releasing an expanded CD/DVD deluxe edition of Muswell Hillbillies- which will include the entire original album along with nine bonus tracks, and a DVD of rare 1972 television appearances which until now have never been released in North America. You can pre-order it now here on Amazon!
Track List –
Disc One:
1. You Really Got Me
2. Stop Your Sobbing
3. All Day and All of the Night
4. Tired of Waiting For You
5. Nothin’ In This World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl
6. Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy
7. A Well Respected Man
8. Dedicated Follower of Fashion
9. Who’ll Be The Next In Line
10. Set Me Free
11. See My Friends
12. Sunny Afternoon
13. Dead End Street
14. Death of a Clown
15. Autumn Almanac
16. David Watts
17. Waterloo Sunset
18. Days
19. The Village Green Preservation Society
20. Do You Remember Walter?
21. Picture Book
22. Victoria
23. Apeman
24. Strangers
25. 20th Century Man
26. Supersonic Rocket Ship
27. Celluloid Heroes
Disc Two:
1. Here Comes Yet Another Day
2. You Don’t Know My Name
3. Till the End of the Day (Live)
4. One of the Survivors
5. Sweet Lady Genevieve
6. Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker)
7. Life on the Road
8. Sleepwalker
9. Life Goes On
10. A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy
11. Father Christmas
12. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
13. Lola (Live)
14. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (Live)
15. Better Things
16. Destroyer
17. Come Dancing
18. Don’t Forget to Dance
19. Do It Again
20. Living On A Thin Line
21. Scattered
Disc One:
1. You Really Got Me
2. Stop Your Sobbing
3. All Day and All of the Night
4. Tired of Waiting For You
5. Nothin’ In This World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl
6. Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy
7. A Well Respected Man
8. Dedicated Follower of Fashion
9. Who’ll Be The Next In Line
10. Set Me Free
11. See My Friends
12. Sunny Afternoon
13. Dead End Street
14. Death of a Clown
15. Autumn Almanac
16. David Watts
17. Waterloo Sunset
18. Days
19. The Village Green Preservation Society
20. Do You Remember Walter?
21. Picture Book
22. Victoria
23. Apeman
24. Strangers
25. 20th Century Man
26. Supersonic Rocket Ship
27. Celluloid Heroes
Disc Two:
1. Here Comes Yet Another Day
2. You Don’t Know My Name
3. Till the End of the Day (Live)
4. One of the Survivors
5. Sweet Lady Genevieve
6. Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker)
7. Life on the Road
8. Sleepwalker
9. Life Goes On
10. A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy
11. Father Christmas
12. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
13. Lola (Live)
14. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (Live)
15. Better Things
16. Destroyer
17. Come Dancing
18. Don’t Forget to Dance
19. Do It Again
20. Living On A Thin Line
21. Scattered