For decades now, I've been locked in an argument with my music lover friends that it shouldn't be The Beatles vs. The Stones, it should be The Beatles vs. The Kinks; many times on these pages I've asserted that Ray Davies's songwriting is second only to the Lennon/McCartney behemoth.
Somehow Davies captured the fall of the British empire, perfectly depicting village greens and ladies drinking tea, while also reporting on the contradiction of being a celebrity while feeling like the loneliest man in the world, all while writing about normal people over and over in a way McCartney's Lady Madonna or Father McKenzie should be extremely jealous. His massive, unparalleled ambition when it came to conceptual and Broadway-esque albums is almost exhausting but either way, there is no writer whose every word is more cinematic, perfectly and effortlessly painting the picture both in character and movement throughout. And he's a melody machine – just when you think you've heard the main melody of a song and have it in your head, he comes along with another one or two that also blow you away, all without them feeling crammed in or needlessly attached. As big as The Kinks are, I still have a nagging feeling Davies is the Hank Aaron of songwriters, rather incredibly overlooked/underrated. Which seems crazy, but still.
I've made up a short playlist of a few lesser-known Kinks songs I love (surely you already know the hits), in order and only up through 1975's Soap Opera album; I plan on having another playlist featuring the second half of their career in a few days. Enjoy. You're welcome, Earth.
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