So, here is my version of the ‘Ultimate’ Kinks collection, a 4-CD+ compilation of the very best Kinks music, spanning their entire career. Divided into 4 CD-length sections (although I cheated a bit on the last disc, as it contains more than will fit on a single disc). These are what I consider to be the essential tracks that every serious listener of Kinks music wouldn’t want to be without. Unlike other collections, these are fairly evenly dispersed throughout the Kinks illustrious career. I tried to adequately represent each album and time period, however, of course, the best albums have many more worthwhile tracks that all could not be included here, while for some of the lesser albums, this collection contains all the highlights. Of course, these are my personal selections, but as far as I’m concerned, there is not a skippable track in the whole set. These are the Kinks songs on my mp3 player. Unfortunately, this collection is not easy to obtain, short of acquiring the entire Kinks catalogs, since none of the compilations or collections contain all of these gems. For more info and advice on starting your own collection of Kinks Classics, see the related blog entry on ‘Starting your Kinks Collection’.
Disc One (1964-1967)
01. You Really Got Me (from The Kinks, 1964)
02. All Day And All Of The Night (bonus track (b/t) on The Kinks reissue)
03. I Gotta Move (b/t on The Kinks reissue)
04. Stop Your Sobbing (from The Kinks)
05. Tired Of Waiting For You (from Kinda Kinks, 1965)
06. Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy (b/t on Kinda Kinks reissue)
07. Come On Now (from Kinda Kinks)
08. Who'll Be The Next In Line (b/t on Kinda Kinks reissue)
09. Set Me Free (b/t on Kinda Kinks reissue)
10. I Need You (b/t on Kinda Kinks reissue)
11. A Well Respected Man (b/t on Kinda Kinks reissue)
12. Till The End Of The Day (from The Kink Kontroversy, 1965)
13. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (from The Kink Kontroversy)
14. Milk Cow Blues (from The Kink Kontroversy)
15. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (b/t on The Kink Kontroversy reissue)
16. Sittin' On My Sofa (b/t on The Kink Kontroversy reissue)
17. She's Got Everything (1966, B-side 1968, from The Ultimate Collection)
18. I'm Not Like Everybody Else (b/t on Face to Face reissue)
19. Sunny Afternoon (from Face To Face, 1966)
20. Dandy (from Face To Face)
21. Holiday In Waikiki (from Face To Face)
22. Dead End Street (b/t on Face to Face reissue)
23. Big Black Smoke (b/t on Face to Face reissue)
24. Mr. Pleasant (b/t on Face to Face reissue)
25. David Watts (from Something Else, 1967)
26. Death Of A Clown (from Something Else)
27. Love Me Till The Sun Shines (from Something Else)
28. Waterloo Sunset (from Something Else)
Disc Two (1967-1971)
01. Autumn Almanac (b/t on Something Else reissue)
02. Susannah's Still Alive (b/t on Something Else reissue)
03. Wonderboy (b/t on Something Else reissue)
04. The Village Green Preservation Society (from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968)
05. Last of the Steam-Powered Trans (from The Village Green Preservation Society)
06. Picture Book (from The Village Green Preservation Society)
07. Starstruck (from The Village Green Preservation Society)
08. Mr. Songbird (b/t/ on The Village Green Preservation Society reissue)
09. Days (b/t on The Village Green Preservation Society reissue)
10. Victoria (from Arthur [Or The Decline & Fall Of The British Empire], 1969)
11. Brainwashed (from Arthur)
12. Shangri-La (from Arthur)
13. Arthur (from Arthur)
14. Plastic Man (b/t on Arthur reissue)
15. King Kong (b/t on Arthur reissue)
16. Lola (from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround Pt. 1, 1970)
17. Apeman (from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
18. This Time Tomorrow (from Lola Vs. Powerman & The Moneygoround, Pt. 1)
19. God's Children (from the Percy soundtrack, 1971)
20. 20th Century Man (from Muswell Hillbillies, 1971)
21. Holiday (from Muswell Hillbillies, 1971)
22. Skin and Bones (from Muswell Hillbillies, 1971)
23. Muswell Hillbillies (from Muswell Hillbillies, 1971)
Disc 3 (1972-1977)
01. Here Comes Yet Another Day (from Everybody's In Show-Biz, 1972)
02. Supersonic Rocket Ship (from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
03. Sitting in My Hotel (from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
04. Celluloid Heroes (from Everybody's In Show-Biz)
05. One Of The Survivors (from Preservation Act 1, 1973)
06. Sweet Lady Genevieve (from Preservation Act 1)
07. Sitting in the Midday Sun (from Preservation Act 1)
08. Slum Kids (b/t on Preservation Act 2 reissue)
09. Everybody's A Star (Starmaker) (from A Soap Opera, 1975)
10. (A) Face In The Crowd (from A Soap Opera)
11. You Can't Stop The Music (from A Soap Opera)
12. Schooldays (from Schoolboys in Disgrace, 1976)
13. I'm In Disgrace (from Schoolboys in Disgrace)
14. The Hard Way (from Schoolboys in Disgrace)
15. No More Looking Back (from Schoolboys in Disgrace)
16. Life on the Road (from Sleepwalker, 1977)
17. Sleepwalker (from Sleepwalker)
18. Juke Box Music (from Sleepwalker)
19. Life Goes On (from Sleepwalker)
20. Father Christmas (single 1977, b/t on Misfits Reissue)
Disc 4 (1978-1996)
01. Misfits (from Misfits, 1978)
02. Rock n Roll Fantasy (from Misfits)
03. Live Life (from Misfits)
04. Get Up (from Misfits)
05. Catch Me Now I’m Falling (Low Budget, 1979)
06. Low Budget (from Low Budget)
07. A Gallon of Gas (from Low Budget)
08. Moving Pictures (from Low Budget)
09. Destroyer (from Give the People What They Want, 1982)
10. Better Things (from Give the People What They Want)
11. Come Dancing (from State of Confusion, 1983)
12. Heart of Gold (from State of Confusion)
13. Don’t Forget to Dance (from State of Confusion)
14. Do It Again (from Word of Mouth, 1984)
15. Good Day (from Word of Mouth)
16. Livin’ on a Thin Line (from Word of Mouth)
17. Going Solo (from Word of Mouth)
18. Working at the Factory (from Think Visual, 1986)
19. Lost and Found (from Think Visual)
20. Think Visual ((from Think Visual)
21. UK Jive? (from UK Jive, 1989)
22. Scattered (from Phobia, 1993)
23. To the Bone (from To the Bone, 1996)
That’s a total of 94 songs. The first three ‘discs’ each fit on a single CD (76-79 minutes), but I cheated a bit on the last ‘disc’, as it does not all fit on a CD (clocking in at about 94 minutes). I just didn’t want to cut out anything else, just to make it fit (the CD format isn’t really relevant anyway, since this is primarily a ‘playlist’ for mp3 players, rather than a real 4-CD compilation). If you really want it to fit on 4 CDs, the final 4 songs could be removed, as these are from the final albums and not considered ‘Classics’. I, however, think they do belong, and are worthy additions to the collection. One other note, is that I did not include any ‘Live’ tracks on this collection (other than ‘Slum Kids’, of which no studio version exists), it is entirely their ‘studio’ output. Although The Kinks have many great live albums and concerts available, I prefer to keep the ‘live’ stuff separate from the studio versions, and generally don’t like collections that mix the two (especially when they substitute some live version of your favorite song in place of the ‘original’ classic. Also, Live concerts should be heard in their entirety, and not divided up into song collections. For some great Live Kinks, check out the bootleg offerings available elsewhere on this blog, and also the official Live releases.
After making this compilation, it was clear that there were still a lot of very good songs that didn’t make the cut. So, since I am already at 94 songs total, let’s add a few more to make it a Top 100 all-time Kinks songs. Here are the additional 6 songs I would add in to bring the total to 100 great Kinks songs:
1. Party Line (from Face To Face)
2. Do You Remember Walter? (From The Village Green Preservation Society)
3. Australia (From Arthur)
4. Motorway (From Everybody’s In Showbiz)
5. Full Moon (From Sleepwalker)
6. Summer’s Gone (from Word of Mouth)
If I’ve left out any of your particular favorites, let me know. What are your favorite Kinks songs?
To purchase albums by The Kinks, or just to get more information on titles available for purchase, click here for Amazon.com, or some other authorized sales site.
For more information on The Kinks discography, songs, lyrics, and all Kinds of other things about The Kinks, visit the excellent unofficial Kinks Web site at http://kinks.it.rit.edu/ , run by Dave Emlen.
Just for some additional Fun, Here’s some Fun Kinks ‘Theme’ compilations:
The ‘Sitting’ EP:
1. Sittin’ On My Sofa (b/t on The Kink Kontroversy)
2. Sitting by the Riverside (from VGPS)
3. Sitting In My Hotel (Everybody’s in Showbiz)
4. Sitting in the Midday Sun (from Preservation Act 1)
The ‘Hey Man/Hey Mister!’ Album:
1. A Well Respected Man
2. Plastic Man
3. Apeman
4. Powernan
5. 20th Century Man
6. Tin Soldier Man
7. Session Man
8. Artificial Man
9. Mr. Big Man
10. Mr. Pleasant
11. Mr. Songbird
12. Mr. Wonderful
13. Mr. Reporter
14. Mr. Churchill Says
15. Mr. Shoemaker’s Daughter
Comments, discussion welcome
Monday, April 28, 2008
Kinks Rockpalast 1982
The Kinks
Rockpalast
Grugahalle Essen, Germany, 04-04-1982
FM Broadcast, Very Good quality
320 kbps mp3
Cover art included
Here's a very good, complete Kinks show from 1982 that is not as widely available as the Tokyo soundboard recording from the same tour, and contains several additional or different songs from that recording. Excellent version of Celluloid Heroes among other classics.
Tracklist
Disc 1
01-Around The Dial
02-The Hard Way
03-Where Have All The Good Times Gone
04-(Catch Me Now) I'm Falling
05-Come On Now
06-Destroyer
07-Yo,Yo
08-Lola
09-Dead End Street
10-Add It Up
11-Low Budget
12-Art Lover
Disc 2
01-Back To Front
02-A Gallon Of Gas
03-Celluloid Heroes
04-Till The End Of The Day
05-Bernadette
06-All Day And All Of The Night
07-Give The People What The Want
08-Pressure
09-You Really Got Me
10-Stop Your Sobbing
11-David Watts
New Links! (Updated 07/05/20)
Kinks_Rockpalast_1982_d1.rar
Kinks_Rockpalast_1982_d2.rar
Kinks In Concert 1974
The KinksThe Kinks In Concert 1974
FM Broadcast (BBC) recordings, excellent quality
New! Now upgraded and greatly expanded to include entire BBC Broadcast.
Now available in upgraded mp3 (320 kbps)
Excellent recordings (made for BBC In Concert series) of the mid-70's era Kinks. Includes probably the best available recording of 'Slum Kids', a good song from this era that was played in concert throughout the '70's, but a studio version was never released (or apparently even ever recorded). The setlist features songs from their newly released Preservation Act 2, as well as some great versions of a number of classics ('Dedicated Flower of Fashion', 'Lola', 'Celluloid Heroes', 'Here Comes Yet Another Day') from the Kinks catalog, and also includes a wonderful version of 'Skin and Bones' merging into the old standard 'Dry Bones'.
Tracklist
1. Intro ‘In Concert’
2. Victoria
3. Here Comes Yet Another Day
4. Mr. Wonderful
5. Money Talks
6. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
7. Mirror Of Love
8. Celluloid Heroes
9. You Really Got Me/All Day And All Of The Night
10. Talk About Preservation Act 2 (0:43)
11. Daylight
12. Here Comes Flash
13. Demolition
14. He’s Evil
15. Lola
16. Outro
17. Skin And Bone/Dry Bones
18. Slum Kids
Tracks 1-17, BBC 'In Concert', Hippodrome Theatre, London, UK, July 14, 1974
Track 18, unknown venue/location, 1974
Upgraded and expanded version! (Updated 05/19/23)
The Kinks_In Concert 1974_(upgraded-expanded).rar
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Kinks 1980-12-31 Palladium NY (complete show)
The KinksDecember 31, 1980 The Palladium, New York, NY
FM Broadcast Recording (complete concert), excellent quality
New upgraded quality versions!
Now available in both lossless (FLAC) and upgraded mp3 (320 kbps) versions
More Live Kinks! This one is from their resurgent '80's rock comeback period. This is a more complete (and slightly higher quality) version of this show than many of the other boots that are out there (Another One for the Road, etc). It includes the encores of the 'All Day' reprise then going into a very brief 'Stop Your Sobbing' going into 'David Watts' and 'Pressure', with the show wrapping up with an extended hard-rockin' version of 'Superman' (that is a definite improvement over the original disco-tinged studio version). This show captures the band at the best of their revitalized, high-energy, '80's version of the group during the Low Budget tour.
Tracklist
01. Radio Announcer Introduction :54
02. You Really Got Me 1:22
03. The Hard Way 2:48
04. Where Have All The Good Times Gone > I'm So Tired 3:50
05. Catch Me Now, I'm Fallin' 4:34
06. Bird Dog (Everly Brothers) 3:00
07. NYC Blues 2:28
08. Lola 5:48
09. Dead End Street 2:20
10. Till The End Of The Day 2:58
11:.Low Budget 6:20
12:.Band Introductions 1:32
13. Imagination's Real 3:45
14. Nothing More To Lose 3:08
15. I'm Not Like Everybody Else > Come On Now 5:46
16. You Really Got Me 6:15
17. Give The People What They Want 5:00
18. A Gallon Of Gas 6:17
19. Celluloid Heroes 8:25
20. All Day And All Night 5:55
21. Announcer > Stop Your Sobbin' > David Watts > Pressure 4:23
22. Radio Announcer :49
23. Superman 6:11
24. Announcer Closing Comments 2:37
New Links (Updated 08/23/21)
FLAC - The Kinks_1980-12-31_Palladium_NY_FLAC.rar
mp3 - The Kinks_1980-12-31_Palladium_NY_mp3-320.part1.rar
The Kinks_1980-12-31_Palladium_NY_mp3-320.part2.rar
Monday, April 14, 2008
Kinks Live 1977
Here we have a couple of superb shows from the 'Sleepwalker' Tours (1977), each featuring very different setlists, mixing in some of their classics with the
excellent new Sleepwalker songs, as well as some songs from their much-maligned theatrical concept albums of the mid-70's. I include both here because, although the Rainbow Theatre show is a better recording and includes the essential tracks, the Winterland show provides a more extensive and quirkier setlist, containing many songs they no longer performed after this tour. Well worth checking out both.
The Kinks
1977-12-24
Rainbow Theatre, London, UK
Soundboard recording, excellent quality
192 kbps Mp3
Cover art included
Tracklist
01 Sleepwalker
02 Life on the Road
03 Waterloo Sunset
04 All Day And All Of The Night
05 Slum Kids
06 Celluloid Heroes
07 Get Back In Line
08 The Hard Way
09 Lola
10 Alcohol
11 Skin And Bone
12 You Really Got Me
13 Juke Box Music
New Upgraded links! Now available in Lossless as well as 320k mp3 versions: See new links here:
the-kinks-1977-12-24-rainbow-theatre.html
The Kinks
1977-02-19
Winterland, San Francisco CA
Very Good quality, from FM Broadcast
320 kbps Mp3
No artwork
01 Opening
02 One Of The Survivors
03 Sleepwalker
04 Rush Hour Blues
05 You Make It All Worthwhile/Ordinary People/Everybody's A Star
06 Lola(singalong)/Banana Boat Song
07 A Well Respected Man
08 Sunny Afternoon
09 Waterloo Sunset
10 Celluloid Heroes
11 Schooldays
12 Schooldays(reprise)/ The Hard Way
13 Education
14 Brother
15 Stormy Skys
16 Life Goes On
17 Full Moon
18 Lola
19 Alcohol
20 You Really Got Me/ All Day All Of the Night
New Additions! Now complete show
21. Life On the Road
22. Victoria
New Upgraded links! Now available in Lossless as well as 320k mp3 versions: See new links here:
the-kinks-1977-02-19-winterland-san.html
Note: The Winterland show was actually 2/19, not 2/18 as indicated on many of the bootleg versions. The show on 2/18 was actually in Santa Monica, CA, and apparently an excellent tape of this show does exist (Now available here:the-kinks-1977-02-18-santa-monica-ca.html).
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Kinks - Live at Fillmore West 1969
The Kinks
Live At the Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA - November 27-29, 1969
Soundboard Recording
Now available in Lossless and upgraded mp3 (320 kbps) versions
Cover art included
Note: This was the very post of this blog. Since the time of the original posting, the music files have been upgraded to higher quality, and have been re-posted (link below). But this original post has been kept for historical and nostalgic context.
This gem is one of the few available shows from this time period, probably the most productive of their career (coming on the heels of arguably their best albums, Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur, both of which were complete failures in the U.S.). This show was one of their first in the States after the ban barring them from appearing in the U.S. was lifted (after almost 4 years!). The exact reason for the ban by the American Federation of Musicians was never made quite clear (even to this day), but Ray and the boys did not perform in the U.S from 1966 through most of 1969. Anyway, here in their appearance at the the Fillmore West, the band was in fine form, and they delivered a very eclectic set that scattered some of their hits ('Tired of Waiting', 'You Really Got Me', 'Till the End of the Day', 'Well-Respected Man') with numerous relatively obscure album tracks ('Your Looking Fine', 'Big Sky', 'Mr. Churchill Says', 'Brainwashed', etc), that were virtually unknown in the U.S., and were not often performed in concert in subsequent years. So enjoy this unique taste of '60's-era Kinks.
Tracklist
01 - Till The End Of The Day
02 - Last Of The Steam Powered Trains
03 - You're Looking Fine
04 - Mr. Churchill Says
05 - Big Sky
06 - You Really Got Me
07 - Love Me Till The Sun Shines
08 - Brainwashed
09 - Medley(Milk Cow Blues - See My Friends - Tired Of Waiting For You - Brainwashed)
10 - Louie Louie
11 - Victoria
12 - Medley (Well Respected Man - Death Of A Clown - Dandy)
See new upgraded quality post and link here:
kinks-1969-11-27-san-francisco-fillmore.html