Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so it’s only appropriate that we get a little kinky…

The Kinks career can be roughly divided into four acts. In the first act, they are just another garage band caught up in the wave of of English bands imported to America in the wake of Beatlemania. While most of the bands of the “British Invasion” were little more than flashes in the pan (Gerry & The Pacemakers, the Buckinghams), some of them turned out to have lasting careers (like The Who or the Rolling Stones), while others turned out to be extremely talented and innovative (like The Zombies). The Kinks managed to do both things while never quite reaching the upper echelons of rock stardom.

Like most bands, the Kinks were initially a garage rock band. After a couple of false starts, the band really took off with their third single, the proto-punk classic You Really Got Me. It is a stable of garage rock bands everywhere, and includes one of the future guitar solos that I actually like. In an attempt to maintain their success, Their next single was All Day And All Of The Night, which managed the nifty trick of both copying the last song pretty closely and still being enjoyable on its own. While they could’ve kept mining this vein, Ray Davies and the band knew that this would be limited and looking at the Beatles continued growth decided to expand their sound. Sure, the would still be rockers like Till The End Of The Day, but they would also try their hands at ballads. Most of these songs would have lyrics of a traditional romantic nature.

But the Kinks had yet another card up their sleeve. While never as twee as someone like Herman’s Hermits, they did have an affinity for musical hall, which they deployed to mock the squares, the establishment, and “anybody over 30” as was popular at the time. While songs like A Well Respected Man or Dedicated Follower Of Fashion were pretty mean-spirited and simplistic, as Ray started writing from more of a first person point-of-view, these songs became a little more sympathetic and nuanced, starting with the lovable cad at the center of Sunny Afternoon until reaching its apex with Waterloo Sunset.

While The Kinks continued to grow and experiment, they (like most bands at the time) were primarily singles- and not album-based. But the undeniable influence of the Beatles, whose commitment to the long player format was seen as a challenge, spurred the Kinks on to make albums that were less filler-filled and more cohesive. Albums like Face To Face and Something Else hold up to most of their contemporaries at the time. They are also the last albums of this earlier, straight-forward period of the Kinks. Next week we will get into the Kink’s “Concept Album Phase” with the recording of their version of Sgt. Pepper’s or Pet Sounds or Forever Changes or Odyssey & Oracle.

Next week stop picking on the squares and start defending them. Next week the Kinks ARE The Village Green Preservation Society.