Kinks (album)

Kinks
Studio album by the Kinks
Released	2 October 1964
Recorded	c. 20 January, mid-July and 18 August – 1 September 1964[1]
Studio	Pye and IBC, London
Genre	R&B[2] rock and roll[3] pop[4] proto-punk[5]
Length	32:54
Label	Pye
Producer	Shel Talmy
The Kinks chronology
Kinks (1964) Kinda Kinks (1965)
The Kinks US chronology
You Really Got Me (1964) Kinks-Size (1965)
You Really Got Me
US release by Reprise Records
Singles from Kinks
"You Really Got Me" Released: 4 August 1964

Kinks is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released on 2 October 1964 in the United Kingdom by Pye Records. The original United States release, issued by Reprise Records on 25 November 1964, omits three tracks and is instead titled You Really Got Me.[6]

The album was re-released in 1998 in the UK on Castle Records with twelve bonus tracks. This reissue was itself reissued in 2004 on the Sanctuary label. A deluxe edition was released on 28 March 2011.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Uncut	[7]

Consequence of Sound listed the album as a key example of proto-punk, observing "lean aggression" and a "jolting", "in-your-face" approach, and described their rendition of Chuck Berry's "Beautiful Delilah" as the first punk rock cover.[5]

The AllMusic review by Richie Unterberger assessed the album as lacking in consistency, commenting: "As R&B cover artists, the Kinks weren't nearly as adept as the Stones and Yardbirds; Ray Davies' original tunes were, "You Really Got Me" aside, perfunctory Mersey Beat-ish pastiches... [the] tunes that producer Shel Talmy penned for the group... were simply abominable."[2]

Rock critic Mike Saunders of Rolling Stone had a more positive opinion of the Kinks' debut LP, described the album as one of their "successful rock and roll albums".[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray Davies unless otherwise noted.

Side one

1. "Beautiful Delilah" (Chuck Berry) – 2:07
2. "So Mystifying" – 2:58
3. "Just Can't Go to Sleep" – 1:58
4. "Long Tall Shorty" – (Don Covay, Herb Abramson) – 2:50
5. "I Took My Baby Home" – 1:48
6. "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter" (J. D. "Jay" Miller) – 2:03
7. "You Really Got Me" – 2:13

Side two

1. "Cadillac" (Ellas McDaniel) – 2:44
2. "Bald Headed Woman" (Shel Talmy) – 2:41
3. "Revenge" (Davies, Larry Page) – 1:29
4. "Too Much Monkey Business" (Berry) – 2:16
5. "I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain" (Talmy) – 2:01
6. "Stop Your Sobbing" – 2:06
7. "Got Love If You Want It" (James Moore) – 3:46

Note

• The original US release retained the same divisions between sides one and two but omitted three tracks: "I Took My Baby Home", "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter" and "Revenge".[8]

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman:[9]

The Kinks

• Ray Davies – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica; lead guitar ("I'm a Lover Not a Fighter")
• Dave Davies – backing vocals, electric guitar; lead vocal ("Beautiful Delilah", "Long Tall Shorty", "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter" and "I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain")
• Pete Quaife – backing vocals, bass guitar
• Mick Avory – drums (side two, except "Revenge"); tambourine, maracas

Additional musicians

• Rasa Didzpetris – backing vocals ("Stop Your Sobbing")
• Perry Ford – piano ("Bald Headed Woman" and "Stop Your Sobbing")
• Bobby Graham – drums (side one, "Revenge")
• Arthur Greenslade – piano ("You Really Got Me")
• Jon Lord – organ ("Bald Headed Woman")
• Jimmy Page – twelve-string acoustic guitar ("I'm a Lover Not a Fighter", "I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain" and possibly "Bald Headed Woman")
• Unknown session musician[nb 1] – rhythm guitar ("You Really Got Me")

Production

• Shel Talmy – producer
• Bob Auger – engineer

Charts

Weekly chart performance Chart (1964–65) Peak position UK Melody Maker Top Ten LPs[11] 4 UK New Musical Express Best Selling LPs[12] 5 UK Record Retailer LPs Chart[13] 3 US Billboard Top LPs[8] 29 US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[14] 25 US Record World 100 Top LPs[15] 20 West German Musikmarkt LP Hit Parade[16] 7

Year-end chart performance Chart (1965) Ranking US Billboard[17] 98 US Cash Box[18] 76

Notes

1. Hinman writes a guitarist from Edward Kassner's office played additional rhythm guitar on "You Really Got Me", "likely Harry, possibly Bob or Vic, surname unknown".[10]

References

1. Hinman 2004, pp. 21, 31, 37.
2. Unterberger, Richie. "The Kinks: Kinks" at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
3. Mike Saunders (25 May 1972). "The Kink Kronikles | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
4. Turner 2003, p. 561.
5. Blum, Jordon. "10 Proto-Punk Albums Every Music Fan Should Own". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
6. Hinman 2004, pp. 37, 41.
7. "Kinks Klassics". Uncut. No. 88. September 2004. p. 62.
8. Hinman 2004, p. 41.
9. Hinman 2004, pp. 29–30, 37.
10. Hinman 2004, p. 29.
11. Hinman 2004, p. 37.
12. "Best Selling LPs in Britain (Wednesday, December 9, 1964" (PDF). NME. 11 December 1964. p. 5 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
13. "The Kinks". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
14. "Cash Box Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Cash Box. 13 March 1965. p. 29 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
15. "100 Top LP's". Record World. 6 February 1965. p. 5.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Kinks – Kinks" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
17. "Top LP's of 1965 (Based on total sales at retail)" (PDF). Billboard. 25 December 1965. p. 25 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
18. "Best Albums of 1965" (PDF). Cash Box. 25 December 1965. p. 30 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.

Sources

• Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day-by-Day Concerts, Recordings and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-765-3.
• Turner, Alwyn W. (2003). "The Kinks". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 560–561. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.