How do you introduce someone to the Kinks?
Usually, you'd give the usual "give them their best albums and see if they get it" schtick that holds for most bands. But one of the problems with the Kinks is that much of their catalog can be completely inaccessible to someone who isn't a fan of that sort of music. I'm talking about trying to push Autumn Almanac on someone who can't stand British anthems or Cliches of the World to someone who's not too big on quasi-metallic rockers. Two incredibly good songs, two incredibly different styles. Somewhat hard to fathom that it's the same band.
Part of the problem is that there's a certain amount of listening involved in getting acclimated to Ray's voice. It's not the raspy mess that his brother's voice is, but I'll be damned if it isn't annoying before you get used to it. But you gotta! Ray Davies may very well be the best lyricist that the 60s produced. And no, Dylan fans, I'm not talking about songwriting as art -- I'm talking about lyrics as lyrics. Different beasts. Songs that are just verbally constructed in this completely quixotic, new, and incredible way. For instance, take this segment from Alcohol, a song from Muswell Hillbillies.
Barley wine, pink gin,
He'll drink anything,
Port, pernod, or tequila.
Rum, scotch, vodka on the rocks,
As long as all his troubles disappeared.
But he messed up his life when he beat up his wife,
Now the floosie's gone and found another sucker
She's gonna turn him on to drink,
She's gonna lead him to the brink,
And when his money's gone,
She'll leave him in the gutter.
It's such a shame.
Is it some artistic, meaningful rumination on all that we are as humans? No.
I didn't say he was Bob Dylan. But I refuse to let anyone honestly tell me that
isn't an absolutely perfect set of lyrics, compositionally. Tells a story, has
the creative requisite rhymes, and it's worded in this quixotc way that nobody
who isn't Ray Davies or Rakim Allah could come up with. The delivery is great,
the lyrics themselves are immaculate. But this brings me to my main point.He'll drink anything,
Port, pernod, or tequila.
Rum, scotch, vodka on the rocks,
As long as all his troubles disappeared.
But he messed up his life when he beat up his wife,
Now the floosie's gone and found another sucker
She's gonna turn him on to drink,
She's gonna lead him to the brink,
And when his money's gone,
She'll leave him in the gutter.
It's such a shame.
Ray doesn't really ever LOSE that incredible talent, not until the really REALLY late period. The late period I'm talking about -- that is, late 70s early 80s -- isn't bad stuff. In fact, for most people, it would actually be a better starting point than Arthur or Village Green Preservation Society, if only because it's just so damn accessible. I linked to Autumn Almanac before -- listen to it. It's a great song. But the sound is really antiquated. Most of the Kinks' critically acclaimed "best" (and yeah, it's called that because it is) work comes in a period where they were recording extremely British pop. So British that you're drowning. So British that you can practically mop up the P.G. Wodehouse leftovers and serve it as an entree.
Basically, really British.
And that's not a bad thing! If you have to be as British as Arthur Conan Doyle to produce truly timeless work, that's just fine with me, Ray. But when it comes to introducing people to the Kinks, sometimes the pleasantly mediocre a great way to prep for the brilliant but initially overwhelming. Compared to Arthur, State of Confusion is a vastly inferior album. None of the songs are really incredible in a "this is a song that humanity will forever remember" sort of Waterloo Sunset way.
But the album is fun. Really fun. It took me a while to get used to Arthur -- I didn't really like it the first time I heard it. I liked Low Budget the first time I heard it. I still do. I smile whenever a song from State of Confusion comes on. They're both inferior, sure, but they're inferior in a fun, endearing way. And a way that just so happens to make it easier to handle Ray Davies' occasionally obnoxious voice. Listen to a medley of songs from State of Confusion and Low Budget to introduce yourself to the Kinks, I say. If you don't like it, you'll probably still like something in their catalog, and you'll be more used to Ray's voice. If you do like it, then you'll be exposed to something that most critics tip their nose at and claim as vastly inferior, and then you get to be way smarter than the critics. It's a win-win, guys.
VERDICT: Three borrowed thumbs up.