The Kinks' eighth studio album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was released in 1970. It is a loose concept album about a band who struggle because of the greed of the music industry. With its hit single "Lola," it was the band's first commercially successful album since their second album Kinda Kinks in 1965. It was well received critically at the time of release although some retrospective reviews are mixed.
3. Something Else by the Kinks (1967):
Although many of the lyrics are more preachy and ridiculous than their lyrics on their previous work Arthur--a song called "Apeman" really? "The Moneygoround" too? And "Powerman"?--the band has moved into a more agreeable lane on pop, which gives this album the edge. Still, I pretty much only enjoy the songs with an acoustic guitar and tolerate everything else in varying degrees. I also thoroughly enjoy "Lola" both lyrically and musically even though Ray Davies predicts and brags about the single going to number one on the very next song, one of the band's worst ever: "Top of the Pops." B
(scroll down for a ranking of the Kinks' best albums!)
Well, we finished the Kinks! As usual, the band released several albums after this but we've covered their most well-known and critically acclaimed material and I'm fairly certain I won't particularly enjoy any of their albums after this. Overall, I liked the band and was particularly fond of Ray Davies's songwriting on their big three (the albums listed below). However, I do wish the band had continued playing blues and R&B rock after they abandoned it on their third album because they had already shown significant promise with "You Really Got Me" and "Tired of Waiting" before Davies's songwriting had totally formed. Up next is Fleetwood Mac!
Here's a ranking of their albums worth checking out:
This album only falls behind Face to Face because I enjoy the lyrics of the predecessor slightly more. This one has perhaps their best song though "Waterloo Sunset." A-
2. Face to Face (1966):
Only a few Kinks' tracks outside of this album have such potent and accurate social critiques. A-
1. The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968):
The Kinks' masterpiece. Its whimsical vision is tremendous yet it all works out because the songwriting is simply superb. Because I neglected to revisit it since I reviewed it, I haven't definitively concluded whether it deserves an A though it was easily the best album by this band. A-