When studying the British Invasion of Rock-n-Roll music from the 1960s, there are many worthy mentions. Of course, there are The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but also many others like The Kinks.
Formed in 1963, The Kinks were perhaps the most unique of all the bands of this era of British Rock-n-Roll dominance thanks to early hits such as ‘64’s “You Really Got Me.” A track that was light years heavier than anything else at the time, it was followed by the equally power chord driven “All Day and All of the Night,” plus ‘65’s “Tired of Waiting for You” which gave the mainstream a different look into The Kinks. Samples of what would become from the band, the fact is, with Ray Davies being the band’s leading songwriter, you simply never knew where they would go. Showing flairs of heavier Rock early on, they would experiment further as time went on and what transpired was truly something special.
Keeping together consistently from the ‘60s era into the ‘90s, they released 24 studio albums (9 of which charted in the Top 40) and 4 live albums, and had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Rock and Roll Hall Famers, in 2023 the band celebrated their 60th anniversary. A milestone of the highest order, with plenty to reflect on, in honor of it all they released some really exciting new compilations through BMG.
Separated into two releases for the year – The Journey – Part 1 and The Journey – Part 2 – the collections offer plenty that fans will want to explore. Unique to the 50th anniversary 2014 release of The Anthology 1964-1971, these new collections approach the material a little differently. Where as the 5-disc anthology collection went into depth with remastered tracks, live recordings, and alternative takes, The Journey Part 1 offers a script-like look at the first era of the band, while The Journey Part 2 includes singles, B-sides, album tracks and, notably, six new Ray Davies mixes; three of which are previously unreleased live performances from the New Victoria Theatre, London in 1975.
First emerging on March 24th with The Journey – Part 1, you get a total of 16 tracks handpicked by Ray Davies, Dave Davies and Mick Avory (the core members for their duration together). With that, the tracks are in chronological order from when they began all the way through to 1975’s Schoolboys in Disgrace album. Now, this is not to say the tracks are completely in order, because they are not. Instead, Ray, Dave, and Mick opted to present them according to different moods of the band during each period. A really cool way of going about it, again, it feels more like a film storyboard, because you get to relive the life and times of The Kinks through the songs and the emotions that were stirring around.
Running really smoothly, amidst it all you will find 8 top 20 hits, lesser-known album tracks, and B-sides. Furthermore, the booklet within the CD, or vinyl set, includes insight into each song with quotes from Ray, Dave, and Mick. Something real fans are going to want to read, it is brief, yet insightful to read the core Kinks’ members reflections after all these years.
This all laid out, on November 17th The Journey – Part 2 will emerge. Just in time for the holiday season, as mentioned, it dives into some really cool material as well. Seventeen tracks in total, it is a perfect companion to Part 1 in every way. All this in mind, The Journey collections from The Kinks are a must have for fans. Thoughtfully put together by the band themselves and a fitting celebration of 60 years of their music, Cryptic Rock gives The Journey Part 1 and the forthcoming Part 2, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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