The Kinks Every Album Every Song

Hailing from Muswell Hill in London, The Kinks were one of the top British bands of the sixties, with over twenty hit singles including a trio of number ones (including the famous paean to their home city 'Waterloo Sunset'). They had over a dozen top ten's, thanks to the clever and sometimes sardonic songwriting of Ray Davies, who dominated the band and deservedly went on to be knighted. When the seventies came along, they recorded a number of critically acclaimed concept albums, and their live shows became more theatrical with the band shifting focus to become pioneers of arena rock in America. Following a resurgence of commercial popularity in the late seventies and early eighties, the band continued to record interesting and lyrically insightful albums. They last performed together in 1996. The combination of Ray's songs and the musicianship of the band - including his brother Dave Davies, with whom Ray had a rather tempestuous relationship, has resulted in The Kinks being named as a major influence for many bands. This book examines all the tracks released by The Kinks, both singles and albums, and provides a valuable insight into one of music's greatest groups.

Formed in 1964 and still going strong in 2020, the Who are one of the most popular and enduring bands in the history of rock. The legendary debut album My Generation and a string of hit singles paved the way for Live At Leeds, hailed as the best live rock album of all time, and the best selling Who's Next. Powered by the phenomenal rhythm section of Keith Moon and John Entwistle, they earned a reputation as a premier live act and pioneered festival and arena performances. The rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia took popular music into uncharted territories and both inspired hit films. Despite regular infighting, breakups and the death of two key members, the band continued into the 21st century with the well received Endless Wire album and original members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend stage spectacular live shows to this day. This book examines each one of the band's studio albums, including the latest Who released in December 2019. Non-album tracks are also included and the book traces the band's long and diverse history. Compilations, live albums and soundtracks are also discussed, making this the most comprehensive guide to the music of the Who yet published. Whether the reader is a diehard fan or someone curious to see what lies beyond Tommy, this is essential reading.

It's almost impossible to discuss the history of rock music without praising the monumental quality, impact, variety, and boldness of Britain's Jethro Tull. Named after an eighteenth-century agriculturalist - and not after their striking front-man Ian Anderson - the group almost immediately became one of the most ambitious, and significant acts in two subsections of the genre: progressive and folk rock. Officially formed in 1967, mastermind Anderson, guitarist Martin Barre and company initially forged a blues course before veering in a more diverse, and expansive direction. Their 1970s period - which is often considered their peak-took them close to progressive rock via iconic albums like Aqualung and Songs From The Wood plus lengthy narrative suites Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play, all hit albums on both sides of the Atlantic. Like numerous peers at the time (including ELP, Rush, Yes, and King Crimson), Tull then embraced the more commercially accessible demands of the 1980s - complete with a fair share of both synthesizers and hard rock. Album by album, this book examines the behind-the-scenes circumstances and motivations for each release via a track-by-track analysis to acutely observe why Jethro Tull were - and always will be - of invaluable 'benefit' to rock music.

This work tracks every move in the Kinks' career. With the help of band members, Doug Hinman has reconstructed their meteoric rise to fame in the early 60s through its dissolution and revival in the 70s, stadium success in the 80s, and an apparently final breakdown in the late 90s

Few would deny that Deep Purple were one of the most influential and popular heavy rock bands to emerge from the melting pot of the late '60s. They went through several line-up changes, and stylistic shifts, before splitting up for the first time in the mid 1970s. Talismanic guitarist Ritchie Blackmore carried the spirit on when he formed Rainbow after leaving Purple in 1975, particularly through his partnership with legendary singer Ronnie James Dio. Deep Purple reformed some years later, of course, but many consider this original, sometimes turbulent, decade to be their most significant. Steve Pilkington puts his focus on the period from Shades Of Deep Purple in 1968 through to the first dissolution of the band after Come Taste The Band in 1976, via such classics as Machine Head and in Rock. He also discusses the first four Rainbow studio albums, including the classic Rainbow Raising and the hit-laden Down To Earth album in 1979, taking a look at every song from every album in detail. He also discusses live recordings plus DVD and video releases. The result is the most exhaustive guide to the band's music yet produced, as critical opinion rubs shoulders with facts, trivia and anecdotes to provide a fascinating 'alternative history' of these revered bands . Whether you are a hardcore fan or simply want a guide through the world which lies beyond Smoke On The Water, this book is for you.

Emerging from the same British music boom that birthed the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Dave and Ray Davies’s band, the Kinks, became one of England’s most influential groups. Remembered best for such singles as “You Really Got Me,” “Lola,” and “Sunny Afternoon,” the Kinks produced 24 studio albums between 1964 and 1996. The Kinks’ prolific and varied catalog have made them both a mirror of and a counterfoil to nearly five decades of British and American culture. The Kinks: A Thoroughly English Phenomenon examines the music and performance of this quintessentially English band and shows how aspects of everyday life such as work, play, buying a house, driving a car, drinking tea, getting drunk, and getting laid, affected and shaped their creative output. Through an investigation of their music, lyrics, and image, Carey Fleiner shows how the Kinks reflected both the ordinary and the absurd, sometimes confronting topics with anger and sometimes with self-deprecating humor. The Kinks follows the band’s trajectory more or less chronologically and explores themes such as growing up in post-war Britain, the packaging and exploitation of the “British Invasion” bands, satire and self-consciousness, sexuality and gender-bending, social and political pessimism, the comforts of family, and the effects of fame and fandom. Fleiner’s investigation into the influences on and impact of the Kinks’ music takes readers on an engaging adventure through the musical culture of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, revealing how the Kinks created an undeniable sound and image that still attracts new followers today.

Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else is a critical biography of Ray Davies, with a focus on his music and his times. The book studies Davies’ work from the Kinks’ first singles through his 2006 solo album, from his rock musicals in the early 1970s to his one-man stage show in the 1990s, and from his films to his autobiography. Based on interviews with his closest associates, as well as studies of the recordings themselves, this book creates the most thorough picture of Davies’ work to date. Kitts situates Davies’ work in the context of the British Invasion and the growth of rock in the '60s and '70s, and in the larger context of English cultural history. For fans of rock music and the music of the Kinks, this book is a must have. It will finally place this legendary innovator in the pantheon of the great rock artists of the past half-century. Thomas M. Kitts, Professor of English and Chair of the Division of English/Speech at St. John’s University, NY, is the co-editor of Living on a Thin Line: Crossing Aesthetic Borders with The Kinks, the author of The Theatrical Life of George Henry Boker, articles on American literature and popular culture, reviews of books, CDs, and performances, and a play Gypsies. He is the book review editor of Popular Music and Society and the editor of The Mid-Atlantic Almanack.

Any consideration of the songwriting craft would be incomplete without the inclusion of American singer/songwriter Aimee Mann. From her first steps as singer and bass player with '80s synth pop band 'Til Tuesday, who scored a massive MTV hit with 'Voices Carry' in 1985, she has continually produced starkly autobiographical and often ironically melodic songs that cut through the emotional detail. With a career now spanning almost forty years, she has built a catalogue of nine studio albums since going solo in the early 1990s and, via a series of record label frustrations, has developed into a fiercely independent recording artist, flying outside the mainstream. Her critical acclaim has never wavered, and whilst happy to work in a niche market, her soundtrack for the film Magnolia and the accompanying Oscar nomination raised her profile considerably, adding to her stalwart army of fans. This book gives an overview of Aimee Mann's career from her earliest days, making it big with 'Til Tuesday and onward through her solo career to date, investigating every recorded track in a comprehensive guide for fans and new listeners keen to investigate a true original and double Grammy winner whose songs should be much more widely recognised.