As indicated in our review of the first volume of The Journey by The Kinks released earlier this year, many compilation albums of the music of The Kinks have been released since the 1960s. The most loved of these was the double-album set The Kinks Kronicles, released in 1972. That set included one previously unreleased track and 13 non-album B-sides.
This second volume, like its predecessor, is a two-album, gatefold, 180-gram vinyl set, with paper and polyvinyl sleeves and includes music released between 1965 and 1975 (with the previous set including one track from 1964), covering the group’s Pye years in the UK and Reprise and RCA years in the US. Also, like the previous one, there is an eight-page color booklet that includes photos, album covers, detailed liner notes and annotated notes by Ray Davies, Dave Davies, and Mick Avory.
And, in keeping with the format of the previous release, rather than tracks being arranged chronologically, the four sides of the two albums are arranged in four very distinct themes, making the tracks here subdivided over song collections that are grouped together, regardless of the date or musical similarities. This approach worked well on the first volume, but works even better here, until the final side of the set.
The other more dramatic difference here is that the first volume contained seven B-sides and this set only has one. Both sets include one single. While the first set had 22 mono tracks, this set only has 12. The first set also had only eight selections from the ’70s and this one has 11. There was one Dave Davies track on the first one and there are two here. There were no tracks on the first with new mixes, but this one includes one 2020 studio remix, one 2023 studio remix, and three 2023 live remixes.
There were no live tracks on the first volume. The three live tracks here were previously unreleased, whereas the first volume did not contain any previously unreleased material. Considering how many years and various studios and producers were involved in these tracks, the sound is mostly consistent and overall excellent, no doubt due to the analog mastering done by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
The four themes of this volume are: “The world around the journeyman starts to crumble as his life is turned upside down,” “The journeyman is led astray by ghosts and a dark angel,” “Our journeyman is seduced by those ghosts and demons of the underworld and searches for his lost innocence,” and “Despair turns to elation as journeyman overcomes his fear. Reunites with old friends.” Thankfully, by the last side, Ray Davies, the principal songwriter for the group, finds some solace and the album even ends with the heartfelt “God’s Children.” Unfortunately, the live tracks sound a bit shrill and rushed, with “Everybody’s A Star” not doing any justice to the classic original studio track.
The tracks here that are the most well-known from the ’60s are “Till The End Of The Day,” “A Well Respected Man,” “Sunny Afternoon,” and “Dedicated Follower Of Fashion.” The well-known tracks from the ’70s included here are “Lola,” “20th Century Man,” and “Everybody’s A Star.” The lesser-known gems that are included here are mostly from the ’60s and include “David Watts,” “See My Friends,” and “Animal Farm.” “David Watts” was given a whole new life and meaning when it was covered by The Jam in 1978.
The Kinks have always occupied a unique place in British rock. While The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and even Pink Floyd have had massive US success and remain gods in the eyes of US music fans, The Kinks have had a rocky time. While they did have some mainstream rock success in the later ’70s and are beloved by their fans in the States, the distinct Englishness of their music has sometimes prevented them from achieving the kind of blockbuster success they deserve. Rock critics and historians have, however, acknowledged the peerless songwriting prowess of Ray Davies and either often rank him alongside his British contemporaries such as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Pete Townshend or in some cases place him alongside American legends such as Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson.
This is an excellent package that was imaginatively conceived. Along with the first volume, it offers a nice introduction of the group’s music for the novice or serves as a nice addition to the library of a serious Kinks fan, especially since there are 12 all-analog mono tracks included. While the first volume may be more sought after because it has so many more B-sides and mono tracks, having both sets makes for about as good a retrospective, on many levels, of the music of The Kinks one is likely to ever own.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
