During the 60s the Kinks were simply unstoppable, and the second part of the decade saw them release a streak of records that can be easily considered one of the best runs in rock'n'roll history. While other artists were experimenting with new musical structures and mind-expanding substances, the Kinks went back to the roots of songwriting (the story-telling) and painted Victorian-style sketches of everyday British life, past and present. Don't be fooled - though their focus was on narrative, the Kinks had a way of creating memorable melodies that made most of their peers sound like amateurs, and as musicians they were second to none.
These three albums (I left Face to Face out for practical reasons, but it deserves a spot in there) are all brilliant. I know both Village Green and Arthur have a lot of fans here, but don't underestimate Something Else (Waterloo Sunset, Harry Rag, David Watts, Tin Soldier Man...I don't need to say more!). It's tough guys, but you must pick one.
My vote would previously have always been for Village Green but I had a realisation a few months ago that Something Else... is the superior album for me.
Why did bob and the fabs get 5 options and the kinks only 3? This whole vote is entirely fake news.
I could have included Face to Face and Kink Kontroversy, both magnificent records, but let's be honest no one would have voted for them, so there's no point in adding options nobody will choose.
« Last Edit: Apr 13, 2022 20:06:46 GMT by shenandoah »
There's stuff on Something Else that I love more than anything on the other two. David Watts and Waterloo Sunset obvs, but also Lazy Old Sun. And there's not a bad song on it.
But the other two offer something new. And also both don't have a duff track.
And both hold to the concept so coherently. There are tracks on both that I prefer to tracks on the other but at the end of the day I think i just love listenibg to the hazy reminiscing of beer and village greens, and sitting by the riverside and steam trains more than I do war and it's aftermath.
Impossible to choose, but for that reason only it's Village Green. It's so different, it's so achingly beautiful and it highlights more than anything else why Ray Davies was a better songwriter than any other Briton, ever. He could do the rockier and mod numbers brillianty, but it was the kind of writing on this and Arthur that made him for me, for a short period, the best to ever do it.
There's stuff on Something Else that I love more than anything on the other two. David Watts and Waterloo Sunset obvs, but also Lazy Old Sun. And there's not a bad song on it.
But the other two offer something new. And also both don't have a duff track.
And both hold to the concept so coherently. There are tracks on both that I prefer to tracks on the other but at the end of the day I think i just love listenibg to the hazy reminiscing of beer and village greens, and sitting by the riverside and steam trains more than I do war and it's aftermath.
Impossible to choose, but for that reason only it's Village Green. It's so different, it's so achingly beautiful and it highlights more than anything else why Ray Davies was a better songwriter than any other Briton, ever. He could do the rockier and mod numbers brillianty, but it was the kind of writing on this and Arthur that made him for me, for a short period, the best to ever do it.
Ah man. I've listened through again today and cannot pick between Village Green and Arthur. I think Arthur might just edge it. That run of tracks from Victoria to Shangri-La is just unbelievably great. Perfection. How do I not own this on record FFS.
Too late to change my vote, but perhaps if it's a tie this could be considered as a tie breaker in favour of Arthur.
Too late to change my vote, but perhaps if it's a tie this could be considered as a tie breaker in favour of Arthur.
I think you can change your vote by clicking on the album you already voted (it should un-check then) and clicking on the other album.
And yes, the Byrds won't have an exclusive poll like the Kinks or Dylan, but they'll be featured in an upcoming pool titled EAST COAST LEGENDS, and you can vote for them if you think they are better than their opponent.
The only problem is - I think at this rate, the first page of the music section will all be poll threads Should we open a sub-section of the music section and move this entire game there? What do the mods think?
Nah, these threads are literally the only activity on here so it's all good.
Village Green has always been my favourite Kinks record. It's close, if it was a 100 metre dash Arthur would take it to a photo finish with Something else being just a few paces behind.
If it was a triple threat falls count anywhere no DQ fight I feel Village Green would pin Something Else with Arthur not quite managing to break the fall after some outside interference from face to Face.
Too late to change my vote, but perhaps if it's a tie this could be considered as a tie breaker in favour of Arthur.
I think you can change your vote by clicking on the album you already voted (it should un-check then) and clicking on the other album.
And yes, the Byrds won't have an exclusive poll like the Kinks or Dylan, but they'll be featured in an upcoming pool titled EAST COAST LEGENDS, and you can vote for them if you think they are better than their opponent.
Ah, come on. They deserve a poll of their own. If The Kinks only get three albums and Beefheart two, then the Byrds 3 or 4 from Fifth Dimension onwards definitely deserves a poll.
You risk underming your whole feature with an oversight like that.
And EAST coast? A typo I hope.
« Last Edit: Apr 14, 2022 14:52:43 GMT by titchjuicy »
WEST coast, sorry!! The album they're going up against has the word EAST in the title, so I got confused for a second there!
also, you realise that if we have a Byrds-only poll, there will be no more than a handful of people voting, right? Same for Jimi Hendrix, Scott Walker and other bands that will appear soon. So I'm taking matters into my own hands and selecting an album myself for some of these artists.
« Last Edit: Apr 14, 2022 15:17:50 GMT by shenandoah »
If you do end up picking only one, it surely has to be Notorious Byrd Brothers!
And for Scott Walker, how can you pick one of the four s/t?
I'm picking albums based on a number of factors: historical significance, universal relevance and popularity. I want to keep things interesting, and make it easy for people to go back and listen to no more than two albums at a time, possibly one. We could do a poll on the four Scott Walker albums, but nobody will go back and listen to all four. So I picked one myself. I think I'm perfectly qualified to do so
I came up with a list of albums, one per artist, that I think is very solid and should cover most people's taste, while offering a few curveballs that people might find interesting. Understand that there's always going to be an album or two that you think should be there but isn't. There are albums I love but couldn't include. At least wait until I show you the list before you start complaining for what isn't there.
