Customer Reviews

Come Dancing With the Kinks: The Best of the Kinks 1977-1986

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is actually the third incarnation of Come Dancing with the Kinks. When first released in 1986, it was a double-LP and contained 19 songs. Arista then released it as a single CD with only 16 songs--deleting "Sleepwalker," "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" and "Misits." Now Velvel comes along and re-releases the CD with 18 tracks. Velvel drops the live version of "Celluloid Heroes," which is understandable. After all, it was first recorded for RCA. But why did they also drop "Juke Box Music," "Long Distance" and "Heart of Gold" yet keep live versions of the Reprise hits "You Really Got Me" and "Lola"? If this is an Arista retrospective, let's stick with the studio recordings the Kinks recorded for Arista. [Also, "Long Distance" was something of a rarity in that it was originally available only on the cassette version of 1983's State of Confusion.]

What Velvel DOES do is restore "Catch Me Now I'm Falling," "Sleepwalker" and "Misfits" from the orignal vinyl release, then adds "A Gallon of Gas" from 1979's Low Budget and "Good Day" from 1984's Word of Mouth.

The Kinks' tenure at Arista (1977-1986) returned the band to the Top 40 for the first time since 1970, and "Come Dancing" matched their highest U.S. chart position, reaching No. 6 in 1983. ["Tired of Waiting for You" in 1965 was the only other Kinks' single to chart that high.] Their only other hits for Arista were "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" (No. 30, 1978) and "Don't Forget to Dance" (No. 29, 1983).

The Kinks released seven albums for Arista, including 1980's live One for the Road--which oddly is NOT the source for the two live cuts included here. While the Kinks' best work was recorded for Reprise, the tracks on this disc prove beyond a doubt that Ray Davies and Co. were still viable artists. Songs like "Destroyer," "Juke Box Music" and "Do It Again" show that the band could still rock. "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" and "Better Things" are two of Ray's loveliest songs. And "Father Christmas" is one of the rockingest Christmas songs ever. All told, this is an excellent overview of the Kinks' Arista years. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I love Ray Davies.

I know Dave Davies has always been the critic's darling--all that talk about Dave being the godfather of punk guitar isn't so far off the mark--but Ray Davies has the best heart in Rock & Roll.

But all that matters not a nit to much of the American public, who always left the Kinks sitting in second place behind the troika of Stones, Beatles and Who--maybe even behind Led Zeppelin and the over-ranked Animals--when it comes to discussions of British Rock. That's a shame, because the Kinks songwriting is as good or better than all of the above sans Beatles; Ray Davies lyrics are, at times, Dickensian.

COME DANCING WITH THE KINKS mines the Kinks most successful commercial period (In the USA, at least) from '77 to '86. The band seemed to be more intent on conquering the USA than they had been in the mid/late 1960s, and their problems with American unions, which had given the Kinks a lot of trouble a decade earlier, seemed to ease. They became known as a touring band in the States, a reputation which crumbled after a very well publicized onstage battle between the Davies brothers right here in Washington DC.

Though there is one minor bow to the then-omnipresent Disco--"Wish I Could Fly Like Superman," COME DANCING WITH THE KINKS is mostly full of nostalgia for the old ballrooms, desperate pleas for the band to stay together, and Rays infatuation with psychological oddities. Included are some of my favorite Kinks tunes, including "Do It Again," "Destroyer," "Come Dancing," "Don't Forget to Dance," and my All Time Favorite Kinks Record, "Sleepwalker." There's never been a better melding of Rays lyrics, Daves guitar, a great Ray vocal, and hot Kinks backing vocals. "Father Christmas" is perfect, the exact Christmas tune you'd expect from Ray Davies, and is played to perfection. The live renditions of "Lola" and "You Really Got Me" don't match up to the studio versions, I think, but they were hits, so somebody liked them.

"Misfits" and "Rock & Roll Fantasy" are classic Davies. The first looks at a fading eccentric--it's easy enough to imagine the tune as autobiographical--and gives a McCartneyesque pat on the head, with a real Ray Davies twist: "You've been a misfit all your life; why don't you join the crowd and come on inside?" he says, even while pointing out that the world is filled with misfits: "They've given up living cause they just don't care. So take a good look around, the misfits are everywhere."

I completely missed the point of "Rock n Roll Fantasy" when it was released; now I consider it one of the Kinks very best. Ray sings of his brother wanting to quit the band, sings about desperate music fans who spend every night locked in their flats spinning records. On first listen I thought this was glorification of the fans, mythologizing loners worshipping wax. Now I hear the pleading in Ray's voice at the end of the song and understand that he wanted to keep the band going so he wouldn't become one of those solitary people: "You and me keep thinking our life has passed us by? I Don't want to live my life in a Rock n Roll fantasy," he sings--Ray Davies wants the Real Deal.

"Don't want to waste my life hiding away anymore--don't want to waste my life living in a Rock n Roll fantasy."

I love Ray Davies: Hero of the awkward, the lonely, the depressed, the introverted.

There is another Kinks Greatest Hits/Best Of package you should hunt down, which will fill the gaps between the British Invasion "You Really Got Me" phase of the Kinks and this album: KINKS KRONIKLES, a two-CD set, covers my favorite phase of this great band's career--the Arthur & Victoria phase.

But if you really want to 'get' the Kinks, hunt down all of their LPs released prior to '77: they were a lot more English during that phase, and their stuff really deserves to be heard in the fleshed out form of an LP, rather than on a Greatest Hits/Best Of package.

You know, I could cry and complain about my personal favorite album tracks that didn't make this, but I won't, as this CD is The Kinks' greatest hits-stuff that was played on the radio. I can't complain since that is the case. I enjoy all of these songs a great deal. Each track is almost like a different genre. I'm not gonna run through every single song (oh, 1000 word limit? never mind!) "Come Dancing," "Good Day," and "Better Things" showed listeners that yes, they could be listener friendly. "Don't Forget To Dance", "Misfits," "Full Moon," and "A Rock and Roll Fantasy" gave us proof that Ray, while aging somewhat, can still summon a lump in the throat. Then of course there's the rocking numbers (live and studio) that removed all doubt that The Kinks, while not exactly chart-toppers, weren't going to suck as they got older (as opposed to The Stones, Zappa, even The Who...) and would still be rocking into their forties (and beyond...) with little or no effort. All in all I'd say pick up first- sample their later stuff. If you already have the albums don't get it...unless you're a basketcase like me who HAD to have it. Anyway- Kinks novices, fear not! This is the Rosetta Stone of what I call their Radio Years! Rock on!

This was a great compilation unfortunately lessened by the song selection. The former version had Juke Box Music and MOST ESPECIALLY, the live version of Celluloid Heroes.(I still can't belive that was deleted.) It was done so because there would ultimately be no reason to buy the Top of the Pops disc, making it the way to own that song. If they were going to change the music that much, they should have left the track listing as it was and added "Hatred" at the end and called it '77 to '93. All they had to do was ask, it could have been the perfect greatest hits collection for their Arista years.

I have just purchased this remastered copy of "Come Dancing". It was my intention to trade in my old Arista copy at the flea market. But after seeing the song selections I am hanging on to both. Firstly though, the sound on this edition, is superb. Compared to the Arista one there is no comparison. It just leaps out of the speakers at you. But, for some reason, the song selection varies considerably. The Arista album has 16 songs, this one, 18. Removed from the Arista one are, "Celluoid Heroes (live)", "Juke Box Music", Heart of Gold", and "Long Distance". "Lola (live)" on the Arista one, is a minute longer than on this one, although that missing minute is mostly conversation between Ray Davies and the audience and some applause. "(Wish I could fly like) Superman" is over 2 minutes longer on this album than the Arista one, and is a disco version. Also on this album and not on the Arista one, are the wonderful "Catch me now, I'm falling", "A Gallon of Gas", "Sleepwalker", "Full Moon", "Misfits" and "Good Day". So anyway, for any of you who have the old Arista cd, buy this one too, as it is well worth having, and the sound is terrific, and the liner notes are very informative.

This reissue has good packaging and excellent remastering. I like the addition of "A GALLON OF GAS" and "MISFITS", but who's dumb idea was it to leave off "JUKE BOX MUSIC?" This release proclaims "..The Best Of - 1977-1986." Maybe it's just me, but I think that "Juke Box Music" is a stand-out track from that era. I imagine that this ridiculous exclusion has something to do with the fact that RAY DAVIES selected the tracks. Most artists feel that certain songs they consider to be important tracks, have been overlooked and under appreciated. Hence, "Juke Box Music" being a radio friendly track, might have the old "overexposure" curse, in the artists opinion.

Whatever the case, there's no excuse for leaving it out. This kind of omission can greatly disappoint an unsuspecting buyer who expects this to simply be, a nicely remastered version of the original, with no changes.

All I would ask is , if they're going to EXCLUDE tracks that WERE INCLUDED on the original release, just change the title to something like "MOST OF THE BEST.." or "THE PERSONAL FAVORITES OF RAY DAVIES."

All this being said, "Come Dancing: The Best Of- 1977-1986" is STILL a good collection that DOES include most of the great tracks from this era. Hearing great tracks like "LOW BUDGET", "SLEEPWALKER", "A ROCK 'n' ROLL FANTASY", "CATCH ME NOW I"M FALLING", "DO IT AGAIN", "DESTROYER" and "FATHER CHRISTMAS" in glorious 20-bit remastered fashion is a JOY! I just wish that for the 'casual' KINKS fan, "JUKE BOX MUSIC" was here too.

I recommend this KINKS collection, as long as you purchase the "SLEEPWALKER" album with it; so that you can enjoy the rollicking "JUKE BOX MUSIC."

The Kinks have had a notable career: When they made their best music (1966-1970) no one bought it, when they had their greatest commercial success (covered by this album) they lost some of their old fans. This is a generous collection of their work, 18 songs in all, including two live cuts. There's not a weak song, IF you like your Kinks more Metal than Music Hall. I particulary like "Misfits" and "Full Moon," but the live stuff, especially "You Really Got Me," are fine too. I would recommend this "Greatest Hits" package over the individual albums of this period, so this CD is a good buy, IMO. Thanks.

This sweet C.D. compilation of Kink's music from 1977-1986 is recommended for any music fan. Better then most, the Kinks have always been able to tell a story while they sing a song. Each song/story is told with a sense of wit and dry humor. If you listen close, you will be amazed at how funny most of the songs are, and how honest.

Everyone knows, or should know, the song/story "Lola." Is it a true story, or fantasy, or a nightmare? It actually may be all three. Destroyer, the sequel to Lola is told with the same sense of flair. Both are rock and roll classics with a great beat. I was amazed. How many great songs do the Kinks sing? How many stories do they tell?

I had only bought one album from them before, only for the song "In the Summertime." The other songs found there were very disappointing. Still, I played "Summertime so much," it was still worth the buy. (Thank God for programable C.D. players.) Unfortunately, "Summertime is not here. But, every other classic song is, including: "Superman," "Misfits," and "A Rock and Roll Fantasy."

Listen close, after a while, some common themes will appear. The most common? The absurdity of life. Yet, even if the computer may forget you are alive, (from a different C.D.) you certainly will not while you have such great music to enjoy. So like the song says, listen to some good music, forget about your troubles for a while, and enjoy the C.D.

One stop shopping is about convenience. You can get everything you need with minimal effort. This aptly describes most best of or greatest hits collections. It's all about having the essentials in a neat little package. This collection isn't really Come Dancing with the Kinks. You could call this the new improved version but that wouldn't be...quite true. The Koch reissue misses a few classic tracks (Ray supposedly picked these out himself which makes you wonder about an artist's ability to judge their best material. See svrana's great review for more details).

So does this remodeled edition of CDWTK compare well to the original? Although far from definitive the bulk of this CD reflects the previous incarnations of CDWTK. The stellar mastering and booklet are both big pluses here. If you don't have the band's Koch/Velvel reissues on CD this is a great place to start (and end if you believe that their best period was prior to Muswell Hillbillies). Although this doesn't contain everything of note (it is missing 20th Century Man and Supersonic Rocketship among others), CDWTK stands as a pretty good summary of the band's late period and popular revival.

I'd give this a stronger recommendation if it didn't have so many live tracks (covering material from their early days) and had included such key tracks as Jukebox Music, Heart of Gold and Long Distance.

The Kinks Come Dancing With The Kinks: The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 (Koch/Konk)

Re-released as part of the Kinks revamped RCA & Arista CD reissue campaign by Koch with The Kinks Konk label, this new CD version is drastically different from the original out of print Arista CD release. The Arista had 14 songs; this new version has 18. Missing from the Arista CD are "Long Distance" & Heart Of Gold". Added are 6 more songs: "Full Moon," "Good Day," "Father Christmas," Misfits," "A Gallon Of Gas" & "Catch Me Now I'm Falling". With the exception of "Father Christmas" & "Misfits" I don't see the point of adding the other 4 new songs. The 2 missing songs from the original Arista CD fit right at home on this CD. They should have been included as they were important songs from those years. Overall, the booklet is packed with photos & info from they're Arista years with quotes from Ray & Dave Davies and original drummer Mick Avory. All the material has been digitally remastered and is a major improvement over the original Arista CD as with all the reissued Koch/Konk Arista & RCA CD's. A-