Customer Reviews

Misfits

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Kinks 1980s "comeback" album was "State of Confusion." But in the late 1970s, the band released a quiet gem that might actually be better than that album. Ray Davies delivers his strongest set of songs since the early 1970s. The song "Rock'n'Roll Fantasy" is dedicated to devout fans (which was about all the band had during this time), while other songs like "Misfits," and "A Foreign Land" cover typical Davies territory. Inclusion of the ace holiday track "Father Christmas" on the CD is great bonus. Overall, this is the best Kink album of the late 1970s.

...and the most consistently good (no bad tracks). This can't be said of any of their other 1970 to end-of-career releases.

After their 3-in-a-row masterpieces "Face To Face" (1966), "Something Else by the Kinks" (1967), and "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society" (1968) - The Kinks ended the decade with their best album ever - "Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)" (1969).

This was followed by the nearly flawless (if not perfect) "Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround" (1970). This would be their last consistently good album until "Misfits" (1978). All the releases in-between these two are only "half-good". That is to say, half the album tracks are good to great, and half are negligible to bad. Of the half-good albums, the best were "Muswell Hillbillies" (1971) and "Sleepwalker" (1977). Of their much-maligned "concept" album period (1973 to 1976), "Soap Opera" (1975) stands out as the most amusing and entertaining.

Following the sometimes boring "Sleepwalker", "Misfits" came as a surprise. The lyrics and music were playful and witty. Some songs were comical vignettes, others had social commentary, and yet others were rueful ruminations. In short, everything you'd expect and want of a Kinks record. The album rocks, but also has a little reggae (performed in the style of 10cc). But most impressively - there wasn't even one bad song!

The very next year they put out "Low Budget" (1979), on which for the first time the number of bad songs outweighed the good. This would continue to be the pattern until the end of their career.

Those wishing to buy the best Kinks albums should get "Face", "Something Else", "Village Green", "Arthur", "Lola", and "Misfits". All of these are fantastic and are must-haves for serious music fans. After all is said and done, they are arguably the best band of all time. Even lesser Kinks songs are better than most artists' best songs. Having said that, I'll further opine that their very early and later-period albums aren't good enough to collect. To get their great British Invasion singles and the best of their later work, just invest in a good compilation like "The Ultimate Collection" (2002).

This is truly a cathartic piece of work by a band that never knew its relevance to the world at large. The Kinks did not enjoy the 70's like the rest of us. Instead, at the point when they signed their big contract (with RCA) they were immediately steeped into the visions of Ray Davies with a series of eclectic and difficult to comprehend operatic efforts which ultimately cost them their audience to all but the most ardent of fans. Imagine the journey of a fan of the "You Really Got Me" era trying to evolve from the likes of "Waterloo Sunset" (not so hard) on to "Lola" (getting strange) through to "Soap Opera" (what is this?). Quite a difficult journey for the fan, as well as the artist.

Stop at August 16, 1977. The King is gone, and the Davies' brothers realize that his bloated corpse represented something about them as well. Were they past their prime? Maybe. Could they still make relevant music? Who knows. Did they even want to? This is what the album ends up answering.

"A Rock-n-Roll Fantasy" is as interesting a song as the band ever wrote. In it the band forms a bond with their fans, with a full realization that they are all victims and benefactors of the mirage that was the 70's rock scene. Davies yearns not only to shake off the malaise and become a full person, but to finally recognize that being loved by one person is ultimately a very profound thing. They made this album for one person: anyone who wanted to listen.

"Misfits" expands on this theme. Setting the standard for bands like Big Star and the Replacements, Davies ultimately realizes that his approach will never be fully embraced. Not that he could live with that kind of acceptance, anyway. "...This is your chance, this is your time. Don't throw it all away, yuo can have your day..." They set their sights in a more realistic sense and reveal, "...Yes, it's true, what they say. Every dog has his day." This song narrative sets the tone for such latter day gems as "Don't Forget To Dance," "Heart Of Gold" and "Come Dancing."

The rest of this album contains some vigorous music, if not the amp-busting sound of their live and early work. Highlights include the hairstyle lament "Permanent Waves," the plain spoken politics dasher "Black Messiah," the so-what-if-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade "Live Life," and the wonderful "Father Christmas." The latter must be heard to be believed: only the Kinks could have made this song.

The sole disappointment in the set it "Out Of The Wardrobe." Trying to extend on the Lola theme, this cross-dressing ditty contradicts itself to the point of irrelevancy.

Get this album if you like the songwriting voice of Ray Davies.

I think that the "Misfits" CD captures the Kinks for their humor and interest in playing music that is relevant to them and not pandering to the audience. What we all love about the Kinks is their unfocused approach toward fame and mega stardom. They didn't care about it but did about the music. God bless the Kinks. My hope is the this remastered CD as well as the others in the Kinks catalogue help future generations appreciate art for what it truly is--soul inspiring--and not soley to make money.

Far from being marginalized by the time this album was produced, the Kinks were well on their way to a well-deserved second stab at the gold ring. Being covered by newer acts such as Van Halen and the Pretenders didn't hurt, either. (Within five years their rebirth as a straight-ahead rock band would see them playing stadiums and Madison Square Garden while the Who and the Stones were on life support.) Arista did them a favor when they insisted one term of their agreement be no more theatrical concept albums. Get back to basics was the theme, so out the window went the horn section and the stage dancers that were a maddening distraction from the music. This incarnation of the band has been my favorite; even though I liked Avory and Dalton more for the punch in their rhythm section, Rodford is every bit as professional and the band was very tight by the time Misfits hit the stores.

To call this a mix of Styx and Boston is staggeringly ignorant. By NO stretch of the imagination could I mistake Brad Delp's overdone guitar work for Dave Davies's take-no-prisoners virtuosity - nor could one EVER mistake the Kinks' witty lyrics for Styx's pap-sung-dramatically silliness. Give me a freaking break. The day someone shows me a Boston cover of Black Messiah, or Styx performing Live Life I will eat my T-shirt. Heck, 33 years later I can still quote: "Out-of-work executives are killing themselves / and the IRA are killing everybody else"...I don't even remember the name of one Styx song. Time heals all wounds and - Mr. Mueller, are you listening? - wounds all heels.

God save the Kinks!

A solid record that is not as quirky as their masterpieces but much better than its predecessor Sleepwalker. This is remastered with booklet and three bonus remixes and "Father Christmas". Of course it also has two of the better hits from the `70s...the title song & Rock N Roll Fantasy. Plus Ray must love wearing garters because there is another cross-dressing song in "Out Of The Wardrobe". God save the Kinks!

Awesome collection of songs. This album is a great one.
Great melodies as it's usual for Ray Davies. Just listen to the well-known songs like "Misfits" & "Rock & Roll Fantasy".
But there's a lot more. "Black Messiah", "In A Foreign Land", "Permanent Waves", "Out Of The Wardrobe".
Dave Davies offers here, for me, his best song for the Kinks catalogue. The beautiful, powerful and emotional "TRUST YOUR HEART". Awesome singing and guitar playing. Dave at his best. This is my fave track too.
I think this record could be like "Sleepwalker part II". Same kind of songs. I love both of them ;-)

I will skip the babbling about how great The Kinks are. Here is the order in which I recommend buying their albums:

1. Something Else By The Kinks (5 stars)

2. Face to Face (5 stars)

3. Village Green Preservation Society (5 stars)

4. Arthur... (5 stars)

5. Lola Versus Powerman & The Moneygoround (4.5 stars)

6. Misfits (4 stars)

7. Muswell Hillbillies (4 stars)

The first five are masterpieces. "Something Else" and "Village Green" are cohesive ensemble pieces; "Face to Face" is a fabulous collection of songs. Note that this is not a ranking; this is just the order in which I recommend buying these gems.

By 1978, the Kinks hadn't had a Top 40 hit since 1970's "Lola." And their concept albums, beginning with 1973's PRESERVATION ACT 1 had not garnered much praise in the rock press. It was time for Ray Davies and Co. to prove that they were more than just an oldies act, and MISFITS succeeded on all accounts. It gave them a hit with "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy" (#30) and their best album since MUSWELL HILLBILLIES.

Ray seems to have come to grips with the fickleness of pop music. In "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy" he ponders if "the world's just passing us by." In the title track, Ray asserts that "even in your day, somehow you could never quite fit in." But in "Live Life," he tells the listener that "you gotta live life and be yourself." And on the Dave Davies-sung "Trust Your Heart," Ray's lyrics include the admonition, "comfort the weak and feed the poor, what on earth do we need government for?" Obviously Ray has moved beyond "You Really Got Me." Sure, there were a few oddball songs like "Hay Fever" and "Out of the Wardrobe," but overall this is a mature and thoughtful Kinks album, one that fans who had been with the band for the past fourteen years were ready for. The Kinks would never again make an album this good--although LOW BUDGET came close. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

While not quite as focused an album as "Sleepwalker" was the previous year, "Misfits" is no less essential than those other mid-career pinnacles: "Word of Mouth," "State of Confusion," "Low Budget" and the like. The title track is one of the band's most gorgeous and mature 70s ballads; a gentle acoustic crooner that makes for an immortal opening track to a strong album. Unfortunately, "Hay Fever" sounds more like a night at the circus than a rock song, while "Black Messiah" revisits the sonic over-extension that soured "Everybody's In Showbiz," complete with quirky horn sections and an awkward reggae tinge. But this is where the album raises the stakes without ever backing down. "Rock 'N Roll Fantasy" was not the band's first top 40 hit since "Lola" for no good reason, while "In A Foreign Land" and "Permanent Waves" return to the grungy hard rock sound the band invented so many years ago. These thoroughly convincing classic rock performances find their fruition in the particularly inspired "Live Life," a bold and muscular anthem that owes its meaty riff to The Chambers' Brothers' immortal "Time Has Come Today." Equally as enduring is "Get Up," one of those Ray Davies moments that effortlessly reflects everything he worked towards as a songwriter: an endearing compassion and understanding for what he calls "the little guy," stories so vivid you could step into them, and vocal harmonies that haunt you in the shower and on the road. For all the mystifying flack this band takes these days, time is bearing out that The Kinks put more quality rock and roll to tape over the decades than any of their contemporaries. No one endured age and change as tastefully as these guys. The Who, Stones, CSN and Beatles hardly made it out of the 70s, while the plethora of momentarily successful classic rock groups The Kinks inspired didn't last half as long. "Misfits" is one of many persuasive illustrations of the fortitude and authenticity of rock's most under-appreciated group.