Customer Reviews

Phobia

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"I'm surviving, that's all I am," the brilliant Ray Davies sings on "Surviving," another of his introspective tributes to The Kinks' legendary fortitude. No band on Earth has put out more quality material over such an extended period of time as The Kinks, and none of them have risked the self-effacement of so many of Ray's wrenching autobiographical inquiries. "Every dog has his day" he sang on the immortal title track to 1978's "Misfits" album. But "Phobia" proves that the dog's day is a long way from done; it still has all four legs and it's off to a running start with the sizzling treatise on environmental ruin, "Wall of Fire." The album's only flaw -- if one must be plucked from so many jewels -- is its length. It packs so many punches that comparatively slight run-throughs like "Somebody Stole My Car" or the awful "Babies" only distract from the album's obvious and sustained power. Thankfully, there are so many great tunes here that these lower moments are only passing misfortunes. Where 1986's disastrous "Think Visual" chokes on the venom of its embitterment at the hands of a greedy industry, "Phobia" delivers a gamut of political and personal statements that are as searing musically as they are in message. "It's apocalypse now, so we're waiting for the flood" Ray growls on the gritty escapist anthem, "Drift Away." Ray's yearning to drift away from the real world to an island of one's dreams seems as relevant now as ever. After the album slips into the Tom Petty-style ballad, "Still Searching," it becomes apparent that "Phobia" is The Kinks' most consistent release since "Word of Mouth." Exhibiting the atmospheric splendor of Ray's 80s outtake, "Voices in the Dark," "Still Searching" is as instantly inviting as "Living on a Thin Line" or "Property," songs whose eloquent longing and outrage at the changes time forces upon us drive corkscrews through the listener's heart. From its title track to the eerily 80s-ish "Don't" or Dave's nod to Angus Young on the pithy "Close to the Wire," "Phobia" is the work of a band whose torch refuses to fade. Neither the "finale" nor the disaster others say it is, "Phobia" marks the continued devotion of a powerful band to its craft. There would be more to come after this, as the stunning, 2-disc "To the Bone" attests. And with a Ray Davies solo project on the way and a recent one from Dave, the "apocalypse" Ray sings about here is probably the only thing capable of closing the book on The Kinks. That's a lot more than can be said of all the other baby boomer bands content to cash in on old glories with tour after tired tour.

Slandered by critics, dismissed as clangorous hard rock by others, this album actually finds the Kinks, 30 years into their career, at the top of their lyrical and musical craft. It's alternately haunting, angry and sad throughout, with tight playing and beautiful harmonies weaving it all together.


On "Phobia", Ray Davies' frail voice cries out like a beacon of humanity in a dark, pre-apocalyptic landscape. The weakest track is the first song proper, "Wall of Fire", but after that, it's pretty much one triumph after another. Highlights include "Still Searching", "Only a Dream" "Phobia" and, probably the BEST track here,(the last track on the CD)"Scattered".

If you're a fan of the "whimsical" or "quaint" Kinks, you may want to look elsewhere because this is a VERY dark album. I love the "whimsical" Kinks as well, but I always sensed the demons that lurked underneath the surface of Ray Davies' "misty waters", and so this album was not a total shock to me. However, the casual listener should be warned, on "Phobia", Ray's demons are let loose here and the result is a paranoid, almost claustrophobic CD.


This is an album of desperation... as the new century approached, Ray Davies sensed that idyllic parables could not fully express the spiritual/moral/mental crisis facing us as a species. So, he cranks up the amps on tracks like "Drift Away" and "Phobia" to make sure his message is heard. That is not to say that the CD is unmelodic... some of the Kinks'most attractive melodies to date can be found here.


I strongly suspect that the people who have panned this album either have not fully listened to it, (they heard one track not to their liking and cast it aside)or they are so set in what they think the Kinks should be, that they cannot handle anything different. (they want an album filled with 16 "waterloo sunset" re-writes) I believe that anyone who truly sits down and absorbs all 79 minutes of this album will be richly rewarded with a batch of evocative and powerful songs which only sound more powerful with each passing day.

It's been said that Fear is the enemy. Certainly not on this fine collection of Ray and Dave Davies originals. While this collection can't hold a candle to their best work of the 60's and 70's, it's a fine collection with at least a handful of songs that rank with Ray's best work.

Drift Away, Still Searching, Scattered, hatred and Over the Edge all would fit in well with the crowded room of Kinks classics written over the past thirty plus years. Dave contributes one of his finest songs with Close to the Wire (which also appears on the import version of Unfinished Business: The Dave Davies Kronkiles). It's Alright isn't quite as strong but still manages to keep its head above water and survives in the best company due to a swimming performance that is top notch.

So after thirty years the choice is yours. Give up and stick with the great classic stuff or take a risk with this fine more recent record. If you choose the former you'll be missing out on a fine record (and the last album of originals the band has recorded since 93)that offers a number of classic tunes. Hey, at least Ray and Dave aren't recycling the same stuff (unlike that famous band that gathers no moss)and expecting it to sell. In their prime these guys could hold their own and occasionally blow the Stones off the stage.

Find out why.

It's a shame that the only song the Kinks will ever be remembered by is LOLA. They have so many other great works Soap Opera and School Boys In Disgrace to name but a few. What's happened to modern radio that they let Phobia slip thru the cracks? What a great album, from start to finish!!!! Even if you call a station you won't find it on their play list so don't even try. Just buy this amazingly good effort by one of the greatest rock groups of all times. And let us hope this will not be the last thing they ever do togeather. If the last 2 Stones albums were even half this good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When they released Phobia in 1993, the Kinks were no doubt hoping for yet another renaissance as far as public interst was concerned. It didn't happen. Phobia spent only a single week in Billboards top 200 and was the last studio album the band has released. Was it the product, or was it a lack of promotion by the record label, a standard complaint that has arisen over the years from the Kinks themselves.

I don't know anything about the politics of marketing an album, but I do know that this is a pretty solid album. There's stuff on here for Kink fans of all stripes, from the hard pounding, power chord rockers (Wall Of Fire, Phobia, Surviving) to the gentler, quieter stuff (Scattered, The Informer, Still Searching). When it's good, Phobia is as good as anything the Kinks have released in the previous twenty years. I won't try to tell you that the album is completely without flaws, but it is never truly wretched, either. Two songs that usually get mentioned as highlights, Hatred and Drift Away, are simply too bombastic for me, but that just goes to show everyone has different tastes.

I once heard one fan complain that Ray Davies was trying to please everyone with this album. That argument doesn't hold up too well, especially considering how diverse the Kinks have been in the past. It would have been more frustrating, I think, had they cattered solely to a single niche within their audience. So if you really like the Kinks, in all their rag-tag glory, you'll probably like this album.

certainly not up to the level of their late 60's output up to the lola album which many consider the end of their classic period. this album rocks out with hard hitting riff based songs highlighting dave davie's underappreiated guitar skills. there are at least a couple of classic songs on this disc including scattered, and hatred (a duet). i remember this album being in my heavy rotation for several months after i bought it when it was released. i also remember hatred getting quite a bit of radio play. i know ray and dave have had some tough times recently with dave's stroke and ray getting stabbed in new orleans. i hope they get back together for at least one last hurrah. do they have another arthur or village green in them? i'm hoping they do.

It seems there's a general consensus that Phobia either has songs that are too long or there are too many of them. I've never thought so, perhaps because I've only listened to this CD on extended solo car trips of over an hour. It makes the trip fly by.
"Wall of Fire" evokes that terrible vision of 9/11 and the self-questioning among many in its immediate aftermath. The second stanza is frighteningly prophetic. What Ray Davies had on his mind when he wrote the song in the early '90s is unclear to me, however. What happened to the wonderful optimism of "Down All the Days" from the previous album UK Jive?
"Drift Away" expresses what I'm sure many of us feel in this age of sensational media overload, and our reaction to it. Mostly, though, the chorus is impossible to expel from the mind.
The words of "Still Searching" are the obvious musings of a modern-day romantic. The song is enjoyable nonetheless.
"Phobia", the title cut, has to be the most musically and lyrically oppressive song in the entire Kinks kanon. C'mon guys, lighten up, will ya? Things can't be THAT bad!
Ahhh, "Only a Dream". Now this is more like it! A fine little anecdote sensitively told, and a nice little ditty to boot. I like it when Ray combines spoken verse and singing.
"Don't" is another one I like; the last lines are out-and-out poetic.
"Babies" is an interesting concept and consistent with the album's overall theme: Fear of "falling" out of the womb and fear of having to "climb" once you're out, all without really knowing if your existence has a purpose or if you were merely an "accident". How many in the world would opt out of being born if they knew what was in store for them!
"Over the Edge" seems a bit unfocused; I can't get a handle on it even after repeated listenings. Nice organ riff and backing vocals, though.
"Surviving" is simply a beautiful song. Ray screaming over the chantlike coda is pure magic.
Brother Dave Davies' "It's Alright" is non-descript in my book. Why should there be life on Mars? Try again, Dave. I know you can do better.
"The Informer" sounds like a nod to Jimmy Buffett. A pleasant enough song, but I'd like to know more about the story behind it.
"Hatred", that ode to brotherly love, is a song my dad and uncle would really like. Reminds me of Michael Douglas and Sean Penn in The Game, Jimmy and Billy Carter, and, oh yes, the Brothers Davies.
"Somebody Stole My Car" makes life here in the boonies sound better and better. I liked the ironic twist of this song being "driven" by an early '60s cruisin' rhythm. There's also a neat nod to the Fab Four at the end.
"Close To the Wire" is the type of song Dave does best. This one I like. Alas, to love a woman of higher station. Nice guitar riff, and isn't that Ray singing the first few lines?
"Scattered" is a disappointing closer. I know it's in the usual vein of wrapping up an album with a positive message, but what exactly is the message? Is it that whatever we experience, in the end, doesn't matter? I noticed the "in memoriam" on the lyric sheet. I apologize to all who like the song as it seems to be the one most Kinks fans remember from this generally poorly received album.
As other "Kinky" acquaintances have pointed out to me, this is an album for which the programming function on your CD player was made. With over an hour of music available, one can pick and choose the tunes for the Kinks mood in which one happens to be. At this bargain basement price, there's no need to fear Phobia.

Never thought a band from the midsixties would still be able to grab your attention like the Kinks do on Phobia. I may be completely out of the modern day fashion, it may not have anything daring -lyric- or music-wise) but Ray Davies proves he is still a captivating and brilliant songwriter while his collegues from way back are retired or dead or both. A great album. Davies does not have one creative grey hair.

While not one of their very best, this is still a fine CD. I agree with the reviewer who said it was a bit long. Standouts are Drift Away (a classic), Still Searching, Scattered, Only a Dream, and Over the Edge. I can't believe these guys can't get a record label -- this is better than 99% of the stuff being put out today.

This is an excellent CD that shows the Kinks still have a lot to offer. The song Hatred is a hilarious (and rocking) commentary on the relationship between the brothers Davies while Still Searching, Scattered and the title track are standouts.