Greatest Hits

The Kinks

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: March 28, 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032AP
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,999 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. You Really Got Me

2. All Day and All of the Night - The Kinks

3. Set Me Free

4. Who'll Be the Next in Line

5. Come on Now

6. Everybody's Gonna Be Happy

7. I Need You

8. Till the End of the Day

9. Tired of Waiting for You

10. Well Respected Man

11. You Do Something to Me

12. You Still Want Me

13. Stop Your Sobbing

14. Something Better Beginning

15. Dedicated Follower of Fashion

16. I'm Not Like Everybody Else

17. Where Have All the Good Times Gone

18. Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

The Kinks' early singles set a new standard for raucousness. "Louie Louie" chord progressions and monosyllabic declarations of lurve (love definitely isn't a strong-enough word) drove "You Really Got Me," "All Day and All of the Night," and "I Need You." Only maniacal cackles from guitarist Dave Davies could've heightened their simple eloquence--and he provided even those before his solos on "Got Me" and "All Day." But brother Ray's observational talents quickly began to show: the optimistic "Till the End of the Day" is shadowed by an unspoken wistfulness, while "A Well Respected Man," "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," and "Sunny Afternoon" remain among the most cutting portraits of Britain's upper-class strivers. Both of the band's main impulses continue to be immensely influential, while the enraged "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" merges them in a three-and-a-half-minute burst of cold fury that few bands would match until the Sex Pistols era. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Klassic Kinks Songs From 1964 to 1966, July 27, 2000

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is an essential purchase for fans of British Invasion pop/rock music. During the years 1964 to 1966, the Kinks placed eight songs in the U.S. Top 40. The rest of the album is rounded out with key album tracks (like "Stop Your Sobbing") as well as all of the Kinks' British singles (with the glaring exception of their No. 10 U.K. hit "See My Friends").

You get the raw energy of "You Really Got Me" and the sound-alike "All Day And All of the Night," but singer/songwriter/guitarist Ray Davies would not be pigeon-holed and would write later hits like the lovely "Set Me Free," and songs that would poke fun at conformity ("Dedicated Follower of Fashion") and ridicule British income tax laws ("Sunny AFternoon") and the superficiality of a 9-to-5 existence ("A Well Respected Man").

The albums that these songs were taken from (like "Kinks-Size," "Kinda Kinks," "Kinkdom") were from a period when the Kinks were essentially a singles band. And while there is much to enjoy on these early albums, this greatest hits package gives you the essentials. Starting in 1967 their albums as a whole were much stronger and I would recommend also getting albums like "Something Else," "Face to Face" and "Village Green Preservation Society" to round out your Sixties-era Kinks kollection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great selection of early Kinks songs, May 16, 2000

By	"lekrzys" (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This is a great selection of early Kinks songs. But, if you are a true fan you should buy their masterful albums. You can buy this as well, as there is very little overlap (except for "Face to Face"). Here is the order in which I recommend buying them:

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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CD remastering problems, October 1, 1999

By A Customer

These are great songs, no doubt, but somehow something got lost in the mix to CD. You Really Got Me and I Need You especially lose the original punch they had on vinyl. I don't know what it is, but they just sound thinner and less exciting on CD. Maybe too "clean," even. Other than that, great stuff. I'm glad they at least kept it in mono.