The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy

No Longer a Singles Band

I bought this one as a teenager the day it came out, and played the grooves off of it, as I did ever other Kinks LP until 1970. The difference with 'Kontroversy' is that the non-single cuts, which were for the most part quickly tossed together afterthoughts on the first two LPs, show real development of Ray Davies into the songwriter who would further blossom on the three masterpieces to follow. The lyrics are introspective on 'I'm on an Island' and take a look at society on 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone'. This is a rock'n'roll record-in the cover of 'Milk Cow Blues', 'You Can't Win', and 'It's Too Late', the latter pounding hard with acoustic guitar and keyboards rather than the overdriven electric guitar of the early singles, and repeated to lesser effect on the churning 'Til the End of the Day'. This album shows a band in transition, and while there are a couple of cuts that are forgettable the growth in songwriting and more complex arrangements is a sign of great things to come. April 10, 2008

Bridge to Waterloo

Maybe I am just nostalgic for this album. My Dad was stationed in Germany when this came out, and I remember all the high school bands playing "Milk Cow Blues" and "Til the End of the Day" at the dances. The rhythm lick of "Milk Cow Blues" was especially difficult. You were way cool if you mastered it (I never did).

I suppose like all transition works this one is unsatisfying at some levels, but it does rock hard. The bar-chord progression of "Til the End of the Day" and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" (nostalgia for the old days as we wish they were which would find full flower on "Arthur" four years later) is married to more thoughtful lyrics than before. This is the second album to feature Dave's writing ("I Am Free"). Ray's bouncy "I'm on an Island," which would get a more calypso treatment live on the "Live at Kelvin Hall" album in 1967, revisits the isolation theme that would pop up so often in Ray's writing ("See My Friends," "Waterloo Sunset," and "Searching" being outstanding exemplars). Dave's voice is expecially effective on "What's in Store for Me." "You Can't Win" is basically the Kinks "Wall of Sound" style at its best, even though the song itself isn't much. Basically, the Kinks are saying good-bye to their older style and embracing the more mature style and material of "Face to Face" and "Something Else." "What's In Store for Me" reminds me of the same questioning of the kind of person the singer will be as a man contained in the Beach Boys' "When I Grow Up." Dave's high harmony on "It's to Late" presages the harmony system the Kinks used from "Arthur" on to the end (Ray singing lead and Dave signing an octave or so above sometimes on the melody sometimes on a harmony line).

Unlike what one of the reviews said, Shel Talmy would continue to produce the Kinks for two more years. His slightly tinny sound would continue through "Face to Face" the next year. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" would not appear until the B-side of "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966 (check out the whacking great live version of "Everybody Else" on the Kinks' last album "To the Bone" (1997) this time with Ray singing and Dave wailing on the guitar).

The extra tracks don't add much to the canon, though I am very glad to finally see "Sitting on My Sofa" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" (check out Ray's solo version of the latter on "To the Bone") remastered on CD. I am still waiting for "Act Nice and Gentle" (B-side to "Waterloo Sunset").

If you are a fan of '60's rock, you'll like this. It contains the Kinks' last R & B cover (fittingly, the first track) and continues the venture into social commentary begun with "Well Respected Man." Compact at about 38 minutes, it packs a lot of punch into that time period. April 18, 2007

Wondering if I'd done wrong...

The Kinks' 3rd album released in November of 1965 was as many of the previous reviews have said the end of one era for the band. It was without a doubt the most mature record the band had put out to date but was not as strong as their later lps of the decade. "Milk Cow Blues" definitely seems to make a statement as "this is the last classic R&B cover we'll ever do", but it is a great kickoff to the album and sees the brothers Davies trading vocals over some pretty raucous noise for 1965! Most important songs include "Til the End of the Day", a latter day early Kinks classic which has much similarity with "You Really Got Me" and "All Day"; "I'm on an Island" which many have stated as the beginning of the introspective Ray Davies though I think he did this on much of 'Kinda Kinks' as well; "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" which moans away the nostalgia of still a very young man (only 21!). I really enjoy the last three tunes: "It's Too Late, "What's in Store for Me" and "You Can't Win" especially the last with its menacing stomp and biting lead guitar. Ray and Dave seem to sing more harmony on this record than on either of the previous two and it works. "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", included here as a bonus track would begin Ray's career as a social critic, inspired by a rather pompous individual at a party according to legend. 'The Kink Kontroversy' was not a hit in the States and barely got a release here but the Kinks were fast becoming a albums band who seemed to shun potential success of singles for the artistic genius of Raymond Douglas Davies. March 2, 2007

The Kinks come into their own

This recording is a bridge between The Kinks' R & B roots ("Milk Cow Blues": the only cover song on this LP) and more sophisticated lyrics and thoughtful production ("The World Keeps Going Round", the uneasy nostalgia of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone"). It is also a period piece from 1965 (just listen to the tones of the guitars) which is part of its' appeal.
These were the days when record labels would rush a band to put out the next album before the band fell out of fad. Yet this LP contains "I'm On An Island" (was this the calypso pre-cursor to "Apeman"?), "Til the End of the Day", "I Am Free", plus the songs mentioned above: all terrific pop songs. Keep in mind The Kinks had already recorded "Who Will Be the Next In Line" (one of my favorite overlooked songs),"Well Respected Man","See My Friends", "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" all in the same year as this LP. Yet Ray still manages to turn in some great well crafted pop-songs for "Kinks Kontroversy": a master pop songwriter. And "Kinks Kontroversy" doesn't sound like a rush job (like "Kinda Kinks"). Except for one or two songs which sound slightly like filler, this is a great album.
The Kinks' next album would be "Face to Face" and there was no going backwards for this group from then on. December 21, 2006

The End of Something

I love this album. I originally bought it in the mid-60s when it came out, featuring the last of the Kinks' power-chord singles, "Till The End of the Day." I immediately loved "Milk Cow Blues," and it became my favorite cut on the album. But Kontroversy has many gems, "I'm On An Island," "I Am Free," , and "I Gotta Get The First Plane Home" are all fun and nifty tunes. It isn't, however, their best effort during the initial stage of their career. Kink Kinkdom easily outshines it probably because it has stronger material.

Actually, Kontroversy is an intersting release because it is almost a step back for Ray Davies' writing style. In Kinkdom and Kinda Kinks, Ray had explored social issues with some depth. Although the American albums were mix-matches of several British releases, Kontroversy was released in the U.S. and British in very similar set-ups. By the time Kontroversy had been released, Ray had written and released "Well Respected Man" and "See My Friends," both not only completely different sounds for the Kinks, but lyrically very interesting. So, why did Ray revert to catchy pop tunes?

Nonetheless, I really enjoy listening to Kink Kontroversy, and I find it to be a fun way to get back to the 60's. Lots of power, lots of power chording, and lots of catchy lyrics. It was definitely the last time The Kinks would release such an album, and it serves us all well, even today. May 30, 2005

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