This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Kinks. While founding members Dave and Ray Davies remain undecided on a reunion tour (though odds are trending ever upward), Legacy Records has announced plans to celebrate the iconic band with a series of archival releases.
Due out October 14th, The Essential Kinks is the first-ever career-spanning retrospective anthology for the British rockers. The collection spans 48 tracks over two discs, including classic hits “You Really Got Me”, “Waterloo Sunset”, “Strangers”, “Life Goes On”, and “20th Century Man”, plus live versions of “Lola”, “Till the End of the Day”, and “Where Have All The Good Times Gone”.
Not only did the Davies brothers sign off on the final tracklist, but the set features exclusive liner notes penned by David Bowie himself. Below, read a sample of Bowie’s writing:
“I’ve never heard a Kinks song that I didn’t like. Of course, from their noisy and brash beginnings, the Kinks have come to stand for some of the most enduring and heart-clutching pop of all time. They are in the gut of every British song-writer who followed them and are indisputably a cornerstone of everything pop and rock. I love ‘em. The world loves ‘em.”
Then, on November 10th, Legacy will release an expanded CD/DVD deluxe edition of 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies. Remastered from analog tapes, the two-disc set features the original album plus nine bonus tracks, seven of which have never before been released in North America. The second disc also includes two rare 1972 television appearances, both of which are also making their North American debut.
To accompany both releases, Legacy has also obtained the licensing for 16 Kings albums released between 1971 and 1986 and have made remastered versions of each LP available for digital download.
The Essential Kinks is available for pre-order here, while Muswell Hillbillies is available here. Below, check out the band performing “Muswell Hillbillies” and “You’re Looking Fine” from April 1972. Then, enjoy scrolling through both lengthy tracklists.
The Essential Kinks Tracklist:
Disc One:
01. You Really Got Me
02. Stop Your Sobbing
03. All Day and All of the Night
04. Tired of Waiting For You
05. Nothin’ In This World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl
06. Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy
07. A Well Respected Man
08. Dedicated Follower of Fashion
09. Who’ll Be The Next In Line
10. Set Me Free
11. See My Friends
12. Sunny Afternoon
13. Dead End Street
14. Death of a Clown
15. Autumn Almanac
16. David Watts
17. Waterloo Sunset
18. Days
19. The Village Green Preservation Society
20. Do You Remember Walter?
21. Picture Book
22. Victoria
23. Apeman
24. Strangers
25. 20th Century Man
26. Supersonic Rocket Ship
27. Celluloid Heroes
Disc Two:
01. Here Comes Yet Another Day
02. You Don’t Know My Name
03. Till the End of the Day (Live)
04. One of the Survivors
05. Sweet Lady Genevieve
06. Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker)
07. Life on the Road
08. Sleepwalker
09. Life Goes On
10. A Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy
11. Father Christmas
12. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
13. Lola (Live)
14. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (Live)
15. Better Things
16. Destroyer
17. Come Dancing
18. Don’t Forget to Dance
19. Do It Again
20. Living On A Thin Line
21. Scattered
Muswell Hillbillies Tracklist:
Original Album:
01. 20th Century Man
02. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues
03. Holiday
04. Skin And Bone
05. Alcohol
06. Complicated Life
07. Here Come The People In Grey
08. Have A Cuppa Tea
09. Holloway Jail
10. Oklahoma U.S.A.
11. Uncle Son
12. Muswell Hillbilly
Bonus Tracks:
13. Lavender Lane (previously unreleased in North America)
14. Mountain Woman
15. Have A Cuppa Tea (alternate version) (previously unreleased in North America)
16. Uncle Son (alternate version) (previously unreleased in North America)
17. Kentucky Moon
18. Nobody’s Fool (demo) (previously unreleased in North America)
19. 20th Century Man (alternate instrumental take) (previously unreleased in North America)
20. Queenie (backing track) (previously unreleased in North America)
21. Muswell Hillbillies US radio spots (previously unissued) (previously unreleased in North America)
Disc Two (DVD):
The Old Grey Whistle Test – BBC TV 4 January 1972
01. Have A Cuppa Tea
02. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues
Live At The Rainbow – BBC TV 21 July 1972
03. Till The End Of The Day
04. Waterloo Sunset
05. The Money-Go-Round
06. Sunny Afternoon
07. The Virgin Soldier March
08. She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
09. Alcohol
10. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues
11. You Really Got Me
Lists of Kinks albums that have been remastered and digitally re-released:
RCA Records Era
Muswell Hillbillies (RCA, Originally released November 24, 1971)
Everybody’s In Show-Biz (RCA, double album, Originally released September 1, 1972)
Preservation: Act 1 (RCA, Originally released November 16, 1973)
Preservation: Act 2 (RCA, Originally released July 26, 1974)
Soap Opera (RCA, Originally released April 25, 1975)
Schoolboys In Disgrace (RCA, Originally released November 17, 1975)
The Kinks Greatest: Celluloid Heroes (RCA, compilation, Originally released June 25, 1976)
Artista Records Era
Sleepwalker (Arista, Originally released February 12, 1977)
Misfits (Arista, Originally released May 17, 1978)
Low Budget (Arista, Originally released July 10, 1979)
One For The Road (Live) (Arista, live album, Originally released June 4, 1980)
Give The People What They Want (Arista, Originally released August 15, 1981)
State Of Confusion (Arista, Originally released June 10, 1983)
Word Of Mouth (Arista, Originally released November 19, 1984)
Return To Waterloo (Arista, Ray Davies solo album, Originally released July 1, 1985)
Come Dancing With The Kinks/The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 (Arista, compilation, double album, Originally released June 2, 1986)
