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> Login to your account > RegisterThe Kinks
From page 91 of Classic Rock Magazine October 2001
Cover of October 2001 issue.
'Come Dancing With The Kinks' (Konk KOC-CD-8305)
In 1977, Ray Davies shook off his fixation with concept albums that had lasted most of the decade, and signed to Arista Records. Label boss Clive Davis, who had a particularly sharp nose for a hit single , bullied Davis into writing radio-friendly singles again, and ushered in a Kinks renaissance that saw them back in the charts with 'Come Dancing', 'Better Days' and 'A Rock And Roll Fantasy'. Other singles such as 'Low Budget' 'Sleepwalker', 'Misfits' and 'Destroyer' also got heavy radio rotation in the States, and for a while The Kinks became American arena rockers.
It couldn't last, of course — Ray's infuriatingly capricious nature saw to that. But this underrated decade of The Kinks lives on with this 18-track compilation. And the ghost of the renaissance lingers too: sibling rival Dave Davies's 'Living On A Thin Line' has just been exhumed for the soundtrack of The Sopranos. The two live tracks tell you something about Ray's enduring problem with his own magnificent heritage, however. Van Haien showed more respect for 'You Really Got Me' than The Kinks can muster here; and who needs a karaoke 'Lola'?
*****
Hugh Fielder
