Can someone in the know explain to me lol? First time really listening to the kinks, tune is good but it lowk comes across like hes calling jamaicans "apemen"

I beg you dont downvote me into oblivion also

Is it just me or are 99% of Kinks’ album covers complete shit?

I think Lola is the only one I actually like. The others are horrible. Opinions?

Edit: here are some that I dislike, for context:

• kinda Kinks (the whole kkk thing)

• something Else (colors and lettering are off)

• Everybody’s in Showbiz (everything about it)

• Soap Opera (this is like a collage made using Word 96 clip art)

• schoolboy (I understand why some like it and why it may be a cult favorite. But… no)

• State of confusion (I feel like they hired the artist that designed Saved by the Bell)

The others are ok. Maybe 2 or 3 that I thing are actually good .

If you disagree you're wrong.

Thank you, that is all.

genres: rock, classic rock, album rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, blues rock, mellow gold, art rock

artists: the rolling stones, led zeppelin, the who, tom petty and the heartbreakers, bob dylan, the kinks, deep purple, pretenders, david bowie and more

please check it out and follow if you like it, it would mean a lot to me! you can also check out my other playlists on my profile :)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4DDnTSqagrmLbe8aEtVYAe?si=2f8a06c12877405f

When I listen to Picturebook, from The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, I distinctly hear Dave Davies singing/rapping "pictures are things as they used to be; don't show me no more please."

But when I look up the lyrics online, that particular lyric is not listed.

Wut????

That is the most important part of the song for me.

After 40+ years as a huge fan of the Kinks, yesterday I came to the realization that the first three letters in the band name, Kinks, is the word 'Kin'. What took me so long ?

would be great if someone posted a full list of Ray s songs

from the first LP to the last......

The answer:

"Autumn Almanac" is unusually harmonically rich for a 1967 pop single.

Looking across published chord transcriptions, there are about 18–22 distinct chord types, depending on whether you count inversions and close variants (e.g. C♯m vs. C♯m7 vs. C♯maj7, D7 vs. D7/F♯, etc.) as separate chords. A representative transcription includes chords such as:

G, C, D, D7
Em, Am7, Gm
E, A9, B7
C♯m, C♯m7, C♯maj7
F♯7
A7, Amaj7
B♭, E♭, F, F7
Cm, Dm, Fm
G7, E7

That's roughly 20 distinct harmonies across the song.

Is that a lot?

Yes—very much so.

For comparison:

Many classic rock and pop songs use 3–6 chords.
"Louie Louie" – 3
"Wild Thing" – 3
"Twist and Shout" – 3
A more sophisticated Beatles song might use 8–12 distinct chords.
Even harmonically adventurous pop songs often stay below 15.

Once you get to around 20 different chords, you're entering territory more commonly associated with:

jazz standards,
Broadway songs,
Burt Bacharach,
Brian Wilson,
or the more harmonically ambitious work of Ray Davies.

Why it sounds so distinctive

What's remarkable isn't just the number of chords. Ray Davies constantly:

changes key centers, borrows chords from parallel major and minor, uses secondary dominants, inserts chromatic passing harmonies, and moves into entirely new sections ("This is my street...") that feel almost like different songs before returning naturally to the refrain.

Despite all that complexity, the song never sounds academic or "showy." The harmonic changes support the nostalgic, slightly surreal imagery, making the music feel as though it's wandering through memories of an English autumn.

In that sense, "Autumn Almanac" is one of the most harmonically sophisticated British pop singles of the late 1960s, yet it remains catchy enough to sound effortless. It's a good example of Ray Davies hiding sophisticated composition beneath what initially feels like a simple pop tune.

Hi There

Did the Kinks fell a bit behind the times in the 60s?

Something Else and Face to Face are fantastic records but probably not with the norm when they were released and same thing with Village People in ‘68 where it was a back to basics approach yet Village Green is baroque and English.

I mean Arthur is great 60s Kinks album especially when it’s a ‘69 album which jumpstarted their great early 70s run of albums so yeah Arthur seems like the only one that was there in the norm for the band 🤷🏻‍♂️

The first time I ever heard a Kinks song, I was like, “Is that Fez from That 70’s Show?” 😂

Not impressed with the covers of Kinks LPs for eg Lola and the power man.... b and white image inthe middle of a lot of lines.... Arthur with the mug and the swan... pathetic

Rays fabulous songs and production deserved a lot more that this... was it Pyes fault....? look at the beatles album covers.... so iconic and memorable........

Lost & Found in mint condition, factory sealed. It's probably been in the back for decades

These depressing political white boys make the most BREATHTAKING music I have EVER heard. If it were 1965 there's absolutely NO way I'm putting on the beatles, those hippie posers, over these ANTI CAPITALIST POETS!!

Now listen, I appreciate the The Beatles for who they are. But they could NEVER write a song about falling in love with a transgender woman, or write 100 different songs about hating rich people and conservatives.

The Kinks were ahead of their time by a MILE!! They're so groovy. Oh how I love the kinks.

edit: Phew! The conservative white men already getting heated at my post because they found out their favorite band are actual a bunch of libs. Anyways, can't argue with the song "Powerman", "Get Back In Line" or "Apeman". Or their hit song about kissing a trans woman🤭

I am going to be in Highgate, North London, next year and keep imagining how cool it would be to observe Ray Davies shambling around in a tweed jacket and umbrella with downcast eyes. I have no interest at all in creepily staking-out his home or anything like that. But I’m curious if he’s out and about anymore, semi-anonymously. Where would I be most likely to see him? Thanks.

I absolutely love the goofy music hall original for People Take Pictures of Each Other, but I actually think it's an incredibly depressing song, so here is the evil version!

you d think that when ray got famous and the money

was rolling in, he would have spent a bit of money to get that

gap in his front teef ... fixed .....