siLLy puPPy The debut album by THE KINKS happens to be the very 1st album chronologically here at MMA!

Although overshadowed by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, THE KINKS were very much a part of the original British Invasion of rock ’n’ roll that took the US by storm in the early 60s. The band was started by the two brothers Ray and Dave Davies and original bassist Pete Quaife in 1963 in the London suburb of Muswell Hill. The three played under myriad monikers before finally settling on THE KINKS and wasted no time garnering enough attention to release their first full album only a year later and riding the musical tsunami that The Beatles set in motion.

I pretty much agree with the critics of the day regarding this eponymous (minus the “THE”) debut album. It is highly inconsistent. The album is roughly half covers and half originals. The covers are the weakest part of this album as it sounds like they are trying to be The Beatles but it’s obviously not in their DNA to pull it off. Where this album really shines and what makes it so terribly influential in the harder edged music that would evolve into hard rock, metal and punk is in the upbeat tracks like the one they burrowed into the future and stole from Van Halen :P, you know which one.

“You Really Got Me” got them REALLY noticed and it went all to #1 on the UK singles chart. This track is really ground zero for highly distorted music which all stemmed from Ray Davies’ frustration from his amp. The track was actually written on the piano believe it or not but somehow it evolved into a raucous rocker that put emphasis on power chords and distortion which Ray created by slicing the speaker cone of his amp with a razor blade. This impromptu act reverberated into gargantuan and unforeseen ways into the wonderful world of extremely distorted guitar music that we all love and can’t get enough of today.

Unfortunately this is not an album of tracks like “You Really Got Me.” This sounds more like a record company milking a band’s talents to pump out radio friendly songs to put out on as many markets as possible. While some of these covers are a bit underwhelming, THE KINKS do throw in some excellent originals like “Revenge,” “I Took My Baby Home,” “I Just Can’t Go To Sleep” and “Stop Your Sobbing.” Despite this eclectic array of hits and misses, THE KINKS debut album is a testament to the origins of distorted amplified music that was the much needed spark to fuel the massive inferno of creativity that followed. Probably not essential since “You Really Got Me” can be found on every compilation THE KINKS have every released but certainly not a bad album in its own right despite sounding a bit wonky at times.

The album was released as KINKS in the UK and in the US it was released as “You Really Got Me” which omitted three tracks from the UK version. These days it has been remastered and appears in its UK form with bonus tracks.

1967/ 1976 Honestly one of the many compilation of The Kinks that we can find on the market. To love is done well and I must say, I was struck by the very low price. So much so that I bought it without thinking twice. Of course there are many beautiful songs and the presence of "You Really Got Me" and "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" is an excellent thing for fans of Van Halen, who made two covers (almost identical to the original) of these songs.

However, "It's The Kinks" remain one of the compilations of many of The Kinks on the market. What I like very much.

1967/ 1976 Third album for The Kinks. Of course, the sign of a bloody Rock and close to some Punk, in certain situations. Here's Rock'n'Roll in its various meanings, especially in order to be powerful and direct. Is a melodic album, however, not unlike a version of adrenaline The Beatles and other similar groups, however, with a dose of primitiveness that not disgusts. Of course there is the symphonic POP (moderately) of "Something Better Beginning" but songs as "Dancing In The Streets" or "Come On Now" are very close to some primordial Heavy Metal.

I will not even on an album really straightforward and easy to understand. That, however, is magical and fresh even today, after so many years.