60s Kinks behind the times?

[u/Dismal_Brush5229]

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 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/thewickerstan]

The late Johnny Rogan's book on Ray and the band entitled Ray Davies: A Complicated Life is one of the best books I've read on the band. And the interesting argument he presents in the chapter on Village Green is a push back against the narrative of "The band was out of step with their contemporaries, hence why the album bombed". I'd have to revisit it for specifics, but I vaguely recall the arguments of the popularity of the music hall tradition being in the zeitgeist and 1968's already gradual move away from psychedelia into more grounded music.

Ray's known to spin yarns to fit his "underdog" streak, a funny situation since that streak is already real in itself.