Something Else by the Kinks, often referred to simply as Something Else, is the fifth studio album by the Kinks, released on 15 September 1967 by Pye Records. The album continued the Kinks' trend toward an eccentric baroque pop and music hall-influenced style defined by Ray Davies' observational and introspective lyrics. It also marks the final involvement of American producer Shel Talmy in the Kinks' 1960s studio recordings; henceforth Ray Davies would produce the group's recordings. Many of the songs feature the keyboard work of Nicky Hopkins and the backing vocals of Davies's wife, Rasa. The album was preceded by the singles "Waterloo Sunset", one of the group's most acclaimed songs, and the Dave Davies solo record "Death of a Clown", both of which charted in the UK top 3.
The Kink Kontroversy is the third studio album by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released on 26 November 1965 in the United Kingdom by Pye Records. Issued in the United States by Reprise Records on 30 March 1966, it was the Kinks' first American album to feature an identical track listing to its British counterpart. It is a transitional work, with elements of both the earlier Kinks' styles and early indications of the future direction of Ray Davies' songwriting styles. The liner notes were written by Michael Aldred.
"Where Have All the Good Times Gone" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by the Kinks. It was released as the B-side to "Till the End of the Day," and then on their album The Kink Kontroversy.
"David Watts" is a song written by Ray Davies that originally appeared on the Kinks' 1967 album Something Else by the Kinks. It was also the American and Continental Europe B-side to "Autumn Almanac". It has been included on several compilation albums, including The Kink Kronikles (1972) and a live version recorded at Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York, 4 March 1980 was included on One for the Road , a double live album released June 1980.
"Sunny Afternoon" is a song by the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies. The track later featured on the Face to Face album as well as being the title track for their 1967 compilation album. Like its contemporary "Taxman" by the Beatles, the song references the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson. Its strong music hall flavour and lyrical focus was part of a stylistic departure for the band, which had risen to fame in 1964–65 with a series of hard-driving, power-chord rock hits.
"Wonderboy" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, released as a single in 1968. It stalled at number 36 in the UK charts, becoming the band's first single not to make the UK Top Twenty since their early covers. Despite this, it became a favourite of John Lennon of the Beatles, and, according to Ray Davies in his autobiography, X-Ray, "someone had seen John Lennon in a club and he kept on asking the disc jockey to play 'Wonder Boy' [sic] over and over again." Kinks guitarist Dave Davies praised the song, saying, "'Wonderboy' was a big one for us although it wasn't a hit. That was one song we really felt something for." However, bassist Peter Quaife's opinion towards the track was low, later stating that "[I] hated it ... it was horrible."
"Autumn Almanac" is a song written by Ray Davies and recorded by the rock group the Kinks in 1967. "Autumn Almanac" has since been noted for being an "absolute classic", "a finely observed slice of English custom", and a "weird character study", and praised for its "mellow, melodic sound that was to characterize the Kinks' next [musical] phase..." Some have placed this and other Davies compositions in the pastoral-Romantic tradition of the poetry of Wordsworth, among others.
"Susannah's Still Alive" is a song by Dave Davies, released for his second solo single. The recording featured all of the Kinks' members as his backing band. It was a hit but it did not live up to the expectations of Davies' last single "Death of a Clown", which was a Top 5 hit. It failed to chart in the US, but was a significant success in Europe, reaching #10 in the Netherlands, #27 in Germany, #18 in Belgium and #18 in Sweden. Although it was never featured on an LP, its B-side "Funny Face" was included on the Kinks' 1967 album Something Else by the Kinks.
"Set Me Free" is a song by Ray Davies, released first by the Kinks in 1965. Along with "Tired of Waiting for You", it is one of band's first attempts at a softer, more introspective sound. The song's B-side, "I Need You", makes prominent use of powerchords in the style of the Kinks' early, "raunchy" sound. "Set Me Free" was heard in the Ken Loach-directed Up the Junction, a BBC Wednesday Play which aired in November 1965; this marked the first appearance of a Kinks song on a film or TV soundtrack.
"Till the End of the Day" is a song by the Kinks, written by Ray Davies and released as a single in 1965 and later on their album The Kink Kontroversy. It centres on a power chord, like many of the group's early hits, and was similarly successful, reaching number eight in the United Kingdom and number 50 in the United States, spending eight weeks or more in each chart.
"Dead End Street" is a song by the British band the Kinks from 1966, written by main songwriter Ray Davies. Like many other songs written by Davies, it is to some degree influenced by British Music Hall. The bass playing was partly inspired by the "twangy" sound of Duane Eddy's guitar. It was originally released as a non-album single, but has since been included as one of several bonus tracks from the Face to Face CD. The song, like many others by the group, deals with the poverty and misery found in the lower classes of English society.
"Mister Pleasant" is a song recorded by British rock group the Kinks in 1967, written by Ray Davies.
"Days" is a song by the Kinks, written by lead singer Ray Davies, released as a single in 1968. It also appeared on an early version of the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It now appears as a bonus track of the remastered CD. On the original Pye 7N 17573 label, the name of the song is "Day's" due to a grammatical error.
Kinksize Session is the first EP released by the Kinks in the UK in 1964, a month after their debut LP. The tracks were all exclusive to this release and it includes some original compositions.
"Love Me Till the Sun Shines" is a 1967 song by the British band The Kinks. Appearing on their album Something Else by The Kinks, it was, unlike most of the band's songs, written by guitarist Dave Davies.
"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" is a song by Ray Davies, released as a UK single by the Kinks in 1965. As the follow-up to the number-one hit "Tired of Waiting for You", and having their previous three singles all chart among the top two, it was less successful, reaching number 17. It broke a run of what would have been thirteen consecutive top-ten singles in the UK.
"Polly" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released on a non-album single in April 1968, as the B-side to "Wonderboy". Written and sung by bandleader Ray Davies, the song was recorded in March 1968 during sessions for the band's 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. Ray was initially inspired by the character Polly Garter in Dylan Thomas's 1954 radio drama Under Milk Wood, though his resulting character does not share anything with Thomas's besides the same name. The song is one of the few Kinks recordings from the late 1960s to possibly feature real strings, as arranged by David Whitaker.
"Drivin'" is a song written by Ray Davies of the Kinks which appeared on that group's 1969 concept album Arthur . It was released in the UK as the first single from the album, but failed to chart.
"Starstruck" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks from their 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. Written and sung by Ray Davies, the song was recorded in July 1968. The song was issued as the album's lead single in continental Europe in November 1968 and in the United States in January 1969. The European release was accompanied by a promo film shot in Waterlow Park, Highgate. The song failed to chart anywhere besides the Netherlands, where it reached No. 13 on the Veronica Top 40 and No. 9 on the Hilversum 3 Top 30.
Then Now and Inbetween is a promotional compilation album by the English rock band the Kinks. Reprise Records issued the album in July 1969 to journalists, radio program directors and disc jockeys in conjunction with the "God Save the Kinks" promotional campaign, which sought to reestablish the Kinks' commercial status in the US after their four-year ban on performing in the country.
