Kinks: The Ultimate Collection

Very exhausted collection of the Kinks songs, half of ones I did not know. It contained almost all the hits that I love. The glaring ommissions would be Destroyer and Low Budget.

Good deal.

works perfectly

One of the better Kinks retrospectives, presented in mostly in chronological order based on release dates. Some of the songs were written in a different order chrono-wise, but that is not important. One star is deducted for less than acceptable sound on a few of the earlier reprocessed "stereo" tracks which suffer from extra noise due to the crudeness of that. era's analog process of faking stereo. But the mono tracks are really good sounding considering the original masters' limitations. Some of these early tracks sound even better on the second disc of the "Muswell Hillbillies" Deluxe Legacy Edition. The price was reasonable for both double sets and of course the music and songwritng of Ray Davies is incomparable as a forebearer of what is now known as garage rock or soft punk classic rock. The Kinks are as influential as the Beatles in many areas of rock history and are distinctly Anglophilic in approach and execution. There are blues and country stylings as well and they do not disappoint. If you haven't heard a lot of the early and middle eras of the Kinks, this is a great place to get reacquainted. You can't help but like it.... it is transcndental British rock in it's most original form. Long live the Kinks !

When you think about the British Invasion, obviously you think about The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and maybe some others. The Kinks were never in that group for me - while they had the occasional great single, I didn't see them as a consistent band the way I saw the others. Now, admittedly, that assessment was based on their later albums of the 70s and 80s. What I DID NOT realize until I got this collection was HOW MANY AMAZING singles The Kinks put out. In general, I am not a fan of collections, because it ends up missing other essential material. But for The Kinks, this is exactly how I want to listen to them. Not a bad track on here, and of the various collections, this is the premier one. And it even includes Come Dancing from the 80s. Still not elevating the Kinks to status of the Holy Trio, but they were pretty pretty pretty good!

Well chosen tracks spanning 2 cds and the most memorable and essential songs of this band. I ignored them over the decades like others, but glad to catch up. Amazing character throughout their songbook. Exceeds the classic rock, or British Invasion tags. Maybe I’ll list the tracks later. Worth katching up.

I'm not generally a fan of "best of" compilations, but this collection of 44 songs is generous and hits almost all of the bases for the Kinks. I was never a devotee of the band, but have a deep-seated respect for Ray Davies as a songwriter and social critic. Most of his superior material from the era is here, as well as input from brother Dave. The discs include early rockers, some interesting forays into pyschedelia, folky English explorations, biting social commentary and a few stadium athems from the 1980s. The Kinks were so good that one would have to purchase multiple releases to fully appreciate them - "Village Green Preservation Society," "Arthur," "Muswell Hillbillies," are just a few essential recordings. This compilation is a great shortcut for those looking for the gems. There are a few clunkers in this collection, but they are rare. The astounding songs still win the day. If looking for only 1 Kinks compilation for your collection, this is the place to start.

This is a great double cd. I wore out my first set.

one of the best bands ever , 44 tracks great value for money, only cd with ray singing coka instead of cherry