I ever so much enjoy listening to some classic rock on the occasion. One of my favorite tracks is 'Lola' by the Kinks. I'm not exactly sure why, but when that track comes on, I typically get pretty pumped. I'm getting ahead of myself though. I'm going two for two today in English bands - with the Kinks being from North London. They started making music in 1964 though, slightly earlier than the Monkeys. They hit it really big in the mid 60's with 'Your Really Got Me' which was a monster success both in England and in the states. People of all countries were both in love and confused by their style. It was so dirty and garage sounding, yet it somehow sounded so polished and intentional. This was one of the first bands that made that type of music "cool". Not knowing what else to say back then - critics called it "crossover music" and didn't let it fit into a certain genre. The Kinks had such a long career, they were huge then they ceased to exist for a while and then reached a little more success. This album came out in 1970 which was right on the front end of the decline. They literally dropped about a hundred albums over 30 years. Probably too much music and the fans felt jaded on the quality coming out versus all that quantity. This is probably one of the most resoundingly polarizing albums in the history of music. Some people love it, some absolutely hate it and some are right down the middle. I think this is a great record. I think given it's time, it was a trendsetter in different, garage band type music. And for the Kinks, it was almost a concept type record, as their others didn't really sound like this one. All in all, it's by no means amazing, but a couple tracks are awesome and the record as a whole is solid. Well worth listening to.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Introduction
2. Contenders, The
3. Strangers
4. Denmark Street
5. Get Back in Line
6. Lola
7. Top of the Pops
8. Moneygoround, The
9. This Time Tomorrow
10. Long Way From Home, A
11. Rats
12. Apeman
13. Powerman
14. Got to Be Free
Listen To Samples
Top 3 Tracks:
1. Lola
2. Apeman
3. Long Way From Home
FINAL RATING:
3.5 out of 5 stars
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