LATEST KINKS DELUXE REISSUES DUE

Face to Face, released in 1966 on Pye Records in the United Kingdom and on Reprise Records in the United States, is the fourth UK studio album by The Kinks. A major artistic breakthrough for Kinks’ songwriter Ray Davies, the LP represents the first full flowering of Davies’ use of narrative, observation, and wry social commentary in his songs. It heralded The Kinks’ move away from the hard-driving rock and roll style of 1964-65, which had catapulted the group to international stardom. It was the first Kinks album consisting entirely of Ray Davies compositions, and was their first album recorded over several months, rather than in one concentrated session

Davies seemed to be responding to the overwhelming pressures on him by escaping into stories of the bittersweet existence of ordinary suburban people, their failings, and frustrations. The new style of writing began gradually the previous year with compositions such as “A Well Respected Man” and “Dedicated Follower of Fashion”, and came to full fruition in May 1966 with the hit single “Sunny Afternoon”, which reached Number 1 in the UK. This song’s great popularity proved to Davies and the Kinks’ managers that the group could find success with this style of songwriting. The new album would follow this pattern, as would the group’s recorded output for the next five years. The 1966-1971 period inaugurated by this album would later be called Davies’ and the Kinks’ “golden age”.

This 2-CD expanded edition comes with deluxe packaging containing Mono and Stereo mixes as well as unreleased material, alternative versions, BBC sessions and short interviews, all re-mastered from original tapes by well-known Kinks archivist Andrew Sandoval. The booklet was designed by award winning art director Phil Smee, comes packed with rare and unreleased images from the era

1. Party Line
2. Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home
3. Dandy
4. Too Much On My Mind
5. Session Man
6. Rainy Day In June
7. A House In The Country
8. Holiday In Waikiki
9. Most Exclusive Residence For Sale
10. Fancy
11. Little Miss Queen Of Darkness
12. You’re Lookin’ Fine
13. Sunny Afternoon
14. I’ll Remember
15. I’m Not Like Everybody Else
16. Dead End Street
17. Big Black Smoke
18. Mister Pleasant
19. This Is Where I Belong
20. Mr Reporter
21. Little Woman

Something Else by The Kinks, often referred to as just Something Else, is the fifth UK studio album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in September 1967. The album marks the final involvement of American producer Shel Talmy in The Kinks’ 1960s studio recordings; henceforth Ray Davies would assume recording production

Songs on the album composed by Ray Davies followed his affinity for strongly English-inspired subject matter, including the harpsichord-laden “Two Sisters”, the lazy shuffle of “End of the Season”, and the sardonic “David Watts”. The album includes the hit single “Waterloo Sunset”.

Apart from “End of the Season”, the album was recorded between the fall of 1966 and the summer of 1967, when The Kinks had cut back on touring and had begun recording and stockpiling songs for Davies’ as-yet poorly defined “village green” project. In fact, the song “Village Green” was recorded in November 1966 during the sessions for the album but was released on a French EP in 1967 and would not appear on a Kinks LP until the next release, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.

The album includes three songs composed by Dave Davies, including the hit single “Death of a Clown”. Based on the unexpected success of the song, the younger Davies began exploring a solo career but follow-up singles did not meet with the same success and, by mid-1969, his solo ambitions would be set aside for a decade.

This 2-CD expanded edition comes with deluxe packaging containing Mono and Stereo mixes as well as unreleased material, alternative versions, BBC sessions and short interviews, all re-mastered from original tapes by well-known Kinks archivist Andrew Sandoval. The booklet was designed by award winning art director Phil Smee, comes packed with rare and unreleased images from the era.

Disc 1

1. The Kinks David Watts Stereo Album Version
2. The Kinks Death Of A Clown Stereo Album Version
3. The Kinks Two Sisters Stereo Album Version
4. The Kinks No Return
5. The Kinks Harry Rag
6. The Kinks Tin Soldier Man
7. The Kinks Situation Vacant
8. The Kinks Love Me Till The Sun Shines
9. The Kinks Lazy Old Sun
10. The Kinks Afternoon Tea
11. The Kinks Funny Face
12. The Kinks End Of The Season Stereo Album Version
13. The Kinks Waterloo Sunset
14. The Kinks Susannah’s Still Alive Stereo
15. The Kinks Autumn Almanac Stereo
16. The Kinks Sand On My Shoes Stereo
17. The Kinks Afternoon Tea Alternate Version
18. The Kinks Mr Pleasant Alternate Version
19. The Kinks Lazy Old Sun Alternate Vocal Version
20. The Kinks Funny Face Alternate Stereo Version
21. The Kinks Afternoon Tea German Stereo Mix
22. The Kinks Tin Soldier Man Alternate Backing Track

Disc 2

1. The Kinks David Watts
2. The Kinks Death Of A Clown
3. The Kinks Two Sisters
4. The Kinks No Return Mono Album Version
5. The Kinks Harry Rag Mono Album Version
6. The Kinks Tin Soldier Man Mono Album Version
7. The Kinks Situation Vacant Mono Album Version
8. The Kinks Love Me Till The Sun Shines Mono Album Version
9. The Kinks Lazy Old Sun Mono Album Version
10. The Kinks Afternoon Tea Mono Album Version
11. The Kinks Funny Face Mono Album Version
12. The Kinks End Of The Season
13. The Kinks Waterloo Sunset Mono Album Version
14. The Kinks Act Nice And Gentle
15. The Kinks Mr. Pleasant
16. The Kinks Susannah’s Still Alive
17. The Kinks Autumn Almanac
18. The Kinks Harry Rag Alternate Take
19. The Kinks David Watts Alternate Take
20. The Kinks Afternoon Tea Canadian Mono Mix
21. The Kinks Sunny Afternoon BBC Version
22. The Kinks Autumn Almanac BBC Version
23. The Kinks Mr Pleasant BBC Version
24. The Kinks Susannah’s Still Alive BBC Version
25. The Kinks David Watts BBC Version
26. The Kinks Love Me Till The Sunshines BBC Version
27. The Kinks Death Of A Clown BBC Version
28. The Kinks Good Luck Charm BBC Version
29. The Kinks Harry Rag BBC Version
30. The Kinks Little Woman Backing Track

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) was released in October 1969. Kinks frontman Ray Davies constructed the concept album as the soundtrack to a Granada Television play and developed the storyline with novelist Julian Mitchell; however, the television programme was cancelled and never produced. The rough plot revolved around Arthur Morgan, a carpet-layer, who was based on Ray Davies’ brother-in-law Arthur Anning.

Arthur was met with almost unanimous acclaim upon release. It received generous coverage in the US rock press, with articles running in underground magazines such as Fusion and The Village Voice. It garnered back-to-back reviews by Mike Daly and Greil Marcus in Rolling Stone magazine’s lead section; Daly rated it as “the Kinks’ finest hour”, and Marcus went so far as to call it “the best British album of 1969″. Reviews in the UK were also positive. Although it received a mixed review in New Musical Express, Disc & Music Echo praised the album’s musical integrity, and Melody Maker called it “Ray Davies’ finest hour … beautifully British to the core”.

The album, although not very successful commercially, was a return to the charts in the US for The Kinks. Their critically well-received previous effort, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, failed to chart in any country upon its release in 1968, with total US sales estimated at under 25,000 copies. The Kinks returned to the Billboard charts in 1969 after a two year absence, with the lead single from the record, “Victoria”, peaking at number 62.

Despite its moderate sales, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) paved the way for the massive success of their 1970 comeback album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part OneLola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One and its accompanying US and UK Top 5 hit “Lola”.

This 2-CD expanded edition comes with deluxe packaging containing Mono and Stereo mixes as well as unreleased material, alternative versions, BBC sessions and short interviews, all re-mastered from original tapes by well-known Kinks archivist Andrew Sandoval. The booklet was designed by award winning art director Phil Smee, comes packed with rare and unreleased images from the era.

Disc 1
1. The Kinks Victoria
2. The Kinks Yes Sir, No Sir
3. The Kinks Some Mother’s Son
4. The Kinks Drivin’
5. The Kinks Brainwashed
6. The Kinks Australia
7. The Kinks Shangri-La
8. The Kinks Mr Churchill Says
9. The Kinks She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
10. The Kinks Young And Innocent Days
11. The Kinks Nothing To Say
12. The Kinks Arthur
13. The Kinks Plastic Man Stereo mix
14. The Kinks This Man He Weeps Tonight
15. The Kinks Drivin’ Alternate Mix
16. The Kinks Mindless Child Of Motherhood Stereo mix
17. The Kinks Hold My Hand Stereo
18. The Kinks Lincoln County Stereo
19. The Kinks Mr Shoemaker’s Daughter
20. The Kinks Mr Reporter Stereo
21. The Kinks Shangri La Backing Track

Disc 2
1. The Kinks Victoria Mono
2. The Kinks Yes Sir, No Sir Mono
3. The Kinks Some Mother’s Son Mono
4. The Kinks Drivin’ Mono
5. The Kinks Brainwashed Mono
6. The Kinks Australia Mono
7. The Kinks Shangri-La Mono
8. The Kinks Mr Churchill Says Mono
9. The Kinks She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina Mono take
10. The Kinks Young And Innocent Days Mono
11. The Kinks Nothing To Say Mono
12. The Kinks Arthur Mono
13. The Kinks Plastic Man
14. The Kinks This Man He Weeps Tonight
15. The Kinks Mindless Child Of Motherhood
16. The Kinks Creeping Jean
17. The Kinks Lincoln County

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