The Kinks The Kink Kronikles 1972

After The Kinks left Reprise for RCA to record 1971's Muswell Hillbillies, Reprise went to work on this 1972 kompilation for US-only release. The Kinks had no input into the record, but that doesn't make it any less a klassic. A kollection of hits, singles, B-sides, unreleased tracks, and a few album tracks from 1966 to 1970 (Face To Face to Lola), it's a fine selection, and fills in some of the Kinks' story for the American audience. The producers eschewed a kronilogical sequencing, choosing instead to put four thematically arranged sides together. I don't know if the themes hold up, but the record plays very well in the order it's presented.

The hits are all here: Victoria, Lola, Village Green Preservation Society, Waterloo Sunset, Apeman, Death Of A Clown, and the glorious Days. But many of the lesser-known songs are just as good, or uniquely revealing of some kool Kinksism. Polly sounds just like The Who, She's Got Everything features a reckless, crazy lead guitar, and Did You See His Name? and David Watts are pert slices of Ray's sensitive ego.

It picks up where Greatest Hits! 1966 left off. For kasual Kinks enthusiasts, Greatest Hits! and this one pretty well tell the story of the Kinks' greatness. For the more devoted, it is worth it for the rarities and UK-only releases. But any way you have it, it plays just like a well-structured album, karefully kompiled, and it is excellent.