The Kinks Everybody's In Showbiz 1972

This one starts to show some very real weakness at the end of their 1966-72 run, but also features a few very fine Ray Davies tunes in the mix. The 2-record set includes one record of live performances from a two-night stand at Carnegie Hall.

Highlights include the return of the horn section from Muswell Hillbillies, one of brother Dave's best songs (the great road song You Don't Know My Name), and the radio classic Celluloid Heroes, a heartfelt and sincere ode to the theatricality that would unfortunately absorb the next five years of Ray Davies' songwriting output.

There's other good news. Here Comes Yet Another Day is a fast-rocking road song with a nice horn arrangement. Sitting In My Hotel is a sweet ballad about the isolation of stardom that Ray sings wonderfully. Look A Little On The Sunny Side again examines the woes of celebrity done up all music hall style.

There are also three songs about food on the road, and only Motorway is much good, with solid guitar and organ. The first single, Supersonic Rocket Ship, is just too twee. The live material includes an audience chant-a-long Banana Boat Song, the ending chorus (only) of Lola, and a version of the vaudeville chestnut Baby Face.

A hot Top Of The Pops (Lola...) featuring Dave's hard riffing, Brainwashed (Arthur...), and several decent tracks from the recent Muswell Hillbillies almost save the live half.

The record is worth having for the few great songs that are available only here. The better compilations, such as The Singles Collection (1997) include only the Pye/Reprise releases and as such end with Lola in 1970. Needless to say, the Golden Age of The Kinks from 1966-1972 did not go out on a high note.

And so this ends my quest to review all of the Kink's US releases from 1966-1972, a period often called the Kink's Golden Age. The rest are here:
 Face To Face 1966
Something Else By The Kinks 1967
The Kinks Are The Village Preservation Society 1968
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) 1969
Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part 1 1970
Muswell Hillbillies 1971
The Kink Kronikles 1972