Consider just how many great songs The Kinks wrote during the 1960s. They had a hot streak which rivals The Rolling Stones and such a frequency for innovation it very nearly matches The Beatles. But the Fab Four ended their work together before it got stale, unlike their peers. The Kinks’ self-titled debut is not some of-the-times release where the blues-rock tone or pop-friendly suggestions are played up. The Kinks remains a brilliantly refreshing piece of work from a band looking to crack the already oversaturated rock band offerings of the time. They do fantastic here with a garage rock sound and sole song which would save their careers. Around that though is the popular style of rock and roll from the times, a firm middle ground for The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. The Kinks’ start is a little rough around the edges. That only adds to their thrilling rock and roll noise. The Kinks is not this crisp and perfect production.
Experimentation, rock and roll fundamentals turned on their head, that’s what the band manages so brilliantly throughout a staggering first effort. Like any mid-1960s album, there is plenty of filler. Songs which are not defining moments from the band, certainly not up to the same standard of efforts like Muswell Hillbillies or Face to Face, but such is the point. This debut effort is not about breaking the mould of the times; it’s about setting into it before expanding their influence and tinkering with their sound. Songs like Just Can’t Go to Sleep are recognisably styled songs walking the same path of The Beatles, but they’re still quite enjoyable. Those who enjoy Ray Davies’ vocals are well-served here. Not by blues-like song Long Tall Shorty, but the songs preceding it are strong. The A-side begins to slip away as the band plays up the style of the times, but what else were they meant to do? It’s not an essential listen but it’s certainly interesting to hear how quick The Kinks were to form a better sound.
Throw a few harmonica spots on a song like I Took My Baby Home and you get an effective pop song with rocked-out roots. It’s typical of the times but decades later, it stands up well. Plenty of short and sweet pop-adjacent songs which serve as examples of what The Kinks could do. A wide spread but a chance for The Kinks to figure out which style suits them best, which one resonates best of all. They chose right when it came to pursuing the power of standout track You Really Got Me. There is a sharpness to I’m a Lover Not a Fighter but The Kinks soon lose their way. Their trialling of this genre and that vocal sound are taxing on the B-side, just as much as they were relatively uneventful on the A-side. A song like I’ve Been Driving on Bald Mountain is dire compared to the highs of You Really Got Me.
A muddled B-side is what stops the album from being a truly brilliant experience. There are moments throughout The Kinks’ self-titled effort which shine a light on strengths the band would soon expand on. They had a few more years of commercially viable but restrained pop noise in them. Solid work the whole way through with a few drifting, dull occasions is not bad going for a band whose future was looking bleak before this album. Fine enough work and a far cry from their best, but consider The Kinks’ discography and its relation to this first album. Much of what listeners love about the band can be found on this debut release, just unrefined. A few standard guitar riffs and backing vocal harmonies are thrown in for good measure, but there are simpler, enjoyable cuttings like Stop Your Sobbing which linger as memorable, early moments from the band.
