A well respected band: Why The Kinks are one of the most underrated bands

1964 was a pivotal year in musical history. On February 9th, 1964, The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show and overnight the 2nd big bang took place. With The Beatles came The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Dave Clark Five, and The Animals. Then there's that one band that gets mentioned, recognized on how good they were, and then time marches on. In other words, The Kinks are one of the most underrated bands from that era. The Kinks were formed in 1963 with brothers Ray Davies (rhythm), Dave Davies (lead), drummer Mick Avory and bassist Pete Quaife were the original lineup. Their debut record was released in October of 1964. For starters, Dave Davies is credited for creating the first ever "fuzz" guitar tone which he accomplished by using a razor to slash his amp. That resulted in the now iconic "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All of The Night" which are rock n roll staples and fundamentals when learning electric guitar. From there the band scored major hits including "Tired of Waiting for You", "Gotta Get The First Plane Home", "Till The End of the Day" and most famous " A Well Respected Man" about a wealthy gentleman blessed with good fortune.  Come 1966, Ray David penned "Sunny Afternoon" which became a hit with the rising sub-genre psychedelic rock. With that in mind, the band released The Kinks Are The Green Village Preservation Society in 1968 the same day as The Beatles White Album. Safe to say, The Fab Four scored yet again. The Kinks Are The Green Village Preservation has some real gems and deserves to be examined closer with gems like "Do You Remember Walter", and "Johnny Thunder". "Picture Book" received the most praise with lyrics longing for the days of the past. The song was highly influential on pop punk legends Green Day and you can clearly hear the influence on their song "Warning". In 1970, The Kinks released Lola vs. Powerman and the Moneyground Pt 1. This album contains "Lola" which shot the band back in popularity in the United States and became one of the bands most recognized songs. The song broke new ground and was ahead of its time as the lyrics are about a man who meets a woman and soon become intimate only to realize later on Lola was a Transvestite. The Kinks beat Lou Reed to the punch by 2 years. During the first half of the 1970s, the band released an abundance of concept records which sold fairly. However, in 1977, the band reinvented their image and sound and embraced an arena rock style. In 1977, the band released Sleepwalker which in my opinion is the most underrated album in their catalog to date. Big catchy riffs and swagger ooze off this record and it proved that The Kinks still had some left in the tank considering that 1977 was a huge year punk. This era would continue with hits like "Come Dancing" and "Low Budget". In 1981, Give The People What They Want gave us classics like "Destroyer" and "Around The Dial." The bands 1984 record Word Of Mouth was truly the last great Kinks record. "Do It Again" contains great guitar work along with the title track with a huge Rolling Stones influence. However, "Living on a Thin Line" is the standout track which was written by Dave Davies about an England he once knew but is now slowly vanishing. The song gained notoriety thanks to The Sopranos who used the song in their season 3 finale. The Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990. The Kinks are truly a great band and deserve to be celebrated for so much more than they already are. Great songwriting, great musicianship, and thought provoking tunes. What more is there to ask?