Indie Rock Cafe: Looking Back: The Kinks Classic, "Something Else"

(To my subscribers: Thanks to those of you who sent your wishes for a quick rebound from the flu :)

Almost 40 years ago, the classic rock band The Kinks released their class album Something Else. In the years since then, The Kinks have had an enormous influence on many of today's indie rockers, like Yo La Tengo, The Kooks, Wilco, Belle and Sebastian and the list goes on.

In the haze and chaos of that time (1968), Something Else did not catch on in a music market saturated with psychedelic rock, folk protest songs and the emerging popularity of arena rock.

But the album was hailed by many music critics at the time, not the least of which because it contains the hit single "Waterloo Sunset", which Hollywood mogul David Geffen called one of the best songs ever written.

The release also features the Euro-football anthem "David Watts", the catchy, quirky genius of "Death of A Clown" and the classic soft, almost melancholy "No Return" which was covered by Bebel Gilberto.

This reissue of the original Something Else also includes many other unique Kinks' songs, including the fun and poppy songs like "Wonderboy", "Act Nice And Gentle" and "Autumn Almanac", as well as the surprising previously unreleased tracks "Lincoln County" and "There's No Life Without Love".

If you love music, this must be part of your collection. Only in the past decade have The Kinks been realized by the music world as one the greatest bands ever, and Ray Davies one of the best songwriters of his time (not to mention a hero. In 2004 he was shot in the leg in New Orleans trying to help a mugging victim).

The Kinks were one of the first rock groups to be inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Ohio.

When the "popular" rock bands of the time were singing about drugs and revolution, The Kinks were singing about purity and preservation (evidenced by the must-have album "Village Green Preservation Society" featuring "Picture Book" that became the anthem for a popular HP commercial).

You may have also heard their song "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" on an IBM commercial recently and "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" for a finger blood test maker I can't remember the name of. I'm not saying it's all good that their songs are being used for commercials, but at the best it introduces the band to a new generation who are liking what they hear.

Labels: Best Rock Bands in History, Classic Indie, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Roots of Alternative Rock, Something Else, The Kinks