''The Kink Kronikles'' is a compilation double album by

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

, released on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in 1972, after the band had signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in 1971. It contains thirteen non-album

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, fourteen tracks taken from five albums released by the band from 1966 to 1971 (including the UK-only ''

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

''), and one track previously unreleased. Designed specifically for the American market, it peaked at No. 94 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

. The single versions and mixes were not necessarily used for each track.

Content

After the Kinks failed to renew their American distribution contract with Reprise, the label assembled this compilation without input from the band. Instead, Reprise invited rock journalist and noted Kinks fan John Mendelsohn to compile this package, ignoring the band's early trademark hits already appearing on ''

The Kinks Greatest Hits! ''The Kinks Greatest Hits!'' (also spelled ''The Kinks' Greatest Hits!'') is a compilation album by the English rock band the Kinks. Released in the United States in August 1966 by Reprise Records, the album mostly consists of singles issued b ...

''. Mendelsohn also contributed the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

. The album contains all five singles that charted on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

during the time period covered, two of which appeared here on album in the U.S. for the first time: "

Dead End Street A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

" and "

Mr. Pleasant "Mister Pleasant" (sometimes written as "Mr. Pleasant") is a song recorded by British rock group the Kinks in 1967, written by Ray Davies. Background "Mister Pleasant" is lyrically somewhat similar to the earlier track "A Well Respected Man", as ...

". "

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

" and " Apeman" were the band's first American top ten hits in over five years. Five tracks made their U.S. debut in any format here – "

Berkeley Mews "Berkeley Mews" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Kinks. It was released on a non-album single in June1970, as the B-side to "Lola (song), Lola". Written and sung by bandleader Ray Davies, the song was recorded in early1968 durin ...

", "Willesden Green", "This Is Where I Belong", "Did You See His Name?" and "King Kong". "Did You See His Name?" was original to this compilation. "King Kong" would make its US single debut Reprise 1094 two months after the release of this double album. (It had been released in 1969 in the UK and other European countries.) Considered an exemplary compilation, the album was ranked number 232 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

, one of the few compilations to appear on the list. It became an important milestone in the Kinks' career by introducing highlights of the band's England-centered 1966-1970 period to American audiences. It was never properly remastered for

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

; the CD track listing is identical to that on the original vinyl, placing sides one and two on disc one and sides three and four on disc two. On August 29, 2020, a remastered release was issued in digital and vinyl formats. The remastering was done by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering.

Track listing

All songs by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

except "

Death of a Clown "Death of a Clown" is a song by Dave Davies, member of British rock group the Kinks, released as his debut solo single in 1967. The song was co-written with his brother Ray Davies, who contributed the 5-bar "La la la" hook; Ray's first wife, Ras ...

", "Mindless Child of Motherhood", and " Susannah's Still Alive" by

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was in ...

. All catalogue numbers and titles US release except *UK or European release. **Stereo debut of single previously released in mono.

Side one

Side two

Side three

Side four

References

Sources

External links

The Official Ray Davies Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kink Kronikles, The The Kinks compilation albums 1972 compilation albums Reprise Records compilation albums