The Kink Kontroversy [Deluxe Edition, Original recording remastered, Extra tracks]

A criminally underrated masterpiece from The Kinks "Kinks Kontroversy" seemed like just another Kinks album when it was released but songwriter Ray Davies had continued to develop his craft with this album which is (with the exception of the opening track "Milk Cow Blues") the first Kinks album filled completely with Davies originals.

This deluxe reissue does a terrific job of bringing the album its just due; remastered by Andrew Sandoval and Dan Hersch (who worked on the deluxe "Village Green")the two disc set may on the surface seem like the least generous of the reissues to date; we get the original mono album on disc one (I'm assuming the stereo masters are missing as this is the only one of the first three albums NOT to include both or they are so badly damaged that they can't be used)making for a relatively short first CD. All 12 songs on the first disc have punch and sound quite good--they may be a bit louder than the original CD pressing but (to me)it's clear that as usual Sandoval and Hersch did their research and found the best possible tapes for this reissue.

Disc two has the songs from singles and EP's on it. The 1998 CD reissue only had four bonus tracks. This edition quadruples the original bonus tracks and puts them all on the second disc. We get all four from the previous edition plus a more recently discovered alternate take of "Mr Reporter" with Ray's lead vocal on it, the outtake "Time Will Tell", a demo "All Night Stand", five BBC session songs (along with brief interviews with the late Pete Quaife and with Ray)and "And I Will Love You" a previously unreleased EP track.

Also included are alternate takes for "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" as well as the original mono single versions of each of those songs. "Sittin on My Sofa" is carried over from the previous edition.

We also get a deluxe booklet with photos, info on each track as well as sleeve notes discussing the making of the album (and also why drummer Mick Avory doesn't appear on most of it)with splenty of quotes sprinkled throughout from Ray and Dave's separate books.

The packaging is quite nice although it looks like the digipak accordian style sleeve has the hard plastic exterior that most of the deluxe editions have had in the past, this one doesn't--it's a style in the same style that seals the packging.

Highly recommended.

Kinks Kontroversy was recorded in the latter half of 1965 in the wake of the band inciting riots in Copenhagen, getting banned from touring in America, and their drummer almost killing their lead guitarist on stage in Cardiff; a busy several months by any measure! The album finds the Kinks just barely a year in the public eye, but already starting the move away from their original formula of hard rock boy-girl songs to a more introspective, diverse approach. This deluxe reissue provides the original album on disc one, followed by another fine collection of singles, b-sides, out-takes, and BBC recordings on disc two. The sound quality, as with all of the deluxe reissues, is the best ever released on CD; in some cases it is quite remarkable.

Disc one is highlighted by some of the best songs recorded to date by the Kinks (Milk Cow Blues, Till the End of the Day, The World Keeps Going 'Round, I'm On an Island, Where Have All the Good Times Gone?), along with more pedestrian efforts that belie the still breakneck pace of Kinks album recording (this time done over two full weeks!). Milk Cow Blues celebrates the end of an era for the Kinks, as it is the last blues cover (or any cover) on a Kinks album. It's also one of the last times we get to enjoy an unfettered Pete Quaife bass run during the rave-up at the end of the song. Dave Davies' singing and guitar playing are spectacular, and the piano play of Nicky Hopkins, though a little distracting, is to become a staple for the next several years on Kinks records. I never get tired of listening to this recording - it is raw, thrilling, and a high point for the Kinks, their true arrival as a blues band just as they are exiting the genre.

Till the End of the Day is a lesser-known classic Kinks song, just waiting to be revived by some movie or commercial. It is another farewell for the Kinks to an established sound, the hard-rock single that they invented. Dave's guitar solo is much more disciplined but no-less exciting, and the lyrics are far and away the Kinks happiest and most optimistic to date. There is always the chance that Ray Davies is being sarcastic as he sings how happy he is, especially in the wake of the group's recent tribulations and he being on the verge of a famous nervous breakdown, but I'll go with the happy.

The first three songs of side two of the original album are huge leaps forward for Ray as a song-writer and chart the way for many later efforts. The opening lines of "The World Keeps Going 'Round" are among Ray's best philosophizing:

You worry 'bout the sun. What's the use of worrying 'bout the big old sun?
You worry 'bout the rain. The rain keeps falling just the same.
You worry when the one you need has found somebody new.
But the world keeps going 'round...You just can't stop it.

I'm On an Island is an impossibly snappy number about isolation that looks ahead to Apeman, Supersonic Rocket Ship, and Come Dancing. Where Have All the Good Times Gone? is an astonishing song for someone of age 21 to have written. Together with Well Respected Man and Dedicated Follower of Fashion, this is the moment that Ray began separating himself from the rest of the songwriting pack.

I won't spend as much time on disc two, other than to say it is indispensable and:

Dedicated Follower of Fashion leads things off and has a wonderful alternate version also included.

I'm Not Like Everybody Else is just as powerful as Where Have All the Good Times Gone?, and we are treated to an alternate version where Dave whispers, sneers, and screams his way through the lyric.

Time Will Tell is given it's best mix ever (far superior to past bootleg versions and the release on the Kinks recent boxed set). It could have been and still should be a single - why not release it now with And I Will Love You as the B side? These two songs have been rescued from the dead and deserve to be heard.

Finally, there is a nastiness and weariness emerging in Ray Davies' writing now, best exemplified by Mr Reporter and All Night Stand that is truly uncomfortable. You can well-believe Ray is on the verge of a nervous breakdown listening to these songs.

All in all, Kinks Kontroversy surely shows the Kinks at a crossroads, beginning their move away from a very successful but difficult first year as a hard-rock band to what many consider to be their golden period from 1966-1971. It is a fascinating listen and a must for anyone who wonders how the Kinks were ever so good. I can hardly wait for the next set of re-releases!

The Kinks' classic 1965 album "The Kink Kontroversy" has now also been released in a deluxe edition. The original mono album comprises CD 1 while CD 2 is an exciting mix of singles, demos, outtakes and BBC liverecordings.

The original album ought not require a detailed presentation, one can only affirm that it is one of the most important early Kinks albums; not least because of strong songs like "To the End of The Day", "I'm on an Island, "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" and "Ring the Bells"

The same raw unpolished sound that characterizes the album is present on the contemporary single-tracks "Dedicated Follwer of Fashion," "Sitting On My Sofa" and "I'm Not Like Everubody Else" - all three well-known Kinks classics which are all included on CD 2 .

"Mr. Reporter" was at a certain point considered for Dave Davies never released solo album, but here you have a fine version with Ray Davies as lead singer.

Alternative versions of "Dedicated Follwer of Fashion" and "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" are found too - especially the former is very interesting.

"Time Will Tell" is a nice out-take, which probably never got the final touch - could easily have fitted the original album.

"And I Will Love You" is an unreleased EP number, which also sounds a little unfinished and sonically more would fit into "Kinda Kinks"

"All Night Stand" is a demo of a fine little song that was never used for any release.

Second half of the CD are BBC liverecordings, of which two have not been previously released.

All in all a nice release, where the sound is definitely better than on most previously issued CD versions of the album.