FICTIVE FRIDAYS : #21

KINKY

What’s your favorite Kinks song? You know you have one—everybody does. So, it’s no surprise that so many artists have released Kinks covers over the years. There are far too many for a single set so, to narrow it down, the songs in today’s post must have been originally included on a studio album. It’s okay if they were singles, but they couldn’t have been bonus tracks on a re-issued album, or live versions, or a song recorded for a compilation album. I also left out songs from artists’ collections of their favorites (e.g. Pinups, by Bowie). And none from a Kinks or Ray Davies tribute album, of which there are several. Maybe we’ll get to some of those down the road. Meanwhile…

David Watts – The Jam.

Released as a single and then included on 1978’s All Mod Cons. Originally released as the B-side to ‘You Really Got Me,’ and an album track from 1967’s Something Else by the Kinks.

Stop Your Sobbing – Pretenders.

Despite the fact that every single song on the Pretenders’ debut album is a banger, the first single by Chrissie and the boys was this cover. An album side from the Kinks’ self-titled debut, released in 1964.

The Hard Way – The Knack.

Half of the twelve songs on the Knack’s sophomore album ‘…But The Little Girls Understand’ (1980) were singles, but not this one. An album track from 1975’s Schoolboys in Disgrace.

She’s Got Everything – The Romantics.

Another cover from 1980, this time from the Detroit power pop purveyors’ self-titled debut. I love this song so much that I put it on the Kinks’ version on the first mixtape I ever made for GTFP. Not that big a deal for the band, though, who recorded it in 1966 during the Face to Face sessions but left it off the album. It came out a couple of years later as the B-side to ‘Days’.

Act Nice and Gentle – Black Keys.

From Rubber Factory, the third studio LP from Akron, Ohio’s finest, released in 2004. Again, an afterthought for the Kinks; it was the B-side to 1967’s tremendous ‘Waterloo Sunset’ single in the UK. It never made it onto an album until the 1998 reissue of Something Else.

Victoria – The Fall.

From 1998’s The Frenz Experiment. It’s a testament to how great this song is that Mark E. Smith pretty much tries to sing it straight. The First single and leadoff track from 1969’s Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire).

Time Will Tell – Holly Golightly.

The most appealing thing about Ms. Golightly is that she’s such an amateur. My bandmate Bess can sing rings around her. I could form a pickup band in 10 seconds that can play the track better than this recording. But I never get tired of listening to Holly because she’s absolutely all in, and you have to admire the effort. From her 11th studio album, Truly She Is None Other, released back in 2003. Originally recorded in 1965 during the Kinks Kontroversy sessions, but left off the album. The Kinks didn’t release it until its 1983 inclusion in a greatest hits package.

Big Sky – Yo La Tengo.

Hoboken’s favorite sons and daughter usually include a cover or two on their records, starting with this song on their 1986 debut, Ride The Tiger. An album track from 1969’s The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.

Tired of Waiting – Lyres.

From the Boston garage rockers’ 1984 first LP, On Fyre. It occurs to me that all of the tracks in this set are pretty faithful to the original recordings, apart from this one which features Jeff Connolly’s signature Farfisa organ. A 1965 single (full title: ‘Tired of Waiting for You’) included on the second studio LP, Kinda Kinks.

This Strange Effect – The Shacks.

This one’s a bit of a mystery. The Shacks arrived with a self-titled EP in 2016, which included this song. I’d never heard it before and was surprised to find out it was a cover, since it doesn’t sound especially Kinks-like. It was originally a single for Dave Berry in 1965, and was covered by the likes of Bill Wyman, Steve Wynn, and Squeeze, among others. To date, the Kinks never released their own studio version, if there is one.

Days – Kirsty MacColl.

Second single off 1989’s Kite, by the late great Ms. MacColl. Originally a non-album single released in 1968. ‘Days’ has also been covered by Elvis Costello, Kate Rusby, and David Byron. My favorite version is by alt-rock mainstays Guster, but it came out as a bonus track on the 10th anniversary edition of 2003’s Keep It Together, so I had to exclude it.

Nah, fuck it: Days – Guster.

I hope y’all liked these Kinks Klassics, because there are WAY more than enough covers—by Queens of the Stone Age, Detroit Cobras, Green Day, the Smithereens, Raincoats, Big Star & co.—for at least one more round.