In 2001 the Kinks' "The Songs We Sang For Auntie: B.B.C. Sessions 1964-1977" was released, and critics were quick to praise the compilation as one of the few albums to capture a British Invasion band in all their live glory.
But there's something else on these sessions as well: itäs a general overview of Ray Davies' development as a songwriter. He goes from writing rave romps like "You Really Got Me" to writing social commentary in "the Village Green Preservation Society" by the end of Disc 1. And it is clear that at the end of Disc 1 that the band was ready to make albums as an art form instead of just making singles.
Also, the listener gets to hear the evolution of the band. The album captures the Kinks in transition from garage-band to quirky, off-beat, English band. Also Ray's little brother Dave begins to assert himself as a songwriter as the album goes along, and his contributions are just as strong; the performance of Daveäs "Love Me 'Til the Sun Shines" surpasses the studio version and is the best live performance on the album.
But that doesnät mean that the B.B.C. sessions are anything definitive; the biggest shortcoming the album has is that it has gaps. Much of the Kinks mid-period work is not on the album. Nothing from "Face to Face" is represented, and "Arthur" is only represented with a performance of the title song.
This is disappointing for any Kinks fan. It would have been interesting to hear renditions of "Shangri-la" or "Rosie Wonät You Please Come Home" or "Too Much On My Mind. But the compilers of the album cannot be blamed for this fault. For some reason the Kinks didnät record for the B.B.C. as much during the "Face to Face"-"Lola" period, and therefore the material just did not exist. As the liner notes put it, ÜOne can only speculate why the Kinks did not venture near a B.B.C. studio during this crucial phase of the bandäs development, but the hole it leaves in this collection is conspicuous by its absence and somewhat baffling as well.
Disc 2 of the B.B.C. sessions is weaker than Disc 1. Like most British Invasion bands the Kinks did their best work between the mid-60s and the early-70s, so any extended collection by a British Invasion band tends to be weaker on the second half. And this is compounded by the fact that several of the tracks repeat themselves like "Money Talks." But there are some truly outstanding moments on Disc 2. The live performance of "Celluloid Heroes" is one the best performances on the album.
Overall, the Kinks' "The Songs We Sang for Auntie: B.B.C. 1964-1977" does justice to one of the most underappreciated bands from the British Isles. All of the performances are strong and their songs go over well live, proving that Ray Davies was as good as any songwriter during the Kinksä heyday.
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Name: Dogg-Himself
Comments:
A number of years ago I bought The Jimi Hendrix Experience BBC sessions. Personally I'm one of those people that just digs hearing a million different cuts of a song. The Hendrix sessions were incredibly sweet. I'll definately have to check out this one too!
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