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Why The Kinks Missed Their Biggest Moment

Parlogram

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Face to Face marked a turning point for The Kinks. Released in 1966 after months of delays, it was the album that revealed Ray Davies as one of the most distinctive songwriters of his generation. In this video, we explore the stories behind the songs, the troubled recording and release, the abandoned concept album, and why many fans regard Face to Face as The Kinks' first true masterpiece.

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20 Comments

@larsbagger7840 3 months ago

'Face to Face', 'Something Else', 'Village Green' and 'Arthur' is one of the greatest runs of albums in my humble opinion.

@markcorcoran482 2 months ago

“Your room’s clean and no one’s in it” never fails to slay me. Delighted to hear that Ray did the cover art!

@nicklohri8382 2 months ago

100% agree with Andrew that Face To Face is the first Kinks masterpiece, an album i keep going back to

@Choops6969 2 months ago

love this album. have my mono copy signed by both the davies.

@Jbones72 2 months ago

This is where I always tell start with Kinks LP’s.

@happy2oblige 2 months ago

My favourite Kinks album.

@John_Fugazzi 2 months ago

Face To Face really was the turning point for the Kinks and one of the best albums of the mid 60s. Pye really pushed the group to constantly tour, then gave them a week or two to record a new album - real slavedrivers they were. Ray suffered a period of exhaustion in early '66 and was able to take time out and used it to write new songs. The album's songs each revolve around a person, so we get to meet each of them face to face so to speak - a big step towards a concept album for the mid 60s. The Kinks' earlier hard rock sound could have led them in the direction of bands whose instrumental pyrotechnics were more important than lyrical content, but Ray felt pulled in another direction, anticipating the singer-songwriter phenomenon to come. I'm glad you're giving this band their due.

@markmorrison4539 2 months ago

A profoundly fine album. Brilliant from start to finish...

@wayneklein2474 2 months ago

An underrated album in their discography and often overshadowed by the albums to follow.

@Northedoggie 2 months ago

The band with best lyrics..

@krycklund 2 months ago

This is the first Kinks album where there's not a single miss on it, as much as i enjoy their first three their tracklists are definitely hit or miss but Face To Face is just a masterpiece.

@paulpalinkas 2 months ago

It stuns me how quickly the music scene was moving in 1966, there are many stories of albums released mere months too late.

@robertlipshutz8611 2 months ago (edited)

Many fans, myself included, think the "House in the Country" becomes the "Most Exclusive Residence For Sale, the stately home whose seller laments his fate in "Sunny Afternoon." This riches to rags story line among other character portrayals is a big reason some regard "Face to Face" as a concept album. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

@NortheyAu 2 months ago

I’ve always felt this album was underrated. Thanks for brining attention to it and hopefully turning more people on to it

@robahull1 2 months ago

This video is an absolute masterpiece of music criticism and top-notch production! This is just about my favorite channel on YouTube. You do incredible work!

@Rosyglowofchristmas 2 months ago

All killer, no filler..............the ever prescient Raymond Douglas Davies!

@momusco_official 2 months ago (edited)

This is one of my favorite Kinks album, I have listened a lot to it over the years and still today it goes on the turntable now and again. A long time ago, (probably over 30 years ago) I found this album, an original flipback PYE mono pressing in a second hand shop, and for many years that was the copy I listened to. A few years ago I bought a modern pressing of this album, which is the copy I now listen to, the original one is now being preserved. This is a great album, one of the best from 1966. It catches perfectly that mid 60´s vibe, a short time frame but so interesting, we´re no longer in the early 60´s but we´re not into flower power or psychedelia yet.