Lone Survivors

Released in 1976, just as the Kinks ended their notoriously uneven tenure at RCA, The Kinks' Greatest: Celluloid Heroes is a summary of their time at the label. Since they didn't have many genuine hits while at RCA, this winds up being a haphazard sampling of concept albums. Occasionally, an album is accurately represented. For instance, the selections from Muswell Hillbilles are perfect, but considering that nearly half this compilation leans on that terrific record, they would have to be. Apart from that album, the selection is decidedly hit and miss. It isn't that singles are missing – their lone British hit from this time, "Supersonic Rocket Ship," is nowhere to be found – or that albums are overlooked (no Schoolboys in Disgrace), it's that highlights like "Here Comes Yet Another Day" and "Sweet Lady Genevieve" are left on their original albums. AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine