The Kinks Sleepwalker

Arista had made it clear they would not accept any concept albums from the Kinks, and Sleepwalker, their first effort for the label, makes good on the band's promise. Comprised entirely of glossy arena rockers and power ballads, the album is more of a stylistic exercise than a collection of first-rate songs. Ray Davies contributed a handful of fairly strong songs, highlighted by the exceptional "Juke Box Music," which sees him in a shockingly resigned frame of mind, claiming that rock & roll is just rock & roll, and nothing more. Unfortunately, he chose to illustrate that fact by loading the rest of Sleepwalker with competent but undistinguished mainstream rock. While that might have made the album a hit at the time, its processed sound and weak songs sound dated today, especially compared to the lively arena rock the Kinks later released.

Arista had made it clear they would not accept any concept albums from the Kinks, and Sleepwalker, their first effort for the label, makes good on the band's promise. Comprised entirely of glossy arena rockers and power ballads, the album is more of a stylistic exercise than a collection of first-rate songs…

The Kinks were one of the most influential bands of the British Invasion. Early singles "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" were brutal, three-chord ravers that paved the way for punk and metal while inspiring peers like the Who. In the mid-'60s, frontman Ray Davies came into his own as a songwriter, developing a wry wit and an eye for social commentary that culminated in a pair of conceptual LPs, The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), that proved enormously influential over the years.

The Kinks were one of the most important bands from the "British Revolution" in the sixties. The band, based in Muswell Hill in London, consisted of the brothers Davies, (Ray and Dave), Mick Avory and Pete Quaife. During their existence they have played different styles of rock('n'roll) music. Interesting were their lyrics, usually about the lower class of society. Singer Ray Davies has always had a fascination for the ordinary people. After two flops they had their first big hit in 1964: You Really Got Me. This song had a rough guitar riff, that's why some people even call it the first heavy metal song ever. They kept scoring hits after that, timeless songs like Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, Lola and All Day And All Of The Night.