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20 Golden Greats
Rock · 1978 · 17 tracks

20 Golden Greats

The Kinks

1978 · Pye Records

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This compilation captures the dual soul of one of rock's most essential acts.

The early tracks are all adrenaline and distorted grit: the sound of the British Invasion at its most aggressive and influential. These are the songs that invented the power chord, delivered with a snotty, high-energy urgency that still feels dangerous decades later. It is the sound of a band trying to kick the door down while everyone else was still trying to be polite.

Tracklist · 17 Tracks
03
Tired of Waiting for You
2:35
04
Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy
2:19
05
Set Me Free
2:15
06
See My Friends
2:48
07
Till the End of the Day
2:22
08
Dedicated Follower of Fashion
3:06
09
Sunny Afternoon
3:37
11
Waterloo Sunset
3:19
12
Death of a Clown
13
Autumn Almanac
3:15
14
Susannah’s Still Alive
15
Wonderboy
2:54
16
Days
2:58
17
Plastic Man
3:07
18
Victoria
3:42
19
Lola
4:14
20
Apeman
3:57
Moments Worth Listening For
the transition from the raw, proto-punk fuzz of You Really Got Me to the sophisticated, melancholic beauty of Waterloo Sunset
the way the harpsichord and Ray Davies' dry delivery create a sense of Victorian artifice on Village Green
the explosive, messy energy of the drum fills on All Day and All of the Night that sound like they are breaking the studio equipment
the sudden shift to a sing-along, pub-rock chorus in Dedicated Follower of Fashion that mocks the very culture it inhabits
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does 20 Golden Greats sound next to the rest of The Kinks's catalogue?

ATMMOOVOCLYRPRO
Rainy Day+1.3σ

Rainy Day saturates this record notably more than the artist's norm.

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