THE KINKS @ 60

Celebrating its 60th anniversary today is the eponymous debut LP by The Kinks, which was released on October 2nd, 1964. While not fully indicative of the latent talents of the band, in particular the songwriting prowess of leader, Ray Davies, it is at least the home of the band's first chart topping single, You Really Got Me, a song that would become the blueprint for garage rock, hard rock, heavy metal and punk rock in years to come.

The band were founded by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1963, coming together in London around the same time as others of the looming "British Invasion", rubbing shoulder to shoulder with bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. The group had signed to Pye Records, who were initially frustrated by the band's failure to connect with its first couple of singles. Both their cover of Little Richards' Long Tall Sally and its follow-up, the Davies' original, You Still Want Me, were pretty much ignored by DJs and record buyers, despite significant promotion.

After those two strikes, the label gave them one more opportunity to hit a home run, and they did so with You Really Got Me. Another Ray Davies original, the hit version almost never materialized. After recording a preliminary version, Ray Davies insisted on modifying the arrangement to something slower and more raw. The label refused to stump up the cash for the studio time, however, but Davies persisted until session producer, Shel Talmy, broke the stalemate by underwriting the additional session himself. The song was inspired by The Kingsmen's version of Louie Louie, and was taken to another level by the innovative mutilation of a guitar amp. Dave Davies took a pocket knife and put a slice into the speaker cone of his amp, causing it to have a distinct buzzing distortion. It was a sound that instantly gave the record an idiosyncratic edge, sounding unlike any other guitarist out there. The single, released in August of 1964, became a top ten hit in both the US and UK. It's gone on to be widely considered the root for many of the heavier branches of rock 'n' roll that grew from its inspiration. That fuzzy distortion became intrinsic to the hard rock and metal sounds that would proliferate in the following decades.

The rest of the album, however, wasn't so blessed with as much distinction. As was the standard of the time, being a new group meant that the record company expected them to record mostly covers, rather than original material. This is a situation all of the British Invasion bands went through with their first recording efforts, which is why many of those debut albums don't properly capture the true essence of a lot of those bands, and this is certainly the case with The Kinks. Their debut LP offers only a bare glimpse into the greatness that the band would deliver once they were allowed to shine in their own light.