Kinks Deluxe editions available for pre-order

It's on Kinda Kinks.

 

A few people would buy it

 

I would pay $50 for a good SACD of the Ugly Pink CD mastering.

 

+1.

 

I might not be as discerning as some, but I thought the 3-CD Village Green set was all I wished it would be, sound-wise. I also got a taste of what they could have been with the re-mixed Johnny Thunder. I was startled (in a good way) when I heard the track. The Kinks could have been produced by George Martin and mixed by someone else, but then it wouldn't have been the Kinks. Hearing Johnny Thunder so full and rich made me wish it was.
But, I digress. I'm interested to hear these, especially the monos of course.

 

+1

Expectations for the Kinks SQ are unreasonably high. Pye Studios was a bit of a dump that none of the other major UK groups went back to, after they had enough money to record elsewhere. The Kinks limited appeal in the US (and, to a lesser extent, even the UK) during the late 60's, along with the inability to tour the US at that time, made them easily the greatest pop/rock act with the least amount of money during the 60's...

 

And yet....
I pulled out a first press UK Pye 'Kinda Kinks' LP yesterday after reading this thread. Beautiful full sound, raunch, mono-attitude, lovely bass, it just sounded so good. The US pressings of Kinks stuff was always mucked around with, the comparison with the equivalent american releases from the period is stark.
The real issue is how badly the catalogue was served during the digital era.
For me, personally, the sound on '65's 'Kinda Kinks' is just as good, maybe better than the mono 'Help' from that era or 'Out of Our Heads'.
Pye was second division maybe, but after all the blather has died down the Who's records, right thru the 60s had a zillion issues with sound quality.
Castle/Sanctuary have not served the legacy of the Kinks with any great honour.
Steve's 'Searchers' SACD and the Donovan comp prove that the SQ from the Pye studios could be quite magical. Listening to the original Kinks UK 45s and LPs reveals the same magic....

 

I wouldn't put all the blame on the studio. As has been pointed out earlier in this thread, the deluxe edition of Village Green Preservation Society features a remix of Johnny Thunder from the original multitracks which sounds surprisingly good. So the problem may have to do more with the mix than the studio.

 

+1
those Pye st. recordings I have (Donovan, B. Jansch, Kinks, and others) may sound 'unrefined', raw sometimes, but they do have presence and detail missing on many other recordings of that era, I love them!
Doc

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Agreed. I'll add that I never really liked this album until I scored an original UK Pye mono. I tossed it on one day and it exploded from my speakers. The sound quality was on a completely different level than the CD I had and led me to re-evaluate the album. I now love it!

 

But in that case, why wouldn't it be with the other BBC tracks?

 

Tracklisting for Kontroversy is up on Amazon. First cd is original album only. Here is what's on the second disc (according to Amazon).


1. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
2. Sittin' On A Sofa
3. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
4. Mr Reporter
5. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
6. Time Will Tell
7. And I Will Love You
8. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
9. All Night Stand
10. Milk Cow Blues
11. Ray Talks About Songwriting
12. Never Met A Girl Like You Before
13. Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight
14. Pete Talks About Records
15. Till The End Of The Day
16. A Well Respected Man
17. Where Have All The Good Times Gone

 

Looking forward to these. Thought I might add that www.bangcd.com has all 3 for £11.99 ea. Anyone ever use these guys?

 

I wonder what the thinking behind putting 'I'm not like Everybody Else' on Kontroversy is all about? Surely a better fit on Face to Face being the bside of Sunny Afternoon. I also would prefer the Kwyet Kinks ep on Kontroversy rather than Kinda Kinks.

I'm probably splitting hairs, if they sound as good as the tracks on Ultimate Collection I'll be one happy Kinks fan.

 

Do we know what versions these songs are yet? Perhaps it's an early demo or something.

 

Could be, there are 2 versions though so would be surprised if they have unearthed 2 alternate versions from the end of 65 early 66. The one sandwiched between All Night Stand and I Will Love You is probably a demo.
Anyway only another few weeks of fruitless
speculation.

 

A lot has been posted about mono content.

Is there any new or rare stereo content on any of these discs?

 

Stereo versions for most of these tracks do not and cannot exist. The new version of "I Don't Need You Anymore" may be a stereo mix; "I Believed You" is described in the press release as stereo, but that's almost certainly an error. I wouldn't describe any of the other known stereo content as "rare," though the stereo mix of Kinks has been out of print for some time outside the U.S.

We'll have a better idea of what's going on when they release more details, but there's probably been some minor juggling of the chronology just to find more bonus tracks to fill out Disc 2 for Kinda Kinks and Kontroversy, which unlike their other albums through 1969 have no stereo version.

 

Spincds has the complete tracklisting for all of these. Seems like we might be getting the stereo of the first LP.

The Kinks - http://www.spincds.com/product.asp?id=9027012

Kinda Kinks - http://www.spincds.com/product.asp?id=9027011

Kink Kontroversy - http://www.spincds.com/product.asp?id=9027013

 

OK, are we getting the Pye mono mixes of all three in album sequence?

That comment on "alternate mono mixes" is scary. The alternates are the "stereo" ones.

 

Yes, along with the stereo mix of Kinks in album sequence. Kinda Kinks and Kontroversy do not exist in stereo.

"Alternate" just means that it's different from the standard UK single or album mix. And we're getting all the standard mixes as well, be they mono or stereo.

 

Surprising hmv.com don't have these listed yet. I want to know what their prices will be.

 

Thanks, Matthew.

Not even in Reprise issues?

 

Reprise put out some fake stereo mixes of those LPs, if that counts, but no true stereo mixes. Both albums were recorded with overdubs made directly to the base track on single-track tape, so stereo mixes were impossible.