The Kinks - Musical Style

Musical Style

The Kinks initially stayed within the boundaries of genres such as R&B and blues, but soon began experimenting with louder rock and hard rock sounds—due to their pioneering of the field, they have often been labelled as "the original punks". Dave Davies became bored with the traditional "clean" guitar style of the period; in search of a louder, more biting sound, he famously split the speaker cone of his Elpico amplifier (nicknamed "the little green amp"): "I started to get really frustrated, and I said, 'I know! I'll fix you!' I got a single-sided Gillette razorblade and cut ... cone ... so it was all shredded but still on there, still intact. I played and I thought it was amazing." The jagged sound of the amplifier was replicated in the studio; the Elpico was plugged into a larger Vox AC30, and the resulting effect became a mainstay in The Kinks' early recordings—most notably on "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night".

However, the group soon abandoned its R&B and hard rock leanings. From 1966 onwards, The Kinks came to be known for their adherence to traditions of English music and culture, during a period when many other British groups dismissed their heritage in favour of American blues, R&B and pop styles. Ray Davies recalled that at a distinct moment in 1965 he decided to break away from the American scene, and write more introspective and intelligent songs. "I decided I was going to use words more, and say things. I wrote 'Well Respected Man'. That was the first real word-oriented song I wrote. ... abandoned any attempt to Americanise my accent." The Kinks' allegiance to English styles was strengthened by the ban placed on them by the American Federation of Musicians. The ban cut them off from the American record buying public, the world's largest musical market, forcing them to focus on Britain and mainland Europe. The Kinks expanded on their English sound throughout the remainder of the 1960s, fusing music hall and folk, and creating some of the most influential and important music of the period.

Beginning with Everybody's In Show-biz (1972), Ray Davies began exploring theatrical concepts on the group's albums; these themes became manifest on the 1973 album Preservation Act 1 and continued through Schoolboys In Disgrace (1976). The Kinks found little success with these conceptual works, and reverted to a traditional rock format throughout the remainder of the 1970s. Sleepwalker (1977), which heralded their return to commercial success, featured a mainstream, relatively slick production style that would become their norm. The band returned to hard rock for Low Budget (1979), and continued to record within the genre throughout the remainder of their career.