The Kinks Choral Collection

The Kinks Choral Collection

This collection of Kinks classics done over as choral music under the watchful eye of head Kink Ray Davies is an odd, intriguing re-interpretation of music that was pretty much perfect the first time around. The Kinks may have suffered from lo-fi productions, but they made up for the lack of polish with a blistering attack. Here, “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” sound a bit out of context with a proper choir. Drums and guitars still fuel the center, but the added vocalists make it sound like a hip church choir trying to break from their stodgy past. The choir even attempt to swing with “Victoria.” “See My Friends” actually succeeds as a slow moving gospel tune. Better served: the lush melodicism of “Waterloo Sunset,” the Hollywood star cataloguing of “Celluloid Heroes” and the community singalong of “Village Green,” where the tunes are nicely recast in a grander setting. In the end, it’s a quirky concept, most likely to appeal to people already well versed in Davies’ deep and deserving catalog.

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