Vinyl Treasures: The Kinks – Face To Face

The Kinks – Face To Face (Pye, 1966)

The Kinks were never particularly renowned or revered as an albums band. Moreover, they were celebrated as a singles act, penning such protopunk, pre-cursor to hard rock anthems like You Really Got Me or All Day And All Night, and classic pop hits such as Waterloo Sunset or Lola - songs that perfectly encapsulated and defined the Swinging Sixties. But an album like _Face To Face _(their fourth studio release) still stands up as one of the most fully realised and masterfully executed collection of pop songs of the decade.

Perhaps their records from this period aren’t as celebrated as contemporary releases by their peers in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, because The Kinks were just so quintessentially English. They sang about English society and class structure (most notably on Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home, which explores the effects of British class separation on domestic harmony) and those topics were never going to travel as internationally freely as universal themes such I Want To Hold Your Hand or Let’s Spend The Night Together.

But Ray Davies was a better storyteller than Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Keith Richards or Mick Jagger would ever be, and the characters and imagery he creates on Face To Face are as evocative today as they were fifty years, if not even more so – to put the record on now is to be transported back to a time when hipsters were referred to as Dandy, and flower power not the “selfie” was the prevalent culture.

Face To Face is also notable for being one of the first rock ‘n’ roll concept albums, with Ray Davies’ sociological observations forming the thematic thread linking the songs together. The band were growing and developing musically too; moving further away from the primitive garage rock that put them on the map, towards a more subtle and sophisticated sound that would define what would later go on to be referred to as the band’s golden era.

The record marks a key turning point in the band’s career, and is filled with wonderful musical flourishes, from the surf rock Hawaiian guitars on Holiday In Waikiki, to the magnificent harpsichord on Session Man and the Eastern influence on Fancy. And then there’s Sunny Afternoon – another psychedelic slice of pop perfection and a UK number one hit for The Kinks.

As with Brian Wilson, it sadly took a nervous breakdown just before this album’s recording session to fully unleash the true potential and songwriting genius of Ray Davies, but thankfully he (also like Wilson) managed to turn his torment and anxieties into some of the most expressive and brilliant art ever made.

Matt Stocks

DJ, presenter, writer, photographer and podcaster Matt Stocks was a presenter on Kerrang! Radio before a year’s stint on the breakfast show at Team Rock Radio, where he also hosted a punk show and a talk show called Soundtrack Apocalypse. He then moved over to television, presenting on the Sony-owned UK channel Scuzz TV for three years, whilst writing regular features and reviews for Metal Hammer and Classic Rock magazine. He also wrote, produced and directed a feature-length documentary on Australian hard rock band Airbourne called It’s All For Rock ‘N’ Roll, and in 2017 launched his own podcast: Life in the Stocks. His first book, also called Life In The Stocks, was published in 2020. A second volume was published in April 2022. 

Latest in
Queen posing for a photograph in 1978
"Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different, and we tended to encourage them, but sometimes they were not brilliant.” Queen's Brian May reveals one of Freddie Mercury's grand ideas that got vetoed by the rest of the band
Mogwai
“The concept of cool and uncool is completely gone, which is good and bad… people are unashamedly listening to Rick Astley. You’ve got to draw a line somewhere!” Mogwai and the making of prog-curious album The Bad Fire
Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden in 2024
Adrian Smith names his favourite Iron Maiden song, even though it’s “awkward” to play
Robert Smith, Lauren Mayberry, Bono
How your purchase of albums by The Cure, U2, Chvrches and more on Record Store Day can help benefit children living in war zones worldwide
Cradle Of Filth performing in 2021 and Ed Sheeran in 2024
Cradle Of Filth’s singer claims Ed Sheeran tried to turn a Toys R Us into a live music venue
The Beatles in 1962
"The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have?" Record shop owner finds 1962 Beatles' audition tape that a British label famously decided wasn't good enough to earn Lennon and McCartney's band a record deal
Latest in Features
Mogwai
“The concept of cool and uncool is completely gone, which is good and bad… people are unashamedly listening to Rick Astley. You’ve got to draw a line somewhere!” Mogwai and the making of prog-curious album The Bad Fire
The Mars Volta
“My totalitarian rule might not be cool, but at least we’ve made interesting records. At least we polarise people”: It took The Mars Volta three years and several arguments to make Noctourniquet
Ginger Wildheart headshot
"What happens next, you give everyone a hard-on and then go around the room with a bat like Al Capone?!” Ginger Wildheart's wild tales of Lemmy, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Cheap Trick and more
Crispian Mills and Bob Ezrin
“We spent seven months on David Gilmour’s boat and almost bankrupted ourselves. But Bob encouraged us to dream big”: How Bob Ezrin brought out the prog in Kula Shaker
Buckethead and Axl Rose onstage
Psychic tests! Pet wolves! Chicken coops! Guns N' Roses and the wild ride towards Chinese Democracy
Ne Obliviscaris
"Exul ended up being recorded at 10 different studios over two and a half years." Ne Obliviscaris and the heroic story of their fourth album