The Kinks Kick Off 60th Anniversary With ‘The Journey’ Anthology

The Kinks will mark their 60th anniversary as a band with a two-year celebration that kicks off this March with The Journey – Part 1, a two-disc compilation featuring songs handpicked by the surviving members.

Boasting tracks from the Rock Hall-inducted group’s first singles in 1964 to their 1975 concept albums, each side of The Journey – Part 1 — curated by Ray and Dave Davies and Mick Avery — follows a narrative arc, ranging from “Songs about becoming a man, the search for adventure, finding an identity and a girl” to “Days and nights of a lost soul, songs of regret and reflection of happier times.”

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“Ask yourself the question, is this journey really necessary?…….Yes!” Ray Davies said in a statement, while Dave Davies added, “I’m delighted with what I think is an inspiring selection of timeless and magical Kinks music.”

The Kinks — then the Davies brothers and the late bassist Pete Quaife — were founded in 1963, with drummer Mick Avory joining soon after. The following year, the band released their first-ever Number One single “You Really Got Me,” which was followed by “All Day and All of the Night” and another Number One, “Tired of Waiting for You,” quickly establishing the Kinks as one of the preeminent acts of the British Invasion.

The Journey – Part 1 — due out March 24 on 2LP and 2CD — spans from those first singles to similarly iconic tracks plucked from Kinks classics like The Village Green Preservation Society, Face to Face, Arthur and Lola Versus Powerman. The anthology also includes personal track-by-track notes about the songs penned by the Davies and Avory, who happens to be celebrating his 78th birthday today.

A second volume of The Journey, likely focusing on the back half of the Kinks’ immense catalog, is due out later this year. “A host of global events and activities” are also planned over the course of 2023 and 2024 to mark the Kinks’ 60th anniversary, with those plans to be announced at a later date.

The Journey – Part 1 Track List

Side 1
Songs about becoming a man, the search for adventure, finding an identity and a girl:
1. You Really Got Me (UK#1, 1964)
2. All Day And All Of The Night (UK#2, 1964)
3. It’s All Right (1964)
4. Who’ll Be The Next In Line (1965)
5. Tired Of Waiting For You (UK#1, 1965)
6. She’s Got Everything (1968)
7.  Just Can’t Go To Sleep (1964)
8. Stop Your Sobbing (1964)
9. Wait Till The Summer Comes Along (1965)
10. So Long (1965)

Side 2
Songs of ambition achieved, bitter taste of success, loss of friends, the past comes back and bites you in the backside:
1. Dead End Street (UK#5, 1966)
2. Schooldays (1975)
3. The Hard Way (1975)
4. Mindless Child Of Motherhood (1969)
5. Supersonic Rocket Ship (UK#2, 1972)
6. I’m In Disgrace (1975)
7. Do You Remember Walter? (1968)

Side 3
Days and nights of a lost soul, songs of regret and reflection of happier times:
1. Too Much On My Mind (1966)
2. Nothin’ In The World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl (1965)
3. Days (UK#2, 1968)
4. Where Have All The Good Times Gone (1965)
5. Strangers (1970)
6. It’s Too Late (1965)
7. Sitting In The Midday Sun (1973)

Side 4
A new start, a new love, but have you really changed? Still haunted by the quest and the girl:
1. Waterloo Sunset (UK#2, 1967)
2. No More Looking Back (1975)
3. Death Of A Clown (UK#3, 1967)
4. Celluloid Heroes (1972)
5. Act Nice And Gentle (1967)
6. This Is Where I Belong (1967)

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