Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Waterloo Sunset













The influence of the Kinks goes far and wide. "Waterloo Sunset" (1967) is a good example. Not only is the song widely saluted as a major achievement in songwriting by other songwriters and critics, it's also been covered by bands and artists as diverse as Def Leppard (hear below, from 2004), David Bowie and Billy Bragg; let's also not forget that Ray Davies' charms captivated Chrissie Hynde. I could probably list twenty powerful and touching Kinks songs -- and probably at some point will, mostly out of curiosity of what readers think.  What I can say for now is that the Kinks -- along with the Rolling Stones and a few other groups -- seeded the ground for my first visit to London and many of its geographic landmarks in 1981, from Leicester Square to Chelsea to St John's Wood.



Today's Rune: Fertility.

4 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

That's Def Leppard? Man, they sound a bit different.

Johnny Yen said...

Waterloo Sunset is a lovely song, isn't it? My love of the Kinks seems to grow every year. I was pleased to see that a couple of their lesser known, but much beloved by me albums, Sleepwalker and Misfits, have been rereleased on cd.

Erik Donald France said...

Charles, a little on the quiet side for them, eh? Johnny, agreed. I also like those albums. Cool'

Lana Gramlich said...

I have a "best of" Kinks CD, but it's lacking "Self Destroyer," which may be my fave. Gotta get that one of these days.