Face to Face was a remarkable record, but its follow-up, Something Else by the Kinks, expands its accomplishments, offering 13 classic British pop songs. As Ray Davies' songwriting becomes more refined, he becomes more nostalgic and sentimental, retreating from the psychedelic and mod posturings that had dominated the rock world. Indeed, Something Else sounds like nothing else from 1967. The Kinks never rock very hard on the album, preferring acoustic ballads, music hall numbers, and tempered R&B to full-out guitar attacks. ...
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Face to Face was a remarkable record, but its follow-up, Something Else by the Kinks, expands its accomplishments, offering 13 classic British pop songs. As Ray Davies' songwriting becomes more refined, he becomes more nostalgic and sentimental, retreating from the psychedelic and mod posturings that had dominated the rock world. Indeed, Something Else sounds like nothing else from 1967. The Kinks never rock very hard on the album, preferring acoustic ballads, music hall numbers, and tempered R&B to full-out guitar attacks. Part of the album's power lies in its calm music, since it provides an elegant support for Davies' character portraits and vignettes. From the martial stomp of "David Watts" to the lovely, shimmering "Waterloo Sunset," there's not a weak song on the record, and several -- such as the allegorical "Two Sisters," the Noël Coward-esque "End of the Season," the rolling "Lazy Old Sun," and the wry "Situation Vacant" -- are stunners. And just as impressive is the emergence of Dave Davies as a songwriter. His Dylanesque "Death of a Clown" and bluesy rocker "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" hold their own against Ray's masterpieces, and help make Something Else the endlessly fascinating album that it is. [Universal's 2011 double-disc deluxe edition of Something Else by the Kinks contains both the mono and stereo mixes of the classic album plus a wealth of bonus tracks: mono and stereo takes of non-LP singles, BBC sessions, and a host of alternate takes and international oddities, such as the Canadian mono mix and German stereo mix of "Afternoon Tea." Much of this material can be found elsewhere, but for hardcore Kinks kollektors this is a treasure trove.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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