Kinks Releases Return to the Classics

KOCH Records announced the restoration and reissue of thirteen classic albums and two compilations by one of the greatest rock bands of all time, The Kinks. The titles will be released on hybrid Super Audio CD, and this massive undertaking will place The Kinks’ titles alongside the newly-restored catalogs of musical giants Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.

In a remarkable career that spans more than three decades, The Kinks have built a beloved and honored body of work as impressive as anything else in the annals of popular music. Since riding the first wave of the British Invasion to chart success in 1964, the group — led by singer/songwriter Ray Davies and his guitarist brother Dave — has withstood its own internal struggles and the fickle whims of the pop marketplace to emerge as one of rock’s most durable institutions.

This restoration and reissue program marks the 40th anniversary of the UK release of the very first Kinks album, the self-tilted Kinks which debuted on October 2, 1964. The hybrid discs will be issued in stereo and were transferred directly from the original analog 2-track masters.

The first four titles to be released on July 24th are: “Muswell Hillbillies” (1971), “Misfits” (1978), “One for the Road” (live, 1980), “Give the People Want They Want” (1981) and “Schoolboys In Disgrace” (1975). This batch will be followed by “Word of Mouth” (1981), “Preservation: Act 1” (1973), “Preservation: Act 2” (1974), and “State of Confusion” (1983) on September 21st. And finally, in early 2005, KOCH Records will release “Everybody’s in Showbiz” (1972), “Sleepwalker” (1977), “A Soap Opera” (1975), “Come Dancing with The Kinks” (1986), “Low Budget” (1979) and “Celluloid Heroes//The Kinks Greatest” (1976 ).

“KOCH left no stone unturned to deliver the best sound ever heard in a commercial Kinks release,” said KOCH Records’ own Kinks expert Bill Crowley, who oversaw the project. “In the course of the project, we conducted a massive archival search to assure the use of the best possible sources. Working with noted mastering engineer Alan Silverman, we assembled the latest tools from some of the most innovative development companies in professional audio, taking advantage of the work of some of the most brilliant electronics engineers and mathematicians in audio today. The resulting SACD’s are revelatory, capturing both the raw guitar power and the crystalline arrangements for which The Kinks are legendary.”

“‘Muswell Hillbillies’ (Stereo Review’s album of the year in 1972), is almost startling in its newly-revealed clarity. Revered by Kinks fans for its memorable songs and roots & blues stylings, ‘Muswell Hillbillies’ has been lamented by audiophiles for a somewhat muddy reproduction over the years. For the first time, both the SACD and standard CD layers of this hybrid disc allow you to hear the album the way it must have sounded to Ray and Dave in the studio — a seemingly simple masterpiece actually built with intricate layers of acoustic, slide and electric guitars and breathtaking vocal harmonies.”