The Kinks released their 23rd and last studio album on March 29, 1993. Three years later, Dave and Ray Davies folded the tent as the band dissolved. Whether they realized at the time that this was their last album is unknown, but it joined one of the better, if underappreciated, discographies of music in rock history.<\/p>\n
Phobia<\/i> is one of those albums that has grown on me. Maybe I\u2019m a tad nostalgic because it\u2019s the last Kinks album to date and the Davies brothers have shown no inclination toward creating another, but who knows.<\/p>\n
Ray Davies had covered many of the topics contained here in the past but here, they took on some darker tones. Politics and social complaints shared the stage with some personal observations. Many of the tracks fit together well and formed a more cohesive feel than some of their recent albums. Yes, there were a few clunkers, and at 16 tracks spread over 76 minutes, I can\u2019t help but think it would have been a stronger album had three or so tracks been eliminated.<\/p>\n
The two Dave Davies tracks are opposites, quality-wise. \u201cIt\u2019s Alright (Don\u2019t Think About It)\u201d struggled to be average, but \u201cClose To The Wire\u201d is one of those songs that make you wish Dave had been more active as a songwriter. His guitar playing and lyrical ability had aged well and they were on display here.<\/p>\n
The album started well. Ray Davies always had strong views about life. \u201cWall Of Fire\u201d found him turning his critical attention toward the environment. It may have been a little harsh, even for Ray, but it was powerful. \u201cDrift Away\u201d was another song of escape, a theme he had explored often through his music. Of course for Ray Davies, there was no escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill Searching\u201d was philosophical and wistful. In some ways there was always hope that he would find what he was looking for, but on the other hand, I don\u2019t think he would have been nearly as interesting musically had he done so.<\/p>\n
The album gets more spotty after its strong beginning. \u201cHatred (A Duet)\u201d explored Ray\u2019s relationship with his brother. I have always been amazed how he was able to take the ordinary and examine things that most people just ignored and passed by. \u201cOnly A Dream,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d \u201cBabies\u201d and \u201cSomebody Stole My Car\u201d found him on firm ground.<\/p>\n
I wish \u201cSurviving\u201d could have been the last track, as it would have provided a fitting conclusion to the band\u2019s recording career. It was an introspective song from Ray Davies, one of rock music\u2019s ultimate survivors.<\/p>\n
Phobia<\/i> was The Kinks\u2019 final album. It may not have been the equal of some of their classic releases, but it was solid and presented some of the strengths of the band well. Who knows, maybe Ray and Dave Davies have one more grand farewell opus in them but until that day, Phobia<\/i> will have to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":31600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6465],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-43305","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-kinks","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=43305"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=43305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}