ALBUM REVIEW: The Kinks - Give the People What They Want

    Last we left off with The Kinks, their decade-ending Low Budget saw the group hitting a new... well... low. Compared to their legendary 60s output, the Kinks ultimately had hard 70s, marred by terrible concept album escapades, overly formulaic power pop and hard rock, and ultimately inner-band turmoil that would persist for the rest of their time together, the latter in part being due to Ray's dominance over the band. Of course, the 80s was a time for new potential and ideas for veteran music acts - lest we forget that this was a year after John Lennon's Double Fantasy and one year before McCartney's Tug of War, both of which are solid proof of how 60s and 70s acts can adapt to the changing times. Give the People What They Want undoubtedly has some of that 80s cheese to it, but I'll be damned if this isn't an improvement over Low Budget. At its best, Give the People What They Want is a fine enough and sometimes more-than-fine rock album from the group, albeit one that still finds itself marred by some weaker production ideas and especially weak writing. Still, compared to some of the other stuff this is preferable.

    For full disclosure, I'm not that big of a fan of that 80s sound - those gated reverb drums and that overly artificial feel is probably one of my least favorite things about music. Even still, if Cloud Nine has taught me anything, it's that sometimes I have to live a little, and while Give the People What They Want isn't nearly as cheesy or dated as Jeff Lynne's sometimes misguided production, I still get tastes of that 80s sound - for those who are curious, it has the aftertaste of Jolt and DeLorean motor oil. Still, Ray Davies had been self-producing The Kinks since 1967, so he's not incompetent, and for the most part this album is a decently produced endeavor outside of the cheese - no worse than Misfits really. Much like Misfits, the best of this album is pretty up-there in terms of post-Muswell Kinks, but more on that later, because at the album's worst it's pretty infuriating. "Destroyer" is a painful callback to other Kinks songs like "Lola" and "All Day and All of the Night", to the point where I'm more than comfortable to call the song the group's equivalent of "Kokomo". You think that's bad? At least it isn't the supremely creepy "Art Lover" that makes the misguided and cringy lyricism of "Black Messiah" seem like "Do You Remember Walter?" in comparison.

    Now, what's good about this release? Quite a bit, actually. While it's not as good as their monster of a '77 comeback that was Sleepwalker, ultimately I found myself enjoying Give the People What They Want more than I thought I should be. For the record, The Kinks rocking this hard has always been flimsy ground - sometimes on songs like "Rats" and even a later song like "Sleepwalker" they blow it out the park, and sometimes if they try too hard you get most of Low Budget, really. Here, moments like "Around the Dial" or "Back to Front" showcase a solid rocking group, just as tight as their best moments. That being said, The Kinks always sold themselves on the slower moments - that's where the potatoes is, so to say. Moments like the closing track "Better Things" or "Killer's Eyes" deliver well-enough on this, but I honestly think this is the first time in a while where The Kinks could rock out and still manage to sound involved - maybe it's just that the 80s production is more suited for this kind of energy, but who knows. Either way, it works well enough to the point where I was impressed.

    One thing is for certain about Give the People What They Want - it starts the new decade off on a decent note for The Kinks. Whether this album is indicative of the group's output for the rest of the decade will be seen by me in the future, I suppose, but for now I can be pleased enough with what's given here. Give the People What They Want may be a bit of a rocky listen and some ideas may be dated, but frankly The Kinks haven't rocked this hard since... maybe Sleepwalker? That album was only four years prior to this one, and yet Low Budget will make anything seem like an eternity. The 80s certainly seem promising for The Kinks, and their first album of the Reagan Decade certainly showcases a group with some much-needed focus back.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Give the People What They Want.