ALBUM REVIEW: The Kinks - Sleepwalker

    The Kinks spent a better chunk of the 70s effectively committing career suicide critically and commercially. After some major commercial success at the beginning of the decade with Lola Versus Powerman and matching critical praise with Muswell Hillbillies (my beloved), the group continuously shot themselves in the foot with Ray Davies' hair-brained concept album schemes - for four, long, tedious albums did they put on this charade of rock operas about village greens and superstars and the educational system. Surprise, The Kinks aren't The Who, and Preservation ain't no Tommy, so the results are, at best, decent ironic listens. After Schoolboys in Disgrace, though, The Kinks switched to Arista Records, dropped back down to a five-piece group, and switched back to self-contained rock songs instead of concept albums. Sleepwalker has, likewise, been acclaimed in the Kinks community as a proper comeback for the group - an energetic return to form for Ray Davies and the band with some great tunes to boot. I'm not gonna tell you that this album isn't all of those things on some level, but it still doesn't match up to the group's finest material in the late 60s and early 70s. Still, taken as it is, Sleepwalker is a fun and punching rock record that shows some fresh life in the band.

    Immediately obvious when hearing this album is that it's no rock opera or grand concept album by any stretch of the imagination - all Sleepwalker is aiming to be is a collection of great rock tunes, and let me tell you, the album can rock. In comparison to the horn-laden escapades of previous dribble like the all-too-forgettable Preservation Act 1, the group that we here is thinned back out into a tight and professional five-piece group, just as on the Lola album. It helps that the album has what is probably some of their best straightforward rock songs in years, and the new sound that the group aims for on this album is admittedly a lot of fun - The Kinks could never rock as hard as contemporaries like The Stones or The Who, so the power pop-esque angle the group goes for here is more than suited for them. It's the little things that I've really appreciated with this album - you don't realize how much you miss Ray Davies' tender tenor voice or Dave's backup singing until you've gone four albums without Dave's singing and with Ray putting on an obnoxious baritone. How about that band? Avory is back to full power, baby, and listen to those guitar licks! John Gosling's keyboard and piano fills? That's Kinks, baby!

    Now in terms of songwriting, Sleepwalker could be sharper, but this is largely a set of catchy and hooky rock songs, the likes of which I thought were a thing of the past with The Kinks. Opening track "Life on the Road" is a great splash into the sound of the album, and it's a damn-good way to begin - the song's themes of traveling and living on the road hearkens back to Everybody's in Show-Biz in some sense, and it's certainly not unwelcome - to think that I saw that as a disappointment, but I guess anything feels like fresh air after the rock opera shenanigans. "Juke Box Music" is one of the more enduring songs from this release, and while the story of a girl who believes in every word from her favorite songs could be groan-inducing, the groove is so tight and the hooks so catchy that you can't help but sing and tap along with the song. The album's title track is another high mark with its tales of nocturnal trouble and great guitar lick on the chorus - one of the best moments on the album, as is the following track "Brother" that ends the first side. It's a great ballad, even if it has a tinge of cheese to it in the production and performance - it's a climatic way to end the first half. The album also ends strongly with the combo of "Full Moon" and "Life Goes On", the latter of which may even be one of their best songs in years. It's not perfect, and I especially think the second half is weaker than the more stacked first-half - it's hard to get excited by the more generic rockers like "Stormy Sky", although the first side has the faux edge of "Mr. Big Man", so nobody's innocent.

    Even with some weak tunes and an admitted lack of some of the magic their best work has, I am nothing if relieved by Sleepwalker. While it does showcase a turn towards a more commercial sound, it is certainly great to hear The Kinks actually do proper rock songs again instead of their theatrical bullshit. The band is as tight as when they left off, it's well-produced, and when it's good it's a catchy and galvanizing rock record that really does recapture some of the thrill. Back in the game? Perhaps future records will tell, but for now I can be more than happy with what we have on Sleepwalker.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Sleepwalker.