Face to Face (The Kinks album)

Face to Face
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released28 October 1966
Recorded
  • October 1965 ("I'll Remember")
  • Mid-April – 21 June 1966[1]
StudioPye, London
Genre
Length38:31
Label
ProducerShel Talmy
The Kinks chronology
Well Respected Kinks
(1966) 		Face to Face
(1966) 		Something Else by the Kinks
(1967)
The Kinks US chronology
The Kinks Greatest Hits!
(1966) 		Face to Face
(1966) 		The Live Kinks
(1967)
Singles from Face to Face
  1. "Sunny Afternoon"
    Released: 3 June, 1966
  2. "Dandy" / "Party Line"
    Released: Late 1966 (EU)[nb 1]

Face to Face is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released on 28 October 1966. The album marked a shift from the hard-driving style of beat music that had catapulted the group to international acclaim in 1964, instead drawing heavily from baroque pop and music hall. It is their first album consisting entirely of Ray Davies compositions, and has also been regarded by critics as one of rock's first concept albums. Davies' blossoming songwriting style became increasingly observational and satirical, commenting on English culture, social class and the music industry.

Despite containing the hit single, "Sunny Afternoon", the album's initial reception was lukewarm in both the UK and US compared to the Kinks' previous LPs, charting at No. 12 and No. 135, respectively. Face to Face eventually earned retrospective critical acclaim, recognized as a pivotal record of the psychedelic era and an important milestone in the Kinks' evolution. The album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[9] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[10]

  1. ^ Hinman 2004, pp. 68, 92.
  2. ^ Kitts 2002, p. 12: "Face to Face, arguably The Kinks' first and one of rock's first thematically linked albums ..."
  3. ^ "Ray Davies – Album By Album". Uncut. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Face To Face (1966)". StereoGum. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. ^ Howard 2004, pp. 109–110.
  6. ^ Davies 1995, pp. 335–336.
  7. ^ "The Kinks – Dandy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Week 41 (8 oktober 1966)" (in Dutch). Veronica Top 40. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  10. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.


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