Dedicated followers of passion: the Kinks’ 40 greatest songs – ranked!
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- The Kinks' 40 greatest songs are ranked from 1993's "Scattered" (#40) through early 70s classics including "Lola" (#12), spanning the band's full 1965-1993 recording career.
- "See My Friends" (1965) is described as a hugely innovative pop single, featuring a droning, raga-influenced sound and an oblique lyrical treatment of homosexuality.
- Ray Davies's sister Rose emigrated to Australia, an event the critic says "devastated" him and directly inspired "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" (1966) on Face to Face.
- "Come Dancing" (1983) was the Kinks' only UK hit in the final 22 years of their career, built around the death of Ray's sister Rene in a dancehall — the same day she gave him his first guitar.
- "Living on a Thin Line" (1984), Dave Davies's ominous survey of Thatcher's Britain concluding "there's no England now," was rescued from obscurity by its inclusion on The Sopranos soundtrack.
- Ray Davies attempted suicide two years after writing "20th Century Man" (1971), which the critic links to his "increasing alienation" and the song's "I don't want to be here" lyric.
- The Kinks' late-60s commercial fortunes declined sharply in both the UK and US, dooming Dave Davies's aborted solo album despite strong material like "Death of a Clown" (1967).
Why it matters: By ranking 40 songs across the Kinks' 1965-1993 catalog — including deep cuts from 1970s concept albums and Dave Davies's writing often overshadowed by Ray's — this list pushes beyond the band's familiar 1960s hits, anchoring late work like "20th Century Man" (1971) to Ray Davies's documented 1973 suicide attempt and recasting the band as chroniclers of British decline.
