Oooh, that's hard; it depends a little if you like those hits or not. I'm a huge fan of "Don't Forget To Dance" (quintessential Kinks) but can do without "Come Dancing", for example.
On SoC, the rock-ier tracks are strong: State Of Confusion and Definite Maybe. I REALLY like Labour Of Love, Cliches Of The World, and, from the bonus tracks on the reissue, Once A Thief. Some of the more mellow wistful tracks - Property, Heart of Gold - are good too.
On WoM, the obvious pick is "Living On A Thin Line", a Dave track that is one of my favorite Kinks songs ever. I'd be surprised if you heard it and didn't recognize it (it was used on The Sopranos). I recommend Sold Me Out, Massive Reductions, Summer's Gone and Going Solo. That's a strong record, though, so you can't really go wrong.
I hate to do this, because it's a cop out and your time is valuable, but there's some benefit to listening to the whole album for both; they are NOT concept albums in any sense of the word, but, like some of Rush's post-Moving Pictures records, there are themes. For all the upbeat music, the lyrics are still very... poignant and in some cases biting. There's a fair amount of social commentary (which, if you're a Kinks fan, you're already used to and may even expect) buried among the more accessible music ("Massive Reductions" is just what it sounds like).
Topic: The Kinks (Read 1674 times)
