Kinks/You Really Got Me – THE KINKS***

Beautiful Delilah/So Mystifying/Just Can’t Go To Sleep/Long Tall Shorty/I Took My Baby Home/I’m A Lover Not A Fighter/You Really Got Me/Cadillac/Bald Headed Woman/Revenge/Too Much Monkey Business/I’ve Been Driving On Bald Mountain/Stop Your Sobbing/Got Love If You Want It (US Album omits I Took My Baby Home, I’m A Lover Not A Fighter & Revenge)

British beat group The Kinks self titled debut album includes the UK chart topping single You Really Got Me, credited as being the first heavy metal hit. The album is standard fare for the time, with many covers, before songwriter Ray Davies discovered his distinctive musical style. Released in America as You Really Got Me, it omitted three tracks. (US:29 UK:3)

"The key moment on this Kinks debut arrives courtesy of You Really Got Me. Suddenly, everything else pales in comparison. Such energy meant that this song not only stands the test of time but has been credited with inventing heavy metal."

"The problem was a rather standard one: the band was just starting, the producer was cramming them with horrible second-rate material and, first of all, Ray wasn't yet confident about himself. There is one absolute gem here - the rave rocker You Really Got Me, often hailed as the first hard rock (read: heavy metal) song."

"You Really Got Me is a hell of a great song. It has a nice, even though primitive, five-note riff - the first heavy riff in history, it builds up well and includes a mad one-string solo by Dave who complemented the grumbling riff by a deserving, chaotic instrumental passage."

"At least we should praise Ray Davies for including a whopping six original compositions on the album - at an epoch when even The Stones only dared to include one. Unfortunately, the poor young boy overestimated his forces."

"The cover tunes on which Ray takes lead vocals are not brilliant by any means - you'd be much better off with the originals."

"This album is mediocre at best, with few standout tracks. The biggie, of course, is You Really Got Me. There's a lot of cover versions, the record company thought it would lessen the risk if there were a few famous numbers on there."