The 10 greatest covers of The Kinks
An era of cultural revolution, the 1960s produced a wealth of Britain’s most inventive and influential art, poetry, fashion, and music. It was the first time in modern history that the younger generation rebelled against the expectations of their parents, and few groups soundtracked that widespread rebellion quite as adeptly as The Kinks. Driven by the songwriting skills of Ray Davies, the London outfit explored countless different avenues of artistic expression over the decades, becoming one of Britain’s most influential outfits in the process.
From the early triumphs of short, sharp mod rock anthems like ‘You Really Got Me’, to the timeless romanticism of ‘Waterloo Sunset’, Davies’ songwriting always maintained a kind of universal appeal. His work was often rooted in ideas of English society, satirising the class system and reflecting his upbringing as a working-class kid in London, but these issues were dealt with in such a way that they resonated with listeners all across the globe. In fact, the group were so profound and successful in their output that, even today, they remain hugely influential over countless different artists and songwriters.
Given their enduring reputation in the world of rock and roll, it should come as no real surprise that The Kinks have been the subject of an unimaginable wealth of cover versions over the years. Spanning the spectrum of good, bad, bizarre, and misguided, artists of all different genres and generations have performed their own interpretations of Ray Davies’ songwriting talents, reflecting the endless adaptability of his writing style.
Here, we have collected five of the greatest examples of these reinterpreations of The Kinks. Spanning multiple different genres, generations, and performance styles, ranging from post-punk masterpieces to haunting experimental numbers, and everything in between, there is no stone left unturned here at Far Out. So, without further ado, let us delve headfirst into this celebration of one of Britain’s greatest rock outfits, and one of its all-time greatest songwriters, Ray Davies.
The 10 best covers of The Kinks:
The Pretenders – ‘Stop Your Sobbing’
Punk rock represented a defiant new generation of songwriters during the 1970s, rejecting the nostalgia-driven sound of mainstream rock and searching for something a little more honest and relatable. The Kinks appeared to be one of the few ‘old’ groups who were adopted by the punk movement, providing a wealth of inspiration to some of the most prominent acts in the scene, including The Clash and the Sex Pistols. Reflecting this unwavering influence, The Pretenders’ very first single was a cover of ‘Stop Your Sobbing’.
Originally written and released in 1964, in a rushed attempt to capitalise on the overnight success of ‘You Really Got Me’, Ray Davies wrote ‘Stop Your Sobbing’ about an old girlfriend, and tells the tale of a boyfriend willing his partner to stop crying. 15 years later, the punk-influenced Pretenders reached 34 in the singles chart with their rendition of the track, updating its content through the distinctive tones of lifelong Kinks fan Chrissie Hynde.
Trinidad Tripoli Steelband – ‘Apeman’
Try to think of a situation in which the addition of steel band music would not improve. You cannot – or you lack a sense of fun if you can. The national sound of Trinidad and Tobago has been around for centuries, and continues to resonate with audiences all over the world. During the mid-20th century, a tourism boom in the Caribbean led to an increased number of steel band records being produced, which probably accounts for the Trinidad Tripoli Steelband, and their 1971 rendition of The Kinks’ ‘Apeman’.
Davies’ original version of the song, detailing his disenfranchisement with modern life and a desire to return to nature, had only been released a year prior, in 1970. A follow-up single to the band’s intensely successful ‘Lola’ (more on that track later in the list), ‘Apeman’ reached number five in the UK singles chart, likely contributing to the steel band’s decision to cover the track. Still, the calypso influences of the original song, coupled with its focus on the joys of nature, seem almost naturally suited to the infectious sounds of steel pans.
Van Halen – ‘You Really Got Me’
The Kinks’ seminal 1964 single, ‘You Really Got Me’, is among the most important and beloved rock and roll anthems ever recorded. It pioneered the use of guitar distortion, typified the youthful rebellion of the swinging sixties, and provided unending influence to countless future styles of rock. It is no surprise, therefore, that the song has been covered extensively by everybody from Iggy Pop to Toots and the Maytals. One of the most enduring covers, however, comes from the hard rock gods themselves, Van Halen.
Released on their eponymous debut album in 1978, the cover is awash with the kind of expansive, driving hard rock styling that Van Halen soon became synonymous with. Eddie Van Halen develops The Kinks’ fairly simplistic power-chord riff into a sprawling metal masterpiece, descending into wailing distortion and one of the strongest guitar solos on the entirety of that debut album. The American rockers expertly captured the endless adaptability of the timeless rock anthem.
Françoise Hardy – ‘Who’ll Be The Next In Line’
London boomed with exciting, inventive artists during the swinging sixties, with Davies and The Kinks firmly at the forefront of that scene. Across the English Channel, however, Paris boasted its own range of revolutionary musicians, including the archetypal yé-yé chanteuse, Françoise Hardy. After establishing her ethereal voice on beloved tracks like ‘Le Temps De L’Amour’ or ‘Tous les garçons et les filles’, the vocalist recorded an album of English-language cover songs in 1968, titled En anglais.
A stand-out moment on said album is Hardy’s rendition of The Kinks’ 1965 blues single ‘Who’ll Be The Next In Line’. Originally, the song was a bit of a disappointment for the band, only reaching 17 in the singles chart, but Hardy’s rendition breathes a new sense of life into the song. Complete with an orchestral arrangement and Hardy’s typically understated vocal performance, the cover transforms the sound of the original completely, and certainly for the better.
David Bowie – ‘Where Have All The Good Times Gone’
1973’s Pin Ups is an often overlooked album within David Bowie’s discography, far too quickly written off as a contractual obligation to his record label. However, the covers album is not without its moments of brilliance, one of which is the closing track, which saw the Starman reinterpret The Kinks’ despairing 1965 single ‘Where Have All the Good Times Gone’. Drenched in all the coolness of Bowie’s glam rock era, the cover boasts a sense of power which tends to be lacking on the original version.
At the same time, Bowie’s ‘Where Have All the Good Times Gone’ features a vulnerable, gentle vocal style which was totally different from the powerful defiance of his previous work around that time, particularly the Ziggy Stardust era. As such, Bowie adds entirely new layers of intrigue to a classic Kinks song that is often forgotten.
Elliott Smith – ‘Waterloo Sunset’
One of Ray Davies’ greatest flashes of songwriting genius came in 1967, with the timeless classic, ‘Waterloo Sunset’. Awash with romanticism and Davies’ usual aptitude for making the mundane and ordinary seem profound and all-encompassing, the song has resonated with countless artists and multiple generations over the years. As such, it has been covered by the likes of The Jam, Cathy Dennis, Peter Gabriel, and David Bowie, to name only a handful. For our money, though, the best cover version of the song comes from Nebraska’s finest, Elliott Smith.
Smith always maintained a unique ability to render the most innocent or simple lines as moments of gut-wrenching emotion, and his version of The Kinks’ classic is no different. Swapping the uplifting sense of hope in Davies’ original for a tear-jerking sense of heartbreak, in keeping with the melancholy of his wider discography. Although Smith never formally released a studio version of the cover, he performed ‘Waterloo Sunset’ live on multiple occasions during the late 1990s, presumably leaving a trail of sobbing listeners behind him.
The Jam – ‘David Watts’
Back in the 1960s, The Kinks capitalised on the rise of the mod subculture, adopting the kind of fashion, music, and rebellion inherent in the movement. It makes sense, therefore, that the mod revival of the 1970s, and its premier outfit The Jam, owed a huge debt to the pioneering sounds of The Kinks. Paul Weller was – and still remains – a dedicated follower of Davies as a songwriter, and has taken inspiration from his work on multiple occasions. For The Jam’s 1978 record All Mod Cons, Weller took on The Kinks’ modernist anthem, ‘David Watts’.
An ode to envy, the narrator of the track details his hero worship of a fellow schoolboy, named David Watts, who appears to live a perfect life–smart, athletic, happy, and popular with the girls. Although the original track was never released as a single and didn’t receive the same kind of attention as some of The Kinks’ other work, its energy and sensibilities were perfectly reflected by those of The Jam, whose own recording reached number 25 in the singles chart.
The Fall – ‘Victoria’
Given his indiscriminate cynicism about virtually everything in life, you would be forgiven for assuming that Fall frontman Mark E. Smith would detest the idea of a cover song. In fact, the post-punk progenitors recorded multiple covers over the course of their extensive time together, and their 1988 recording of The Kinks’ ‘Victoria’ stands out among their most brilliant. Originally written as a satire of nostalgic attitudes towards the time of Queen Victoria and the British Empire, Davies’ quietly critical lyrics appeared to resonate with the bard of Prestwich.
Smith’s distinctive vocal style suited the sensibilities of the original track flawlessly, and, in terms of the arrangement, the band didn’t stray too far from the sound of the original, maintaining the same clean-cut ‘60s guitar tones and pacing. Still, their version feels a little more rough-and-ready than the original, perhaps owing to their post-punk credentials. Nevertheless, the single broke into the Top 40 in the UK, making it one of the cult band’s most successful releases.
Anika – ‘I Go To Sleep’
A distinct outlier within The Kinks’ discography, Ray Davies wrote ‘I Go To Sleep’ while at the piano in 1965, awaiting the birth of his first child. You can probably imagine, then, that the song is imbued with a kind of vulnerability, uncertainty, and yearning romanticism. Despite its intense quality, The Kinks never properly recorded the song, and Davies’ original demo went unreleased until 1998, by which time multiple cover versions of the song had already been released. Without a doubt, the greatest cover of the song comes from the British-German performer Anika, who included a version on her self-titled debut album in 2010.
Anika’s vocals turn up the haunting nature of the original version, creating a captivating if often uneasy atmosphere. That haunting atmosphere is further supported by the addition of a driving industrial undertone, which only seems to increase in intensity as the song progresses. Not only does the vocalist completely reinvent the mood and atmosphere of the song, but she does so with only a few small tweaks to the arrangement of the original version. A truly masterful cover, in every sense of the word.
The Raincoats – ‘Lola’
On the topic of masterful performances, The Kinks unveiled ‘Lola’ in 1970, a song which completely subverted expectations of the outfit, and signified the arrival of a new era for the band as they moved away from the sounds of the swinging sixties. On paper, ‘Lola’ is an unexpected effort from Davies, detailing a love affair between a man and a transgender woman which, during the time of its release, was virtually as revolutionary and taboo as a song could be given societal attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community at the time. Years later, however, the attitudes of the song resonated with the punk and post-punk generation.
This eventually led the groundbreaking group The Raincoats, who formed a major influence over the post-punk and early indie scene before going on to influence the development of Riot Grrrl and grunge, to record their own version of ‘Lola’ in 1979. The endearingly off-kilter approach of the cover version, spurred on by the distinctive vocals of singer and guitarist Ana da Silva, transforms the big-budget production of the early 1970s rock song into a DIY anthem, reflecting the inherent appeal of the post-punk boom, as well as the timeless quality of Ray Davies’ songwriting.
