''Kwyet Kinks'' is the third EP by

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

, released in September 1965. Unlike most of their other EPs, it contained all exclusive tracks and all were original compositions. The EP represented a significant departure as hinted at by the play on words title as all four tracks are "quieter" than the typical early Kinks rock sound, particularly lead track "Wait Till the Summer Comes Along", sung by

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was in ...

with prominent acoustic guitar and a clear country or folk influence. The most well known track is "

A Well Respected Man "A Well Respected Man" is a song by the British band the Kinks, written by the group's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ray Davies, and originally released in the United Kingdom on the EP '' Kwyet Kinks'' in September 1965. The song was relea ...

" which was the first real example of the social commentary and a songwriting style which would come to be associated with

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...

and the Kinks.

Background and music

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

' singles and LPs from mid-1964 to mid-1965 were characterised by a focus on fast, gritty R&B and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

. ''Kwyet Kinks'' marked a stylistic departure from the louder

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

-heavy sound of the Kinks' earlier output, a change reflected in the title through its play on the word "quiet". Author

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

describes the EP as generally

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

. The Kinks recorded all four songs for the EP at Pye Studios in London around , except for "Wait Till the Summer Comes Along" which was done on 3May.

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (born August 11, 1937) is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others. Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" ...

produced while Alan MacKenzie likely

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

composed and sang the EP's lead track "Wait Till the Summer Comes Along", a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

-tinged ballad featuring a

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

. The song was the first by the Kinks credited to only Dave, while his brother

composed and sang the EP's remaining three songs. Contemporary and subsequent coverage of the EP has typically focused on Ray's song "

", which signalled his shift in songwriting from basic sentiments about love towards satire and social commentary about contemporary British society.

Release and reception

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

issued ''Kwyet Kinks'' in the UK on . The release was the band's third UK EP and their second to feature entirely new material following the previous year's ''

Kinksize Session ''Kinksize Session'' is the first EP released by the Kinks in the UK in 1964, a month after their debut LP. The tracks were all exclusive to this release and it includes some original compositions. Recording Despite the title, only three of th ...

''. Critic Allen Evans reviewed the EP favourably in ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', writing that the band's softer sound proved as successful as their louder output. "A Well Respected Man" received regular airplay on UK radio stations, driving sales of ''Kwyet Kinks'', which reached number one on both ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The titl ...

'' and ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the '' NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in '' ...

'' magazines' EP charts. One of the year's best sellers, its sales exceeded what was typical for an EP at that time. Prompted by the release's unexpected success, Ray promised in interviews that Kinks would release more EPs satirising unconventional trends and fashions. Ray hoped the format would prove an ideal medium in developing his songwriting, but Pye's focus remained on the singles market, leading the label to cancel all planned EPs of new Kinks material and instead recycle older material on subsequent EPs. In the US, where EPs were comparatively uncommon,

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

instead used the songs on ''Kwyet Kinks'' as the basis for the US-only LP ''

Kinkdom ''Kinkdom'' (sometimes referred to as ''Kinks Kinkdom'') is the third US-only album by the English band the Kinks, released in 1965. As with the ''Kinks-Size'' album, it is made up mainly of songs not released on an equivalent UK LP. The album ...

'', released on . In addition, the label issued "A Well Respected Man" as a single on 4November. Though the band were unable to promote the single's release, it reached number13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.; . Reflecting on the situation decades later, band biographer

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

characterises the decision by Pye to relegate "A Well Respected Man" to ''Kwyet Kinks'' rather than release it as a UK single as " obably one of the greatest blunders in the Kinks' career".

Track listing

All tracks written by

, except "Wait Till the Summer Comes Along" by

. Track lengths according to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Side one

#"Wait Till the Summer Comes Along" – 2:08 #"Such a Shame" – 2:17

Side two

" – 2:41 #"Don't You Fret" – 2:42

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman: The Kinks *

lead vocal, acoustic guitar;

backing vocal, electric guitar; lead vocal *

Pete Quaife Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife (born Kinnes; 31 December 1943 – 23 June 2010) was an English musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for the Kinks, from 1963 until 1969. He also sang backing voca ...

bass guitar *

Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, ...

drums Production *

producer *Alan MacKenzie

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

Charts

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1965 EPs Albums produced by Shel Talmy The Kinks EPs Pye Records EPs