8. The Kinks: Sleepwalker (1977): The Champion of Commentary Strikes Again

Looking back at the history of rock music, one could argue that quite a lot of it actually was invented by Ray Davies and the Kinks, even though the style originates from the blues and its' derivatives in the US. The Kinks were prime movers in hard rock ("You Really Got Me", anyone?), satirical social commentary (basically any Kinks track with a title that goes ".... Man" among others), thematic albums, and fusing styles from music hall nostalgia to punk. Even though I don't claim this to be the only true interpretation of rock history, I do believe one can be pretty sure that the Kinks mostly were ahead of the field when looking at and jumping into new styles and effects.

I also think that some of the earlier Kinks catalogue carried fairly ham-fisted musical results, but the sometimes mediocre musicianship was more than outweighed by the wit of the writer - for 50 years and counting Ray Davies has been doing three-minute snapshots of the oddities of life today in an identifiable and inimitable manner.

Sometimes the results have carrried the whole album - and by the late 70's the musicianship had been brought up to par as well. Thus, "Sleepwalker" stands out among the latter part of the Kinks catalogue as a nearly complete collection of modern popular music. I'm not sure exactly how the record fared on the charts, but 1977 was a tough time for the establishment - but I believe Ray Davies was one of the most revered old guys still around at the time. 

The songs speak for themselves. The coming to age of the boy in "Life On The Road", the contempt for the former friend who made it big in "Mr. Big", the themes of mental turmoil and disturbances in the title track, "Sleepless Night" and "Full Moon", the comforting ending with "Life Goes On" - in fact each one of the album's nine tracks is worth a mention on its own merits. Ray Davies may not be the greatest singer in the world, but he is a great interpreter of his own lyrics. And even though some of the songs suggest a character not totally happy and content, there is still a glimmer of hope at the end.

Add to this the beauty and dynamism of the arrangements, with their beautiful interplay between acoustic and electric guitar, the keyboards - and the deceptibily easy flow of the melodies, and you have a near-perfect end product. Some of the later Kink albums showcase almost as good a set of songs as this one, but not quite - and at times, the old power-chord overdepemdence takes them down a notch. Not this one, though - "Sleepwalker" is a jewel in the crown of the Champion of Commentary.