Comments:

Surprising, really, how good the tracks sound, and amazing how the group succeeded in the often very rapidly done BBC recordings to create tnew versions which sound so much like the originals - in some cases perhaps actually better than these.

It is evident from these early recordings that the group was playing very tight and you must be impressed by how well their vocal collaboration was - the hidden 5th Kinks-voice Rasa Davies is involved in several of the early recordings.

Particularly interesting is probably the numbers as the Kinks did not release on their own official records. CD 1 contains the earliest recordings and here you'll find "This Strange Effect" written by Ray Davies to Dave Berry. A very fine version here with The Kinks, a little annoying that radio host Brian Matthew talks over intro. The rocker "Good Luck Charm" was never officially released, but no great loss, since this number is somewhat below normal Kinks standards.

On CD 2 among some real live recordings you suddenly find the once so rare studio recordings "Did You See His Name" and "When I Turn Off the Livng-Room Light". These numbers were released in early 1970 in the USA on the Reprise record label. On "The Kinks Kronikles" and "The Great Lost Kinks Album" - the latter very quickly became a much sought after rarity, and several of the tracks can still be hard to find on CD. One song, "Pictures In The Sand", has to my knowledge still not been released on CD in the vocal version of "The Great Lost Kinks Album"

Ray Davies was early in 1968, hired by the BBC to write new songs for a program called "At the 11th Hour" and "Did You See His Name" is one of those songs which was originally given to Jeannie Lamb. Fortunately, the group thought so well of the track, that they also recorded their own version in the spring of the 1968. That number could well have fitted into "The Village Green Preservation Society" and it is also now available on the deluxe edition of this masterpiece.

"When I Turn Off the Livng-Room Light" comes from early 1969 and was written for another TV Show "Where Was Spring". To my knowledge this is the first time the song is officially released on a CD. Classic Kinks sound in the softer end.

Most of the CD 2 is live recordings from the Preservation period, with a horn section and female vocalists. I saw the group twice in the early 1970's so it was a welcome reminder of the group sounded live at that time.

There are in the booklet detalied and very informative notes about the music and the background of these great recordings.