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Face To Face Review
01/12/2005 4:27 PM, AMG
The Kinks graduated from rock & roll band to serious rock group on Face to Face, their first fully developed album and a rival to the Beatles' Rubber Soul, the Stones' Aftermath, and Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. After opening with a frantic, paranoia-laced rocker ("Party Line," whose middle section bears an extraordinary similarity to the Rolling Stones' nearly contemporary "Connection"), the album moves through a dizzying series of songs, some upbeat and wry ("Dandy"), a few straight-ahead rockers (the Chuck Berry-esque "House in the Country"), and others strangely moody (the minor-key "Fancy," "Little Miss Queen of Darkness," "Rainy Day in June"), several of which, most notably the poignant "Too Much on My Mind" and the catchy "Sunny Afternoon," reflected Ray Davies' increasingly introspective writing. A lot of it rocks hard, even though the electric piano and harpsichord were just as likely to be the lead instrument as the guitar on much of this material. It was the more basic rockers ("Sunny Afternoon," "Dandy," "You're Lookin' Fine") that made it into their concert repertory -- ironically, the concert versions of those songs off of Live Kinks were more easily available for decades than these studio originals. Despite the presence of "Sunny Afternoon," Face to Face didn't sell well in America and was quickly deleted, becoming a choice collector's item and a popular import. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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