Sunday Cinema | The Kinks Live In Concert 1973

When we started putting together our recent article on Ray and Dave Davies both discussing the possibility of a The Kinks reunion in 2014 to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, we headed to YouTube to peruse the live Kinks footage available on the site. We came across a power-packed 30-minute Kinks performance from 1973 that we’ve since watched a number of times and wanted to share as today’s Sunday Cinema selection.

If you’re unfamiliar with The Kinks and want a primer as to what made the band so good, this live performance is perfect for the job. Ray, Dave, the rest of The Kinks and a full horn section roll through 10 outstanding tunes from every period of their career up until that point. The band starts off with a raucous take on “Victoria” from 1969’s Arthur and continue with the bluesy rocker “Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues” off 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies. Davies shows off his uncanny ability to get an audience involved with sing-along versions of hit singles “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” and “Lola” -even if The Kinks had to restart “Lola” a few times. Towards the end of the performance, The Kinks unleash a string of raw rockers from their early days in “You Really Got Me” and “All Day And All Of The Night,” before enlisting the help of a choir for “Waterloo Sunset” and the horns for the outstanding “The Village Green Preservation Society” closer that shows off the diversity of the band’s catalog.

Watch The Kinks at their best from London in 1973:

00:00 -“Victoria”
02:54 -“Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues”
06:21 -“Dedicated Follower of Fashion”
08:16 -“Lola”
13:03 -“Holiday”
15:55 -“Good Golly Miss Molly”?
18:44 -“You Really Got Me”
20:43 -“All Day And All Of the Night”
22:05 -“Waterloo Sunset”
25:43 -“The Village Green Preservation Society”