The Kinks - A Thoroughly English Phenomenon - Carey Fleiner

 

Right from the start Fleiner explains that the purpose of this book is not to give a true biography but to explore some of the themes that the band expounded upon - from their lyrics to their style and specifically, the Englishness.

This is another fairly analytical look at a group (in a similar vein to the Shangri-Las story I recently read) with a 100 page introduction outlining what Fleiner hopes to accomplish in the various chapters, as opposed to letting the chapters speak for themselves, which again makes the tale sound more like a dissertation or thesis rather than an entertaining tale.

Each chapter gives a bit of Kinks history (Kinkstory?) but also tries to place the Ray, Dave and the band in the context of British culture - pop and otherwise - of the time. Fleiner also brings up more modern books, biographies and especially plays based on the Kinks to make a point about their earlier years.

I never do this, but I borrowed this from the library and while it had some interesting concepts and info, it was dry enough that I couldn't finish it before it was due and I didn't bother to renew it. I grabbed a different Ray Davies book instead. So, guess I can't recommend this one too much...