Death of a Clown: 20 Greatest Hits

Rock · 1989 · 16 tracks

Death of a Clown: 20 Greatest Hits

A twenty-track journey through satirical British vignettes, blending proto-punk guitar snarl with the wistful, rain-soaked melodies of 1960s London.

1989 · PRT

This compilation captures the dual soul of The Kinks: the snarling, proto-punk innovators and the wistful, observational poets of the English suburbs. Listening to this collection feels like peering through a rain-streaked window at a world that is simultaneously charming and deeply flawed. The early tracks provide a jolt of high-voltage adrenaline, defined by Dave Davies' legendary distorted guitar tones that practically invented the hard rock riff. These moments of aggression are balanced by Ray Davies' increasingly sophisticated songwriting, which moved away from blues-rock toward a uniquely British form of baroque pop.

Tracklist · 16 Tracks

03

Sunny Afternoon

3:39

04

Till the End of the Day

2:22

05

Waterloo Sunset

3:22

07

Dedicated Follower of Fashion

3:03

08

Victoria

3:42

09

Well Respected Man

2:43

10

Tired of Waiting

2:34

11

The Village Green Preservation Society

2:51

12

Dandy

2:13

13

I Am Free

2:31

14

See My Friends

2:47

15

Apeman

3:54

16

Death of a Clown

3:15

17

Autumn Almanac

3:13

19

Set Me Free

2:14

20

Suzannah's Still Alive

2:21

Moments Worth Listening For

The aggressive, jagged opening riff of You Really Got Me cutting through the 1989 cassette tape hiss

The transition from the rowdy garage energy of early hits to the sophisticated, pastoral melancholy of Waterloo Sunset

The specific, slightly out-of-tune piano jangle on Death of a Clown that creates a circus-gone-wrong atmosphere

Where This Album Departs

How does Death of a Clown: 20 Greatest Hits sound next to the rest of The Kinks's catalogue?

Rainy Day+1.3σ

Rainy Day saturates this record notably more than the artist's norm.

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