The Beatles were untouchable once the “British Invasion” began. The contributions of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, along with their amazing sense of melody, played a significant role in introducing the sounds of British rock and roll to America. This occurred alongside The Rolling Stones bringing the darker edge of the blues to England. While the Fab Four opened doors for many bands that followed, Ray Davies had a different idea in mind when he assembled The Kinks.
When Ray and his brother Dave got together to form The Kinks, Ray was bringing the music closer to home on the guitar. When working on the band’s later material, Ray started to explore new musical ground. This exploration came after unintentionally introducing the sounds of heavy music with songs like “You Really Got Me.”
Inspired by how other artists concentrated on creating a definitive record statement, Ray began to write. He wrote about the England he yearned for daily. Ray wrote about the England he remembered fondly, with amazing river crossings, as seen in songs like “Waterloo Sunset.” These reflections were captured on albums like Something Else and The Village Green Preservation Society.
Among the conventional ballads he was well-known for penning, “See My Friends” marked one of their initial forays into branching out from the conventional rock structure. The song featured a distinctive fusion of R&B and hard rock that would define the scene’s experimental side. It foreshadowed future developments even though it stuck to the traditional rock and roll lineup.
Paul McCartney was blown away by the song the moment he heard it. Even though the band’s early attempts at raga rock went against the popular trend of the mid-1960s. The Beatles recalled being a little sly about his band not discovering this sound earlier, even though the song was a daring step forward.
Dave recalled from his biography that during a meeting with McCartney around that time, the contemporary felt jaded about not reaching that kind of sound sooner. “[He said], ‘You bastards! What a dare you! That record should have been mine. The band would quickly catch up, though, as McCartney would later write “Paperback Writer,” the band’s introduction to psychedelia.
Using the essence of The Kinks’ work, McCartney would write about an aspiring writer over a fierce guitar riff. The song sounded like “See My Friends” dipped in acid for the Fab Four. Though The Beatles might have taken the lead in that conflict, Ray was unfazed and continued to refine his technique.
Though The Beatles’ songwriting was perhaps more daring, Ray would discover his voice as a songwriter and create vivid images of what ordinary life looked like. The Kinks were instrumental in shattering the stereotypes of bands, even though they were The Beatles’ and The Stones’ antithesis. Ray could briefly claim to be one step ahead of the Fab Four in terms of psychedelic head trips. However, they may have started the conversation about heavy music.
