The Kinks - BBC Sessions: 1964-1977 (2008)

As live Kinks albums go, BBC Sessions is about as fine a representation of the quartet's inimitable sense of showmanship as exists. Yes, there's Live at Kelvin Hall from the '60s, Everybody's in Show-Biz from the '70s, and One for the Road from the '80s, but this double-disc of broadcast performances captures the Davies brothers at the peak of their powers--from 1964, when they burst on the scene with "You Really Got Me" to 1977, when their career was on the upswing. A veritable greatest-hits collection, BBC Sessions benefits from plenty of raw, sometimes clumsy energy. Ray once insisted, "The day we become professional is the day we are ruined," and the Kinks never did turn pro during this 13-year span. There's great fun throughout these two discs, but of particular note are the woozy '70s recordings where the group worked with a horn section whose music-hall adornments prove to be delightfully complementary. One can't help but get the sense that they were plugged into what the Stones and the Band were doing at the time, but regardless of the setting and surroundings, the Kinks were true originals. -- Steven Stolder