A long-awaited set rounding up some of The Kinks' kollaborations with the Beeb and with a tracklisting personally selected by Ray Davies himself to boot.
The years roll back as presenter Brian Matthew introduces the band as "five more representatives of the shaggy set" which leads into a raw 'You Really Got Me' that proves that, shaggy or not, these guys could really rock out.
The first disc concentrates on the 60s material the band recorded for BBC radio programmes like 'Top Of The Pops' and 'Saturday Club'. Tracks of particular note include the proto-metal 'All Day And All Of The Night', the haunting 'See My Friends', 'This Strange Effect' (written by Ray Davies but not recorded by The Kinks) and the brilliantly rueful 'Where Have All The Good Times Gone?'
Brother Dave also gets a chance to shine, with airings of his massive hit 'Death Of A Clown', the under-rated 'Love Me Til The Sun Shines' and 'Good Luck Charm'. A gorgeous 'Waterloo Sunset' ushers in the reflective, quintessentially English material of the late 60s - 'Monica', 'Days' and the plea for a return to old values that is 'The Village Green Preservation Society'.
By contrast, Disc 2 is a bit of a minefield, and not just chronologically. 'Mindless Child Of Motherhood' from 1970 gets things off to a fine start and is 'Holiday' from 1972 is also one of the best songs of this period.
Things take a turn for the worse when the album reaches 1974 and the height of Ray Davies' obsession with album-long narratives - the 'Preservation' albums. 'Demolition', recorded for John Peel, is average, with a nice counterpoint vocal between Ray and two female vocalists.
By this time, the line-up of The Kinks had expanded to almost big band proportions, which is certainly in evidence on six live tracks from a 1974 live show at the Golder's Green Hippodrome. The positioning of 'Victoria', 'Here Comes Yet Another Day' and the marvellously poignant 'Celluloid Heroes' between the 'Preservation' material only serves to highlight the lack of inspiration present in the likes of 'Money Talks', 'Mirror Of Love' and an excruciatingly long version of 'Skin And Bone', which is vaudeville at its worst.
A live version of 'Get Back In The Line' from 1977 redeems things somewhat, then bizarrely it's back to the 60s for two lost gems, both of which are basically Ray Davies solo performances recorded for the TV programme 'At The Eleventh Hour' - 'Did You See His Name?' and 'When I Turn Off The Living Room Lights'.
To finish, there are superfluous versions of 'Skin And Bone' and 'Money Talks', frustrating inclusions not only because they're not very good but also because there's a wealth of material still in the vaults that could have been used instead.
However, Ray's obvious bias for some of his more unremarkable material aside, this is a fascinating snapshot of 60s British radio and, more importantly, proof again that The Kinks were one of the most vital bands of that era.
