Deluxe Box Set Celebrates The Kinks’ Early-’70s Classics

The wait is over for Kinks fans today (September 9th) with the band's massive super deluxe box set featuring 1971's Muswell Hillbillies and the following year's Everybody’s In Show-Biz – Everybody’s A Star — along with assorted outtakes and remixes. The set, which spotlights the band's beloved initial releases for the RCA imprint, is now available as a deluxe box set, along with a double-CD, single-LP, double-LP, and digital versions.

Muswell Hillbillies built upon the success of 1970's Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One — and played a key role in influencing the burgeoning pub rock scene in Britain, with Everybody’s In Show-Biz – Everybody’s A Star featuring the group's instant classic “Celluloid Heroes” — along with a full album recorded live at Manhattan's Carnegie Hall.

Primary songwriter Ray Davies recalled the period for the Kinks and said in the new package's press release:

Now with a new record company and a new image, I could bring some of the old wild western spirit into my music. These albums capture the re-emergence of the Kinks as a touring band.

Lead guitarist Dave Davies admitted:

Muswell Hillbillies is one-of my favorite Kinks albums. It’s a bit of a backstory to the Davies family and the characters involved.

Ray Davies says that although he’s technically a “singer/songwriter” what he reveals in his songs is just as honest as any other composer — it’s just not always about him: “I find characters to write about and I become those characters. I think that’s the way I write songs. I’m not the central character as a rule. So, people know the Kinks music, and they know Ray Davies songs — but they don’t necessarily know who I am.”

Dave Davies told us that making the move from the London-based Pye Records to the American conglomerate RCA played a role in the Kinks tipping their hat towards their American influences: “Muswell Hillbillies was a big thing for us. RCA were very up for the deal and Muswell Hillbillies virtually kicked it off. I always loved slide guitar anyway, and we came in trying to use a more American-ized technique on the guitars. So, it was a chance to do a lot of things differently — new to us.”

Dave shed light in how he and brother Ray formulated the sound of Everybody’s In Show-Biz – Everybody’s A Star: “The songs came to light — Ray's ideas. . . we sat down and we knew that we were gonna tour America and we want to maximize it. So, we thought we'd. . . gettin' the brass onstage with us may be really helpful musically. The Showbiz album had grown out of just touring America.”