"Everyone was panicking because 'Wonderboy' wasn't sounding like a hit record. Among the management and the agent, Danny Detesh, there was definitely a sense that the band wouldn't go on for much longer. ... Danny came backstage when the record flopped and said, 'Well, you've had a good run. You've enjoyed it.' As if it was all over for us."
"There were only a few bands that had this sorta really rough-sounding, what we used to call 'R&B' style in the Sixties. There were the Yardbirds, there was us, there was the Pretty Things, as well."
"Waterloo Sunset" , one of The Kinks' most famous songs, was recorded very quickly. Backing vocals by Dave Davies, Pete Quaife and Ray's wife, Rasa, were laid down first, followed by Ray's lead vocal track. Dave Davies commented on the guitar effects: "We used a tape-delay echo ... it sounded new because nobody had done it since the 1950s."
Original line-up in 1965. From left: Pete Quaife, Dave Davies, Ray Davies, Mick Avory.
"Come Dancing" , The Kinks' last major hit single, incorporated nostalgic music hall and big band styles. The song reached number six in the US and number 12 in the UK.
Four smiling young men leaning over the back of a green park bench, a row of three-story-tall residential buildings behind them. The man on the left wears a brown sports jacket and white turtleneck; the man to his left wears a black-and-white-striped pullover shirt; the man to his left wears a black suit and tie; the man on our far right wears a black sports jacket and white shirt.
"You Really Got Me" features a jagged, distorted guitar riff, created by Dave Davies' cutting the speaker cone of an amplifier. The Kinks' first hit, it topped the British charts and reached number seven in the United States.
—Dave Davies, interview with the Austin Chronicle

Independent School, Co-educational School, University-Preparatory School, Day/Boarding School

Ray Davies created the "clang" at the beginning of "Lola" by combining the sounds of a Dobro and a Martin guitar.
"Mirror Of Love" , incorporating aspects of dixieland and New Orleans jazz, is typical of The Kinks' theatrical period, with Ray Davies singing in character. The UK single version, also released on Preservation: Act 2, is a remixed demo recording, featuring Ray Davies on guitar, piano and drums, Dave Davies on mandolin and the band's regular horn section.