Face to Face

This was their first concept, and a step forward from anything they did previously. Their first album was typical early mid sixties British Invasion. Their last album before this showed signs they were expanding. Here, they had expanded. By then, they had developed a more mature, varying and wide-ranging sound. There were tracks here that were very different to anything else, such as Session Man & Rainy Day In June. It is nice to hear a wider range of instruments, such as a harpsichord on a few tracks. But as the tracks appear here in mono and stereo, tracks 1, 7 and 14 sound better in mono, as on the stereo section of the album, they are in fake electronic stereo. What is also illogical is that other tracks appear on that stereo section in fake stereo, and then later on the second CD here in true stereo.. But apart from that, there is sill a nice selection of bonus tracks such as a few non-album tracks A and B sides of singles, a couple of alternate versions such as the demo of Dead End Street, plus the stereo take of one of their greatest songs but was only a B side - Big Black Smoke with an entirely different ending to the original mono version which is also here. 1966 seemed to be the first major year for concepts, as slightly after this, The Hollies released For Certain Because, The Beatles had just released Revolver, and from the States, earlier that year, The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, Bob Dylan released one of the first double albums Blonde On Blonde and The Byrds released Fifth Dimension (although it was their third album). Whereas previously, albums were often only released on the back of hit singles, with artists only putting their efforts into their singles.

The previous cd issue of Face to Face was bass-light and too high at the top end, making it sound incredibly dated. Despite being called a 'remaster' it was not up to scratch.But the good news is that this really is. The mastering has been done well, sorting out the issues mentioned above and at last helping the drums and guitars to sound like drums and guitars. Due to the nature of how the Kinks recorded, it's not necessarily a slick sound by any means, but it is clearer whilst retained the dirtiness which is typical of their earlier sound. It's hard to imagine this sounding better.The packaging itself has been really well done, with a great booklet, lots of photos and a really nicely designed chunky fold out case. There is also the advantage of both stereo and mono recordings with all the singles and b-sides (Look out in particular for Big Black Smoke!). These sound great.Overall it's the mono which wins out for me. The stereo has a brittle prettiness to it which is really nice, but there is a purposefulness and intensity to the mono which fits the dark lyrics. At times Ray sounds on the edge of a mental breakdown and its worth listening to the lyrics carefully to find the desperation beneath the cheeky smile. Lyrically he is incredible.This is a great place to start if you have the best of the Kinks and want to expand your collection. Highly recommended.

...and most of the other "Deluxe Edition" Kinks reissues? I gave it five stars because I own it, and it's wonderful...but I've been wanting to buy this and "Arthur" for a friend, and although Amazon has the mp3 download version available for sale, these (and "Something Else") are out of stock on CD, and selling for exorbitant amounts through Amazon Marketplace sellers.I'm aware that Sanctuary/UMG (who originally released them) was acquired by Sanctuary/BMG a year ago, but are they set for re-release? (It *is* the Kinks' 50th anniversary and all...)I have an order in for this and "Arthur", with an estimated delivery date of no later than next Friday, March 14. Somehow, I suspect that won't be happening, since I ordered them back in January...Any news, Amazon...?

...this is an outstanding contribution to 1960's music; Gene Booth's concise review above for amazon.co.uk is right on the mark. Furthermore, the album does indeed stand the test of time, with superb song-writing along with fine playing from this great British band. The Deluxe edition presents the original tapes in mono and stereo, and in excellent remastered sound.I pulled 'Face to Face' out of my collection this evening so as to satisfy a sudden desire to hear 'Rosy, Won't You Please Come Home', and rediscovered why this album is a treasure trove of marvels.For anyone considering a purchase of this Deluxe edition, my recommendation is a resounding 'yes'.

really enjoyed listening

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Wonderful album - covers a lot of tracks we don't have on other albums - really good! :D!

I particularly liked 'Party Line', 'Too Much On My Mind', 'This Is Where I Belong' and 'She's Got Everything'.