The Kinks
Phobia

“Phobia” is the latest studio album by the Davies brothers, released in March 1993. After the creative hangover of the sixties, they found their way again at the end of the 70s, offering their sound tinged with a "moderate" hard-rock and mixing it all with a touch of electronics. This creative path can be found in albums like “Give The People What They Want” and “State Of Confusion,” but the career epilogue was indeed “Phobia”. The album sold very little, briefly peaking just above the 150th spot on Billboard, and was practically the final nail in the coffin for the band. At that point in their career, the increasingly quarrelsome Davies brothers found themselves dropped by the record company and decided to disband. I say it's for the best; the timing was perfect. The creative vein was fading, but the last album is not to be despised. In short, a beautiful swan song in full fashion. A stylish closure that should be taken as an example by old relics still out there, shaking it on stage at 73, playing with an eternal cigarette in mouth and a leopard coat, just saying no names... But I think it's useful to first understand: how does this album sound? What sonic path did the Kinks take in 1993? Let's say this “Phobia” mirrors what was previously said: basically, we find their "historic" sound, but with less of the cabaret-garage vibe, a bit more rock energy, and excellent production work. In short, as always out of fashion, yet at the same time, modernized with discretion. The use of electronics is very limited, countervailing albums like “World Of Mouth” or “Give The People What They Want,” but back then, we were still in the height of the eighties.

Once in the player, the album's setting is immediately clear: the tracklist offers rock tracks and ballads in almost equal measure. After the very brief “Opening,” it kicks off with "Wall of Fire," a heavy and somewhat predictable rocker, neither good nor bad. Of the same genre but much better done are the aforementioned “Phobia,” a typical Kinks hard-rock with effective melodies and changes in atmosphere and abundant choruses, the raucous "Drift Away," and the vigorous "Babies" and "Over the Edge," where it seems like going back at least 25 years and hearing the more classic Kinks with their compelling rhythm. The ballads range from decent to good like "Only a Dream," melancholic with a slight Beatles-like flavor, and "The Informer" in a similar vein; perhaps even slightly better is "Still Searching," a semi-ballad mid-tempo reflective with a bittersweet lyric. But the standout track is "Don't," which is relatively famous and their last fairly known track. I remember hearing it often on the radio at the time. Well-built with a catchy melody. Rather flat and without peaks are "It's Alright (Don't Think About It)," pure hard rock, almost hair-metal, aggressive and serious but a bit flat, "Somebody Stole My Car," unnecessary and forced, and "Scattered," another redundant track, somewhat boring and predictable. But fortunately, the album closes more than decently with the excellent "Did Ya," with their typical sound. The singing vaguely reminds me of Bob Dylan's mocking singing style. Lastly, there's the out-of-place "Close to the Wire," a U.S.-styled desert rock track, quite dark with prominent guitar. The CD version with the extra track “Did Ya” (initially released only as a single) runs a full 71 minutes. Well... it’s always nice to have one more song instead of one less when talking about Kinks, but in my very personal opinion, some of the similar rock-ish tracks could have been left out and at least one less among the various ballads present which, while good, all give the sense of being clones of the same mother.

My considerations: far from doing revisionism, but I'll tell you right away that I'll give this work a chance. We're not at the levels of works like “Face To Face,” “Lola,” or other well-known ones, but this platter carves out its own very specific niche. Unfortunately, I often see that on specialized sites, instead of being smashed, it's just... neglected. Yet it is a very respectable job that deserves to be mentioned every now and then. Here, in my opinion, the songwriting is always at a medium-good level. If I were to choose a dud from the last 10 years of the Kinks' career, I'd undoubtedly pick “Think Visual,” which sounds as if the four were playing at being themselves in a radio hair-metal version. A record that I would define as plasticky and somewhat gaudy. Let's say “Phobia” is an album perhaps too long and without big quirks but at the same time solid and of generally good quality, and still, some spikes here and there are well present. Above all, it still shows what have always been the strengths of the band: beautiful melodies, good compositional taste, and the typical lyrics oscillating between sardonic-social and disillusioned, with the addition of a bit of introspection.

Overall, in my opinion, it earns a full three stars. But it would be three and a half.

Little personal nostalgia. When I began to take an interest in the music of the Kinks, it was chronologically about a year or two after the release of this album, around 1994-95. Obviously, I started with the beginning of their discography and snubbed the latest releases: I quickly acquired several of their "historic" sixties works, which I greatly appreciated, but I never delved into the last years of their discography. However, paradoxically, I remember eagerly waiting for the release of the new album, that is, the follow-up to “Phobia” (which I didn't care about at all), but when at the end of 1996, I heard about the band's breakup, I was shocked. So, through a sort of mental process, I began to "crystallize" everything and consider “historic” stuff like “Think Visual” and “UK Jive,” which at the time were still works that were fairly fresh and recent in terms of age. Thus, I started the chase for the lesser-known discography, leading me some time later to purchase this work, a purchase I can't say I regret.