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By 1981, The Kinks had spent nearly a decade buried in concept albums and theatrical experiments. Audiences drifted. Critics moved on. Then Ray Davies did something nobody expected. He went back to basics. Turned the amps up. And on their 19th album, Give the People What They Want, The Kinks came out swinging like they had something to prove. But here’s the part that gets me — “Destroyer,” the album’s hardest track, was built on a riff they first played in 1964. The same power chords from “All Day and All of the Night,” recycled 17 years later, heavier and meaner, with Dave Davies’ guitar just tearing through it. The lyrics even brought back Lola. The whole album was dark and cynical — songs about killers, paranoia, the ugly corners of fame. Yet the last track, “Better Things,” closed everything with a quiet, hopeful melody. Like Ray was saying: the world is rough, but tomorrow might be okay. They called it Give the People What They Want. By stealing from themselves, that’s exactly what they did.

The Kinks, Give the People What They Want, and the Power of Starting Over

By 1981, The Kinks were no longer the scrappy British band that had shocked the world with loud guitars and sharp edges. They had spent years exploring concept albums, character studies, and theatrical ideas, building records that were ambitious but sometimes distant from the raw energy that first made them unforgettable. Fans had drifted. Critics had moved on. It would have been easy to keep chasing bigger concepts.

Instead, Ray Davies made a surprising choice. On The Kinks’ 19th album, Give the People What They Want, he turned the volume back up and returned to the basics. The result was an album that felt direct, urgent, and alive. It sounded like a band reminding everyone what they could do when they stopped trying to impress and started trying to hit hard.

A Return to the Riff

One of the album’s most striking moments is “Destroyer”, the hardest-edged track on the record. What makes it even more fascinating is that the song was built around a riff The Kinks had first played in 1964. Those same power chords that powered “All Day and All of the Night” were brought back 17 years later, only this time they came back meaner, heavier, and more worn-in. Dave Davies’ guitar does not just accompany the song; it tears straight through it.

That self-referential move gave the track extra bite. Ray Davies was not simply recycling an old idea. He was showing that the past could still be dangerous if you played it with enough conviction. The lyrics even nodded back to Lola, adding another layer of memory to a song already built on the band’s own history.

It felt like The Kinks were looking in the mirror and deciding to trust what they saw.

Dark Songs, Sharp Edges

Much of Give the People What They Want lives in a dark, cynical world. The album moves through songs about killers, paranoia, and the ugly corners of fame. There is frustration in it, but also a kind of hard-earned clarity. Ray Davies writes like someone who has seen too much to pretend everything is fine, yet still refuses to give in completely.

That balance is what keeps the record compelling. It is not cheerful, but it is not hopeless either. The band sounds focused, tighter than they had in years, and the sharper sound gives the songs real momentum. The album does what the title promises, but not in a simple way. It gives the listener tension, noise, honesty, and a few uncomfortable truths.

The Quiet Ending That Changes Everything

Then comes “Better Things”, the closing track, and the mood shifts. After all the cynicism and rough edges, the album ends with a quiet, hopeful melody. It is not a grand finale. It is more human than that. Ray Davies sounds like someone who knows the world can be difficult, but still believes tomorrow might be better than today.

That ending is what makes the album linger. The Kinks did not just come back swinging. They also knew when to step back and let a song breathe. Give the People What They Want feels like a band rediscovering its own voice by trusting its oldest instincts. By borrowing from themselves, The Kinks did exactly what the title suggested: they gave the people what they wanted.

 

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Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry built Montgomery Gentry out of Kentucky bars, Southern rock guitars, and songs about ordinary people. Troy had the grin and the easy crowd connection. Eddie had the rougher voice. For 18 years, the name only worked because both halves were there. On September 8, 2017, Troy was killed in a helicopter crash in New Jersey — hours before they were supposed to play that night. But what most people didn’t know was that just 2 days earlier, they had finished recording their ninth album together. Eddie could have shelved those songs forever. Instead, Here’s to You came out in February 2018, carrying Troy’s final voice into the world. Then came the harder part — Eddie kept the name. He went back on the road and sang “My Town,” “Hell Yeah,” “Lucky Man” — songs built for two men — alone. The crowd still knew every word. But one microphone was gone. One laugh between songs was gone. Every show after that became part concert, part memorial. The name stayed on the marquee. Eddie was the only one left to answer it.

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