They Really Got Them: 4 Unreal and Famous Covers of The Kinks

The Kinks set themselves apart from the rest of the British Invasion via the ingenuity and cleverness of Ray Davies’ writing. On top of that, their instrumental approach could switch from tough to tender in a heartbeat.

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Because of the band’s distinctive nature, they weren’t the easiest act in the world to cover. But these four acts did quite well with their own takes on Kinks’ songs.

“David Watts” by The Jam

The Jam never felt like they belonged fully to any of the genres dominating the music scene in Great Britain in the late 70s, a la New Wave and punk. In that way, they somewhat resembled The Kinks. On their third album, All Mod Cons, songwriter Paul Weller put class issues at the forefront of several of the band’s songs. That made it the perfect occasion for them to cover The Kinks, who often sang about such topics. Ray Davies and company put “David Watts” in the opening spot on their masterpiece 1967 album Something Else. The Jam did the song justice, capturing the restless energy of the music. And Bruce Foxton’s vocals expertly touch on the longing of the narrator to be like the title character.

“Days” by Elvis Costello

Many have taken a shot at this wonderful song that The Kinks released as a single in 1968 when they were at their absolute peak. Ray Davies was feeling down about his sister leaving to live in another country when he wrote it. But he managed to deliver a song that adds a heaping helping of solace to balance out the sorrow. Instead of just revamping the arrangement of the original, Elvis Costello stretched “Days” into slightly psychedelic territory when he recorded it for his all-covers 1995 album Kojak Variety. It’s a somewhat uncharacteristic approach for E.C., but it suits the song quite well.

“Where Have All The Good Times Gone” by Van Halen

C’mon, admit it, you thought we were going in another direction here, right? Most folks know that Van Halen did an extremely memorable cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me”, making it their first-ever single. We’re not knocking that track. In fact, they delivered an effectively modernized version of that garage classic. But we’re also partial to the work that VH did with “Where Have All The Good Times Gone”. The occasion was the 1982 album Diver Down, which was only stretched out into a full-length album at the last minute, forcing Van Halen to dig deep for material. The rhythmic swagger they achieve on their version of the 1965 Kinks’ classic almost reinvents the song.

“Stop Your Sobbing” by The Pretenders

We could have chosen “I Go To Sleep” as a Pretenders’ cover of a Ray Davies’ original. But The Kinks never actually gave that song a formal recording, which makes it hard to play compare and contrast. Luckily, there’s another excellent alternative in “Stop Your Sobbing”. Chrissie Hynde and her nascent band did a take on the song before she ever met Davies, meaning that their romantic relationship postdated the recording. Hynde had the smarts to unearth a Kinks song that had been relatively unheard and showed off the band’s pop sense. It was an excellent way to grease the wheels for The Pretenders’ introduction to the musical world. The legendary Nick Lowe produced the track.

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