Editing Ray Davies (section)

===Later sound (1976–1984)===
[[File:Ray Davies of the Kinks.jpg|thumb|270px|Ray Davies performing in [[Toronto]], 1977]]
When the Kinks changed record labels from [[RCA]] to [[Arista Records|Arista]] in 1976, Davies abandoned his recent propensity for ambitious, theatrical [[concept albums]] and [[rock operas]] (see above) and returned to writing more basic, straightforward songs. During this decade the group founded their own London recording studio "Konk" which employed newer production techniques to achieve a more refined sound on the albums ''[[Sleepwalker (The Kinks album)|Sleepwalker]]'' (1977) and ''[[Misfits (The Kinks album)|Misfits]]'' (1978).<ref>{{cite web|title=About {{!}} Konk Studios {{!}} London Recording Studio|url=https://www.konkstudios.com/about|access-date=27 June 2021|website=konk-studios}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Davies's focus shifted to wistful ballads of restless alienation ("[[Sleepwalker (The Kinks album)|Life on the Road]]", "[[Misfits (The Kinks song)|Misfits]]"), meditations on the inner lives of obsessed pop fans ("[[Juke Box Music]]", "[[A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy]]"), and exhortations of ''[[carpe diem]]'' ("[[Life Goes On (The Kinks song)|Life Goes On]]", "[[Live Life]]", "[[Misfits (The Kinks album)|Get Up]]"). A notable single from late 1977 reflected the contemporary influence of [[punk rock]], "[[Father Christmas (song)|Father Christmas]]" (A-side) and "[[Father Christmas (song)|Prince of the Punks]]" (B-side—inspired by Davies's troubled collaboration with [[Tom Robinson]]).

By the early 1980s, the Kinks revived their commercial fortunes considerably by adopting a much more mainstream [[arena rock]] style; and the band's four remaining studio albums for Arista—''[[Low Budget (album)|Low Budget]]'' (1979), ''[[Give the People What They Want (The Kinks album)|Give the People What They Want]]'' (1981), ''[[State of Confusion]]'' (1983) and ''[[Word of Mouth (The Kinks album)|Word of Mouth]]'' (1984)—showcased a decidedly canny and [[opportunism|opportunistic]] approach. On "[[(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman]]", Davies vented his [[existential]] angst about the [[1979 energy crisis]] over a thumping [[disco]] beat; on "[[A Gallon of Gas]]", he addressed the same concern over a traditional acoustic [[twelve-bar blues]] [[shuffle note|shuffle]]. In contrast, "[[Better Things (The Kinks song)|Better Things]]" (1981), "[[Come Dancing (song)|Come Dancing]]" (1982), "[[Don't Forget to Dance]]" (1983) and "[[Good Day (The Kinks song)|Good Day]]" (1984) were sentimental songs of hope and nostalgia for the aging [[Silent Generation|Air Raid Generation]]. However, with "[[Catch Me Now I'm Falling]]" (1979), "[[Destroyer (The Kinks song)|Destroyer]]" (1981), "Clichés of the World (B Movie)" (1983) and "[[Do It Again (The Kinks song)|Do It Again]]" (1984), the Davies brothers cranked out strident, heavy-[[riff]]ing [[hard rock]] that conveyed an attitude of bitter [[Cynicism (contemporary)|cynicism]] and [[Weltschmerz|world-weary]] disillusionment.

{{blockquote|I write songs because I get angry, and now I'm at the stage where it's not good enough to brush it off with humour.|''[[NME]]'', June 1978<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book |last=Tobler |first=John |title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years |publisher=Reed International Books Ltd |location=London |edition=1st |year=1992 |page=315 |id=CN 5585}}</ref>}}