Phobia (The Kinks album)
Phobia is the twenty-fourth and final studio album by the English rock group the Kinks, released in 1993. It was their final studio album before their disbandment three years later and stands as their most recent album to date.[4][5] It is also the only studio album credited to the Kinks which does not feature drummer Mick Avory in any capacity; though he left the band in 1984, he still played on individual songs on both Think Visual and UK Jive. The album was produced by Ray Davies himself as R. Douglas Davies.
| Phobia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 March 1993 | |||
| Recorded | September 1990 - February 1992 | |||
| Studio | Konk Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 76:10 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Columbia[1] | |||
| Producer | Ray Davies, Dave Davies | |||
| The Kinks chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Phobia | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
Reception
The album received mixed reviews upon release. AllMusic gave it two out of five stars stating that "Ray Davies continues to turn out three or four brilliant songs on albums that barely anyone will ever hear." Rolling Stone were more forgiving rating the album four out of five stars stating that "Phobia is prime late-model Kinks."[6]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Ray Davies, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening" | 0:38 | |
| 2. | "Wall of Fire" | 5:01 | |
| 3. | "Drift Away" |
| 5:05 |
| 4. | "Still Searching" | 4:52 | |
| 5. | "Phobia" | 5:16 | |
| 6. | "Only a Dream" | 5:04 | |
| 7. | "Don't" | 4:36 | |
| 8. | "Babies" | 4:47 | |
| 9. | "Over the Edge" | 4:20 | |
| 10. | "Surviving" | 6:00 | |
| 11. | "It's Alright (Don't Think About It)" | Dave Davies | 3:34 |
| 12. | "The Informer" | 4:03 | |
| 13. | "Hatred (A Duet)" | 6:06 | |
| 14. | "Somebody Stole My Car" | 4:04 | |
| 15. | "Close to the Wire" | Dave Davies | 4:01 |
| 16. | "Scattered" | 4:11 | |
| 17. | "Did Ya" (bonus track – UK/Japan only) | 4:32 | |
| Total length: | 76:10 | ||
Personnel
The Kinks
- Ray Davies – guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Dave Davies – guitar, vocals on "It's Alright (Don't Think About It)", "Hatred" and "Close to the Wire"
- Jim Rodford – bass, backing vocals
- Bob Henrit – drums
Technical
- R. Douglas Davies– producer
- Kevin Paul, Stan Loubières – engineer
- Richard Edwards – recording
- Bob Clearmountain, John Rollo – mixing
- Christopher Austopchuk, Nicky Lindeman – art direction
- Sue Coe – illustration
References
- Watrous, Peter (15 May 1993). "Review/Rock; The Kinks, Old Hands, Remain on the Wild Side" – via NYTimes.com.
- "Phobia - The Kinks | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
- Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
- "The Kinks' Ray and Dave Davies on the reissue of 1969 album 'Arthur' - The Washington Post".
- Fleiner, Carey (1 March 2017). The Kinks: A Thoroughly English Phenomenon. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442235427 – via Google Books.
- "Phobia Album Review".
