#24 on the 1977 list was Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder, so let’s skip ahead to #23.
I don’t know that much about The Kinks. They had hits on the Hot 100: five top 10 hits and two top 20 hits, to be exact. However, they don’t seem to come up in present-day conversation quite as much as other British Invasion bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or The Who. Or maybe they just come up when I’m not paying attention. Either way, they did have hits in the mid-Sixties, namely “You Really Got Me,” “All Day And All Of The Night,” and “Tired Of Waiting For You.” But to illustrate my earlier point, “Tired Of Waiting For You” and their 1982 single “Come Dancing” are tied for the band’s highest-charting entry on the Hot 100 (both peaked at #6) and yet I have never heard either of them out in the wild.
Anyway, the other top 10 hit I haven’t mentioned yet was 1970’s “Lola.” That peaked at #9, making it by far their biggest hit of the entire Seventies. As the decade went on, frontman Ray Davies shifted toward concept albums with a more theatrical sound. On paper, that doesn’t sound like an issue. Jethro Tull’s Thick As A Brick and The Who’s Quadrophenia were theatrical concept albums that sold very well, so why didn’t The Kinks sell? Their first three studio albums of the decade got great reviews, and 1973’s Preservation Act 1 reviewed pretty well too. However, Preservation Act 1 heralded the band’s most theatrical phase, the rest of which was received very poorly by critics.
Enter Sleepwalker. Released in February 1977, it was the band’s first album on Arista Records and marked a return to form. This was an album full of straightforward rock songs, and anyone who wanted theatrical rock could go listen to Queen, I guess. But it worked. On the Billboard 200, Sleepwalker was the band’s highest-charting album in twelve years. The title track and first single was the band’s first Hot 100 entry in seven years. However, it only peaked at #48, and the second single, “Juke Box Music,” didn’t chart at all. In their home country, they hadn’t had a studio album chart there since 1968, and Sleepwalker didn’t end the dry spell.
So you can consider the album a mild hit in the U.S.. Is it any good?
Honestly, no. I thought it was underwhelming, even boring in parts (so at least the title is appropriate). It reminded me of the Steve Miller Band: the music is awesome, but the frontman is not the most remarkable singer or lyricist. Heck, the title track sounds exactly like the Steve Miller Band. The big difference is the Steve Miller Band had catchy hooks while much of Sleepwalker does not. Album opener “Life On The Road” has energy, but very little in the way of structure.
Side B is a lot better overall. “Stormy Sky” is a nice soft rock track. “Juke Box Music” is the best song on the whole album – it’s catchy and energetic – so of course it didn’t chart. My advice is to just listen to “Juke Box Music.” If you want to hear more, then you should only play Side B and pretend it’s an EP. The songs on Side A aren’t unlistenable; they’re just not as punchy or interesting as this band’s material can be.
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