State your name, rank, cereal numbers, and click on this link to go back to the main KINKS page ... State of Kansas Overall Album Score: 8.6 out of 10 State of confusion is right! I'm in a state of confusion trying to figure out why The Kinks just CAN'T SEEM to get themselves thrust back to the grandiose level of the likes of Arthur or Village Green or Muswell Hillbillies! Those albums seemed so dang natural! Like as natural as Yellow Stone Natural Park! ... Yeah ... And, while State of Confusion cannot be confused for one of The Kinks' best late-career albums, it's just ... not ...... like .................. they ...................... used ....................................... to ............................................ be. The defining characteristic of State of Confusion that distinguishes it from the other Kinks albums released in this 1975-1985 era is this be the one with all them radio hits! "Come Dancing!" "Don't Forget to Dance!" (I didn't forget to dance, by the way, because I came dancing ... remember?) "Heart of Gold!" (Not too sure of that was a radio hit.) "Beat it!" "I Wanna Hold Your Hand!" "Smells Like Teenage Armpits!" are all on here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Except for those last three.) And, if you're looking for albums that have all radio hits and nothing much else (which means you probably hate Village Green Preservation Society, which also means you're a total freak), then State of Confusion might be a good thing for you. And ... that is good for you. Because. Good. Overall Album Score: 8.6 out of 10 (Most certainly not comparable to The Kinks back in their heyday, but this is another good later-career Kinks album for you freaks. And there are some 80s radio hits on here, too.) Average Song Score: 8.8 (There are many altogether decent pop songs on this one with an only limited number of sucky songs. Nice!) Album Tilt: 8.5 (It's all a bit cheaply done, though.) Artist Rating: 8.5 (Ray had a few hits with this. It's about freaking time!!!! The last hit you had was 'Lola!') Track Reviews State of Confusion 9.5/10 Whoah ... that Ray Davies still has it with the melody-writing stuff! Still going down that freaking hard rock route the Kinks have been embarking on for a few albums now, this one finally not only kicks INSTRUMENTALLY (like the songs on the last album), but this has a catchy melody to be reckoned with! Also, it was produced rather well, making this, I'd certainly imagine, a premiere 80s pop-rock song. Definite Maybe 9/10 Again, the melody totally KICKS and so does the INSTRUMENTS!!! ... Crappalappa. (That's a new expression I just coined two seconds ago that means "sweet!!") Labour of Love 7.5/10 Starts out with a silly and loud guitar passage that sounds like they were trying to play the national anthem ... and then it evolves into a rather "labored," mid-tempoed hard rock song. It's alright, but the melody ain't so great this time. Come Dancing 10/10 This is the last of the three songs that the Kinks ever wrote. "You Really Got Me," "Lola," and now this. (Indeed, the normal music-listener only knows the Kinks for these three songs.) I think it's interesting that all of these songs were very nearly all released a decade apart from each other! And this song is definitely a good one! ... It's a very fun and playful 80s pop song with pretty much the catchiest melody EVER, and ... yes. This is great 80s radio fare. Property 9/10 Another pop-song ... this is a more slowly-paced one. But the melody sure is nice! Sure, a certain line of it repeats a lot, but it doesn't really get annoying and ... yeah, I do like this one, too. Don't Forget to Dance 9.5/10 I guess a lot of people love this song, too ... and it certainly is nice. Seems to me like this is Ray's attempt at cashing in on that soft-rock radio market (along with "Come Dancing" as his attempt and success as cashing in on the pop-rock radio). And ... OF COURSE this is nice! The melody is great, and it's just ... good radio stuff. Young Conservatives 8/10 A lesser pop-rock effort ... this one just seems forced! But the melody is still catchy, albeit weaker, and ... yeah. Although, the lyrics are quite funny! Heart of Gold 10/10 Perhaps the only song on this album more deserving as being the only three songs that the Kinks have ever written is "Heart of Gold." The melody is just as catchy (if not more so) than "Come Dancing," although it might not be quite as playful. This song is better, though, take it from me! It has a nice pop-rock beat, good instrumentation overall, and ... GOOD. Cliches of the World (B Movie) 8/10 Kind of an awesome 80s pop song with hard rock leanings ... the melody is pretty good (not great) and ... ummmm ... yeah. Decent 80s pop. And it has a weird sci-fi plot, too, which I can never totally complain about. Bernadette 7/10 Bernadette ................ Peters? This is a blah sort of generic rock song to close the album with, to be sure. The vocal performance is ... eh ... (although, I do enjoy the energy)! This could have been better, but ... you know ... it wasn't. Say to the state here, if you are confused, donkeydork.

All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. Your mom goes to college.