Arista had made it clear they would not accept any concept albums from the Kinks, and Sleepwalker, their first effort for the label, makes good on the band's promise.
Comprised entirely of glossy arena rockers and power ballads, the album is more of a stylistic exercise than a collection of first-rate songs.
Ray Davies contributed a handful of fairly strong songs, highlighted by the exceptional "Juke Box Music," which sees him in a shockingly resigned frame of mind, claiming that rock & roll is just rock & roll, and nothing more.
Unfortunately, he chose to illustrate that fact by loading the rest of Sleepwalker with competent but undistinguished mainstream rock.
While that might have made the album a hit at the time, its processed sound and weak songs sound dated today, especially compared to the lively arena rock the Kinks later released.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Life on the RoadRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 05:01 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Mr. Big ManRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | BrotherRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 05:28 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Juke Box MusicRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Sleepless NightRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Stormy SkyRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Full MoonRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Life Goes OnRay Davies | The Kinks | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 35 mins | 82 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mick Avory | Drums, Percussion |
| 2 | John Dalton | Bass, Guitar (Bass) |
| 3 | Dave Davies | Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Ray Davies | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | Johnny Dyer | Art Direction |
| 6 | John Gosling | Keyboards, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | K. Lee Hammond | Reissue Art |
| 8 | Bob Heimall | Cover Design |
| 9 | Graham Hogg | Archival Tape Engineer, Assistant |
| 10 | The Kinks | Primary Artist |
| 11 | Mycle Konopka | Compilation Engineer |
| 12 | Andy Pyle | Bass |
| 13 | Klaus Schmalenbach | Artwork, Reissue Photography |
| 14 | Marianne Spellman | Artwork, Reissue Photography |
| 15 | John Swenson | Liner Notes |
| 16 | Ryan Tully | Archival Tape Engineer, Assistant |
| 17 | Roger Wake | Engineer |
| 18 | James Wedge | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |