One of the great British bands of the 60's and 70's, The Kinks have always maintained a huge popularity. Partly because of their enormous catalog of music and another because their music is timeless.

Tonight it's a session they recorded for The BBC on July 1, 1968 and aired on Top Of The Pops.

Here's what they play:

1. Days
2. Monica
3. Love Me 'Til The Sun Shines
4. Waterloo Sunset

Days and Waterloo Sunset are classics and these live versions give the studio versions a run for their money. All in all, a memorable set from a legendary band.

Good way to kick off the week.

When The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society came out in 1969, it was greeted with much more enthusiasm in the U.S. than it did in their native UK. The Kinks had undergone a series of changes and for a time their popularity was waning. Having been considered something of a relic of the British Invasion Days back home, The Kinks struggled to maintain their identity during a time when music was heading off into so many different directions and the sounds so popular in 1964 stopped being relevant.

So when Village Green was released (actually re-released as an earlier 12 track version made a brief appearance in 1968 and was quickly withdrawn and reworked with additional tracks), it failed to make much dent in the charts and there were no singles considered hit potential. But the album, so warmly received by critics in the States, stayed around, gathering a cult following. And thanks to the early popularity of the FM Underground movement, Village Green became a staple in the programming diet.

So tonight's track, Picture Book comes from that album which was recently awarded by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

And to think if that happened today, Village Green would have been out of print and vanished after three months. How times change - not always for the better.

Hitting very familiar territory with The Kinks tonight, starting with their first major worldwide hit, You Really Got Me recorded at their first session for the BBC in 1964.

Unlike many of the artists I've featured on this series of groups in session, The Kinks have always had a huge popularity worldwide - even though there were peaks and valleys during their career, The Kinks have always been recognized as one of the premier bands in British Pop music, and the songwriting of Ray Davies as one of it's foremost contributions.

So this batch of songs, spanning sessions The Kinks did at The BBC from 1964-1969 begins with You Really Got Me, quickly followed by Cadillac, the classic Waterloo Sunset and ending up with Did You See His Name.

A five year mini-retrospective from one of the truly legendary bands of the past forty years.

If you don't mind - it's really needed.

The Kinks tonight. This one from their 1966 album Face To Face which featured the hit single Sunny Afternoon and the original version of Dandy (which was a hit for Herman's Hermits later on). Tonight's track is Most Exclusive Residence For Sale - sort of apropos with the ongoing mortgage crisis.

Always a great band with no end of bite to their lyrics. It's just what Ray Davies does.

(The Kinks in 1977 - changes in the air)

Back to the 70s this week with The Kinks. A 1977 concert from The Rainbow in London, recorded by the BBC.

Vintage Kinks and vintage Ray Davies.

(The Kinks - Ray Davies: always the right words at the right time)

Sometimes you just hear something and you have to share it. I don't know - I always liked this song. It always seemed bitter-sweet. The Kinks "Better Things" from 1981 just feels apropos to the day, the week, the month.

There are times you just need musical background to an overloaded world.