The Kinks - Come Dancing with the Kinks: The Best of the Kinks 1977-1986 (1986/2004) [SACD]

Come Dancing with the Kinks is a compilation album by English rock band, The Kinks, first released in 1986 and re-released in 2000. It covers the period 1977-1986 when the band were signed to Arista including some live versions of hits from the Pye and RCA years.
Originally released as a double-album set in 1986, just after the Kinks had their last run at chart success, Come Dancing With the Kinks (The Best of the Kinks 1977-1986) does an excellent job of summarizing their stadium rock and AOR radio favorites on Arista. It leaves no single or radio favorite behind, while adding such terrific obscurities as “Long Distance” (originally only released as a bonus track on the State of Confusion cassette; the early ’80s were a completely different world than the late ’80s), the non-LP single “Father Christmas,” the wonderfully sentimental album track “Better Things” (a close, upbeat cousin to Dylan’s “Forever Young”), and the charming “Heart of Gold.” In addition to these, there are live takes of “You Really Got Me” and “Lola” taken from the fine One From the Road album. It winds up being a representative selection of the Kinks’ time as stadium warriors. They may have released some good albums during this period — and Misfits and Low Budget are close to great — but listeners looking for the bare essentials from this period will not be disappointed with this first-rate collection.