The Kinks Albums in Order: All 24 Studio Albums, and the Handover That Took Five Years

The Kinks Albums in Order: 24 Studio Albums, 1964 to 1993

The Kinks albums in order run from the self-titled 1964 debut to Phobia in 1993, 24 studio albums across 29 years. My discography map draws each album as a station and each of the 45 credited musicians as a line running only through the records they actually played on, which is how you can see a line break, restart, or end.

The 24 Kinks studio albums in order

This is the list as it runs on my research sheet, the same one the artwork was drawn from:

1. Kinks (1964)
2. Kinda Kinks (1965)
3. The Kink Kontroversy (1965)
4. Face to Face (1966)
5. Something Else by the Kinks (1967)
6. The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
7. Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)
8. Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970)
9. Percy (1971)
10. Muswell Hillbillies (1971)
11. Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972)
12. Preservation Act 1 (1973)
13. Preservation Act 2 (1974)
14. Soap Opera (1975)
15. Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975)
16. Sleepwalker (1977)
17. Misfits (1978)
18. Low Budget (1979)
19. Give the People What They Want (1981)
20. State of Confusion (1983)
21. Word of Mouth (1984)
22. Think Visual (1986)
23. UK Jive (1989)
24. Phobia (1993)

Those 24 are the studio records only. Live albums and compilations are left off this map, as they are across my whole range, and Percy is on it because it is a studio album that happens to be a soundtrack.

Only Two Lines Reach All 24 Stations

Ray Davies and Dave Davies are the only two musicians credited on all 24 Kinks studio albums. Twenty-nine years, no gaps. On the map their lines run the entire width of the print without a break, which is not something I can say about many bands I have drawn.

Everyone else comes and goes. Mick Avory gets close, but not all the way. Pete Quaife, the original bassist, stops at Arthur in 1969. If you have ever argued about the Davies brothers in a pub, that unbroken pair of lines is the first thing you will notice.

The Debut's Busiest Line Belongs to a Session Drummer

Here is the detail I enjoy watching people find. On the 1964 debut, Mick Avory is credited on five tracks. Bobby Graham, a session drummer, is credited on eight. The band's own drummer plays less of his band's first album than the hired hand does.

Graham then turns up once more, on "Tired of Waiting for You" on Kinda Kinks in 1965, and that is his lot. Two albums, one short branch line, and one of the most quietly surprising facts in the whole catalogue.

Jimmy Page and Jon Lord Both Get One Station and Then Vanish

The 1964 debut carries nine credited musicians, the busiest of the early records. Two of those names went on to define other bands entirely. Jimmy Page plays twelve-string acoustic guitar on two tracks. Jon Lord plays organ on one.

Neither of them ever appears again. On the map they are short spurs off a single station, and they are usually the first thing a fan points at when they get close enough to read the small type.

A rule I apply on every map is worth mentioning here. A producer only gets a line if they are also credited playing something. Shel Talmy produced the early Kinks records, but the reason he has a line on this map is that he is credited on guitar on "It's Too Late" on The Kink Kontroversy. Production alone does not earn a line.

Musician	Album	Credit
Jimmy Page	Kinks (1964)	Twelve-string acoustic guitar, two tracks
Jon Lord	Kinks (1964)	Organ, one track
Shel Talmy	The Kink Kontroversy (1965)	Guitar on "It's Too Late"
Dave Rowberry	Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972)	Organ on "Celluloid Heroes"
Christopher Timothy	Preservation Act 2 (1974)	Announcer voice
Gordon Edwards	Low Budget (1979)	Piano on the title track
Chrissie Hynde	Give the People What They Want (1981)	Vocals on four tracks, uncredited on the sleeve
Mark Haley	UK Jive (1989)	Additional keyboards, one track

John Dalton's Line Breaks in 1966 and Restarts in 1970

John Dalton first appears on Face to Face in 1966, credited on bass on three tracks including "Dead End Street", covering for Pete Quaife. Then he disappears. Something Else, Village Green and Arthur all go by without him.

He comes back on Lola Versus Powerman in 1970 as the full-time bassist and stays until Misfits in 1978. On the print that gap is visible as a broken run, and it is the kind of thing a casual listener never sees on a sleeve but a fan reads instantly.

Clem Cattini Comes Back After Twelve Years

Clem Cattini plays drums on three tracks of The Kink Kontroversy in 1965. He is not credited again until Sleepwalker in 1977, where he is down for drum overdubs. Twelve years between two stations on the same line.

Gaps like that are the reason I map credits rather than just album covers. A row of sleeves tells you what the band released. A line with a twelve-year hole in it tells you who was in the room.

The Avory to Henrit Handover Takes Five Years, Not One Album

It is often written that Bob Henrit replaced Mick Avory on Word of Mouth in 1984. Henrit does arrive there, credited on five tracks. But Avory does not stop.

Avory is still credited on three tracks of Word of Mouth, then on "Rock 'n' Roll Cities" on Think Visual in 1986, then on "Entertainment" on UK Jive in 1989, where he is also credited as a producer. His line finally ends in 1989, five years after the man who supposedly replaced him turned up. Phobia in 1993 is the first and only Kinks album with no Avory on it at all.

Preservation Act 2 Is the Busiest Station, Phobia the Quietest

Preservation Act 2 in 1974 carries 14 credited musicians, the highest count on the map. Brass, backing singers, and two credited speaking parts, including Christopher Timothy as the announcer. Ray Davies chose him to mimic his own television adverts of the time.

Phobia in 1993 carries four. Ray, Dave, Jim Rodford and Bob Henrit, and that is the whole record. Standing in front of the print you can watch the band swell into a theatre company and then shrink back to a four-piece across two decades.

"Brilliant idea"

Sizes, Framing and What to Spend

Every size is landscape, which suits a discography that runs left to right across three decades. A3 works on a shelf or in an alcove, A2 above a desk, and A1 is the one to choose if it is going on a main wall and you want the small type readable from a sofa.

• A3, 420 x 297 mm, unframed only, £35
• A2, 594 x 420 mm (23 x 16 in), £45 unframed or £125 in a black wood frame
• A1, 841 x 594 mm (33 x 23 in), £65 unframed or £175 in a black wood frame
• 16x12 in, 24x18 in and 36x24 in are separate formats rather than conversions, priced the same way

Every print is a Giclée on 230gsm premium matte fine art paper, archival and acid-free. Unframed if the recipient has their own framer, or in a black wood frame, which is the only frame colour I offer.

Related Music Maps

Two maps sit naturally alongside this one. The Who discography art print is the closest companion, another London band with a long run and a drum stool that changed hands. The Rolling Stones discography art print starts on the same 1964 line with a far larger cast of session players.

The whole range is in the music map collection.

Questions I Get Asked About This Map

What are all The Kinks albums in order?

The numbered list above gives all 24 in release order with years, from Kinks (1964) to Phobia (1993). Percy (1971) is on it because it is a studio record, even though it doubles as a soundtrack.

How many studio albums did The Kinks make?

Twenty-four, between 1964 and 1993. That is the count the map plots, studio records only.

Which musicians appear on all 24 Kinks studio albums?

Only Ray Davies and Dave Davies. Both run 1964 to 1993 with no break in either line. Mick Avory is on 23 of the 24, missing only Phobia.

Did Jimmy Page really play on a Kinks record?

Yes. He is credited on twelve-string acoustic guitar on two tracks of the 1964 debut, well before Led Zeppelin. Jon Lord is on the same album, on organ, before Deep Purple.

Why does Mick Avory still appear after Bob Henrit joined?

Because the credits say so. Avory is credited on tracks across Word of Mouth in 1984, Think Visual in 1986 and UK Jive in 1989, alongside Henrit. The map follows the credits, not the press narrative.

Which Kinks album has the most credited musicians?

Preservation Act 2 in 1974, with 14. The fewest is Phobia in 1993, with four.

What is not on the map?

Live albums and compilations, which are left off across my whole range, so this is the studio records only. Producers and engineers are left off too unless they are also credited playing something, which is why Shel Talmy is on it and most producers are not.