The Kinks “Live at Kelvin Hall” 1967. Today, February 3rd, is Kinks’ guitarist and founder Dave Davies’ 70th birthday (b. 1947). Davies is consistently listed among the top guitarists of all time (#91st in Rolling Stone’s 2003 ranking) and gets credit for popularizing the power chord, now ubiquitous in harder rocking genres. He produced it by “using a razor blade to slit the speaker cone on his Elpico amplifier, which he then ran through a larger Vox as a pre-amp.“ Live at Kelvin Hall comes from the show 50 years ago (!!) at Kelvin Hall during the Kinks’ tour of Scotland. It is suggested that the album is a bit “enhanced” – “Sessions were undertaken to ‘sweeten’ the original tapes. Close listening seems to reveal that the audience hysteria is an extended, repeating tape loop.” (Andy Miller) However, the band was at its peak of popularity during this tour and the overwhelming screaming of the crowd was likely all-to-real, so who knows? The record showcases several of The Kinks’ hits, including “A Well Respected Man,” “Sunny Afternoon,” “Tired of Waiting For You,” and, of course, “You Really Got Me.” Unfortunately the sound is sub-standard and the LP failed commercially, making it to just #162 in the US and failing to chart at all in the UK.