The Kinks: Their 10 Greatest Songs

By Christopher Jennings /

5. All Day And All Of The Night

Taken from the EP: Kinksize Session (1964) The Kinks followed their massive hit "You Really Got Me" with another monster success in "All Day And All Of The Night", reaching No. 2 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. "All Day And All Of The Night" is virtually a rewrite of their previous hit and is an electric example of raw rock power which remains instantly recognisable to this day. Built around a solid sliding power chord riff, the similarities with "You Really Got Me" are ridiculous; beat, structure, background vocals, progressions and guitar solos all echo "You Really Got Me" to ludicrous effect, and yet, to not include this song in a Top 10 Kinks list would be tantamount to sacrilege. "All Day And All Of The Night" is quintessential Kinks, it remains one of the first songs to spring to mind when you think of the band and if you're going to rip someone off, rip off the best; themselves!