I’ve been into music longer than there have been MP3s, which has left me with hundreds of compact discs gathering dust on a closet shelf. The time has come to clean them out – but which ones are worth keeping and which are best left to the Donation box? Let’s take ‘em one by one:

Phobia
The Kinks

I remember getting this CD from an out of the way Circuit City, walking in with the expressed purpose of buying something by The Kinks and being won over by the cover (and, truth be told, the bargain bin price).

Phobia has its merits. “Somebody Stole My Car” is hilarious, helped musically by a great bassline (always a surefire way to win my heart). While the Davies brothers’ duet “Hatred” inspires surprising levels of disgust in certain Kinks fandom circles, I’ve always rather enjoyed it. I think every guy in the world can identify with “Only A Dream,” that moment when you catch a smile from a pretty girl and you imagine all the possibilities, only to be let down when you see her again and you get nothing.

All that said, there is a lot of deadweight here. In fact, the album is, by majority, merely serviceable, undistinguished, substandard Kinks. Ray Davies lyrical acumen is less sharp than usual, Dave Davies snarling guitar toned down, the production apparently aspiring for the finest in background music for malls. I’d be interested to hear the brothers give the album a To The Bone treatment, stripping it down to acoustic guitars and punching it out live. Ray Davies is a gifted songwriter, so I can’t help but think there’s something great buried beneath the slop.

Phobia isn’t a bad album, just mediocre. I strongly suspect my lingering good feelings towards it are due mostly to familiarity, like that old sweatshirt you love to drag out on bad days but are embarrassed about when strangers catch you wearing it. Listening to Phobia again I’m at turns appreciative of its comfortable feel but, frankly, growing increasingly bored with the whole affair. Time to be moving on.

Worth The Revisit? No