who emigrated to Australia in 1964. The song was the first Kinks recording produced solely by Ray Davies, without longtime producer Shel Talmy; Talmy's contract with the band expired in Spring 1967. Despite its complex arrangement, the sessions for "Waterloo Sunset" lasted ten hours; Dave Davies later commented on the recording: "We spent a lot of time trying to get a different guitar sound, to get a more unique feel for the record. In the end we used a tape-delay echo, but it sounded new because nobody had done it since the 1950s. I remember Steve Marriott of the Small Faces came up and asked me how we'd got that sound. We were almost trendy for a while." "Act Nice and Gentle" The B-side "Act Nice and Gentle" was exclusive to this single and has been described as a plea for "some civility". It has a "country-western influence" that foreshadowed Muswell Hillbillies, and later appeared on album as a bonus track with the 1998 reissue of Something Else by the Kinks. Legacy and accolades In the UK, the song is commonly considered to be Davies' most famous work, and it has been "regarded by many as the apogee of the swinging sixties". Highly esteemed for its musical and lyrical qualities, the song is commonly the subject of study in university arts courses. Davies largely dismisses such praise and has even suggested that he would like to go back and alter some of the lyrics; most professionals, however, generally side with the observation of Ken Garner, a lecturer at Caledonian University in Glasgow, who said: "Davies, like all the best singer-songwriters, is intensely self-critical." Pop music journalist Robert Christgau has called the song "the most beautiful song in the English language". Pete Townshend of the Who has called it "divine" and "a masterpiece". AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine concurred, citing it as "possibly the most beautiful song of the rock and roll era". In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at number 42 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and was re-ranked at number 14 on the 2021 list. Ray Davies performed "Waterloo Sunset" at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. A subsequent reissue of the Kinks' original single entered the UK charts at #47. Personnel According to band researcher Doug Hinman: The Kinks Ray Davies lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar,