Editing Waterloo Sunset (section)

==Legacy and accolades==
[[File:Waterloo station main entrance.JPG|thumb|[[London Waterloo station|Waterloo Station]], London]]
In Britain, 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]]".<ref name="Laing">{{cite news |last=Laing |first=Allan |date=22 February 2001 |title=Waterloo sunset not so fine, says Davies |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23833806.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911125121/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23833806.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 September 2016 |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |location=Glasgow |access-date=24 June 2016 }}</ref> Highly esteemed for its musical and lyrical qualities, the song is commonly the subject of study in university arts courses.<ref name="Laing"/> 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."<ref name="Laing"/>

Pop music journalist [[Robert Christgau]] has called the song "the most beautiful song in the English language".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=the+kinks|title= Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide: The Kinks|website=Robertchristgau.com}}</ref> [[Pete Townshend]] of [[the Who]] has called it "divine" and "a masterpiece".<ref>{{YouTube|-u3U2I84sGA|The Kinks - UK Music Hall of Fame 2005}}</ref> In 1972, ''[[Record World]]'' said that it "may be the best thing [the Kinks have] ever done."<ref name=rw2>{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=May 20, 1972|accessdate=2023-04-01|title=Single Picks|page=10|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/72/RW-1972-05-20.pdf}}</ref> [[Damon Albarn]] was similarly effusive, naming it the one song he wished he had written, and commenting that "It's the most perfect song I could ever hope to write, with my sort of voice."<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-03-21 |title=Blur's Damon Albarn wishes he wrote 'Waterloo Sunset |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-song-damon-albarn-wishes-he-wrote-its-the-most-perfect-song/ |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] senior editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] concurred, citing it as "possibly the most beautiful song of the rock and roll era".<ref>{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|title=To the Bone - The Kinks {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/to-the-bone-mw0000071485|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> In 2004, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine placed the song at number 42 on their list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]",<ref name="rs">{{cite magazine|date=11 December 2003|title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/the-kinks-waterloo-sunset-69046/|access-date=3 April 2021|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> and was re-ranked at number 14 on the 2021 list.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/the-kinks-waterloo-sunset-2-1225324/|title=Waterloo Sunset ranked #14 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=15 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref> Ray Davies performed "Waterloo Sunset" at the closing ceremony of the [[London 2012 Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Moreton |first=Cole |date=22 July 2016 |title=London 2012 Olympics: The perfect stage for Ray Davies's Waterloo Sunset |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9417179/London-2012-Olympics-The-perfect-stage-for-Ray-Daviess-Waterloo-Sunset.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref> A subsequent reissue of the Kinks' original single entered the UK charts at #47.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kluv.cbslocal.com/2012/08/22/the-olympic-effect-the-kinks-john-lennon-more-re-enter-uk-charts/ |title=The Olympic Effect: The Kinks, John Lennon & More Re-enter UK Charts |author=Mapes, Jillian |date=22 August 2012 |publisher=[[KSPF|KLUV]] |website=Kluv.cbslocal.com/ |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref>