I agree that The Kinks are great. I don't think they have ever been overlooked, but I can't fault anyone for trying to spotlight them.

Their debut sounds like they listened to The Beatles live on BBC radio in 1963, or perhaps wore out their Johnny Kidd and The Pirates records. They're one of many bands who carried that sound in '64. The High Numbers [aka The Who] ("I'm the Face"), The Nashville Teens ("Tobacco Road"), Tommy James and The Shondells ("Hanky Panky"). There are some fantastic tracks on that debut album, but aside from "You Really Got Me", they simply don't match the output of The Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1964. That track though - it's as good as anything anybody has ever released.

The voices of Lennon, McCartney, and Jagger are all (far) superior to Ray Davies. It's more in the realm of Phil May (The Pretty Things) or Keith Reif (The Yardbirds).

The White Stripes didn't sound anything like The Kinks. Sorry, but not close. When the Kinks move into their Spencer Davis Group style, I suppose you can connect them to The Greenhornes, whose bassist and drummer ended up playing with Jack White in multiple projects, but that's as far as I can reach to bridge the gap.