Released: 1968
Rolling Stone Album #255
You rarely hear the Kinks mentioned in the same breath as other British groups of the time like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, or the Who, but they should be. They are perhaps the most British of the British invasion bands, incorporating traditional pop, blues, folk and country.
The group was formed in 1963 under the name the Ravens, and consisted of three core members, brothers Ray and Dave Davies, and schoolmate Peter Quaife. The Ravens recorded their first single in 1964, a cover of "Long Tall Sally", which they released under the name the Kinks. The first and second singles were unsuccessful, but their third single, "You Really Got Me" (which you have heard unless you have been in a cave) reached #1 on the charts and was a smash hit. They released a great followup single to "You Really Got Me" called "All Day and All of the Night" which again was a hit and rose to #2 on the charts.
By the end of 1964, the band had produced two full length albums, and several EPs, and were touring extensively. After the 1965 American tour, the Kinks were banned from touring America for four years for unknown reasons. This was a major hit to them because they were no longer able to perform in front of the biggest market in the world and were not a part of the musical upheavals of the late 60s in the States.
The Kinks began their commercial decline soon thereafter, and released The Kinks Contreversy (1966), Face to Face (1967), and Something Else (1967). They then released a single entitled "The Waterboy" in 1968, their first single not to crack the top 10 on the charts since before "You Really Got Me". This was further evidence that the Kinks were in a big decline, and as a result 1968s The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society was by Kinks standards commercially unsucessful. The album however, was a big hit with critics, particularly in the United States.
Credits:
Ray Davies - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Dave Davies - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Peter Quaife - Bass
Mick Avory - Drums
John Dalton - Bass
The Village Green Preservation Society is described as "a concept album lamenting the passing of old-fashioned English traditions". The album as a whole is rather cozy, fun, and brings back a sense of youth. Each song is a different story with different characters described in a sort of lazy, hazy way.
The album begins with a folky sounding "The Village Green Preservation Society". The opening line to the album fittingly is "We are the village green preservation society". There is a nice wind instrument and some nice background vocal harmonies after each chorus. This is one of the best pop songs, and is a great one to get this album started. This leads right into "Do You Remember Walter?" which describes Walter, and asks repeatedly if we remember. Walter can be interpreted as a metaphor for those things that you did as a youth, when you felt you could do anything and were so free. The music of the song is a driving piano, and wonderfully paced vocals and just enough of a guitar riff to make this a wonderful song.
"Picture Book" begins with this infectious guitar riff, and goes into a beautiful pop song. Chances are you have heard this song. It's the one that goes "Picture book, pictures of your mama taken by your papa a long time ago." This is one of the more accessible songs on the album, and I love the falsetto backing vocals and when he does his "scooby dooby doo" thing, but the highlight is the catchy guitar. This is one of the best on the album.
"Johnny Thunder" is my favorite song on the album. The intro goes "Johnny Thunder lives on water, feeds on lightning, Johnny Thunder don't need noone, don't want money." They way the vocals sing are just so well paced and so catchy, It is difficult to describe why the leads are so good. The backing vocals are perfect, and the guitar seems to get lost in the background by such wonderful pop vocals. This is right up there with my favorite Kinks songs.
After the nice bluesy "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains", and the at times spoken word narrative of "Big Sky", "Sitting By the Riverside" brings back the soft dreamy mood. This has a sort of novelty feel to it, the piano riffs conflicts with the dreamy vocals, but in a good way, and the song becomes a nice 2 minute escape from reality. This leads into another highlight on the album, "Animal Farm". It is a rather straightforward pop song, but that is where the Kinks are at their best. Again, the lead vocals are wonderfully paced, and the falsetto backing vocals are great.
"Village Green" presents a slightly different feel, relying on a minor chord progression which gives the song a bit of a darker feel to it, and the lyrics of "I miss the village green" throughout fit the mood perfectly. This is another great one. "Starstruck" is vocally driven, with wonderful rounds with the backing vocals. This is another of the more accessable songs. It has a beautiful string part to it, and the hint of piano is perfect.
"Phenomenal Cat" begins with a short wind instrument solo, then drums and soft dreamy vocals come in. They are describing a phenomenal cat. There are two sections of the song, a major and minor. The chorus takes on a different minor feel while the verses are in a major. There is a very odd vocal part near the midpoint where is sounds like one of the little people from wizard of oz or something. This is one of the odder songs on the album, but I like it.
"All of My Friends Were There" is a little too much vocally for me. The verse is just a race of vocals, and the song never develops into anything that I enjoy. It is one of the low points on the album, but the album doesn't stay down for long. "Wicked Annabella" follows up with a delightful darker style song. It is still poppy, but it has that evil or as the title suggests "wicked" feel to it. I really like the guitar riff as it really lends to the evil sound of the song.
Not enough can be said of the song "Monica", it is one of the standouts on the albums. Just the whole island feel to it, and the wonderful way that he says "Monica". I really like when he sings "I-I-shall die, I-I-shall die if I should lose Monica." The vocal stylings on this song are sooooo perfect and it is an amazing song.
The album closer "People Take Pictures of Each Other" is another song about taking pictures. "People take pictures of each other just to prove that they really existed" and other similar lines pretty much describe why people take pictures. It is a nice pop song, but not one of the stronger ones on this great album.
Recommended Tracks:
"The Village Green Preservation Society"
"Picture Book"
"Jonny Thunder"
"Sitting By the Riverside"
"Animal Farm"
"Village Green"
"Starstruck"
"Phenomenal Cat"
"Wicked Annabella"
"Monica"
Recommended for fans of:
The Beatles
The Who
The Zombies
I really can't find many flaws in this album. It is a classic album for sure and full of songs that you don't even know that you know. It is a shame the Kinks don't get more recognition for what a fine band they were. This is a incredible album.
