The Kinks - …Are the Village Green Preservation Society
Pye Records, 1968
This album is the sore thumb sticking out of musical history. In 1968, Jimi released Electric Ladyland, shredding it up while high as a kite. The Stones were singing about raw sexuality, and The Beatles were discovering acid.
The Kinks were singing about draught beer, china cups, and virginity. This album could have been recorded on Mars, it was so far removed from what the rest of the world was doing. The Kinks were down on their luck. A mishap involving non-Union labor had barred them from performing in the United States, and a lack of hit songs left their bank accounts dwindling. The band was on the brink of breaking up. Ray Davies, who had recorded a few demo songs for what would become this album, decided that The Kinks had to record this album. And, ho boy, what a job they did.
The hooks on this masterpiece will stick in your mind like the cholesterol from that Baconator you ate will stick in your arteries. From the jangly acoustic guitar and piano of the eponymous first track to the harpsichord-infused semi-eponymous “Village Green,” to the hand-drumming and bassline in “Monica,” the album never skips a beat, musically.
The lyrics will charm your pants off. To quote a Rolling Stone review from 1969, “Ray makes statements, he says the sort of stuff that makes you delighted just to know that someone would say stuff like that.” It’s absolutely true. The album is a concept of sorts, a yearning for a Britain that never really existed, and the lyrics capture this yearning perfectly well. Standout tracks on that front are “Do You Remember Walter,” “Picture Book,” and “Animal Farm.”
I’m starting to ramble a bit here, so I’ll wrap this up. This album was undoubtedly one of the most underlooked albums of the 1960s. If you’ve never heard it, get it now.
Review by Luke
Track Listing:
1. The Village Green Preservation Society – 2:45
2. Do You Remember Walter? – 2:23
3. Picture Book – 2:34
4. Johnny Thunder – 2:28
5. Last of the Steam-powered Trains – 4:03
6. Big Sky – 2:49
7. Sitting by the Riverside – 2:21
8. Animal Farm – 2:57
9. Village Green – 2:08
10. Starstruck – 2:18
11. Phenomenal Cat – 2:34
12. All of My Friends Were There – 2:23
13. Wicked Annabella – 2:40
14. Monica – 2:13
15. People Take Pictures of Each Other – 2:10
