Artist: The Kinks
Full Title: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
Year: 1968
Label: Reprise
Grade: A
Tracks:
1) The Vilage Green Preservation Society- 8
2) Do You Remember Walter?- 10, Best Track!
3) Picture Book– 9
4) Johnny Thunder- 8
5) Last of the Steam-Powered Trains- 8
6) Big Sky– 9/10
7) Sitting By the Riverside– 9
8) Animal Farm– 9
9) Village Green– 10
10) Starstruck– 9
11) Phenominal Cat- 8
12) All of My Friends Were There– 9
13) Wicked Annabella- 8
14) Monica- 8
15) People Take Pictures of Each Other- 8/9

Comments: Everyone knows at least a few Kinks songs. Believe me, for you buzzcocks out there, maybe you do not know who the Kinks are or were, but I am positive you have heard the classics, “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All Night, ” “Lola,” and so forth. Of course these are praiseworthy, but sadly the general public merely focuses on the aforementioned Kinks tunes and eshews their LPs, which are truly masterpieces of Pop and Rock and Roll music. When Village Green hit the stores it sold poorly in both the UK and the US, but especially in the states. This is due in part to the heavy use of British themes and the fact that the Kinks were banned in America; yeah they were badasses! But, clearly there was/is more to the lack of enthusiasm amongst music listeners than the above reasons. This begs a question I often ponder: What am I hearing in certain “pop” artists that seems so beautiful and catchy, that others are not hearing? Or what are they hearing that sounds so unappealing or atrocious to them? Perhaps, I have just developed taste, rather then simply looking to the mainstream for answers. But, seriously, it’s like why don’t or won’t people enjoy such diverse pop artists as Jay Reatard, Ween, or the Jesus and Mary Chain? Well…. early JAMC is pretty noisy lol. Anyway, I’ve leapt off into a wild tangent for too long. Back to the record, which by the way, is probably far more commercially successful then other critics and I will lead you to believe, when you compare the album’s sales to the likes of the Strange Boys and most of the other obscure artists chronicled on this blog. On the other hand, it is peculiar that such a mega rock act like the Kinks can have an album that is critically well receved and yet commerically flops. Other bands of the era like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones did not suffer from this syndrome, if you call it suffering. Ok, I am really done with that stuff for now! Sonically, this is a pop masterpiece, if I haven’t made that as clear as day, by this point. The music is cheery and upbeat, often matching with the colorful lyrics/themes displayed on this record. We have phenominal cats, big skies, stars, villages, plenty of pictures, riversides, and an animal farm. A recurring motif is the loss of childhood, suburban innocence (“Do You Remember Walter?” and “Village Green”) in exchange for superficial fame and glory, which turns sour (“Big Sky” and “Starstuck.”). In terms of the music, it’s farily soft, for the early practicioners of Hard Rock, but one can still jive to the group’s grooves. I don’t even know exactly what that means… With this record, the band expanded their seminal pop dynamics and displayed far more musical prowess and creativity, without abandoning their hooks. Overall, I can see why this is the Brits’ most critically acclaimed album; I highly recommend it to anyone and it is now amongst my favorite albums of all times. Top 50, yeah it’s that exqusite!

Chris