ALBUM REVIEW: The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

    The Kinks had, for the past two years of their career, been progressing into a decisively softer sound after an artistic blooming within principle songwriter Ray Davies. Paired with this new shift was a certain observational style that focused heavily on social commentary through witty lyrics and a certain poeticism that was ideal for the Kinks new sound. While themes of British life were already blooming on their fourth record Face to Face and permeated instances on Something Else, The Kinks' next album would yield a more focused idea on British culture and societal decline, born out of his displeasure of the encroaching influence from the US and Europe on English life - a wealth of material was yielded from the sessions, including two non-album singles in "Wonderboy" b/w "Polly" and "Days" b/w "She's Got Everything," with the latter single having more ideas of the album's central themes. When The Village Green Preservation Society released in late November of 1968... it flopped. Released the same day as The Beatles' self-titled record, and with Beggar's Banquet coming out a week-and-a-half later, the record was blocked out the charts - sales confusion didn't help when Ray Davies initially postponed the record to alter the track listing. Much like many things about The Kinks, though, time has been kind to The Village Green Preservation Society, and indeed the album does meet the vision that Ray Davies had. Village Green is the magnum opus of Davies' ambitions; it's musically varied, performed excellently, wonderfully produced, and filled with British charm and wit. The Kinks at their best.

    For a few years now,  Ray Davies has been perfecting the British charm of his songwriting and topics, and at last he's hit the peak. This is not to say that his previous efforts were poultry, especially when he's gifting us with "Sunny Afternoon," "Afternoon Tea," and "Waterloo Sunset." Even with all these sharp tunes in mind, the compositions on Village Green are so unapologetically cooked in English charm and wit, that it sells Ray Davies to the max - look no further than the title track of the album, making an ode of "preserving the old ways from being abused" and the pleas of "God save" to Donald Duck, vaudeville, the George Cross, little shops, china cups, antique tables, billiards, amongst many other antiquities of British life. It would be easy for this album to stray into overly conservative and preachy, and yet Ray Davies' heart is so filled with whimsy and love that it plays like a gorgeous kind of nostalgia, topped with a certain palpable joy that bleeds off the record player. From the hooky guitar riff on "Picture Book," a song all about reflecting on the past, to the driving blues of "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains," which for my money rocks harder than "You Really Got Me." To rattle off every song that adheres to this concept and theme would be to essentially mention every track, although some are more central to songs than others - the desire to return to the country in "Animal Farm" is much more reflective than the story of the bold "Johnny Thunder."

     With such a centralized idea at the heart and ethos of Village Green, Ray Davies also takes ample time to bounce around with musical ideas. Much of the album sprawls across genres like a phenomenal cat in the sun - the pop rock mindset that had forever been in the DNA of the Kinks still lies on Village Green, of course, but there's a certain taste of sunshine pop in the water throughout. Folk paints the record throughout many spots, too, such as the thesis statement that is "Village Green" or the semi-bizarre "Phenomenal Cat," another example that probably shows the closest The Kinks got to psychedelia. "Monica" is painted in calypso, and the previously mentioned "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" is a puffing blues number. Many of the aspects of previous Kinks albums hit their peak on this record, such as the music hall of "All of My Friends Were There," which has one of the most lovely hooks that Ray Davies has ever written for my money. Their pure pop rock hits one of its pinnacles, too, on "Do You Remember Walter?," a beautiful reflection on the loss of friendships and the ever-changing world; perhaps there is no Ray Davies lyric more quotable than "People often change, but memories of people can remain." By the time you reach "People Take Pictures of Each Other," everything feels full cirlce.

    In one interview, Ray Davies called The Village Green Preservation Society "the most successful flop ever." With time, however, I think it's safe to say that the record has become no flop - it's a cornerstone record of the late 60s, one that reflects on a simpler time of village greens, playing billiards, croquet, vaudeville, and Variety. It's a quintessentially British record, and one where all of the ideas and ambitions that Ray Davies has come through brilliantly. Sadly, this was the last Kinks record with the original line-up, as Pete Quaife left in March of 1969. Even still, Village Green showcases The Kinks at their pinnacle, and at their most lovely - their artistic growth finally complete.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society.